best tuners in the Bay Area?
08-17-2005, 10:56 AM
#1
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 40
Car Info: 2005 WRX STI
I'm a newbie '05 STI owner. Can anyone recommend best tuners in Bay area, and what mods have the most bang for the buck? Thinking of reflashiong the ECU and installing turbo back exhaust and short shifter first.
08-18-2005, 01:55 AM
#2
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Location: Sacramento CA
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Car Info: 02 Impreza WRX sedan
Moved your post to BAIC (Bay Area i-Club) forum since it was region-specific.
Some local tuners in the Reviews section. There are more tuners but none of their customers has seen fit to post reviews of their experiences where members can easily find them.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
Some local tuners in the Reviews section. There are more tuners but none of their customers has seen fit to post reviews of their experiences where members can easily find them.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
08-18-2005, 02:07 AM
#3
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Location: Leg Humper
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Car Info: '03 WRX wagon, faster than walkin'
Seriously consider Mike (white English guy) from Gruppe-s. He is an excellent tuner, I have made more smooth usable power with his assistance than anyone else. My '03 wagon has over 320 ft-lbs of torque (on the heartbreaking Mustang dyno) - who else has that on CA-91?
He also uses a "heartbreaker" Mustang dyno, which I like because my car will never read lower than that.
The guys at his shop are cool too, Dev and Mike (Asian guy) are the mechanics and do good work.
These guys stand up for their work and really rock.
The other side of the Gruppe-s house is parts and all the guys on sales are outstanding and do their very best to ensure you get the parts you need. This includes the hard to find stuff like STi engines and RA gearsets. These guys are both helpful and knowledgeable - two thumbs up.
Another thing to consider is the two guys making the super STi cars are MarkSTi and Derrick - both using Gruppe-s to meet their goals.
These guys are knowledgeable and fair and I can't recommend them highly enough.
He also uses a "heartbreaker" Mustang dyno, which I like because my car will never read lower than that.
The guys at his shop are cool too, Dev and Mike (Asian guy) are the mechanics and do good work.
These guys stand up for their work and really rock.
The other side of the Gruppe-s house is parts and all the guys on sales are outstanding and do their very best to ensure you get the parts you need. This includes the hard to find stuff like STi engines and RA gearsets. These guys are both helpful and knowledgeable - two thumbs up.
Another thing to consider is the two guys making the super STi cars are MarkSTi and Derrick - both using Gruppe-s to meet their goals.
These guys are knowledgeable and fair and I can't recommend them highly enough.
Last edited by AntiochCali; 08-18-2005 at 02:11 AM.
08-18-2005, 02:21 AM
#4
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Car Info: 02 Impreza WRX sedan
Origami posted by AntiochCali
Seriously consider Mike (white English guy) from Gruppe-s.
Seriously consider Mike (white English guy) from Gruppe-s.
Writing reviews of our tuners and vendors is a way for members to find them in a central location for easy reference. It also dispels the fanboy atmosphere that sometimes accompanies these threads when other people take issue with what has been said.
--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush
08-18-2005, 02:23 AM
#5
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Originally Posted by Wingless Wonder
Not all new members post questions like this. Would you like to spend maybe five minutes to post a nice review in the actual Reviews section...
08-19-2005, 02:05 AM
#6
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Location: East Bay / Pomona
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Car Info: '02 PSM WRX
Before I bought my car, it was tuned somewhere in Irvine, and when I got it was knocking. Mike's a great guy, and tried his best to fix the knock to no avail. He was extremely kind about the whole procedure and didn't even charge me for his time! Talk about customer service. The only negative I've seen about Gruppe-S is that you can't see your car being dynoed nor talk to Mike while he's on the dyno which I understand because of all the parts near the dyno.
Eventually my knocking was fixed by Shiv from Vishnu. Very knowlegeable, very friendly, and knows his stuff. His prices are a slight bit more than Mike's, but can get the job done. Dan Avon, DanAvon7 I think is his screen on these boards, had his car tuned there. IIRC his car is built a bit more than 320 ft-lbs and he's only gone to Shiv since the beginning.
