Vinnie @ Docklands - Stages of Tune

[Sentinel]

Guys,

Anyone had their 2.5T tuned by Vinnie @ Docklands? I'm curious to know about the 3 stages of tune that he offers... Anyone able to help?

Cheers

[Arith]

Wouldn't a non-Subaru affiliated tuner be better value for that sort of money? (ie- Tangcla's group tune he's organising).

[Sentinel]

Wouldn't a non-Subaru affiliated tuner be better value for that sort of money? (ie- Tangcla's group tune he's organising).

Might be Jim, that's why I said I'm "curious"... To answer that exact question.

Great minds think alike!

[Arith]

From what I've read on other forums, the gain is similar to the the 3.0 at 10-15kw. Unfortunately because the turbo is more complicated the cost is at $800 instead of $300. But again, it's about driveability and people are quite happy with the results.

[Std08GTB]

I'd be interested to know more about what he's offering.

Mine was allegedly a $600 - $800 tuneup but I got it as a value-add when I bought the car so didn't actually pay for it but I wasn't aware of any "stages" of tuning.

My dyno at the wheels added only around 11-12 kilowatts, so perhaps 205 at the flywheel maybe if I'm lucky.

[cpitts]

I've used Vin for tuning for about 11 years with my various WRX's, Libertys and even had him dyno my Audi A4 1.8TQ (blistering 88.8kW ATW!! ).

Having seen his work and approach (which there is nothing wrong with), I've since changed preferred tuners elsewhere because I don't really like his 'peak power' approach to tuning. The way he tunes power delivery isn't really what I like, a bit peaky for me.

Don't get me wrong, he's very good at what he does, and he's got plenty of experience, but there are also others out there with those skills at a lower or equiv price that may gel better with your requirements as a 'daily driver' person rather than a peaky power driven track type car.

As for 'packages', whatever they're offering is no doubt to compete with others that are offering package deals in Melb and getting good response (ie: AVO). No doubt they'll involve an expensive range of STi bolt-ons that will ultimately end up with a turbo upgrade, TMIC and an ECU fiddle, pretty much what others have to offer. The 1 thing they may offer over others, is some form of 'factory' warranty, which in reality is no different to any other vendor.

[MikeeR]

I've used Vin for tuning for about 11 years with my various WRX's, Libertys and even had him dyno my Audi A4 1.8TQ (blistering 88.8kW ATW!! ).

Having seen his work and approach (which there is nothing wrong with), I've since changed preferred tuners elsewhere because I don't really like his 'peak power' approach to tuning. The way he tunes power delivery isn't really what I like, a bit peaky for me.

Don't get me wrong, he's very good at what he does, and he's got plenty of experience, but there are also others out there with those skills at a lower or equiv price that may gel better with your requirements as a 'daily driver' person rather than a peaky power driven track type car.

As for 'packages', whatever they're offering is no doubt to compete with others that are offering package deals in Melb and getting good response (ie: AVO). No doubt they'll involve an expensive range of STi bolt-ons that will ultimately end up with a turbo upgrade, TMIC and an ECU fiddle, pretty much what others have to offer. The 1 thing they may offer over others, is some form of 'factory' warranty, which in reality is no different to any other vendor.

That's very interesting cpitts. I'm up in Sydney and, having only recently taken delivery of a MY07 GT-B, am keen to get a "driveability" tune done to my standard car.

My choice would be between Paul Fisher of Pulse Racing here in Sydney or to head down the highway to Melbourne and get Vin to do it. Having Subaru Docklands do it and sanction it is a big plus for going south. Price wise Pulse quote $1100, that's for a full dyno tune with before and after graphs I believe, where $800 by Vin is a fair bit cheaper. Certainly would cover fuel for me there and back to Melbourne. It's interesting to hear of your experience. I'm very much after a "daily driver" tune with emphasis on throttle response, mid range torque and even fuel efficency as opposed to high but peaky increased kw's. I'd be interested to hear of peoples experience with tunes from Paul Fisher on near standard cars. From talking to them on the phone yesterday, they do a lot of work on standard or near standard GT's and apparently get very good results - of course they would say that.

Might have to start a new thread on this. Apologies for a thread hijack.

[cpitts]

Again, this is a personal view. I have a LOT mates that can't say a bad word against the tuning approach of STi Docklands.

Personally, if I was you, I'd go with the LOCAL option, that way you can always front the tuner face to face to discuss any issues or updates required. That in itself covers your warranty issues. If you REALLY want warranted mods in Sydney, go to MRT. They charge, but also offer a warranty.

