My formal review of Chuck Cow and his Cow Booster
07-01-2015, 09:28 AM
#21
2nd Gear
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On my GTO I had a few tuners tune my car before Chuck came recommended thru a few Corvette guys I hung out with....no one seem to get the car right. He took me out and showed me everything the car was doing on the computer and then explained it to me in English so I can understand the tune that was in the car what he planned on doing. He cleaned up my car, it ran perfectly for the street and track. No dyno tune BS ....street tune, real life ....no fan blowing in your intake, you are going 80 mph , then its 80mph of air going into your car and the computer can get adjusted to it. He will tune your car to its limit and then back off a touch....and nobody knows how to tune a trans better than Chuck. What would you want, a 425 hp car run pig rich and like **** cause the dyno says so or just a car that runs flawless. The latter is what you get with a COW tune. Yes is he a friend, I would recommend anyone to see him, but in the beginning I was a customer who earned my trust.
07-01-2015, 12:46 PM
#22
Advanced
Thread Starter
Thank you to the moderators and admins for policing this topic and keeping it clean. It's hard to post a review where you really enjoy the vendor's services and have people from other forums bringing out the bash card because of die hard loyalty to other businesses.
Vendor feedback request is noted, I'll make sure I put it there next time.
I'm pretty sure prices are not allowed to be posted due to forum rules, check either his website or give him a call. It is relatively inexpensive, Plenty cheaper than going for a Dyno or getting your front bumper sanded and repainted.
No it's not going to be locked, I was posting around this when 2 people started going to war about where I should of posted this. Those posts have been removed.
I invite you and anyone if you live in the east coast (Rockville, MD) to come take a ride in my 08 and stick around while I switch ECM's. (I haven't sent mine to him yet, going to be a little while, had someone do 3k damage yesterday to my vette in a parking lot)
I may be misunderstanding how the Torque management works, but my 3 favorite things about my vette are the jolt up to WOT from a dead stop, the jolt into the next gear (I don't experience this much due the auto) and the violent earthquake and pull forward when you shut it down after WOT.
I don't like speed as much as I like how it feels after I let off and realize how fast and how hard I was accelerating. I can only respond with giggles. The gear jamming I feel in my dads manual is like having my first kiss all over again. While we differ I never liked cars that had a singer gear feel, It would be scary going 150 and feeling a jolt like that I wont lie, I haven't had mine at track speeds yet.
My a6 temps need that 160 thermostat, He sent it to me but I have yet to install it, going to be a half a day job for me. Right now my fan runs full blast almost all the time and coolant stays at a steady 200-210
I'm going for the autocal, i'm beyond excited, i'll keep you all in the loop when I get it going, stay tuned!
Vendor feedback request is noted, I'll make sure I put it there next time.
I'm pretty sure prices are not allowed to be posted due to forum rules, check either his website or give him a call. It is relatively inexpensive, Plenty cheaper than going for a Dyno or getting your front bumper sanded and repainted.
I'm guessing the vendor will have this removed and this thread will be locked soon but...
While posts like this are great, if anyone posts anything negative in a thread like this, it typically gets removed or the thread gets closed.
I have never dealt with the vendor mentioned but I do a ton of reading and some of what is being sold is not all it appears. Throttle mapping is nothing special, there is no secret formula here. What this tuner does, any good tuner could do if discssed and agreed to with the client. Some tuners may advise against doing this for various reasons as mentioned above.
While posts like this are great, if anyone posts anything negative in a thread like this, it typically gets removed or the thread gets closed.
I have never dealt with the vendor mentioned but I do a ton of reading and some of what is being sold is not all it appears. Throttle mapping is nothing special, there is no secret formula here. What this tuner does, any good tuner could do if discssed and agreed to with the client. Some tuners may advise against doing this for various reasons as mentioned above.
I invite you and anyone if you live in the east coast (Rockville, MD) to come take a ride in my 08 and stick around while I switch ECM's. (I haven't sent mine to him yet, going to be a little while, had someone do 3k damage yesterday to my vette in a parking lot)
This really is one of the cheapest things you can do to these cars that makes any real difference for you (and boy, does it ever).
The only place I differ from you, and pretty much every person ever, is the torque management thing. I absolutely freaking love it, when it's implemented like it is in the C7. You. cannot. feel. the. shifts. At 6500 RPM and WOT, you hit that paddle and you're...just...in the next gear. No drama, no tire spin, no jerking, just a .001 second backfire while the car pulls fuel and timing and it's just in gear and your head doesn't even leave the headrest. I'm really, really close to getting this.
