[triggz82]

I have his tune.

The car pulls much stronger from 3000rpm and up. Usable torque in daily driving is much more apparent and it is a noticeable bump in power in the mid-range. I haven't dynoed it though. I've also noticed it idles much smoother although that could be from the software update as I was on a very dated version prior. At WOT the car feels also feels faster and more linear high RPM. As if driving this car at above 5500rpm isn't already fun! Alex can adjust the redline, but I kept mine at 8300rpm. I also kept the cold start function. I have a drop in AA filter and AA catback. I also have the Alpine DCT tune, which shifts completely different than the stock DCT tune and some other coding (euro mdm, etc).

The burble option is nice and I asked for a separate map with it, but you will only hear it with an aftermarket xpipe and you can tell it's artificial.

Dealing with Alex was excellent. His service is top notch and live as you communicate mostly through text. The only thing better would be having someone right beside you. He gave me 6 maps in total and the availability for more later. The software he uses (and you get) is the exact same thing you'll see big name shops using to flash your car. It can also read/clear codes.

It is tough to compare the alpine tune to the other popular ones out there as I have not tried them, but I'm very happy with it. I did research with the other options and the tunes are all really subjective. No one has really pitted all tunes against each other and if they did, I'd bet you'd have a negligible difference - although I'd love to compare to the popular BPM tune... Most people are happy and so am I. The difference is for the price Alex charges you, it is extreme value vs the competition. As you can see all my tuning/coding business is with Alex.

Hope that helps everyone thinking about it!