Those are the 2 tuners that I have dealt with and both are extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and great tuners.
As for the Turbo back exhaust, I personally have a MRT Full TBE. I'm not sure if they make these for the STi but I love this exhaust. It's very quiet considering I'm only running one cat on the DP, but loud enough that when your on WOT it gives you a nice rumble. Just to give you an example my car almost sounds off when it's next to my friend's Prodrive Axleback exhaust, and it's about as loud as the SPT cat back.
Good luck with your tune, exhaust, and short shifter.
Eventually my knocking was fixed by Shiv from Vishnu. Very knowlegeable, very friendly, and knows his stuff. His prices are a slight bit more than Mike's, but can get the job done. Dan Avon, DanAvon7 I think is his screen on these boards, had his car tuned there. IIRC his car is built a bit more than 320 ft-lbs and he's only gone to Shiv since the beginning.
Those are the 2 tuners that I have dealt with and both are extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and great tuners.
As for the Turbo back exhaust, I personally have a MRT Full TBE. I'm not sure if they make these for the STi but I love this exhaust. It's very quiet considering I'm only running one cat on the DP, but loud enough that when your on WOT it gives you a nice rumble. Just to give you an example my car almost sounds off when it's next to my friend's Prodrive Axleback exhaust, and it's about as loud as the SPT cat back.
Good luck with your tune, exhaust, and short shifter.
08-19-2005, 02:26 AM
#8
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Location: Bay Area, Cali
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Car Info: '98 Legacy GT - EJ20 swap, STI RA tranny, VF22+
Mike's a great tuner and does a wonderful job.
Ed from EQ Tuning is incredibly talented and a super nice guy. Since he's running a smaller company, his rates are lower and he really spends the extra time and effort on every single car. He's a dedicated guy and produces great results. Since most people are going to say Gruppe-S since they're the largest and have, deservingly, a good reputation, I'm going to suggest you give Ed a call and see what he has to say. The guy is good.
Jeremy
Ed from EQ Tuning is incredibly talented and a super nice guy. Since he's running a smaller company, his rates are lower and he really spends the extra time and effort on every single car. He's a dedicated guy and produces great results. Since most people are going to say Gruppe-S since they're the largest and have, deservingly, a good reputation, I'm going to suggest you give Ed a call and see what he has to say. The guy is good.
Jeremy
08-19-2005, 08:16 AM
#9
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Northern Bay Area: Larkspur
Posts: 1,004
Car Info: 02 Silver WRX sedan. Eibach springs, Blitz NUR cat back, Rota 17" Attacks, Cobb AccessPort/DP
Yea, Ed dedicated a LOT of time to my car. At the end of the day my 118K mile 2002 WRX Cobb stage 2 was running better and faster than it ever did. Totally knock/ping free at all RPM's. You ain't kidding about the price either.
08-19-2005, 11:04 AM
#10
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Location: Santa Barbara, back for school, bye bye BAIC :( si
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Car Info: 2004 PSM STi
www.vishnutuning.com
Check out our Vender section here for Dyno sheets, there are a few stock STi's, stage 2's and stage 1's. Give us a call with any questions
--Kim @ Vishnu
Check out our Vender section here for Dyno sheets, there are a few stock STi's, stage 2's and stage 1's. Give us a call with any questions
--Kim @ Vishnu
08-19-2005, 04:43 PM
#12
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Car Info: '02 WRX E85 VF34
I've had my car tuned by Ed@ EQTuning....He was very detailed in his tuning and the cars boost response, power, and driveability are amazing.....Highly recommended
-Brian
-Brian
08-19-2005, 05:19 PM
#13
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Originally Posted by PlatNmRex
I've had my car tuned by Ed@ EQTuning....He was very detailed in his tuning and the cars boost response, power, and driveability are amazing.....Highly recommended
-Brian
-Brian
hahaha nice location btw.
