Mail order or Dyno tune?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,498
Likes: 680
From: The beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast!!
Mail order or Dyno tune?
I have an '02 Coupe with Blackwing air intake and Borla Quad Tip Stingers. I'm about to add ceramic-coated Dynatech long tube headers. I can get a dyno tune nearby for $400-$450 or a canned mail order tune for $150. Is the dyno tune worth the extra money??
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,983
Likes: 393
From: Stoney Creek Ontario
You should be happy with a good mail order tune for those mods...dyno and street tunes are the best though....
Pro
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 633
Likes: 0
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Mail order tunes work fine for a while but I've always liked my cars tuned to their full potential. My tuner when I used to live in Amarillo would street tune it for the driveabilty factor and then put the car on his dyno where he would tune it for WOT and print out your numbers. I've had my car mail order tuned through Texas Speed once and I gained 20rwhp going with a real tune through the tuner I just mentioned. I'm sure some of the other reputable tuners could mail order tune you closer than I experienced though
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,422
Likes: 359
Mail order tunes work fine for a while but I've always liked my cars tuned to their full potential. My tuner when I used to live in Amarillo would street tune it for the driveabilty factor and then put the car on his dyno where he would tune it for WOT and print out your numbers. I've had my car mail order tuned through Texas Speed once and I gained 20rwhp going with a real tune through the tuner I just mentioned. I'm sure some of the other reputable tuners could mail order tune you closer than I experienced though
Pro
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 568
Likes: 1
From: Fresno California
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,312
Likes: 8
From: Frisco Texas
Call a local tuner and get prices YMMV. Depends on how much you need done. Some good tuners can get a car tuned in 2-3 runs.
I took my car to Cunningham Motorsports. Ryne tuned my car in 4 runs. I also had work done to so again on the price you'll have to contact CMS it really depends on what you have and how long it takes.
I took my car to Cunningham Motorsports. Ryne tuned my car in 4 runs. I also had work done to so again on the price you'll have to contact CMS it really depends on what you have and how long it takes.
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Mail order tunes work fine for a while but I've always liked my cars tuned to their full potential. My tuner when I used to live in Amarillo would street tune it for the driveabilty factor and then put the car on his dyno where he would tune it for WOT and print out your numbers. I've had my car mail order tuned through Texas Speed once and I gained 20rwhp going with a real tune through the tuner I just mentioned. I'm sure some of the other reputable tuners could mail order tune you closer than I experienced though
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,312
Likes: 8
From: Frisco Texas
This is the only way to fully tune both the VE and MAF tables as well and touch any drivability concerns. Either that or find a track to make multiple 4th gear WOT to redline runs instead of using a dyno. You can't dial everything in with just a few WOT runs on a dyno any more than you can with a canned tune or a street tune without running WOT to redline with a decent load on the engine (3rd gear minimum, 4th is better).
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,047
Likes: 43
From: Longview Texas
I had two mail order tunes done; both wasted money. Found a local tuner that not only tuned it on the dyno but also took me out and "road-tuned" it. It's a completely different car and even for FREE I would never use a mail-order again. Waste of time and money. Do it right the first time.
Scott
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Providing the most proven supercharger kits for your C5/6/7 609-752-0321
+1
I had two mail order tunes done; both wasted money. Found a local tuner that not only tuned it on the dyno but also took me out and "road-tuned" it. It's a completely different car and even for FREE I would never use a mail-order again. Waste of time and money. Do it right the first time.
Scott
I had two mail order tunes done; both wasted money. Found a local tuner that not only tuned it on the dyno but also took me out and "road-tuned" it. It's a completely different car and even for FREE I would never use a mail-order again. Waste of time and money. Do it right the first time.
Scott
Kind of funny that the two people I have had an issue with this year show up in the same thread.
I do roughly 4-6 mail order tunes per day and you guys have been my only issue customers I have had this year.
Do math on the percentage of people who are extremely happy to to TWO who wern't.
In those rare instances I gladly refund your money with returning the computer back to stock. Seems fair to me to have such a simple return policy.
My mail order tune thread does not have over 800 posts and 75,000 views by accident.
edit, to answer the OP's question, a dyno tune is always better if it is within the means unless you have addittional mods planned in the near future or simply live in an area without any tuners near by.
Last edited by DOUG @ ECS; May 13, 2013 at 12:34 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
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From: South Western Ontario
Vendor for sale "back patting" threads mean little here, at least to me. Vendors can complain to the mods about any negative comments interefering with their sales thread and the comments dissappear.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 23,480
Likes: 9
From: East Meadow NY
St. Jude Donor '12
If you have the means, get a dyno tune. A mail order tune is a good idea if you do engine work and can't do a tune. It allows you to load something close in so you can get to a shop for a proper tune.
They can be useful for basic mods but when it comes down to it. Each car is different and some may not respond well to the changes.
They can be useful for basic mods but when it comes down to it. Each car is different and some may not respond well to the changes.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,312
Likes: 8
From: Frisco Texas
Yeah I have had that happen to me as I try and save people from making stupid decisions. Anyone who knows anything about cars can tell you tuning is an individual process. MO tunes work, but for a little bit more money you can have someone sit in your car, and tune your car to the exact specs of your car and environment. Base maps are great to buy mods and get on the road but long term... is it really a good idea?
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,898
Likes: 9
From: Morrisville PA
A mail order tune is an educated guess.
The only thing I would ever use it on is a stock or possibly exhaust only vehicle.
A cam can change things drastically and can be hard to get right the first time.
The only thing I would ever use it on is a stock or possibly exhaust only vehicle.
A cam can change things drastically and can be hard to get right the first time.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 377
Likes: 3
From: Cudahy WI
Agreed that a canned tune is fine for any cars with just a cat back, intake, and an A/T wanting some shifting and longevity mods, which is probably 99% of the people on this forum. Beyond that, I would suggest a dyno tune. I hate paying people to work on my cars, but after my supercharger install, a dyno tune was money extremely well spent.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 3,163
Likes: 6
From: Oceanside California
I suggest an actual dyno and test drive. The car reaches peak performance and re-tunes from the same shop generally run less than half the original price. This makes it easy to do further mods and get real dyno results to prove gains.