I simply work on the premis of "You mod it, you self insure" and them mod sensibly. You can still get big numbers without pushing factory components outside their design metrics and ranges. You'd be better placed to spend more money on better quality service items to give you protection against wear, heat and other critical points of failure.

[adhar]

I've known Vinny for a number of years through WRX circles. I can't say a bad word about him. Really nice guy and a great tuner.

I wasn't aware of his stages of tuning... Perhaps this is in reference to the level of mods done to a car, as more tuning is possible with extra mods. A tuner is very limited to what they can do with a car in standard form due to air intake and exhaust restrictions.

Also to note, for those with standard cars getting a tune such as this, an extra 10-15kw peak power from the tune isn't the most impressive bit, you have to look at the power gains throughout the rev range and torque improvement, not just the peak power gain. For a daily driver (which i assume most Liberty drivers have their car for) you want to increase drivability. If you wanted to pull big numbers you can run 110 octane fuel, pump up the boost and run it rich, but that defeats the purpose of having our Liberty's as everyday cars.

[Sentinel]

I've known Vinny for a number of years through WRX circles. I can't say a bad word about him. Really nice guy and a great tuner.

I wasn't aware of his stages of tuning... Perhaps this is in reference to the level of mods done to a car, as more tuning is possible with extra mods. A tuner is very limited to what they can do with a car in standard form due to air intake and exhaust restrictions.

Also to note, for those with standard cars getting a tune such as this, an extra 10-15kw peak power from the tune isn't the most impressive bit, you have to look at the power gains throughout the rev range and torque improvement, not just the peak power gain. For a daily driver (which i assume most Liberty drivers have their car for) you want to increase drivability. If you wanted to pull big numbers you can run 110 octane fuel, pump up the boost and run it rich, but that defeats the purpose of having our Liberty's as everyday cars.

The stages I was told of came from Mark on these forums. He mentioned that there was a couple that Vinny does for the T's but didn't mention if they involved 'other' mods to facilitate them. I would suspect so.

I'm not looking for peak numbers, I'm looking for a good spread of torque in the lower to mid section. But, my query was really around what does Vinny do with these stages.

Thanks for all your feedback guys.

[cpitts]

The last time I talked to Vin about Lib GTB tuning (as I've discussed the move to a GT-B and mods to go with it when I was considering it about 18mths ago) he advised that his current thoughts are around ECU mods and a dump pipe and the quite reasonable gains from that (toward the limits of the stock turbo).

Knowing Vin, that may also include modifying the wastegate actuator on the turbo as well to change how boost is brought on.

STi Docklands did some work on the Subaru Aust tarmac Liberty that was used by Cody Crocker (I think) as part of some local AU level motorsport activities (don't think it was GTP or Nations Cup, but maybe Targa......, thought it was something bigger like ARC tarmac portion). Either way, they've got solid knowledge behind them, and so have many others.

[smythie]

STi Docklands did some work on the Subaru Aust tarmac Liberty that was used by Cody Crocker (I think) as part of some local AU level motorsport activities (don't think it was GTP or Nations Cup, but maybe Targa......, thought it was something bigger like ARC tarmac portion). Either way, they've got solid knowledge behind them, and so have many others.

Think that was Herridge. It was a couple of years ago? One of their first events was the Buller Hillclimb (whatever it's called)

[cpitts]

Yeah, that sounds correct. Herridge sounds more the level they were at. And yes, it would have been a couple of years ago.

Either way, they've done some work at a reasonable level. But then again, so have many others.

[GTBR46]

I had Vin do my XT Forester about 12 months ago.

I remember he quoted for a BIG TUne, and a Little Tune. I cant remeber the difference, but, I can tell you that with no other mods other than a 3in SS TBE, he netted me an extra 30kw at the wheels (both with the exhaust which was on the car when i bought it). I have a dyno sheet somewhere to prove it. The car is a fantastic daily driver, with no ill behaviour, economy, or any other issues.
i WILL be at least talking to him about the GTB I just took delivery of.

[Sentinel]

I had Vin do my XT Forester about 12 months ago.

I remember he quoted for a BIG TUne, and a Little Tune. I cant remeber the difference, but, I can tell you that with no other mods other than a 3in SS TBE, he netted me an extra 30kw at the wheels (both with the exhaust which was on the car when i bought it). I have a dyno sheet somewhere to prove it. The car is a fantastic daily driver, with no ill behaviour, economy, or any other issues.
i WILL be at least talking to him about the GTB I just took delivery of.

Cool - thanks Hamish.