OZtrack Tuning ( mail order ) Yay or Nay

[capitalgainz]

Yeah oztrack.

I was going to get a mate to tune it for me so we can learn. Now we either fork out of software to erase it and start blank or I get a new PCM.

Either way it's crap.

nah all you have to do is get a key finder, plug it in to your lappy, pull up the code, copy the bin file to your laptop and tune it with your software.

 

[capitalgainz]

Yeah a 'Mail order' tune is just a PCM with a base tune and very fews tweaks. But what your doing is pretty much real time tunning. logging local data and your driving style, sending these logs to oztrack who then make the required changes As to your requests.

no, they are getting a tune, slapping it in your pcm them tweaking just a little bit

 

[DLFHUB666]

no, they are getting a tune, slapping it in your pcm them tweaking just a little bit

Yeah for a mail order thats what happens I even said that in the quote you used, but remote tuning is totally different. If you think otherwise you have no idea. Have you even looked at any oztrack/let alone any tune with efilive or are you just a interwebz know it all?

 

[Munz]

oooooo snap!!!!

 

[Nuddy989]

capitalgainz, you are so wrong it's not even funny.

for the OP, I have not seen any of OzTracks tunes in person but have seen plenty of MACE tunes from Steve. If you're chasing a remote tune I think they will work well enough, + 1 for Steves customer service from MACE and his reasonably priced.

You will always get better results out of taking your car to a repeatable tuner and putting it on the dyno and having them tune it properly.

 

[blown376]

capitalgainz, you are so wrong it's not even funny.

for the OP, I have not seen any of OzTracks tunes in person but have seen plenty of MACE tunes from Steve. If you're chasing a remote tune I think they will work well enough, + 1 for Steves customer service from MACE and his reasonably priced.

You will always get better results out of taking your car to a repeatable tuner and putting it on the dyno and having them tune it properly.

well i have to disagree about some dyno tunes ,as you can get max power and correct AFR on the dyno BUT it my not drive on the street to well
you must log it on the road as well to get it nice to drive
steve has tuned my blown ,camed maloo since i had a dyno tune at another place that i wasn't happy with
and i have all the efilive gear to tune it my self if wonted to , so i can have a look at all the parts of his tunes and up dates he has over 600 items changed over the stock ls3 gts tune ,
and i have had 50 updates by steve engine only and about 10 IN the A6 to the original tune so definitely NOT COPY AND PAST for mine anyway as i can view eack alteration from each update and compare them side by side

steve can remote tune mine from anywhere so long as i have wireless broad band connection and he can look at my tune while im driving if he wants to through the V2 and laptop we have done it
so mail order tune is way differant to remote tuning

 

[WogBoyz]

well i have to disagree about some dyno tunes ,as you can get max power and correct AFR on the dyno BUT it my not drive on the street to well
you must log it on the road as well to get it nice to drive
steve has tuned my blown ,camed maloo since i had a dyno tune at another place that i wasn't happy with
and i have all the efilive gear to tune it my self if wonted to , so i can have a look at all the parts of his tunes and up dates he has over 600 items changed over the stock ls3 gts tune ,
and i have had 50 updates by steve engine only and about 10 IN the A6 to the original tune so definitely NOT COPY AND PAST for mine anyway as i can view eack alteration from each update and compare them side by side

steve can remote tune mine from anywhere so long as i have wireless broad band connection and he can look at my tune while im driving if he wants to through the V2 and laptop we have done it
so mail order tune is way differant to remote tuning

i agree blown maloo

Steve has also done all the tunning on mine and im quite happy with it, he willl also be donig all the tunning when i get the blower fitted

 

[wassup353]

Oztrack has their entire process on youtube: Oztrack Tuning Process - YouTube.

 

[krylothe]

It's a vz mate.

Wogboyz, wanna lend me ur autocal? So I can at least stop it from pinging.

I paid $1250 for Otr and mafless tune. Now he sells same thing with autocal for $1300... Go figure