It is quite fun to chirp the tires into 4th, but there's no doubt that it's slower than a shift with no traction loss or drivetrain jerk. The A6 in the C7 is about as good as Porsche's DCT in my experience, so I can't imagine how good the A8 is now. Maybe one day I'll get around to test driving one...
I've been doing some testing on my own into making my C6 perform like this, and I've already gained substantial improvement. It's hard, mostly because the C7 computer systems are literally a decade beyond the C6. Direct injection and having a "torque request pedal" instead of a "throttle pedal" like our cars do just gives so many unforeseen advantages.
After a bit more time, and some more refining on my end, I'd like to get with Chuck and see if he can test out what I've done to see if I'm an isolated case, or if we can make these cars do what GM never dreamed of.
Please, don't take any of this as criticism in any way; Chuck's tune is the bomb. I just have some mental issues that make me want to improve things, even if they're perfect (I think they call it engineering or something lol). Being in college and wanting to avoid actual homework helps, too. I'm not trying to step on any toes or pretend that I know more than anyone; just sharing what I'm working on.
I can tell you that his tune is VERY safe. The car has seen quite a few pulls to 185 and, had I more room, I have no doubt it would've gone a bit further without any issues. Once you can get the stupid A6 temperatures under control, you can beat on this car as long as you want and you will definitely not break anything. (and now I need a cam......and a blower......and maybe some nitrous.....)
Do remember to do quite a bit of datalogging. I think I did 3-4 sessions total, of around 1 hour each. After the first log (which was to make sure that my A/F ratio was safe and spark timings were good), all of my runs included a good bit of WOT pulls to speeds that are best relegated to tracks. Also remember to throw in some highway cruising at normal speeds, and also some stop and go driving. This gives Chuck the background he needs to make sure that everything consistently runs very well.
I warn you: your fuel economy will go to crap. The car, sure, will probably get 3-4 mpg better with a robot driving it, but I can assure you that if you're anything like me you will be stomping the life out of your gas pedal until you get 2 or 3 nice tickets. Then you'll just do it more discreetly.
Enjoy! Looking forward to your experiences with the autocal.
The only place I differ from you, and pretty much every person ever, is the torque management thing. I absolutely freaking love it, when it's implemented like it is in the C7. You. cannot. feel. the. shifts. At 6500 RPM and WOT, you hit that paddle and you're...just...in the next gear. No drama, no tire spin, no jerking, just a .001 second backfire while the car pulls fuel and timing and it's just in gear and your head doesn't even leave the headrest. I'm really, really close to getting this.
It is quite fun to chirp the tires into 4th, but there's no doubt that it's slower than a shift with no traction loss or drivetrain jerk. The A6 in the C7 is about as good as Porsche's DCT in my experience, so I can't imagine how good the A8 is now. Maybe one day I'll get around to test driving one...
I've been doing some testing on my own into making my C6 perform like this, and I've already gained substantial improvement. It's hard, mostly because the C7 computer systems are literally a decade beyond the C6. Direct injection and having a "torque request pedal" instead of a "throttle pedal" like our cars do just gives so many unforeseen advantages.
After a bit more time, and some more refining on my end, I'd like to get with Chuck and see if he can test out what I've done to see if I'm an isolated case, or if we can make these cars do what GM never dreamed of.
Please, don't take any of this as criticism in any way; Chuck's tune is the bomb. I just have some mental issues that make me want to improve things, even if they're perfect (I think they call it engineering or something lol). Being in college and wanting to avoid actual homework helps, too. I'm not trying to step on any toes or pretend that I know more than anyone; just sharing what I'm working on.
I can tell you that his tune is VERY safe. The car has seen quite a few pulls to 185 and, had I more room, I have no doubt it would've gone a bit further without any issues. Once you can get the stupid A6 temperatures under control, you can beat on this car as long as you want and you will definitely not break anything. (and now I need a cam......and a blower......and maybe some nitrous.....)
Do remember to do quite a bit of datalogging. I think I did 3-4 sessions total, of around 1 hour each. After the first log (which was to make sure that my A/F ratio was safe and spark timings were good), all of my runs included a good bit of WOT pulls to speeds that are best relegated to tracks. Also remember to throw in some highway cruising at normal speeds, and also some stop and go driving. This gives Chuck the background he needs to make sure that everything consistently runs very well.
I warn you: your fuel economy will go to crap. The car, sure, will probably get 3-4 mpg better with a robot driving it, but I can assure you that if you're anything like me you will be stomping the life out of your gas pedal until you get 2 or 3 nice tickets. Then you'll just do it more discreetly.
Enjoy! Looking forward to your experiences with the autocal.
