deejbee

Our 1999 Vette is coming out of storage soon.

It needs some mechanical work done to it (harmonic balancer) and the shop I am considering taking it to offered to dyno tune it.

I am considering it, but is it worth it on a fairly stock car with an intake and cat-back?

My biggest concern would be longterm engine damage and if a tune can cause problems as far as longevity. Reliability is more important than speed to me.

Can you feel a performance gain?

Car is not a track car. I just drive it once in awhile, and my wife drives it too. The shop is reputable so I am not worried about their workmanship. Also, it has about 90 000 miles on it (I think) and is mechanically sound.

Thanks!

Pounder

you should give more info, if it's a auto trans a tune can be a big plus, but given your miles I'm not so sure, I would go with a ECS mail order tune for a 150 bucks ??

deejbee

It's a 1999 C5 M6
About 90 000 miles.
Stock except for CAI and a cat back.
As stated, mechanically sound with no leaks, runs perfect.

It would be tuned on an in house dyno.

I am not bringing it there to get a tune. I actually need some mechanical work done. They offered a dyno tune while it is there and if worth it, I would consider it. I would have to notice it SOTP or it isn't worth it to me.

My biggest concern would be if a tune would cause drivetrain damage, spark plug issues etc. We don't emission test here so that is not an issue.

Cheers.

friou

I had my '99 6m 30K mile vert w/exhaust and CAI computer/dyno tuned and it was worth every penny. Went to just shy of 340 RWHP which works out to somewhere around high 380's at the crank, more or less, figuring 15% loss through the drivetrain. But aside from the math I felt the car was much sharper, better throttle response, just plain more responsive and more fun to drive. As far as time to speed improvement I really don't know as I'm a cruiser these days and tracks and drags are way behind me. Just guessing and referring to my built in and completely unofficial butt-o-meter I'd say it picked up a nice piece of time. Not the end of the world, but worthwhile. Make sure you use a good recommended shop with a proven track record. Results from tuners are all over the place so make sure you get a good one. Good luck to you!

Pounder

it's a tough call,I have been to Auto Meets where they would do a dyno pull for forty Dollars, I passed !!! They run it to red line in high gear !!

strand rider

I am into low effort stewardship for my ride, and stock does that best for me. It's not as though chevy was trying to design a slow and unreliable car, or one that is so primitive that any shade tree mechanic can easily better the design results.

(My car came lowered on aftermarket shocks and an axle back exhaust, and that is enough for me. I might add another air intake, but that is harmless, unless I select one that can hydro lock the engine. )

For my needs, the stock settings work fine, as I understand it, the car has enough fuzzy logic to be flexible,it is never really out of tune.

I don't have the desire or time to get into modified ownership, and my answer reflects that. At my skill level, one mistake could cascade into a daisy chain of grief. When learning any skill, there are mistakes along the way, and I don't want to pay for upgrading my car skills unless needed.

My concern comes from the pictures of guys pushing the cars and finding the tuning changes led to a lean seventh cylinder and damage . I don't need exploding parts on a street car, all I am doing is driving to another red light most of the time, and a few other stuff that Chevy knows will be going on once in a while.

I know the car is tuned rich from the factory, and a little was left on the table that a custom tune could pick up, but I also understand the compromise was made for well considered reasons, and I am not pressed for needs to out think the original professional engineers, even if I thought I could do it successfully, or hire someone to outthink a guy with degrees in the field who does it for a living , all day long.

I would instead spend the tune money for relocating the oil pressure sender and installing an insulating blanket under the manifold.

My single bit of advice is to not listen to opinions , get recorded results, and base your decisions on that. Feeling a performance gain is questionable, since the brain is subjective in judgement. I know this from a slight audio hobby, where guys will spend thousands on stuff they think they can hear, but is unmeasurable. With cars you can measure, so use only facts in your buying decision.

Black 02

If you're going to tune it I would at least do long tube headers first.

bikeriderga

^^^ THIS ^^^^

XSPower or Texas Speed headers are less than a grand. Unless you live in Kalifornia, I would include headers as part of the tune.

Smoken1

Or the Hinson headers and Chuck Cow for a tune! No need to remove the PCM and send it out

pewter99

no point in tuning as it sits.....if you get headers then yeah

deejbee

Thanks for the opinions!

Headers are definitely out of the question, as are any other mods. I have clearance issues as it is where I park.

