[Ragi Elias]

Hey Folks,

I hope this post doesn't anger too many people. I've been reading about JB4 and Cobb tuning for a while, and the impression that I get is that most people are happy with what they have. I'm trying to choose between these two.

I have a 2010 335 6MT xdrive coupe. I feel that the xdrive really helps put all the power to the ground at lower speeds, but shows it's excess weight at higher speeds. I guess I've just gotten used to the car's speed and need more.

With that said, i'm not planning on going nuts. Aside from the tune, I don't think i'll change exhaust, or intercooler. Maybe i'll add a DCI as well.

My primary concerns are:
(1) Which is easiest to disable - although cobb is just software, i'm leaning toward the jb4 because it's just hardware. I take it out and there are no residual effects whatsoever. Its as if nothing was ever there. I am guessing that cobb has a "stock" mode, but that it's still not the car's original programming. Please correct me if I am wrong.

(2) Which is smoother - I want the car to feel as if it came this way out of the factory.

(3) Power gains - I believe on a stock engine, both of these will give me about equal gains. Please let me know if I am incorrect.

Thanks for your input in advance. I don't post much, so I would appreciate keeping the responses to answers that help me deicide which tune to get based on my goals/concerns, rather than anything negative.

[zztwinturbozz]

Cobb dude, just Cobb. It's too simple and you can check codes, get data, 0-60 times etc etc. perfect for a DD

[NOM3ERY]

Jb4! Friend has a cobb on his 335i and i like my jb4 better+ its cheaper!

[vashthe3rd]

Thank you for asking the question that I was going to ask about 8 months from now when my warranty wears out. Hopefully I won't have to search now :P

[Randomaccess335]

Both great..... Jb4 better, more options, and faster
Cobb easier install

Both good choices

[marv85]

Why again is the JB4 faster?

1) Jb4 has some cool features like gauge hijacking and that's why I had it for a while.
In terms of drivability, COBB is better.
2) If you want to run E85, COBB is better and can properly tune for E85. You won't be running lean all the time. And please guys no G5 crap, i've driven my friend's car with G5... which he already sold and bought COBB instead.
3)If you're looking to maximize power then COBB is better (if anyone has issues with this point, feel free to ask why) -> Custom tune /ATR
4) Even the piggies whether it's JB4/PRocede are using flashes for proper fueling
5)you can monitor a lot more variables with COBB, know more about how your engine likes the tune.
6) COBB has a more elegant solution. As in no wires and no going into the DME...

I can keep going...

COBB is a superior tuning solution.

[Wesley Crusher]

Originally Posted by marv85

6) COBB has a more elegant solution. As in no wires and no going into the DME...

I've been thinking of switching to Cobb for that very reason, but the steering wheel controls of the JB4 is just so convenient. Decisions, decisions...

[marv85]

Originally Posted by Wes.

I've been thinking of switching to Cobb for that very reason, but the steering wheel controls of the JB4 is just so convenient. Decisions, decisions...

It is definitely cool having steering wheel controls andI enjoyed it when I had the JB4 (used for gauge hijacking on top of COBB). But what's the use if the tuning is on par. I don't want to go into details on the tuning here because it's been beaten to death. but I'll be glad to discuss it in PM. Nothing like a good technical discussion.

[jippii ensio]

Why do you want a tune? Want to go faster? Check dragtimes.com. Top ten has 4 xProcede and 6xJB. There is a reason why piggies are faster. Search for boost vs load targeting.

[marv85]

The question should be want a tune or a toon?

Piggies always take the market at first because they are the easiest way to tune. It's the same with every platform. Piggies first, Decent flash solution aka COBB develops. Piggies start to lose ground. Flash takes over.

Ask your tuner

[jippii ensio]

Originally Posted by marv85

The question should be want a tune or a toon?

Piggies always take the market at first because they are the easiest way to tune. It's the same with every platform. Piggies first, Decent flash solution aka COBB develops. Piggies start to lose ground. Flash takes over.

Ask your tuner

I tune my cars myself. It is you who needs a tooner The mass market does't know how to access the DME so flashes will sell more. Are you saying the flies are right?

[Ragi Elias]

Thanks for all the responses. However, I don't think anyone really addressed one of my points. To both of these tunes drive equally smoothly, or does one drive smoother than the other?

I think both will provide approximately equal gains considering that I'm not going to go crazy with anything else on the car. Am I correct?

[spool twice]

Originally Posted by Ragi Elias

Thanks for all the responses. However, I don't think anyone really addressed one of my points. To both of these tunes drive equally smoothly, or does one drive smoother than the other?

I think both will provide approximately equal gains considering that I'm not going to go crazy with anything else on the car. Am I correct?

COBB stage 1 is pretty stock smooth.

The JB4 is only stock smooth on the G5 ISO board, so if you choose the JB4, definately pick the drop-down box for the G5. The G4 board can have some jerkyness to it, especially when the engine is in warm-up mode, in the default settings.

To be honest, if you're only running DCI and plan to run nothing more, any piggy or tune would be fine, from any company, thats how much the N54 tuning has progressed.

[max_k20]

From what I tried (my 335 w/ cobb and a friend 135 w/ jb4) and they were driving pretty much the same except he had more power due to running octane booster when I tried it but not much more.

