Awesome Tampa Tuning Experience
12-08-2016, 04:43 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Awesome Tampa Tuning Experience
I had my car tuned by Phil of Tampa Tuning this morning. The conditions could not have been more ideal to be honest. 68 degrees and dry with skies crystal clear. Phil and I met at 1000 and we finished up right at 1230. That means this guy spent 2 and a half hours dialing in my tune from idle conditions to wide open throttle runs shifting at 6500 RPM's. I was impressed he even brought his own battery to supply power for his laptop and wideband so it would not draw interference or power from my car's system...that is something I would not have thought of. After several runs back and forth he got the air:fuel ratio to roughly 12.5 with a fuel economy that cannot be beaten. We found the second to last run was our best data fit as the very last run might end up a bit too lean in the Tampa jungle heat of Summer....too much spark knock was likely.
On the way home, with cruise control at 78 MPH I saw MPG between 29 and 31 mpg depending upon pavement grading up or down of course. My new tune makes the car feel much smoother at idle and cruise in a way I find it hard to put into words....more efficient I think would be appropriate. With regard to going WOT the car has a different feel as compared to my prior tune. My prior tune seemed to deliver fuel quickly and build speed, torque and power quite well but in what felt like a linear slope. My tune from Phil feels to have more intuitive throttle response (this is subtle) but the power curve seems to be less linear and a bit more exponential. That is to say it feels from the driver seat that the car continues to build power, speed and torque faster the more you progress towards a prescribed redline of 6600 RPM. There is no buck, surge or variation at idle and I had Phil address the CAGS issue from the factory tune. I also had him make sure the LS3 does not continue to drip a bit of excess fuel when one pulls off that pedal on the right. My prior tune left that on but the older I get the less I appreciate the back fire like sounds. There is still plenty of raspberries, burbles and the like when you go to zero throttle while still in gear and the R's are dropping as you decelerate...and those are always cool.
Bottom line is I am a happy customer and give Phil from Tampa Tuning 2 thumbs up. When my starter as well as old ECU pooped out a few weeks ago a new tune was necessary given the mods on my 2008 C6. I chose a new tuner to see what the different tunes would be like and how they compare. AS above, I am happy as can be and if you need to have your car tuned contact Phil at Tampa Tuning at 813-727-8720 and he will get you one hell of a tune for your ride.
Phil...all my best, sir.
On the way home, with cruise control at 78 MPH I saw MPG between 29 and 31 mpg depending upon pavement grading up or down of course. My new tune makes the car feel much smoother at idle and cruise in a way I find it hard to put into words....more efficient I think would be appropriate. With regard to going WOT the car has a different feel as compared to my prior tune. My prior tune seemed to deliver fuel quickly and build speed, torque and power quite well but in what felt like a linear slope. My tune from Phil feels to have more intuitive throttle response (this is subtle) but the power curve seems to be less linear and a bit more exponential. That is to say it feels from the driver seat that the car continues to build power, speed and torque faster the more you progress towards a prescribed redline of 6600 RPM. There is no buck, surge or variation at idle and I had Phil address the CAGS issue from the factory tune. I also had him make sure the LS3 does not continue to drip a bit of excess fuel when one pulls off that pedal on the right. My prior tune left that on but the older I get the less I appreciate the back fire like sounds. There is still plenty of raspberries, burbles and the like when you go to zero throttle while still in gear and the R's are dropping as you decelerate...and those are always cool.
Bottom line is I am a happy customer and give Phil from Tampa Tuning 2 thumbs up. When my starter as well as old ECU pooped out a few weeks ago a new tune was necessary given the mods on my 2008 C6. I chose a new tuner to see what the different tunes would be like and how they compare. AS above, I am happy as can be and if you need to have your car tuned contact Phil at Tampa Tuning at 813-727-8720 and he will get you one hell of a tune for your ride.
Phil...all my best, sir.
12-08-2016, 09:23 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '13
Thank you so much. You'd never know it but it is actually the stock ride height. The ground effects make it look lower than it really is. I can actually go over speed bumps etc without worrying too terribly much unless it is a huge one.
12-08-2016, 10:32 PM
#7
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Wash once per week, wax monthly and keep in a garage is my magic sauce with ALL fluids regularly changed...simple. Mick, where did you see the picture of my whip Phil put up on what site? Can you post a link or provide the images? PM Me as you have got me interested. So mellow the feel today but I still got that tachycardia every time I blew through 3 into 4 and the final run was ending at speeds that are all speculation at this point. Did I mention Phil is a Boy Scout? He makes the best campfires.
12-09-2016, 10:43 AM
#8
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '13
Wash once per week, wax monthly and keep in a garage is my magic sauce with ALL fluids regularly changed...simple. Mick, where did you see the picture of my whip Phil put up on what site? Can you post a link or provide the images? PM Me as you have got me interested. So mellow the feel today but I still got that tachycardia every time I blew through 3 into 4 and the final run was ending at speeds that are all speculation at this point. Did I mention Phil is a Boy Scout? He makes the best campfires.