I may be misunderstanding how the Torque management works, but my 3 favorite things about my vette are the jolt up to WOT from a dead stop, the jolt into the next gear (I don't experience this much due the auto) and the violent earthquake and pull forward when you shut it down after WOT.
I don't like speed as much as I like how it feels after I let off and realize how fast and how hard I was accelerating. I can only respond with giggles. The gear jamming I feel in my dads manual is like having my first kiss all over again. While we differ I never liked cars that had a singer gear feel, It would be scary going 150 and feeling a jolt like that I wont lie, I haven't had mine at track speeds yet.
My a6 temps need that 160 thermostat, He sent it to me but I have yet to install it, going to be a half a day job for me. Right now my fan runs full blast almost all the time and coolant stays at a steady 200-210
I'm going for the autocal, i'm beyond excited, i'll keep you all in the loop when I get it going, stay tuned!
Last edited by alanshore; 07-01-2015 at 12:49 PM. Reason: Adding the part about scary going 150 and jolt
07-01-2015, 01:55 PM
#24
Advanced
Thread Starter
I'd imagine prices may go up and down depending on business situations, price changes ect but the core booster charge was $199 when I purchased that is still the price on his website.
He charged 15 dollars for shipping through USPS and 100 dollars for the spare computer with the cow booster on it.
He answers all your questions, sends you the tune, has you test it for about a week then has you send back your ecm with his still inside your car for final programming and tweaking from a Traction Control On/Off perspective.
One you send his computer back and you get yours with the booster tune and your happy he removes the 100 surcharge. He does this so your car isn't out of commission for shipping
07-01-2015, 02:24 PM
#25
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Of course, any item for sale in any Parts For Sale section listed must have an asking price.
Supporting Vendors may price items even when not in a Sales section.
07-01-2015, 04:40 PM
#26
I may be misunderstanding how the Torque management works, but my 3 favorite things about my vette are the jolt up to WOT from a dead stop, the jolt into the next gear (I don't experience this much due the auto) and the violent earthquake and pull forward when you shut it down after WOT.
I don't like speed as much as I like how it feels after I let off and realize how fast and how hard I was accelerating. I can only respond with giggles. The gear jamming I feel in my dads manual is like having my first kiss all over again. While we differ I never liked cars that had a singer gear feel, It would be scary going 150 and feeling a jolt like that I wont lie, I haven't had mine at track speeds yet.
My a6 temps need that 160 thermostat, He sent it to me but I have yet to install it, going to be a half a day job for me. Right now my fan runs full blast almost all the time and coolant stays at a steady 200-210
I'm going for the autocal, i'm beyond excited, i'll keep you all in the loop when I get it going, stay tuned!
I don't like speed as much as I like how it feels after I let off and realize how fast and how hard I was accelerating. I can only respond with giggles. The gear jamming I feel in my dads manual is like having my first kiss all over again. While we differ I never liked cars that had a singer gear feel, It would be scary going 150 and feeling a jolt like that I wont lie, I haven't had mine at track speeds yet.
My a6 temps need that 160 thermostat, He sent it to me but I have yet to install it, going to be a half a day job for me. Right now my fan runs full blast almost all the time and coolant stays at a steady 200-210
I'm going for the autocal, i'm beyond excited, i'll keep you all in the loop when I get it going, stay tuned!
If you like the jolt forward and then backward on your shifts, then yes, disabling shift torque management will give you that.
On the other hand, now that I have my 2nd new set of Pilot Super Sports on the car, I can shift 1-2 at WOT at 6500RPM in the rain, and (assuming I had traction before the shift) not even spin the tires. Traction control doesn't even think about coming on. If you have TM off, you'd better be ready to countersteer. Obviously if anyone was wondering which tires to buy...the PSS is pretty hard to beat.
In the dry with TM off I would trip traction control even on the 2-3 shift. Turn TC off and you can get it to chirp going into 4th if you're in the right conditions. I think that's fun and all, but even in a stick shift the pros can shift 1-2 without the tires making a sound. Getting that same seamless feeling of acceleration has always been my goal, and GM did it with the C7. Like I said, I'm going to get it figured out in the C6 if it kills me. smooth is fast or something like that.
The other forms of torque control/management/etc. should be disabled for a driver who is comfortable with the car. These, for example, limit the amount of torque the car will allow you to have based on RPM or speed, or when you floor the throttle from a stop. they make the car safe(r) for someone who's never driven a fast car before, but once you understand that it's dangerous to floor a 400+HP car from a stop in first gear around other cars (a novel idea, I know), you've probably figured out how to avoid getting into sketchy situations too.
