Need Advice For Someone New To Tuning
04-05-2006, 12:17 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Need Advice For Someone New To Tuning
I have a 04 C5 coupe with an A4 and 3.15 rear end. The only mods are a transmission cooler and a Halltech Stinger intake.
This car is used mostly as a street and highways car that I even let my wife drive (sometimes).
But about 3-4 times a year I take it to Texas Motor Speedway for track days.
This is an all day session on a controlled 2.5 mile course using the oval and an infield course with passing allowed. There is a lot of hard braking and WOT with a top speed of about 140 mph. Although this is a “school”, spontaneous racing has been known to break out.
I have worked on cars for over thirty years, but I am not familiar with what tuning the PCM can do for me. My wife does not want to drive a "race car" around town, but I would like to get all I can at the track. A Mustang SVT looks best as it recedes in my rear view mirror.
What would you suggest? I have several suggestion s from my friends.
1 Take it to a local tuner. Stick with his tune full time.
2 Buy a tuning program. Capture the OEM tune. Take it to a local tuner. Capture his work. Swap the OEM tune and tuner’s work as required.
3 Buy a tune from a mail order tuner (I don’t know how this works)
4 Buy a second PCM from a mail order tuner and swap it with my OEM PCM as required.
5 Buy a tuning program and have it myself.
I would appreciate any of the forum’s opinions and/or other options. I have another track day coming up on May 4th and I’m really looking forward to it.
Thanks in advance.
This car is used mostly as a street and highways car that I even let my wife drive (sometimes).
But about 3-4 times a year I take it to Texas Motor Speedway for track days.
This is an all day session on a controlled 2.5 mile course using the oval and an infield course with passing allowed. There is a lot of hard braking and WOT with a top speed of about 140 mph. Although this is a “school”, spontaneous racing has been known to break out.
I have worked on cars for over thirty years, but I am not familiar with what tuning the PCM can do for me. My wife does not want to drive a "race car" around town, but I would like to get all I can at the track. A Mustang SVT looks best as it recedes in my rear view mirror.
What would you suggest? I have several suggestion s from my friends.
1 Take it to a local tuner. Stick with his tune full time.
2 Buy a tuning program. Capture the OEM tune. Take it to a local tuner. Capture his work. Swap the OEM tune and tuner’s work as required.
3 Buy a tune from a mail order tuner (I don’t know how this works)
4 Buy a second PCM from a mail order tuner and swap it with my OEM PCM as required.
5 Buy a tuning program and have it myself.
I would appreciate any of the forum’s opinions and/or other options. I have another track day coming up on May 4th and I’m really looking forward to it.
Thanks in advance.
04-05-2006, 12:45 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
Hi pistolpete817 -
Having a professional tune done will not have any negative impact on driveability - in my experience anyway....
I had Ernie Francis (Breathless Performance) tune my Z at the NCM during a cruise in a few years ago - the improvement in performance was remarkable! Well worth doing, and I would be very surprised if your wife would be able to tell the difference.
best regards -
mqqn
Having a professional tune done will not have any negative impact on driveability - in my experience anyway....
I had Ernie Francis (Breathless Performance) tune my Z at the NCM during a cruise in a few years ago - the improvement in performance was remarkable! Well worth doing, and I would be very surprised if your wife would be able to tell the difference.
best regards -
mqqn
04-05-2006, 04:05 PM
#3
Safety Car
If you're not doing mods now or planning to, then just get it done by a professional. That way you can appreciate a good tune now rather than go through a PCM learning curve and then gaining a good tune later.
Arnel
Arnel