3-4 shift for tuning, a necessary evil! Pretty fun stuff right there!!! Brings back great memories of my tuning session!
Last edited by MickVette; 12-09-2016 at 10:45 AM.
12-09-2016, 12:03 PM
#9
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
^that is too cool. I am not on Instagram, Twitter or any of those social media sites so I would have never seen this had you not mentioned it. Thanks, man. You know...Phil never once looked nervous with me driving on that Cozumel highway either. He wasn't scared of any 3 to 4 row.
12-09-2016, 12:20 PM
#10
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '13
^that is too cool. I am not on Instagram, Twitter or any of those social media sites so I would have never seen this had you not mentioned it. Thanks, man. You know...Phil never once looked nervous with me driving on that Cozumel highway either. He wasn't scared of any 3 to 4 row.
12-09-2016, 09:52 PM
#11
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
^what? 4-5 WOT? God love you on that strip of Cozumel highway. Oh yeah, I did have to change lanes once and it was the ONLY time Phil ever looked away from his laptop. BUT a pleasant 68 degrees outside in December is nice but when it is 102 during the Summer on the pavement in traffic then such needs to be accounted for. There is another facet I did not mention as well as not wearing out the fans or the wiring harness and conduits/conductive material with respect to accessory fan on-time.
...and tomorrow I am gonna take my older son who is the staring goaltender on his competitive soccer team for Florida Soccer Club for a ride and pre-game review and pep talk. Even he wants to see how it runs. He asked...not me.
...and tomorrow I am gonna take my older son who is the staring goaltender on his competitive soccer team for Florida Soccer Club for a ride and pre-game review and pep talk. Even he wants to see how it runs. He asked...not me.
12-10-2016, 12:25 PM
#12
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '13
^what? 4-5 WOT? God love you on that strip of Cozumel highway. Oh yeah, I did have to change lanes once and it was the ONLY time Phil ever looked away from his laptop. BUT a pleasant 68 degrees outside in December is nice but when it is 102 during the Summer on the pavement in traffic then such needs to be accounted for. There is another facet I did not mention as well as not wearing out the fans or the wiring harness and conduits/conductive material with respect to accessory fan on-time.
...and tomorrow I am gonna take my older son who is the staring goaltender on his competitive soccer team for Florida Soccer Club for a ride and pre-game review and pep talk. Even he wants to see how it runs. He asked...not me.
...and tomorrow I am gonna take my older son who is the staring goaltender on his competitive soccer team for Florida Soccer Club for a ride and pre-game review and pep talk. Even he wants to see how it runs. He asked...not me.
Your son will love that!!!! Too cool!!! ...and yes, he asked. A man has to do what a man has to do.
I agree with the fan strategy. No sense burning them and the associated parts up!
I got lucky with no cars to worry about on that lonely stretch of Cozumel highway. Phil did mention non-nonchalantly that was his fastest tuning run at that time. I'd like to say that I'm not proud...but that would be a lie. LOL
12-10-2016, 08:09 PM
#14
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
^yes...50 something degrees this AM and I spun the tires with vigor this morning. That car was like a hungry tiger looking at a bleeding tired gazelle that had fallen behind the pack. This is a different car than when it had its prior tune for sure...2 different tunes I can tell you that.
On another note, I just read another thread whereby a fella posted he was data logging for tuning purposes. HE says he shifted into third gear from second at 103 MPH at 6453 RPM. I posted I saw no way this is possible; there is no way in my mind second gear has long enough legs even with an automatic to do that. Am I wrong?
On another note, I just read another thread whereby a fella posted he was data logging for tuning purposes. HE says he shifted into third gear from second at 103 MPH at 6453 RPM. I posted I saw no way this is possible; there is no way in my mind second gear has long enough legs even with an automatic to do that. Am I wrong?
12-12-2016, 10:05 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
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St. Jude Donor '13
^yes...50 something degrees this AM and I spun the tires with vigor this morning. That car was like a hungry tiger looking at a bleeding tired gazelle that had fallen behind the pack. This is a different car than when it had its prior tune for sure...2 different tunes I can tell you that.
On another note, I just read another thread whereby a fella posted he was data logging for tuning purposes. HE says he shifted into third gear from second at 103 MPH at 6453 RPM. I posted I saw no way this is possible; there is no way in my mind second gear has long enough legs even with an automatic to do that. Am I wrong?
On another note, I just read another thread whereby a fella posted he was data logging for tuning purposes. HE says he shifted into third gear from second at 103 MPH at 6453 RPM. I posted I saw no way this is possible; there is no way in my mind second gear has long enough legs even with an automatic to do that. Am I wrong?
I looked at several of my logs just now. Pretty sure he was a gear off (in third gear). My second gear is good to 93 mph at 7266 rpms, third gear 103 is at 5885 rpms. He must have the M12 transmission from an LS6, 3.42:1 rear gear and stock height tires. His third gear is 1.43:1 which matches his speed and rpm. I have a taller 1.30 third gear so my rpm is lower at the same speed. ...Unless he has a 32.5" tall rear tire as opposed to the stock 26+" tire. LOL