Like Wogboys asked, I'm wondering how on earth did you get the OzTrack email tune file in there in the first place, and why not use that method to communicate the reads/datalogs so the tuner can fix the problem? Seems the easy way (however you did it!).
I have a spare AutoCal, but so does OzTrack. Given they have a $$ value as a tool, I'm cool if you put-up a deposit (to be held by PayPal in escrow) or I can get a pre-authorisation on your credit card if you prefer. Once you return it of course happy to refund less postage.
But the issue is not getting the AutoCal handheld (which is a basic terminal-like loader), but EFIlive's V2 Scantool handheld. As mentioned it allows you to change a zillion PIDs using EFIlive and either fix the spark advance map / AFR in 3D or else *blow-up your engine* - all by yourself. Seems it is tuned for higher octane than what you are running?
I thought exactly like you at first - get the low-down and tinker, as my background is IT / programmer for 20+ years. Modded firmware / os on my watch, phone, PC, Mac, Router, GameBoys, Wii, XBox, anything I can 'hack', I've also built several cars in the late 80's/90's, and blew a corporate account at JayCar to feed a serious electronics habit.
However suffice it to say after studying the various tuning software apps for GM, I realised there's a lifetime of real-world experience behind most of the critical decisions which are sometimes simple check boxes or .01 increments on tables. So I chose not to use a tune template or DIY and risk blowing $60k (at least $15k replacing engine, possibly writing whole car off too).
Not wanting to put you off, I can loan you my AutoCal, like OzTrack would, to finish the tuning process with the professional tuner you've already paid for - that's the best, easiest, and consequently cheapest way. Basically all you need to spring for is postage :surprise:

Not just postage, he would need to pay for a new license on the autocal. The autocal can hold the license for 10 individual cars but has only 1 unlocked when you received it, it cost about $100 to open another license on it!

 

[oztrack]

Mail Order Tuning etc

I was just alterted to this thread and thought i should reply.

We post out many mail order tunes all over the world and also do many remotely. Its rare there are ever any problems because our system is highly developed and each car has a tune built for it that suits its model and mods. These are built off the vast experience that we now have at doing them in person. When one doesn't perform the way that is intended its a matter then of operating as a team with the customer and fixing it in a way that fair to both the customer and to us.

For example if the car has something wrong with it even something simple like plugs or leads, nothing we do will fix it. But we are happy to communicate via email with the customer and give advice on what to do. This is sometimes where patience is needed and venting on a forum or to mates at the pub may not help the customer get the happiness that they want from their vehicle.

What we need at our end is a descriptive email explaining the characteristics of the problem. Then we can plan the best way forward.

Sometimes people have VT Commodores that have injectors that have been upgraded but they don't know this when they order. The mail order tune doesn't gain the solid power boost that is normal. So the customer is disappointed the best next thing to do is to email us. We would then answer back with an email of questions and possible solutions.

The best solution sometimes is just the fact that it needs to be logged and remotely tuned because maybe its something out of the ordinary eg a LS1 in a 4WD. Maybe we have already suggested this but the customer wanted to try a cheaper mail order tune 1st but now its shown that customizing it is better.

We lock our mail order tunes so that we can provide warranty and even money back if required. (This has only ever happened twice in the past 6 years). We have also heard of some tunes being sabotaged by unscrupulous individuals or hacked by accident by beginners and then later the customer wants us to fix the mess or is tricked into thinking it was our bad workmanship.

Autocals are also not transferable they are an agent of the tuners flashscan. Including the service they are $450 plus the tune. So offering one for $300 in a customizing of a tune is absolutely only covering our costs.

So basically cava454 was offering a customized solution for free just for the cost of an autocal. To give him one for free would be unfair to us since t is his car that is behaving well out of the ordinary. Alternatively we could try a few other combinations if the problem was communicated to us in detail. This would be the cheapest but likely a slower solution depending on what the anomaly is.

Cars that have healthy plugs , leads, 02 sensors, coil packs, clean injectors, clean throttle body, non-blocked cats, mufflers, etc are usually fine 99% of the time with mail order tuning from our service. The problem cars would present problems in person for custom tuning and usually end up in extra charges for the work that needs to be done. The LS1s are getting to the stage now that more and more are carrying little troubles e.g.. dirty injectors that can cause them to ping on the poor flowing injectors cylinder. When this happens, we are have each customers car on file, so if we think its caused by dirty injectors because the values for spark timing are already low for a car of its mods, the first port of call might be to clean the injectors (suspect fuel pump also) and if that doesn't help check cats and lower the timing advance to something well below what is normal. These steps may all happen in the same week. Just recognize that some of these problems may gradually deteriorate and bring the problem back. (in this case it would be best to fix the problems source but also good if the customer had an autocal)

The whole process of ending with a good result is not something we shy away from. But assuming everything should always be perfect 1st go is unrealistic.

Mail Order Tunes are much of the time a CHEAP & CONVENIENT solution. They can perform fantastic in every way. They can sometimes be a pain because in rare cars that are deteriorating they can take a few goes to get right. (We have seen maybe only 2 cars in 6 years that need more than one mail order update)

Autocal Remote Tunes are a little bit more expensive but will nearly always account for all the problems presented above and offer a quick solution.
Oztrack has mechanical partner shops all over Australia that we can refer people to for diagnostic activities beyond what we can see with an autocal and they would be able to perform the work of cleaning injectors , replacing fuel pumps etc.

CAVA454 we are happy to help you in a way that is fair to both parties. You aren't stuck with the situation. Please email us.