Regarding the 160* thermostat, I have no earthly idea why GM didn't put one in from the start. In summer heat (100-120* pavement right now), I'll get 200 if I sit at a stoplight for a few minutes, and never over 180 driving around. With the 180* stat I'm pretty sure I saw around 220 constantly, and 240 or so at stoplights.
This difference translates into vastly reduced transmission fluid temperatures, which are absolutely key in any automatic transmission. Keep an eye on those after you get the 160* stat in and let us know where they're sitting. I float around 170-180 unless I'm punishing the car, when I can hit 200*. If I'm on track it's a matter of time before it hits 240* (and I already have an auxiliary cooler with a fan), so eventually I'll move up to a dewitts radiator and swap my aux cooler to a setrab core or something nice.
Sorry for the long-winded responses. I lack the proper time to write short ones lol.
07-01-2015, 08:51 PM
#27
Safety Car
Just a typical Chuck basher that never have used him yourself. As stated yourself never had it done but I researched it on the net. I have his tunes, have personal seen him fix many tunes done by other tuners and have witness close to a hundred tunes done in my garage that have all been extremely happy. I am not stating something " I read it on the internet so it has to be true. I am posting what I have actually witness myself. I like to think most people base their opinion on what they have actually witness or experienced, not I did a lot of research from other people who never have actually had it done.
Full dis-closer, I have become friends with Chuck over the years and I have meet a lot of great people from many states coming to my house to get a Chuck tune.
Full dis-closer, I have become friends with Chuck over the years and I have meet a lot of great people from many states coming to my house to get a Chuck tune.
I'm pleasantly surprised my post was not removed. Maybe because it was moved to Vendor Feedback. Thanks IB!
As for never using the vendor mentioned, that is 100% accurate. I don't live in the NY area but already have arguably the best tuner on the eastern seaboard for LSx and LTx engines and I DID my research which is why I put down 693 RWHP on 9.8 lbs of boost with Meth injection and LT headers on a 90+ degree day.
I have an Internet friend who is no longer a member here but had this vendor make a lot of promises. He paid a lot of money with a ton of downtime and the engine blew and the vendor washed his hands. The vendor even bragged about this build before it blew up. That is a fact and if you look around you will see more stories like this. There are a lot of other forums out there with stories similar to this.
Any tuner can push a tune too far and most good tuners are clear about limitations and risks with pushing a tune with their clients. It's how that vendor provides support after there is an issue that is important. Not responding to calls, emails and leaving people hanging waiting on email tune changes or help with problemd are rampant if you look around.
My point about the vendor having to fly around the country is based on the fact that the tuner works in one of most popular areas for tuning in the world. He faces stiff competition in his local market yet chooses to fly all over the country tuning instead of staying in his very populated local area. Why?
What happens when the vendor flys out and you have an issue with a build? He is using other shop's facilities and are they actually responsible or is this vendor? Sure, he can email tunes but that means you either need one of the tuning devices he sells or you have to go to a shop to have the tune installed. What if you can't get the tune to work? You towing your car out to West Chester, NY from Oklahoma?
I prefer knowing exactly where my tuner is and prefer to drop in and speak to him in person when needed. I know if I send him an email I get a response within an hour, even after hours.
Lastly, applying more power with less pedal travel is not a good idea IMHO.There are a lot of other forums out there with stories similar to what happend with the OP nearly hitting a wall. How many others have gone through a wall due to this wonder mod?
Do you really want to jump off the line at every light? This mod in no way makes your car faster. It simply applies power with less pedal travel. Makes the car "feel" faster.
I'm glad the OP is happy with this new booster and the vendor. I'm also happy that he didn't damage his car due to this booster.
I have said my piece and you don't have to like it or agree with it but I'm not a newbie and have talked to a lot of tuners all over the country over the years and have a lot of experience having all sorts of cars built and tuned. There are 2 tuners that are vendors here that I would not touch with a 10' pole. YMMV.
I will say no more in this thread....
Last edited by C7-Beast; 07-01-2015 at 09:05 PM.
07-01-2015, 10:44 PM
#29
Former Vendor
Member Since: Nov 2005
Location: Ossining New York
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Hey there....
Hey there.
CoW BOOSTER! is $200 and is likely the MOST FUN, LEAST EXPENSIVE Mod you will ever do to your LSx vehicle.
Please call me any time to discuss.
I can do it alone, with my tune, or any other tuner's tune without changing anything with your original tune.
It's amazing by itself and even better with a proper tune.
Call any time!
