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Driver Motorsport/Frakenturbo F23T Review

brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
Just like my Driver Motorsport 2+ WMI tune review, I have not been paid, received product or anything else that would influence my opinion.... I was going to wait till I got dyno results but I cant help myself anymore. I had to share.

As many of you know, and especially those that have been following the various Frakenturbo threads, I have been sitting on the sidelines for quite some time before deciding to go BT, k04, or f23t.

I ruled out Big Turbo for a few different reasons.

Number 1, the amount of money that it actually takes to get a BT mkv going. Can you do BT on the cheap?... yes, but why do a BT if you are just going to handicap it right from the beginning? Number 2, the fact that it takes a tremendous amount of time and research to track down all the parts, install the parts, and get them to function together nicely. My last project was like that and I just didnt want to spend the money or deal with the headaches... after all this is my daily driver. Number 3, cost of BT vs the actual value of a mkv. I love my little GTI but let's be honest here... not exactly a high end sports car. Spending $7000 on a $12,000 car, and especially one that is FWD just doesnt make sense.

So the next option is K04... Cheaper and install is fairly straight forward but it just didnt seem to hit the numbers I wanted.

And finally the F23T. Cheap, good numbers, easy install, and works with existing hardware... seemed like a good compromise.

One of my main concerns was the tuning for the Frakenturbo. Everyone and their mother does a tune for stage 1 through stage 2+ but very few venture further than that. I had heard rumors of GIAC and others joining the game but nothing ever really came around. Heck, I even thought about Eurodyne but the fear of screwing something up made me think twice.

I debated on the f23t until Driver Motorsport came online. After exchanging a few emails with DM I was sold. They were awesome to work with, even at the stage 2+ level. Customer service is top notch and addressed each and EVERYONE of my concerns. At no time did I feel talked down to or that I wasnt important... no matter how stupid my questions were.

After I drove my DM 2+ WMI file forr a few weeks my clutch started to slip so it was time to address that and to finally pull the trigger on the f23t. I had planned on doing the install myself but as things worked out with the car being down... it was just easier to do it all at once. Cost of the install at a quality shop was about $500 including fluids.

Delivery and communication with Doug was flawless. When my shop had a question they emailed Doug and he CALLED them within 10 mins of the email... That's damn good service in my book. The install went perfect.

Ok... BLAH BLAH BLAH. How does it drive?

AWESOME. Holy sh*t is it awesome. I've been working with DM for a few weeks dialing in the WMI file and each and every time the tune just gets better. Honestly, even the first file I received wasnt too bad. I'm really really happy we didnt stop there though. Power has been building and building. There is POWER EVERYWHERE. I can't even explain how hard it pulls. I can light up my tires at will... especially with my last revision (not graphed). The boost control is unreal. Revision 4.4 was a real break through. After that point, DM just kept making more and more power. Here some visual aids:







EDIT FOR DYNO SHEET:



The graphs are nothing short of amazing. DM shows that a real knowledge of how not only the turbo works but how the ECU works as well. I'm impressed at how deep their knowledge goes. I've learned a lot just speaking with them.

I will have dyno results soon. My local dyno is a subaru tuning shop (Cobb Tuning) and uses a 4wd Mustang dyno so the results will be a bit low compared to a dynojet but I think they'll serve to at least show some numbers. To be honest though, I dont even care. This turbo/tuning combination is so damn fun to drive. Power is awesome and there has been Zero compromise in drivabilty. If you have been on the sidelines thinking about it... your wait is over. Tell Santa this is what you want for Christmas. You wont be disappointed.

I'm happy to answer any questions and I encourage Bronson and Doug to add to this as well.

Link to Driver Motorsport: http://drivermotorsport.com/

Link to Frakenturbo: http://www.frankenturbo.com/
 
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brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
I'll have some more graphs and logs to post later too... :) I should also note that the graphs were started higher in the RPM range as my clutch needed time to break in. I will do some more recent graphs of data with a bigger range of RPM soon. Just been too wet to do any more logging.
 

Bunnspeed

Salad Tosser
Location
MA
Car(s)
2008 GTI four door
Great review. Looking forward to reading more comments and updates.

Mind sharing the costs involved? For the turbo, flashing your car back to stock, the file uploader, and the DM tune? Any additional costs for the tune revisions?
 
Location
Pikeville, KY
Car(s)
Subaru
how did the break in period of the clutch go? i tried emailing dm about maybe a low boost tune or something. i dont know what you do. im about to buy everything. hopefully by feb i have the clutch broken in even

ill be rocking a stock ic until spring though
 
Location
Pikeville, KY
Car(s)
Subaru
Great review. Looking forward to reading more comments and updates.

Mind sharing the costs involved? For the turbo, flashing your car back to stock, the file uploader, and the DM tune? Any additional costs for the tune revisions?

yeah, id like to know too. i need a clutch, turbo, upgrade my tune and install

so thats...

clutch $1300
turbo $1200
tune upgrade $100
install $800
install kit $???

total about $3500 +/- a little :iono:
 

flat tire

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
Electric + 135i
yeah, id like to know too. i need a clutch, turbo, upgrade my tune and install

so thats...

clutch $1300
turbo $1200
tune upgrade $100
install $800
install kit $???

total about $3500 +/- a little :iono:

Install kit is $50 and you can do it yourself, it's not really very hard. Most exotic part is tying the motor to the subframe with a ratchet strap to get more clearance to pull the turbo out the top. You should also pick up a W/M kit from the classifieds.
 

doug@frankenturbo

Turbos Galore
Location
Oregon, Yo!
Car(s)
Gary Fisher HiFi
I'd like to encourage everyone to take a second look at this graph...




