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Pay for a tune or do it yourself?

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Old 12-12-2016, 09:12 PM
  #21  
0Chuck CoW
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14

Default With your tune.....

Originally Posted by Caveboy
Chuck and I are working on version 3 of my tune. All I could say is it gets better and better after each tune. I can't wait until we are done and some dry weather to test it out!

With your OLD tune stuff was not set up right.... WAY too lean all over the place and that's NG with a supercharger.

Having the adjustable Meth **** also introduces lots of variables.

There is no way to do this from 2,000 miles away without our AutoCal w/ serial wideband.

I got you covered!
Chuck CoW
Old 12-15-2016, 12:20 PM
  #22  
danh52
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And............back from the infomercial.

I'm leaning toward getting the software and doing it myself. I have a friend that did this so I have a resource locally if I get stuck. Mine is an LS3 with cam and was tuned on a dyno by the builder, but I know it's generally rich and was most likely tuned for WOT with little work done on drivability. I'm not putting down the pro tuners, I am just a DYI sort and would rather invest in the software and take the opportunity to learn something new.

I have the time (retired mechanical engineer) and background so this works for me.
Old 12-16-2016, 04:14 AM
  #23  
0Chuck CoW
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14

Default Respectfully.... It's a waste of time.

Originally Posted by danh52
And............back from the infomercial.

I'm leaning toward getting the software and doing it myself. I have a friend that did this so I have a resource locally if I get stuck. Mine is an LS3 with cam and was tuned on a dyno by the builder, but I know it's generally rich and was most likely tuned for WOT with little work done on drivability. I'm not putting down the pro tuners, I am just a DYI sort and would rather invest in the software and take the opportunity to learn something new.

I have the time (retired mechanical engineer) and background so this works for me.
Respectfully.... It's a waste of time.

i pay a dentist to fix my teeth (cause I want em right)

and I pay a painter to paint my car (comes out much better)

You pay me to tune your car..... (it wil come out the best and lest time spent)

You'll never get anywhere.....fast..... big learning curve....

Don't waste your time.

Chuck CoW
Old 12-16-2016, 08:11 AM
  #24  
aerovette99
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I could've purchased the tune program also. I understand it, and could tune my car by myself.
The difference is, when Chuck tuned my car, he was SO ridiculously meticulous, and pinpointed every slight imperfection, that I would not have seen myself. I sent him several data logs, and each time he refined the tune to my EXACT car driving habits.
He refined shift points, WOT, acceleration, etc..
All I know is that my car is just sick to drive. My son drove my car prior to Chuck's tune, and then after. My son said, "Dad, you car is scary fast, and the acceleration is unbelievable".
Even my awesome mechanic Tommy Haley, who owns a Corvette shop in Gainesville Ga, after installing my headers, said "Wow, that C5 has some serious pep to it".
Bottom line is, Chuck is a tuning GOD, and his service is WELL worth what he is asking.
I want the best, so I have my car tuned by the best. PERIOD. End of Story.
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Old 12-17-2016, 10:30 AM
  #25  
danh52
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Gee, GOD huh?

Next time I need some wine made out of water I'll call him.

Sounds like a cult of personality.
Old 12-17-2016, 11:44 AM
  #26  
aerovette99
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Originally Posted by aerovette99
I could've purchased the tune program also. I understand it, and could tune my car by myself.
The difference is, when Chuck tuned my car, he was SO ridiculously meticulous, and pinpointed every slight imperfection, that I would not have seen myself. I sent him several data logs, and each time he refined the tune to my EXACT car driving habits.
He refined shift points, WOT, acceleration, etc..
All I know is that my car is just sick to drive. My son drove my car prior to Chuck's tune, and then after. My son said, "Dad, you car is scary fast, and the acceleration is unbelievable".
Even my awesome mechanic Tommy Haley, who owns a Corvette shop in Gainesville Ga, after installing my headers, said "Wow, that C5 has some serious pep to it".
Bottom line is, Chuck is a tuning GOD, and his service is WELL worth what he is asking.
I want the best, so I have my car tuned by the best. PERIOD. End of Story.
Originally Posted by danh52
Gee, GOD huh?

Next time I need some wine made out of water I'll call him.

