I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

[nitetime_pr]

Yea, so as the title says, I wanna tune. I did a search and it appears that a mail order tune is the way to go for lightly modified engines.

My 3.8 V6 camaro setup consists of intake mods, new exhaust and suspension upgrades. Car has 82,xxx miles and is an automatic. I would like to squeeze some more ponies out of this setup and am wondering who here has a similar car and DID get a mail order tune.
Was it worth the money? Easy install? Throw any codes after wards? Did you use your own PCM or buy an extra one and send it in? Did the tune give your Fbody a better exhaust note? Lastly, who is the go to company these days for a tune?

Any info regarding a mail order tune for an Fbody V6 will be greatly appreciated.

Stay cool all...:dj:

p.s. I love the super informative turbo forum and look forward to getting one in a few years. My thanks go out to those of you who are sharing the wealth concerning front/rear turbo setups.

[Fondle]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

i gained 20hp/20tq from my tune,dyno proven, i can tune your car if you would like, pm me if you are interested

[FirebirdGT]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Mail order tunes are NOT the preferred method if you do a search.

What year is your car? It does matter.

[pace2006]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

If you're looking into a turbo setup down the road, don't waste your time and money on a mail-in tune. Go ahead and spend the extra money on HP Tuner to squeeze out the most from it in NA form and gain the ability to tune full-time when you go FI.

[ssms5411]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Mail order tunes are NOT the preferred method if you do a search.

What year is your car? It does matter.

Correct Robert, if I was to tune your car for more performance we would need a wideband and then go from there. But then if you tune it for winter the summer is going to richen it out and throw off all the tunning. Need to reflash it when the weather changes.

[SixShooter'00Camaro]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

if you lived in colorado i could hook you up my boy marc has a tuner

[Jaysan]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Correct Robert, if I was to tune your car for more performance we would need a wideband and then go from there. But then if you tune it for winter the summer is going to richen it out and throw off all the tunning. Need to reflash it when the weather changes.

so is it best to get a tune in the summer , and you won't need a tune in the winter ?

[ssms5411]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Its best to have 2 tunes if you mess with stock timing and fuel tables to get more performance from it. Your car will need added fueling in winter and less in summertime if you try to get the most performance from it. So if you tune in summer when its hot out when it gets colder you will run leaner. So basicly winter you need more fuel and summer you need less. You have intake and exhaust so you'll dyno most likely 170HP/ 190 TQ, you might get maybe 15 more HP and 20 TQ if you use a wideband and up the timing tables, since their around 23-24 degrees stock and most agree 28 degrees is max then you start losing hp and start getting KR, so for every 2 degrees of timing is like 10hp , so you would gain about 20 HP/tq maybe just depends how the motor and if everything is running smooth. Most dyno 190's HP/200's TQ with headers, exaust and cold air intake, which isn't bad since some dyno stock 150-160's. I looked at my Dads 05' Buick timing tables and their stock 26-27 degrees, thats why it has some pep to it, I love how it rides and will the rear leveling suspension its pretty cool.

[nitetime_pr]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Thanks guys...here is some more info about my ride.

It is a '99 and ONLY sees spring/summer/fall driving, no winters.

My search on this site indicated that mail order tunes were the way to go and that power chips etc, were not.

Lastly, it will be a bit before my car sees a turbo setup and I like the low cost for a mail order tune. I just want to get the most out of my current setup until I have some serious cash to really go all out. Thanks!

[EarlR]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

Thanks guys...here is some more info about my ride.

It is a '99 and ONLY sees spring/summer/fall driving, no winters.

My search on this site indicated that mail order tunes were the way to go and that power chips etc, were not.

Lastly, it will be a bit before my car sees a turbo setup and I like the low cost for a mail order tune. I just want to get the most out of my current setup until I have some serious cash to really go all out. Thanks!

Compared to the power tuners, chips, etc, the mail order tune is almost certainly the better way to go. I installed the Hypertech PPIII tune into my car while it was on a dyno, and saw no measurable gains whatsoever. Of course, YMMV. I now have one of the PCMforless tunes on the computer and am very satisfied with it, although I haven't had a chance to get back on the dyno since I had it done.

That said, a custom tune will almost certainly give you the best results; but unless you know someone who has the software and is willing to share, you will spend about 3x the cost of a mail-in tune, plus anywhere from $150-$300 or more for dyno time, to get that result. And for the level of upgrades you have (I'm right there), I would be shocked if you saw more than 5-10hp difference over a mail-in tune.

Fondle - are you saying you got a 20hp/tq gain from just the PCM tune? Or were there other upgrades included?

[Fondle]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

the 20hp gain is tune only, the first time i dyno'd 196/215 with headers/3inch exhaust/borla muffler/aluminum driveshaft/ and my intake i made

i dyno'd again after i tuned it and made 216/234 and no performance mods were added between the two dyno's

a mail order tune is only good for those people with low amounts of mods, if you are wanting to get anything big done to your car you need to have someone in person tune it, or learn to tune on your own

[tkoforpresident]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

I swapped to Obd-1 and am tuning my 3.4 as we speak :naughty:

[Jaysan]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

the 20hp gain is tune only, the first time i dyno'd 196/215 with headers/3inch exhaust/borla muffler/aluminum driveshaft/ and my intake i made

i dyno'd again after i tuned it and made 216/234 and no performance mods were added between the two dyno's

your car is also standard. auto's lose alot of power

[enzia35]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

You made that close to rated power ratings? That's impressive. I need to get my car tuned and dyno'ed.

[ssms5411]

Re: I Wanna Tune!! TUNE!

the 20hp gain is tune only, the first time i dyno'd 196/215 with headers/3inch exhaust/borla muffler/aluminum driveshaft/ and my intake i made

i dyno'd again after i tuned it and made 216/234 and no performance mods were added between the two dyno's

a mail order tune is only good for those people with low amounts of mods, if you are wanting to get anything big done to your car you need to have someone in person tune it, or learn to tune on your own

Are those #'s at the wheels or with the 15% drivetrain loss added or SAE scaling added or changed, becuase people with cams and tuned don't even dyno that high. I think their is something wrong with those #'s probably the dyno or the dyno added in the 15% drivetrain loss. Becuase alot of people have dynoed before with bolt -ons and usally dyno 190's hp/ 200 Tq. Was your nitrous leaking into the intake when you dynoed?LOL It is hard to beleive those are at the wheel #'s without the graph or SAE #'s being modifed. This is just my opinion though seeing people dynoing stock and then with their bolt-on mods and then cams which I have seen alot of dyno #'s. I mean no offense to this, but it is hard to believe but to each to their own I guess.