What's going on here is the tuner's work-in-progress as he dials in boost control. And he's doing it not just at the relatively easy engine speed of initial boost onset. He's doing it where the engine is spinning well and the turbo will jump like a jack-rabbit when given boost duty. So if you look at the legend you will see how well DriverMotorsport has refined this file. From v3.3 to current is dramatically better.

Why is this worth pointing out? Because it shows this tuner's commitment not just to sexy top end hp numbers. Instead he wanted to tackle the F23T's challenging actuator and show he could tame it -- for all customers and driving conditions. I've been in contact with Bronson over the last couple of weeks as he has developed this file, and I hope now he and the OP can take that car to a Mustang to really put the file to the test. Will I be hoping for a great number to sell with? Actually no. I'll be looking for demonstration that the file is refined and drivable, because that would mean our turbo has a great tuner supporting it. And that'd be great news for us here at FrankenTurbo HQ.

dh
 

brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
Great review. Looking forward to reading more comments and updates.

Mind sharing the costs involved? For the turbo, flashing your car back to stock, the file uploader, and the DM tune? Any additional costs for the tune revisions?

Good questions.

Approx. Costs:

F23T-$1330 including shipping (included install kit)
DM tune- $675 with programmer
Golf R map sensor- $60
RS4 Valve-$140
Install of turbo- $500
Total-$2700ish of Pure Awesome

My dealer would have charged me about $50 bucks to flash back to stock (I was an APR customer)... due to the situation, I was in I was able to borrow a cable to flash back to stock.

I believe that DM charges $75 for custom tunes but since I was one of the first to do WMI on a Frakenturbo, the revisions were done to help develop the file for the rest of the community. On that topic, flashing is stupid easy. The device interacts with DM's software that he sends you. Basically it just lets your computer talk to the device. DM send you a file, you link your device to your computer with the included cable (USB) and hit the "link " button. After that, you browse to the file (I usually just put it on my desktop) and load it to the device. The device and software walks you right through it.

After that, plug it into your car, follow the guide from the device interface and flash the file into the car... takes about 15 mins. VERY very easy. Much easier than Vag-com software in fact. I'm an idiot and I can figure it out.
 
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brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
how did the break in period of the clutch go? i tried emailing dm about maybe a low boost tune or something. i dont know what you do. im about to buy everything. hopefully by feb i have the clutch broken in even

ill be rocking a stock ic until spring though

My first 400 miles or so were done with the n75 unplugged. Wow, was that painful. The car was a TURD!
 

brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
Install kit is $50 and you can do it yourself, it's not really very hard. Most exotic part is tying the motor to the subframe with a ratchet strap to get more clearance to pull the turbo out the top. You should also pick up a W/M kit from the classifieds.

Yeah, I was going to do it myself. I dont think it would have been too hard. As it worked out, I just had the shop do it while the clutch was being done.
 

ROH ECHT

K04 PLAY
Location
PDX OR
Car(s)
2007 MKV GTI
HM Motorsport is who lent you the cable to reflash back to stock?
And it differs from the vag-com cable, right?
 

brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
I'd like to encourage everyone to take a second look at this graph...




What's going on here is the tuner's work-in-progress as he dials in boost control. And he's doing it not just at the relatively easy engine speed of initial boost onset. He's doing it where the engine is spinning well and the turbo will jump like a jack-rabbit when given boost duty. So if you look at the legend you will see how well DriverMotorsport has refined this file. From v3.3 to current is dramatically better.

Why is this worth pointing out? Because it shows this tuner's commitment not just to sexy top end hp numbers. Instead he wanted to tackle the F23T's challenging actuator and show he could tame it -- for all customers and driving conditions. I've been in contact with Bronson over the last couple of weeks as he has developed this file, and I hope now he and the OP can take that car to a Mustang to really put the file to the test. Will I be hoping for a great number to sell with? Actually no. I'll be looking for demonstration that the file is refined and drivable, because that would mean our turbo has a great tuner supporting it. And that'd be great news for us here at FrankenTurbo HQ.

dh


Glad you mentioned that Doug. He was NEVER satisfied. He wanted to dial this thing in and have complete control... he succeeded. The car is so Driveable Doug, you wouldnt believe it. I dont feel like I ever have to wait for the turbo to spool... just gets right into the meat WITHOUT spiking at whatever RPM range I'm in. It's VERY impressive. The high HP numbers are cool and all but this turbo/tune combination is for a DRIVER. Someone who likes to get into there car whether it be for a joyride through the curves or their commute to work, will love this. It just drives and behaves so well. I'm very happy with the result.
 

Bunnspeed

Salad Tosser
Location
MA
Car(s)
2008 GTI four door
Thanks for the additional pricing info and feedback. Sounds like an amazing value. Good work, DM, and congratulations on getting your car in such good shape!

ROH ECHT, when are you going to jump on the new tune?
 

brokenparts

Go Kart Champion
Location
hillsboro,or
Thanks for the additional pricing info and feedback. Sounds like an amazing value. Good work, DM, and congratulations on getting your car in such good shape!

ROH ECHT, when are you going to jump on the new tune?


No sweat, happy to answer questions. Hope you can get your car figured out soon.
 

ROH ECHT

K04 PLAY
Location
PDX OR
Car(s)
2007 MKV GTI
Thanks for the additional pricing info and feedback. Sounds like an amazing value. Good work, DM, and congratulations on getting your car in such good shape!

ROH ECHT, when are you going to jump on the new tune?

I was supposed to receive the programmer by this weekend...but it is a no-show as of now. I have the MAP and I'm ready for the stock reflash...so yeah! Ready :thumbsup:
...I just hope mine is easy enough to be dialed in ;)
I don't think I have any real surprises to present to DM.
 
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