Sounds like a cult of personality.
Bwahahahahahahahahahaha..
If the wine that was previously water, needs to be tuned, then Chuck is your man.
Seriously though,
I have no affiliation whatsoever with Chuck. I'm just a customer that really appreciated the REAL extremely noticeable results.. I take customer service from the vendors VERY SERIOUSLY.
​​​​​​I was so impressed by how much personalized time he took explaining his art and how it would benefit ME. I took a chance with Chuck on a friend's recommendation (thanks Jerry, you old geezer), and he produced in a big way. Had he sucked, I'd be voicing my opinion on that also. I give credit where credit is due.
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Old 12-18-2016, 11:40 PM
  #27  
0Chuck CoW
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14

Default Thank you....

Originally Posted by aerovette99
I could've purchased the tune program also. I understand it, and could tune my car by myself.
The difference is, when Chuck tuned my car, he was SO ridiculously meticulous, and pinpointed every slight imperfection, that I would not have seen myself. I sent him several data logs, and each time he refined the tune to my EXACT car driving habits.
He refined shift points, WOT, acceleration, etc..
All I know is that my car is just sick to drive. My son drove my car prior to Chuck's tune, and then after. My son said, "Dad, you car is scary fast, and the acceleration is unbelievable".
Even my awesome mechanic Tommy Haley, who owns a Corvette shop in Gainesville Ga, after installing my headers, said "Wow, that C5 has some serious pep to it".
Bottom line is, Chuck is a tuning GOD, and his service is WELL worth what he is asking.
I want the best, so I have my car tuned by the best. PERIOD. End of Story.


Having been through the process, you can appreciate what goes into tuning your car.... And you already had a tune

from another popular forum vendor. Just because you "know stuff" about cars and engines does not mean you're a

shoe in for tuner career. I takes way more time than most "non tuners" have to commit to the process and it's just

advisable to "do it myself" even if you have the time.

I'm good at it and I've been doing it for a LONG TIME and...... given that.... A "Simple C5 bolt on Tune" takes me hours

of back and forth tuning and datalogging to make it right.

It's hard to know what goes into it, if you've never done it before.

Dave, Would you agree??

Chuck CoW
Old 12-23-2016, 01:40 PM
  #28  
69vettecan
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I just want add to the feedback on Chuck CoW’s tuning. This is a real post and not BS

I have been working with Chuck since mid August this year (taking longer to get where I want due to my own health issues) and all I can say is Chuck is very knowledgeable, took the time to understand my needs and what performance modifications where already done to the car and where I want to be.

My car has a significant amount of performance modifications and I just want the vette running and performing as it should on the street not just on the dyno. The dyno is good for max hp performance however you don’t drive a car on the dyno. Street tuning via data logging feedback is the way to go.

I purchased the Chuck CoW Autocal and tuning package with the wideband. We have discovered a lot about the performance of the vehicle once I sent the initial data log i.e. the injectors that I had installed where not operating well and we went back to stock C5 injectors and realized that under heavy load/throttle I was exceeding the 100% duty cycle and then Chuck engaged Jon at FIC and Jon recommended the 36lbs 4 bar injectors of which I have recently installed and due to the winter weather the data logging is now on hold, however I did the get car out with an initial re-tune from Chuck CoW with the new injectors and the car was very responsive.

You need to be patient with this process, and Chuck is very responsive in his replies and follow-ups and detailed on the data log analysis. This process takes time to dial the car in, every car is unique and to make it right its the way to go

I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to squeeze the most out of there vette/camaro and have an expert behind the tune.

I was fortunate to pickup my AutoCal from Chuck in person when I was in NY in August and met a few of his customers and nothing but praise for Chuck and his abilities. Chuck took the time to explain the AutoCal process and educated me.

I am also waiting for the ability to do the same on my wife’s 2017 Camaro SS 8Spd Auto!

PM me for any info or if you are contemplating this. You will not be disappointed!

