Pay for a tune or do it yourself?
01-06-2017, 02:56 PM
#41
Former Vendor
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Location: Ossining New York
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Thank you again!
People can say what they want, but I'm always here and I"ll never let you down.
Everyone thinks a "dyno tune" is so amazing..... Till your car stalls and don't drive well....
Truth is that most dyno operator/tuners don't know much about what they are doing and it sucks for people who don't
know any better.... It's hard to chose a good tuner now a days cause there are sooo many newbies and upstarts
in a business where some of us have been around from the beginning.
Go forward and Chose wisely my friend!
Chuck CoW
01-08-2017, 08:45 PM
#42
Instructor
Thank you again!
People can say what they want, but I'm always here and I"ll never let you down.
Everyone thinks a "dyno tune" is so amazing..... Till your car stalls and don't drive well....
Truth is that most dyno operator/tuners don't know much about what they are doing and it sucks for people who don't
know any better.... It's hard to chose a good tuner now a days cause there are sooo many newbies and upstarts
in a business where some of us have been around from the beginning.
Go forward and Chose wisely my friend!
Chuck CoW
People can say what they want, but I'm always here and I"ll never let you down.
Everyone thinks a "dyno tune" is so amazing..... Till your car stalls and don't drive well....
Truth is that most dyno operator/tuners don't know much about what they are doing and it sucks for people who don't
know any better.... It's hard to chose a good tuner now a days cause there are sooo many newbies and upstarts
in a business where some of us have been around from the beginning.
Go forward and Chose wisely my friend!
Chuck CoW
Dana Garton
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vetteguy8899 (01-12-2017)
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Chuck CoW (01-13-2017)
01-20-2017, 01:48 PM
#45
Burning Brakes
If you intend to do major modifications all at once it requires knowledge beyond novice tuner expertise. Any monkey can figure out how to connect a wideband and tuning hardware/software and get WOT AFR right. That doesn't mean spark advance is right or that HP or torque is optimized. It's the idle and off idle and cruising rpm stability that is the tough nut to crack.
If you have access to a trusted, reputable, reasonable tuner, you'll be money and certainly time ahead to hire them to do the job. If not, then my 2nd choice would be the hybrid of buying tuning hardware and hiring a good tuner to remotely street tune your car. My last option would be to go it alone.
How much is your time worth? Do you want to spend 100's of hours learning all about tuning or do you want to drive and enjoy your car? One way isn't right or the other way wrong. It's a matter of preference.
If you have access to a trusted, reputable, reasonable tuner, you'll be money and certainly time ahead to hire them to do the job. If not, then my 2nd choice would be the hybrid of buying tuning hardware and hiring a good tuner to remotely street tune your car. My last option would be to go it alone.
How much is your time worth? Do you want to spend 100's of hours learning all about tuning or do you want to drive and enjoy your car? One way isn't right or the other way wrong. It's a matter of preference.
When i got my first bin file and looked at it, i said What the hell is all this stuff.. Example would be- 02 Sensor Mean ? Drove me banana's.
Thank god a guy up in canada saw my post on the crossfire forum, and his Engine mods were very close to mine except for his engine.. His was a 388 CU IN, And mine was 355.
So he sent me his bin file to load into the 1990 Truck ecm in my car (yes truck ECM) which was chopped up and made to hold up to 7 bin files that you could do a flip of a **** to what ever tune you wanted to run on..
And from there he help on what to never touch in the bin file and what i can, and i also logged and he help out alot.. And also alot of time reading and leaning..
But i guess i did pretty good as my 355 cu in crossfire ran 13.7 in the quarter.. YES A CROSSFIRE INJECTION..
I"m a firm believer that the one's doing their own tuning will finally get their car 80% in tune, with lot's of spent hours. And will spend the rest of their years trying to get to that 90% in tune.
Last edited by carls2004; 01-20-2017 at 01:59 PM. Reason: info
01-20-2017, 02:06 PM
#46
Burning Brakes
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.
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.
01-21-2017, 11:31 PM
#47
Safety Car
With help from a mentor, (Thanks CTD) I tuned my C5 into the tens. It's a very simple combo. It runs very well.
Then I tuned my turbo LS Nova into the low nines.
Then tuned several friends turbo LS cars as well.
Now I run a dyno tuning mostly late model Dodge/Chrysler cars. And of course an occasional GM.
I learned it. You can too if you are up for a challenge.
If you are making lots of changes on a continuing basis, you will be married to your tuner.
Ron
Then I tuned my turbo LS Nova into the low nines.
Then tuned several friends turbo LS cars as well.
