Programmer for 98' 3.8L

[fbodyrs96]

Re: Programmer for 98' 3.8L

Air box location change in 98, but the intake didn't until 99 when it became drive by wire and straight.

[StingerZ26]

Re: Programmer for 98' 3.8L

Now what I'm having trouble with is alot of what has been suggested here requires a laptop to plug-in to and tune yourself(other than pcmforless) which in that case I have no access to. I'm trying to find the kind where you plug-in and it pretty much does the work for you and recalibrates everything to work with the changes made as well as has the different settings for certain driving conditions. Are PCM's the only way to go to change the tune on my car?

[Blizzard242]

Re: Programmer for 98' 3.8L

Ha, if it were that easy......... Ever hear of the term Factory Freak? Well even out of the factory cars run different. No tune is going to be accurate for your personal vehicle unless it was tuned according to your sensors and feedback your car gives it. I could take a tune from someone else's car that's running 6psi with a turbo, set my turbo to 6psi, install that tune on my PCM and I guarantee it will not run good.

So it's really up to you. Do you want to cheap out, and end up spending more in the long run? Or do it right the first time and spend less overall?

[pathology knight]

Re: Programmer for 98' 3.8L

i'm going to give pcmfor less a try and see how that goes...

[r_simmonds]

Re: Programmer for 98' 3.8L

I'll never run a canned tune in one of my vehicles. They're cookie cutter tunes that usually do nothing more than increase timing advance and adjust the fuel curve slightly. They're made to suit a wide range of vehicles and rarely, if ever, optimize your tune. The best thing to do is to find someone that has an HP tuners suite and knows how to tune, and let them take the time to setup your tune. Dyno tuning is expensive, but the best way to optimize for horsepower. Adjust the tuning some before hitting the dyno will help the car in all around driving.