What Should I Be Paying For a Tune?

[PIR4TE]

Not sure im looking forward to a tune as much now

Nah see it's a no-brainer and you don't need a dyno tune unless you want a proper custom tune. That's not always wanted or feasible:

No feedback from the OP doesn't help but to recap I read it that he wanted a reasonably inexpensive fix that would allow him to run the OTR and pipes safely, presumably main concern was MILs, gain a fairly good amount of power without the hassle of shopping around and perhaps getting ripped off.

I also got from his profile that he was not near a metro area, and suggested that a remote tune would do the trick meantime, and next time in Sydney (as that's a very price competitive market) that he get a full custom tune.

So the OP asked for ideas (solutions) and price... $400-$600 for remote tune to get to point B, and a couple of hundred to tweak with a pro for an hour. Sure he could spend the same and take the bolt-ons into a workshop anywhere, same result.

My initial suggestion was not that mail order is as good as live custom tune but simple, immediate, and convenient. Might also learn more than sipping on Nescafé in the front room of a workshop reading Hot Rod magazines.

 

[christov]

Geez everyone is so sensitive on these forums.

Its either that time of the month for everyone, or a bunch of keyboard warriors.

Take a chill pill and stick to what's relevant rather than personal attacks.

 

[Grennan]

Geez everyone is so sensitive on these forums.

Its either that time of the month for everyone, or a bunch of keyboard warriors.

Take a chill pill and stick to what's relevant rather than personal attacks.

Welcome to the world of tuning.

Some people get very defensive when their workshop of choice has someone speak ill of it.

As I said very early on in this thread, the key is to see past the fanboys of particular shops and listen to the good as well as the bad.Not every workshop is perfect.

Its all very good to see 400rwkw cam only HSVs come rolling off a dyno. You might think, great job, good shop. Then they struggle to crack 110MPH on the strip and all of a sudden their 400rwkw car is pushing 320. Unfortunately, the guys who have these cars will back the shop to the hilt because they want to justify their dyno sheet and their dollars spent.

 

[ari666]

ive always wondered why someone would pay 600 bucks for a mail order tune, when HP_tuners is only 800 dollars... it only takes a very basic understanding of computers and engines to figure out what it all means, then you have the software to move onto mates rides.

simple tweaks like sticking a bit more timing in or adjusting fuel cells are so easy. and HP_tuners now has real time tuning, so grab a buddy and a laptop and make immediate changes to your tune as you drive.

all that aside, im still taking mine to a tuner i am very confident in. ill get him to get the basic operation set and then slowly makes tweaks to it as i drive it. also: i WILL be leaving it with him overnight, to ensure all the cold starts are set right. not sure why someone would think this doesnt make him competant, this means he is making 100% sure i wont have cold start issues... how could that be a bad thing?

 

[commodore665]

Just out of curiosity , how long does it take to do a basic tune

 

[PIR4TE]

OK if we define basic as in reflash a tune that enhances the standard via OBD II - 10 to 20 minutes. May include AFM toggle, e85 remap, more or less crackle-pop, ranging-out fault codes / MIL flags for headers and intake.
That is not a super dooper personalised live service with a guy customising it as you hoon around, nor includes a dyno tune. The idea with a basic tune is that it will run better than stock, but perhaps margins are too safe - as in values are reasonable lowest common denominator - to extract big performance gain. Big performance requires custom dyno tuning.
Somewhere in between is where most shops lay, in my experience. i.e.. flash a known calibration for the requirement then take it for a test drive, check customer wish list, sell them on upgrades.

 

[someguy360]

Just out of curiosity , how long does it take to do a basic tune

Depends on the tuner.

The last 2 I have used keep the car most of the day, they won't let it leave until they are 100% happy.

 

[ari666]

Just out of curiosity , how long does it take to do a basic tune

hp_tuners does a complete reflash in 1 minute 29 seconds... i know cos' it has a countdown timer on it...

 

[PIR4TE]

hp_tuners does a complete reflash in 1 minute 29 seconds... i know cos' it has a countdown timer on it...

Haha yeah but by the time he asks "where is it parked", *asks some bleeding obvious questions making smalltalk* "can I have the keys" *walks to car and puts a paper mat down, drives her out of sight {does flash} then takes it for a burn up the road, brings it back and whispers something to the chick out the front, gives a wink* "all good to go mate"... it's at least ten minutes!

 

[commodore665]

Thanks , that explains it in complete clarity ......... I think