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What Should I Be Paying For a Tune?

Robbo VS3

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Just after some ideas on what is a reasonable price to get my SSV tuned so I dont get ripped off when I start shopping around. The car will have a VCM OTR with the maf (i dont want mafless) and Xforce headers and high flow cats. How much should I be paying to get these mods tuned to suit? (the car has never been tuned).

Cheers
 

lowandslow

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Depends. Anywhere from 700-1200 bones i guess.
Any reason why you don't want to go Mafless?
 

Dirbatua

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Depends. Anywhere from 700-1200 bones i guess.
Any reason why you don't want to go Mafless?

VE maf aint as **** as the VT-VZ one.

Average new dyno tune price is about $800-$900 from most places, cause there is a license cost involved for your ECU.

Touch ups from then out are by the hour usually.
 

07GTS

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depends on the tuner some charge to unlock the ecu and then charge by the hour for tuning after that, or some just charge a higher flat rate... main thing to do is go to a place that has a good reputation even if they charge a little more there knowledge and service to make it right for u should make up for it in the long run...
 

ari666

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so I dont get ripped off when I start shopping around.

mistake #1.

find a tuner that has a VERY good reputation (i.e. not chevs) and then pay whatever the costs are.

a **** tuner will nod his head and tell you exactly what you want to hear just to get the business in the door.

a good tuner will tell you stuff that you dont wanna hear and charge you more than other people. they usually do it because theyre worth it. if the tuner is busy, and they cant fit you in for 3 weeks EVEN BETTER!!!

word of mouth speads like wildfire when it comes to tuning.

and do a bit of research on dynos and how they work. dont be fooled by people promising you big HP numbers. all you wanna know is that the AFR line on your map is a dead straight line, the car cold starts well and perfomrs smoothly in all road conditions. and make it clear to your tuning that those are the things you want sorted out. dont ever say "i reckon im chasing XXXkw's"

that HP/KW/TQ figure is just a side affect to the AFR line being straight.
 

someguy360

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Agreed with Ari.

Never get a tune based on it's price.......Find the most respected tuner for a VE and pay their rates.

Not sure what pricing is like in NSW but a decent dyno tune from a respected VE specialist tuner in SA is usually around $700-1200 depending on the engine setup etc.
 

Grennan

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The trick is to see past the bullshit of "fanboys" as well.

To use Ari's example above, that tuner has lots of people who will defend his work to the death. But, theyve all got DisneyDyno readings from him and have never actually looked into the tune itself and think you beaut! Theyve never been threatened by him to pay for work he carried out of his own volition or paid for work he never actually did in the first place.

I base everything on how willing the workshop is to talk to you.

If theyre rush rush get you in get you out, I wouldnt trust them. Go with someone who will sit down and chat, tell you the options, ask you where you want the power etc etc
 

Robbo VS3

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Good advice thanks guys.
 

SCV8

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Generally about $1000 for a tune..... just depends, there are alot of different factors that affect price.
 

Towcar

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The trick is to see past the bullshit of "fanboys" as well.

To use Ari's example above, that tuner has lots of people who will defend his work to the death. But, theyve all got DisneyDyno readings from him and have never actually looked into the tune itself and think you beaut! Theyve never been threatened by him to pay for work he carried out of his own volition or paid for work he never actually did in the first place.

I base everything on how willing the workshop is to talk to you.

If theyre rush rush get you in get you out, I wouldnt trust them. Go with someone who will sit down and chat, tell you the options, ask you where you want the power etc etc

^^^^ This.

Not only does it show that they know what they are doing but it also can show they have a passion for it.

Find a tuner that wants to talk engines with you!
 
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