Now I run a dyno tuning mostly late model Dodge/Chrysler cars. And of course an occasional GM.
I learned it. You can too if you are up for a challenge.
If you are making lots of changes on a continuing basis, you will be married to your tuner.
Ron
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Sam Handwich (01-22-2017)
01-22-2017, 11:30 AM
#48
They also started at ground zero when they tuned their first engine and somehow managed to learn enough to eventually start a business tuning for the general public.
I'm sure it's not for everyone but also not impossible either.
Last summer I installed a new clutch in my car. The quotes I got in my area were $1800 and up for labor, not including parts. I've never done a clutch on a corvette, actually haven't done a clutch on any car since I was in my 20's, but managed to do the job just fine. Unlike a professional shop, I took 2 weeks to do the job just taking my time. I saved the money and now have a better understanding on the mechanical aspects and mods that were done on my car.
I see buying the software (like buying a tool to do a specific job) and doing your own tuning to be in the same league as a clutch job. A major undertaking but still doable for many.
If I've learned anything in the last 64 years it's don't tell someone they can't do something as they will often prove you wrong.
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directnosfogger (01-23-2017)
01-22-2017, 12:06 PM
#49
Burning Brakes
Yes- the pro can get the tune to 90%.. With dyno and logging in real world street driving..
But as a 33 year tech replacing a clutch isn't in the same league as learning and tuning a veh.. And im 100% sure tuner's will agree completely..
As ive and other's have jumped in head first to remove and replace part's on veh without ever spending hour's and time to learn it first.. I have been given job's on car's & trucks at work and had never done the job before, and tear it apart and reassemble and on a time limit to get the job done.. (Cant do that with tuning..)
Electrical problems on veh and diagnose and learning would be more inline with learning how to tune..
But as a 33 year tech replacing a clutch isn't in the same league as learning and tuning a veh.. And im 100% sure tuner's will agree completely..
As ive and other's have jumped in head first to remove and replace part's on veh without ever spending hour's and time to learn it first.. I have been given job's on car's & trucks at work and had never done the job before, and tear it apart and reassemble and on a time limit to get the job done.. (Cant do that with tuning..)
Electrical problems on veh and diagnose and learning would be more inline with learning how to tune..
Last edited by carls2004; 01-22-2017 at 12:13 PM.
01-23-2017, 05:10 PM
#50
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Tuning it yourself is silly.... you're right.
Yes- the pro can get the tune to 90%.. With dyno and logging in real world street driving..
But as a 33 year tech replacing a clutch isn't in the same league as learning and tuning a veh.. And im 100% sure tuner's will agree completely..
As ive and other's have jumped in head first to remove and replace part's on veh without ever spending hour's and time to learn it first.. I have been given job's on car's & trucks at work and had never done the job before, and tear it apart and reassemble and on a time limit to get the job done.. (Cant do that with tuning..)
Electrical problems on veh and diagnose and learning would be more inline with learning how to tune..
But as a 33 year tech replacing a clutch isn't in the same league as learning and tuning a veh.. And im 100% sure tuner's will agree completely..
As ive and other's have jumped in head first to remove and replace part's on veh without ever spending hour's and time to learn it first.. I have been given job's on car's & trucks at work and had never done the job before, and tear it apart and reassemble and on a time limit to get the job done.. (Cant do that with tuning..)
Electrical problems on veh and diagnose and learning would be more inline with learning how to tune..
You can't imagine how many times a car comes in and there's an HPTuners cable in the glove box or back seat.....
They got convinced by the forums they could do it themselves....they couldn't and it ends up on the floor
in the back seat..... Seen it too many times to count.
If you have ZERO experience with such things... Don't think that your corvette and a tuning cable is a place to start.
Chuck CoW
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carls2004 (01-23-2017)
01-23-2017, 06:22 PM
#51
Burning Brakes
Tuning it yourself is silly.... you're right.
You can't imagine how many times a car comes in and there's an HPTuners cable in the glove box or back seat.....
They got convinced by the forums they could do it themselves....they couldn't and it ends up on the floor
in the back seat..... Seen it too many times to count.
If you have ZERO experience with such things... Don't think that your corvette and a tuning cable is a place to start.
Chuck CoW
You can't imagine how many times a car comes in and there's an HPTuners cable in the glove box or back seat.....
They got convinced by the forums they could do it themselves....they couldn't and it ends up on the floor
in the back seat..... Seen it too many times to count.
If you have ZERO experience with such things... Don't think that your corvette and a tuning cable is a place to start.
Chuck CoW
Last edited by carls2004; 01-23-2017 at 06:27 PM.