My 2000 C5 Vert Mods:
AFR 215 Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported heads milled to 61cc 11.3 to 1 compression
Fast 92 Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
Oil pump Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
LS2 Throttle Body Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
LS6 valley cover upgrade with Catch Canister
LS2 Waterpump
ATI Balancer
C5 Z06 Mass Air Flow
Vararam CAI
1 ¾” LG Super Pro with High Flow Cats, X Pipe and Corsa Exhaust
Pfadt Featherlight Coil overs and Johnny O’Connel front and rear sway bars
C6 Z06 Calipers and DBA T2 Street Series Slotted Rotor, Hawk One piece Pads & Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines
MGW Short throw Shifter box
LS7 Clutch and Flywheel
FIC 36lbs 4bar Injectors
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Old 12-23-2016, 07:13 PM
  #29  
0Chuck CoW
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14

Default Thank you Very much!

Originally Posted by 69vettecan
I just want add to the feedback on Chuck CoW’s tuning. This is a real post and not BS

I have been working with Chuck since mid August this year (taking longer to get where I want due to my own health issues) and all I can say is Chuck is very knowledgeable, took the time to understand my needs and what performance modifications where already done to the car and where I want to be.

My car has a significant amount of performance modifications and I just want the vette running and performing as it should on the street not just on the dyno. The dyno is good for max hp performance however you don’t drive a car on the dyno. Street tuning via data logging feedback is the way to go.

I purchased the Chuck CoW Autocal and tuning package with the wideband. We have discovered a lot about the performance of the vehicle once I sent the initial data log i.e. the injectors that I had installed where not operating well and we went back to stock C5 injectors and realized that under heavy load/throttle I was exceeding the 100% duty cycle and then Chuck engaged Jon at FIC and Jon recommended the 36lbs 4 bar injectors of which I have recently installed and due to the winter weather the data logging is now on hold, however I did the get car out with an initial re-tune from Chuck CoW with the new injectors and the car was very responsive.

You need to be patient with this process, and Chuck is very responsive in his replies and follow-ups and detailed on the data log analysis. This process takes time to dial the car in, every car is unique and to make it right its the way to go

I highly recommend this to anyone that wants to squeeze the most out of there vette/camaro and have an expert behind the tune.

I was fortunate to pickup my AutoCal from Chuck in person when I was in NY in August and met a few of his customers and nothing but praise for Chuck and his abilities. Chuck took the time to explain the AutoCal process and educated me.

I am also waiting for the ability to do the same on my wife’s 2017 Camaro SS 8Spd Auto!

PM me for any info or if you are contemplating this. You will not be disappointed!

My 2000 C5 Vert Mods:
AFR 215 Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported heads milled to 61cc 11.3 to 1 compression
Fast 92 Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
Oil pump Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
LS2 Throttle Body Mamofied (Tony Mamo) hand ported
LS6 valley cover upgrade with Catch Canister
LS2 Waterpump
ATI Balancer
C5 Z06 Mass Air Flow
Vararam CAI
1 ¾” LG Super Pro with High Flow Cats, X Pipe and Corsa Exhaust
Pfadt Featherlight Coil overs and Johnny O’Connel front and rear sway bars
C6 Z06 Calipers and DBA T2 Street Series Slotted Rotor, Hawk One piece Pads & Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines
MGW Short throw Shifter box
LS7 Clutch and Flywheel
FIC 36lbs 4bar Injectors

Thank you SO very much!

Your business and kind words are always appreciated!
Chuck CoW
Old 12-23-2016, 08:29 PM
  #30  
directnosfogger
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Lol.. easy on the koolaide guys...What is with the cult of the cow? Almost as bad as the ecs followers.

Op, I was exactly like you. I spent about 6 months learning on my own how to tune. There are two resources which really helped me. Greg Banish DVD and also the book Master EFI Tuner. Don't let these guys scare you. I'm a data scientist by trade so this stuff came very natural to me as well. I'll tell you in the end there are a lot of pitfalls in the rewriting of the OS that just come with trial and error which is why the big tuners err on the side of leveraging them since it would take you years to master the fine tuning skills. They also have an archive of previous tunes that they leverage making it much faster for them. By no means is it impossible to do on your own, but I will tell you that I gave in to the professional tuners with my supercharger build with meth since it became too complex for me to squeeze out every last bit of horsepower. Having a load bearing dyno also aids in the process exponentially! Something that we have to rent. Street tuning just becomes dangerous to hit the entire kpa range in each rpm but it's not impossible. If anything spend time doing it for a while until you know what you need and then choose whether you want to leverage a world class tuner. One thing it will teach you is how to spot the BS in the tuners that try and sell you on these magical benefits to their tunes.
Old 12-25-2016, 05:23 PM
  #31  
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So this turned into a cow commercial and the OP never came back.