914-332-0049
Chuck CoW
07-19-2015, 09:08 AM
#31
Cow booster and tune
I must say this combo is awesome. It takes about a day to get use to the great difference. Once you have it down you will love it. I am not a personal friend of Chucks, but once you meet him he is a true friend.
07-20-2015, 09:28 AM
#32
Now, for the trans tune, you'll either have to have Chuck tune it in person, or purchase an AutoCal from him. Now, unless you have a heavily modified car with extensive tuning on it, you may as well have Chuck do an engine tune at the same time. Not sure if there would be any difference in price.
The transmission tune, and indeed the operation of the T43 transmission controller, is very dependent on the engine tune. This is because the TCM relies on an accurate torque value to be reported from the ECM. This is very typically not the case. The transmission tune really doesn't need to be changed that much to get it running very well, but most shops just crank the hell out of the pressures because they don't realize how important the torque model is.
Chuck, as I've said, is a very competent tuner, and he takes all of this into account when he tunes your car. His tunes are more of a full vehicle tune, instead of just an Engine and Trans tune.
If you went the AutoCal route, you'd be able to pull your current engine tune and send it to Chuck for him to put it on your booster, then have him modify and improve it from there. That way you wouldn't be running a "generic" tune for any period of time.
Regardless of what route you go, none of Chuck's tunes lock the computers in the car.
Pricing wise, that's a question that Chuck will have to answer.
07-20-2015, 06:31 PM
#33
Melting Slicks
Thank you very much for that in-depth reply I appreciate it
My car is an automatic with an STS TwinTurbo kit with upgraded prevision turbos. Very happy with my tune from westech performance so I guess I could have chuck reload it for me.
But, How does the autocal work and where does it install? I know that I had a lot of issues regarding
Proper wideband location with the turbos in back. Some said put it before turbos after cat then others said put it after turbos.
My car is an automatic with an STS TwinTurbo kit with upgraded prevision turbos. Very happy with my tune from westech performance so I guess I could have chuck reload it for me.
But, How does the autocal work and where does it install? I know that I had a lot of issues regarding
Proper wideband location with the turbos in back. Some said put it before turbos after cat then others said put it after turbos.
07-20-2015, 07:50 PM
#34
My formal review of Chuck Cow and his Cow Booster
Originally Posted by c5wolf
Thank you very much for that in-depth reply I appreciate it
My car is an automatic with an STS TwinTurbo kit with upgraded prevision turbos. Very happy with my tune from westech performance so I guess I could have chuck reload it for me.
But, How does the autocal work and where does it install? I know that I had a lot of issues regarding
Proper wideband location with the turbos in back. Some said put it before turbos after cat then others said put it after turbos.
My car is an automatic with an STS TwinTurbo kit with upgraded prevision turbos. Very happy with my tune from westech performance so I guess I could have chuck reload it for me.
But, How does the autocal work and where does it install? I know that I had a lot of issues regarding
Proper wideband location with the turbos in back. Some said put it before turbos after cat then others said put it after turbos.
09-09-2015, 03:40 PM
#35
Former Vendor
Member Since: Nov 2005
Location: Ossining New York
Posts: 11,792
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Yes, I can do it no problem....
Give a call any time!
Chuck CoW
Last edited by Chuck CoW; 09-16-2015 at 01:59 AM.
09-16-2015, 02:00 AM
#36
Former Vendor
Member Since: Nov 2005
Location: Ossining New York
Posts: 11,792
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
CoW BOOSTER! can now be had for FREE!
Call NOW to reserve your CoW BOOSTER! today!- CLICK HERE TO GET CoW BOOSTER! TOTALLY FOR FREE!!! -
GET CoW BOOSTER! for FREE before you try other Products!
12-26-2015, 03:44 PM
#37
Call NOW to reserve your CoW BOOSTER! today!- CLICK HERE TO GET CoW BOOSTER! TOTALLY FOR FREE!!! -
GET CoW BOOSTER! for FREE before you try other Products!
12-26-2015, 07:39 PM
#38
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Location: About 1100 miles from where I call home. Blue lives matter.
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As this is Transactions Feedback, I believe the transaction in question has been reported and discussed, in this case it was a positive one. So, there's no dispute to settle. There's probably been more subsequent discussion allowed than normal, especially from people who have had no first hand transactions with the subject vendor The vendor has also seen the thread and commented.
However, TF threads do not need to be extended forever as open conversations or advertising vehicles, so this thread will be closed at this time. As always, the content can continue to be read, just not added to.
However, TF threads do not need to be extended forever as open conversations or advertising vehicles, so this thread will be closed at this time. As always, the content can continue to be read, just not added to.