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Chuck CoW (01-23-2017)
01-24-2017, 12:49 AM
#52
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
As I've always said.....
Agree chuck.. Year's ago i did my modified 82 Z28 and jumped in knee deep in sh.t.... And i was talked into it on the crossfire forum.. Thank god one guy in canada helped me out alot...The one's that talked me into it vanished when i needed help... I learned alot looking at the bin file's..and reading. (2 year's) .. And then i was still chasing a decell surge issue... Then i gave up and sold the car.. BUT i did get the car down into the 13 in quarter.. - Yes a crossfire injection.
Thank you.
As I've always said..... It's not easy or fun.... Especially for a newbie.
There's lots of HP TUNERS cables on people's back seats from what I've seen.... If you know what I mean.
Trust me, leave it to the pros!
Chuck CoW
01-29-2017, 06:51 PM
#53
Instructor
Well, I'd been debating on taking my car to have it pro tuned or buying HP Tuners and doing it myself.
The number of people telling me I can't do it pretty well convinced me that I'm going to.
See y'all in a few months with a write-up.
The number of people telling me I can't do it pretty well convinced me that I'm going to.
See y'all in a few months with a write-up.
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01-30-2017, 09:41 AM
#54
Instructor
I like Cuhck COW too!
Get the tune from CHUCK COW, PERIOD...
This man is a wizard with the tune. I nearly sh** when I stepped on the gas the first time after receiving a CHUCK COW tune.
The acceleration was instant and precise. I felt like I added 100 HP.
Ridiculously noticeable, and the guy was incredibly helpful in all aspects of the purchase and tune..
This man is a wizard with the tune. I nearly sh** when I stepped on the gas the first time after receiving a CHUCK COW tune.
The acceleration was instant and precise. I felt like I added 100 HP.
Ridiculously noticeable, and the guy was incredibly helpful in all aspects of the purchase and tune..
I had Chuck COW tune my C5 a couple years ago and am still a happy camper. The time back and forth was amazing and for my basically stock Variram and exhaust...it was night and day before vs. after
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Chuck CoW (01-31-2017)
01-30-2017, 12:51 PM
#55
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C422 (02-08-2017)
01-31-2017, 11:34 PM
#56
Former Vendor
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Thank you!
It's a great little package and sure beats the hell out of trying to do it yourself.
Thank you!
Chuck CoW
02-01-2017, 03:07 AM
#57
I too like your attitude about this. Didn't have people telling me I couldn't do it, but wanted to anyway. Everyone that tunes had to start somewhere. The info is readily available, and its not as hard as people make it sound. Just takes some time and take it slow. The best thing is you can make your own changes down the road. Big reason I learned to do it myself. Knew other mods were coming, so it just made sense.
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C422 (02-08-2017)
02-09-2017, 12:38 AM
#58
Drifting
Chuck Mosello finally finished tuning my car. He was meticulous and patience in his approach. We did around 38 data logs and nailed the tune down perfectly. The car runs great and idles very smooth. He took his time and explained everything he did to the engine and transmission to me and constantly asked for my feedbacks. The guy never sleeps. I would called him 11:00 PM EST and he would answer his phone and provide me with feedbacks regarding my data logs Thank You Chuck. You earned my business
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Chuck CoW (02-11-2017)
02-11-2017, 05:16 PM
#59
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St. Jude Donor '07-'08-'09-'10-'12-'13-'14
Thank you Joe!
Chuck Mosello finally finished tuning my car. He was meticulous and patience in his approach. We did around 38 data logs and nailed the tune down perfectly. The car runs great and idles very smooth. He took his time and explained everything he did to the engine and transmission to me and constantly asked for my feedbacks. The guy never sleeps. I would called him 11:00 PM EST and he would answer his phone and provide me with feedbacks regarding my data logs Thank You Chuck. You earned my business
Thank you Joe! It was a pleasure working with you.
Just so everyone knows, you had a tune from someone else and it was far from perfect.
You bought my deluxe autocal w/ serial wideband tuning package and we were able to get you set straight.
Your original tune was very lean and not very fun, but I appreciate your patience in doing what's right
to make the car run perfectly. It may take several tune adjustments to make the car run perfect, but I'll stick with you until It's perfect!
In your particular case you have a supercharger and METHANOL so the process gets more complicated.
You have been great to work with and I hope you like the Chuck CoW tune experience with our serial wideband!
It really is the ONLY way to remote tune a cam or supercharged car when there is nobody local that can do it right.
We appreciate your business!
Chuck CoW
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Chuck CoW (02-16-2017)