How nice
Old 12-25-2016, 05:25 PM
  #32  
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Just a sound endorsement
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Old 12-25-2016, 06:19 PM
  #33  
Sam Handwich
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not just a CoW endorsement.
He is almost a Holy CoW. Heh, heh, heh.
IOW he is very, very good at tuning C5s.

Hope that helps someone.
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Old 12-29-2016, 11:09 PM
  #34  
0Chuck CoW
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Default Thank you my friend!

Originally Posted by Sam Handwich
not just a CoW endorsement.
He is almost a Holy CoW. Heh, heh, heh.
IOW he is very, very good at tuning C5s.

Hope that helps someone.
Thank you my friend!

Chuck CoW
Old 01-01-2017, 10:00 PM
  #35  
Podium
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Originally Posted by Chuck CoW
Respectfully.... It's a waste of time.

i pay a dentist to fix my teeth (cause I want em right)

and I pay a painter to paint my car (comes out much better)

You pay me to tune your car..... (it wil come out the best and lest time spent)

You'll never get anywhere.....fast..... big learning curve....

Don't waste your time.

Chuck CoW
Why the hell would you ever tell a member that?

Tuning isnt that hard. The biggest issues IMO is find out how to use the tuning software you have selected. As long as you understand how the engine works, take it slow and get GOOD information you'll do great. I wouldn't recommend tuning a SD 408 solid roller with a progressive 400 shot for your first time.

Last edited by Vette_DD; 01-03-2017 at 01:18 PM.
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Old 01-01-2017, 10:16 PM
  #36  
aerovette99
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Originally Posted by Podium
Why the hell would you ever tell a member that?

Tuning isnt that hard. The biggest issues IMO is find out how to use the tuning software you have selected. As long as you understand how the engine works, take it slow and get GOOD information you'll do great. I wouldn't recommend tuning a SD 408 solid roller with a progressive 400 shot for your first time.
Very nice.
Chuck does great work and has an extremely valuable art. He is the Rembrandt of tuners. If you don't like the truth, then leave the thread.

Last edited by Vette_DD; 01-03-2017 at 01:19 PM.
Old 01-01-2017, 10:30 PM
  #37  
Podium
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Originally Posted by aerovette99
Very nice.
Chuck does great work and has an extremely valuable art. He is the Rembrandt of tuners. If you don't like the truth, then leave the thread.

The truth? I think its BS that a sponsor would basically tell a member its to hard for you to learn, better pay someone to do it.

Im sure Chuck is good tuner. I never questioned that. Tuning isnt some lost art that only a few know. Its people like chuck that scare others away from trying it as it is already intimidating to some. I could put a tune in a car that would actually take away horsepower but it would feel faster to you and you would never know but you would still be a cheerleader.

Why are you so butthurt? Is it because you spent a good amount of money with him and now you have to justify it by making sure everyone knows how amazing he is and nobody could ever be as good? I bet you personally called him to tell him someone is being mean online.

Last edited by Vette_DD; 01-03-2017 at 01:19 PM.

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Old 01-02-2017, 11:43 AM
  #38  
Sam Handwich
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@Podium - very .... aaahhhmmmm ...... not sure how to categorize your comments.

Well, if one likes to cook, and is good at it, I suppose it makes sense to "eat your own cooking". On the other hand, most of us are trying to get some other things done in life, etc., so it makes sense to us to have someone else do our tuning. YMMV

Happy New Year
Old 01-03-2017, 08:12 AM
  #39  
BMan0660
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Originally Posted by RonSSNova
So this turned into a cow commercial and the OP never came back.

How nice
I ended up paying a local shop to tune it. Kinda regretting it as I'm having to keep going back to fix issues with the idle tune.
Old 01-03-2017, 10:17 AM
  #40  
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I had the same issues before I went to COW. It would stalled whenever I had the ac on at idle. I went to 2 different tuners and it was still unsolved until I went to Chuck. He fixed the issue and made it fun and safe to drive again.

Last edited by Caveboy; 01-03-2017 at 10:59 AM.
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