Reviews: All Products

At first I started off with an OTS+ tune and I was definitely satisfied. About a month after using the OTS+ tune I decided to go with a custom e-Tune, for the added safety and power, since I do not plan on a big turbo for my Focus ST and have all mods completed (aside from a downpipe). The feedback from my tuner (Steven) was fantastic and he was willing to answer any and all questions. The power delivery, drivability, and overall quality of a Stratified OTS+ and custom e-tune are fantastic. Originally, I chose to go with Stratified thanks to a few friends in my local car club and for the amazing article Alex and the team write up on their blog site. Stratified automotive employees are engineers, professionals, car nerds through and through and extremely knowledgeable. I would trust them with any vehicles I own in the future.

I have a gen2 speed3… I initially upgraded the fuel pump and intake (JBR powerpath CAI), got a Cobb AccessPort and tried tuning myself… it’s a freaking learning curve and the forums, once you get past the “mine is bigger than yours” stuff that’s quite funny at times, are very informative… I learned a lot and my custom tune seemed OK but it wasn’t perfect and I was sick of spending my time reading and adjusting and getting nowhere fast… I got a couple more upgrades and late last year finally decided to let the pros do it and got the Stratified Flash tune… powerwise, it seemed very similar to my tune, but when I looked at the logs more closely, I had no doubt it was safer for the engine… now I wanted more power (which was always the intent even before purchasing the car)… within 3 months, I contacted Alex at Stratified to upgrade my car and he helped me choose the parts that would best get me to my power goals (GTX2867, Cobb DP, JBR 3.5 intake, ETS top mount, Synapse BPV, and other stuff)… I saw Jesus the weekend I did the parts install…

I got 2 tunes (93 octane and e25)… I loaded the first map for the 93 tune just after the install, went for a drive, and was very underwhelmed… don’t worry, this is by design because Alex can’t start being more aggressive with the tune until you send him the first logs, so be patient (and make sure you have no boost leaks)… 6 revisions later, the car feels awesome and pulls hard (@20-21psi)… we started the e25 tune cause I got a station less than 4 miles away… same thing, the initial map is pretty conservative and you won’t feel much difference… 4 revisions later…. holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!... at @24psi, those 3-4 extra psi sure make a difference!...

The car is basically like jekyll and hyde now… if not for the hood scoop, it would be a sleeper... a little louder than stock but not at all obnoxious or over-the-top and just as "comfortable" at stock… the GTX2867 spools a little later than the K04, but IMO this actually makes the car more drivable on the street (and pulls basically all the way to redline when going WOT)…

Alex was very helpful and answered all my questions and any concerns I had… I can’t recommend Stratified Tuning enough for the results they’ve produced and, since I’ve entered the rabbit hole, if I decide to go bigger (a good possibility), they’ll be the ones tuning the car and who I’ll ask regarding parts I need… if $$$ is not an issue and you’re still on the fence, what the hell are you waiting for?... you won’t regret it… and you too have a good chance of seeing Jesus just like me ;-)

Will not get my car tuned anywhere but with Stratified. Great customer service, very responsive and a great tune. Thank you guys.

Coming from an STI, I had pretty high expectations from a tuner since the person who tuned that car was great. Before deciding on a tuner for my Focus I did a lot of research on the tuners available for this vehicle and settled on Stratified because I read they were very thorough with their tunes and wouldn't leave you hanging. I was not disappointed, I ordered my AP and tune sometime in the middle of June and about 6 iterations and a month and a half later, we were done. We actually went over my allotted time but Alex felt that my tune wasn't complete and requested more logs so that he wouldn't leave me with a half baked tune, so huge props for that.

As for the tune, I put every datalog I took into VirtualDyno to get a good idea on my progress. I'm not too sure on the accuracy of VD, but I used it mostly to quantify my progress. My car started at around 205hp and 280tq to the wheels, according to VD. Each iteration I saw more progress and better drivability. At the end of the tune, I am at 241hp and 330tq and the car pulls like a train all the way to redline. Boost comes on easily and power delivery is very linear and I notice no plateau in the powerband at all. Iv also noticed better MPG over stock, as well. I'm very satisfied with the final revision.

I can't wait until Fall when I'll have more parts and see what else they can get from these little engines.

After trying out Lex's flash tune (S-OTS+) I figured it was time to try out what my car could do with a full custom tune, so I decided to take the plunge.

Lex's professionalism really shines through with good communication and a good insight into what a vehicle is doing. After having some spanner monkeys somehow stuff up a fresh spark plug install, causing my car to miss and knock, it was relieving having Lex's calm instructive advice on hand to get me through whatever bumps in the road came along.

What also stands out is how the throttle feel is dialed in. With a throttle response this smooth, it's a wonder Mazda doesn't put out a call out to Lex to see what magic he is applying to the throttle tables in his maps. It really makes the car more usable not just in spirited driving but also in day to day traffic, crawling in car parks and all other conditions.

It has been said a million times by everyone who gets one, but the custom tune is really the best bang for buck modification to your vehicle. It doesn't just improve performance, it's improves the way the car drives overall

Cheers Lex!

Got the email for the specifics on my flash tune and got it within two hours after sending in my specs! Had a couple questions after the tune and service was awesome and very responsive. Definitely going with a stratified custom tune in the future!