I personaly love my cobb and wouldnt trade for anything else. Easy to play with, lots of data to see from cobb itself blablabla

[E93Blackhawk]

Anyone can go back and forth, the n54 tuning as mentioned has progressed far. JB4 or COBB will work well in either scanario.

I would just go for what is more appealing, the features included more to your style of driving/needs etc.

[marv85]

Originally Posted by jippii ensio

I tune my cars myself. It is you who needs a tooner The mass market does't know how to access the DME so flashes will sell more. Are you saying the flies are right?

I tune my car myself as well. It's not a hard thing to do. Once I decided I wanted to squeeze I thought paying 180$ for an e-tune is a good investment. Why not leverage the work of something who did tons of work on his and on other cars. ...

Btw dude, what "Procede User tuning soft -> COBB ATR" is what "Microsoft Calculator -> Matlab (by Mathworks)", or

I have to give it to you, isolated boost control is cool! but one I can target any boost I want. Second the flash does everything else in a much cleaner.

The piggies hit a wall with power until they started using a base flash to do some of the work for them whether it is the JB4, Procede. They've become fancy boost controllers with meth control capabilities.

On another note, and please don't take this offensively, but what did you go in College/University for?

[Fully_Bolted]

1) Cobb, you just click uninstall and the Cobb rewrites your factory rom back onto your car. No one ever knows it was overwritten unlike GIAC, Dinan, etc. I personally just select my map and walk away, check back after 10-15 mins and its done. Doesnt get much simpler to install/uninstall than that.

Jb4 is easy to remove as well, but will take tools and about 30 minutes of your time to put it back to stock. Just watch the JB4 install youtube videos and that will give you an idea of how much work is involved, its not "alot" but certainly far from convenient.

2) I cannot comment since i've never owned Jb4, but Cobb has many reviews commenting on the butter smoothness. Another great feature is that you can change maps depending on what type of throttle mapping you would like. They offer stock throttle, which drives like stock - 25% throttle is more like 45% power output, or you can choose linear throttle mapping which is linear in pedal to power output - 50% throttle is 50% power output. Linear throttle mapping is great for drag racing or hitting the track, if you're into that kind of thing. JB4, as far as i know it, does not alter throttle mapping so it would drive like stock and not be adjustable.

3) Both tunes on a stock engine put out roughly the same power. On the BMS forum, they dyno'd the Jb4 vs cobb stage 1 tunes and they were within a few hp every time.

[King mode]

Originally Posted by Ragi Elias

Hey Folks,

I hope this post doesn't anger too many people. I've been reading about JB4 and Cobb tuning for a while, and the impression that I get is that most people are happy with what they have. I'm trying to choose between these two.

I have a 2010 335 6MT xdrive coupe. I feel that the xdrive really helps put all the power to the ground at lower speeds, but shows it's excess weight at higher speeds. I guess I've just gotten used to the car's speed and need more.

With that said, i'm not planning on going nuts. Aside from the tune, I don't think i'll change exhaust, or intercooler. Maybe i'll add a DCI as well.

My primary concerns are:
(1) Which is easiest to disable - although cobb is just software, i'm leaning toward the jb4 because it's just hardware. I take it out and there are no residual effects whatsoever. Its as if nothing was ever there. I am guessing that cobb has a "stock" mode, but that it's still not the car's original programming. Please correct me if I am wrong.

(2) Which is smoother - I want the car to feel as if it came this way out of the factory.

(3) Power gains - I believe on a stock engine, both of these will give me about equal gains. Please let me know if I am incorrect.

Thanks for your input in advance. I don't post much, so I would appreciate keeping the responses to answers that help me deicide which tune to get based on my goals/concerns, rather than anything negative.

If you are 2009 and newer some n54's have white or red paint gunk over some pin points that piggies plug into when installing. If the gunk is broken, dealer knows there was a piggie installed. I watched Andrew from AR Design install a jb one time and found that the car had the paint gunk (white) and called the customer to make sure he still wanted it installed as the dealer could find out. FYI.

However, it seems that the piggie tunes make more power than Cobb at this point in time unless your pro-tune. But I see that changing in the future as Cobb spends more time with it....

[ragingpanda]

I'm pretty happy with the Cobb unit. Easy to install/uninstall, read/clear codes, lots of useful data logging channels, and an obvious bump in performance. I don't have any dynos to prove this, but I think my timeslip tells the tale of how quick it is with just Cobb Stage 2+, downpipes, and intercooler on 93 octane:



I obviously have a lot of room to improve with that terrible 60ft on stock runcraps and high humidity/hot weather being in Florida.

[King mode]

Originally Posted by ragingpanda

I'm pretty happy with the Cobb unit. Easy to install/uninstall, read/clear codes, lots of useful data logging channels, and an obvious bump in performance. I don't have any dynos to prove this, but I think my timeslip tells the tale of how quick it is with just Cobb Stage 2+, downpipes, and intercooler on 93 octane:



I obviously have a lot of room to improve with that terrible 60ft on stock runcraps and high humidity/hot weather being in Florida.

Nice run. The power is shown in that trap speed. 116mph on 93 octane pump fuel is fast. Change to the e30 or race map and you will be at the 120mph mark.

[unic66]

What kind of boost are you running?How long have you had the stge2+;Any reliability issues?Your !/4 mile times are very respectable!

[Beemw335]

For the average joe who wants to tune and not worry about anything.
Cobb, its just so easy to use.
Jb4 too, but installing/unistallin isnt for everyone!