Reliability and longevity trumps performance for me. But, if I could get a tune and not sacrifice either, then I would consider it.

nate544R

A tune is never a bad idea. Especially in a car as old as a C5. At minimum a throttle re-calibration and AFR reset would help crisp things up a bit.

Over time things change and your engine behaves slightly differently with each. Not enough to really notice it but it is there. Whether the car location is in a significantly different O2 density zone or even the type of fuel used has changed you could potentially benefit from a tune.

That being said, no you don't need it. And no, you most likely wouldn't notice much, if any, of a difference as it sits. Like before mentioned, if you're up for a tune you may as well add something to significantly benefit from it.


I say if you have the time and change burning in your pocket go for it.

Mr Russ

The original owner of my car, a 2001 A4, had a CAI and cat back. It was nice, sounded great but I had planned on long tubes and a dyno-tune. It was a BIG difference, 331HP/340TQ and tightened up the shift points. Stock was only ~ 280-285HP at the wheels. Car is WAY more fun to drive and I am a fairly conservative driver.

Adding log tubes will not affect clearances and as far as most here will tell you does not affect the cars reliability, nor does the tune if done by reputable professional. The guys that say they prefer stock, probably never drove a properly tuned one.

Vetteman Jack

Yes, a tune could gain you some HP and performance, but seriously I would wait until more performance mods are done to the car.

strand rider

I'm the windbag that posted about liking stock in the above post.

I realized too late , hours later, that I should have stated up front that I have never had a tune, so really have only one side of any possible considerations, which kind of misses the point of offering useful advice.

Now that you see the quality of my posting, you might also think stock is my best path.

v8srfun

If you had more mods to justify a tune I would say do it but with the basic mods you have there is not much benefit from a tune other than a lighter wallet.

Gordy M

If you have not done it yet, I would get new plugs and wires and new O2's before I would spend any money on a tune.

CAI: unless it is a Veraram, Callaway or similar outside air system, it is not worth getting a tune, the other intake change like dual cone, K&N, etc. you are only replacing the hot air from a stock cleaner to the hot air coming thru the new intake. Cat back does nothing but add sound to the car. With that in mind, on a stock engine you will have little gain from a dyno tune, on the top end you might get 4-8 hp, a true CAI can boost that to 8-15 hp. However, you drive the car on the street and not the track so they is little benefit to you. If you get a tune, you should get one that will add power in mid range area. The street tunes will help in changing the power enrichment, volumetric efficiency, fuel trims, spark advance, etc in the 2000-5000 rpm range where you live most of the time. If you were into racing you car you could also change the delay rate of the DBW effect on the throttle body. Unlike the carbureted cars, the C5 corvette has unprogramable code to measure how much turbulance should be entering the TB and when that changes it makes some alterations to the engine management systems. A good tuner can make necessary changes so you do not end up running too lean. HTH

radar502

I got a tune on my stock 04 Z just to make sure it was running right and check the factory tune got 10 more HP and was happy to know all was well and the 04 Zs motor was in tune . Did it hurt it NO been retuned once a year for the last three years mods and more mods now has 550 HP.. If want a tune get one just knowing its right is worth it ..

0Chuck CoW

Search the forum for Chuck CoW Tune results..... No, my package is not the budget solution, but on that

note is very inexpensive for what it is. Dyno tuning is a total waste for your car.

I believe you said it was an automatic.... If so you'll benefit even more from my tune package.

Wife drives it? Even better..... How bout switching tunes by having 2 or 3 or more tunes (for free)

to change the shifting and or throttle to keep the wife happy while still having a killer neck snapper tune

for yourself. Just 30 seconds to change tunes..... just because you feel like it.

NOT removing the pcm from the car and shipping.... That's how we handle the C5s.... NO DOWN TIME.

Call me any time and I'll answer your questions and get you an exact quote. 914-332-0049


Call any time my friend.
Chuck CoW

DOUG @ ECS

I have many customers who might disagree with you on this. Our mail in tune special picks up 2-3 tenths in the 1/4 mile on an otherwise stock vehicle. We have proven this a hundred times over now.

That's a tenth off your ET for $50, which happens to be the highest dollar per ET return on investment we offer shy of removing weight.

Now going for one of the higher priced tuning options, then yes I might agree with you. Which is why we often talk people out of paying full price for a dyno tune on a stock car.