What do you tuners charge for a tune?

What is the going rate?

I would like to hear from the horses mouth.
I know each tuner may be a bit different,but then again,maybe they are all the same!

We have a wealth of good,if not great tuners here in So.Cal.....

So,what do you guys charge? Please list pricing and if there are different prices(like for supercharged applications,or different for a c6 z06 for example) could you break that down for us?

I think it would be a good tool for those ( myself included) who will be looking for a tune soon.

 

400 for bolt on cars.
500 for H/C and strokers
600 for F/I
All are SD tuned, and then MAF tuned. All except bolt on cars, I like to have overnight to check the cold start, and cold driveability.
Almost all F/I cars are done 2 bar. All are dyno tuned, and road tested while logging, and part throttle adjustments made where necessary.
My tuned cars are known for having very repeatable numbers, as well as exceptional driveability.
Dont know how many more tuners you'll get to fess up to what they charge on a forum. I know I'm more expensive than alot of them, but that doesnt stop people from traveling hundreds of miles to have me tune their car.

 

Mail Order - $150

Street Tune - $275

Dyno Tune - $550 - $650 (the variance depends on the complexity of the mods)

Full SD - $850


I use a full load control dyno and when mapping a SD tune or a MAF tune, it can't be beat.

Tuning cars on dyno and engines on dynos for that matter, since before there were computers and doing computer stuff since the LT1 days - in other words, I'm old.

 

Thanks !!

I hear many different explanations about Speed Density tuning.

Not to sound like a moron, but what is the diff between a Dyno tune and a Speed Density tune?

Mucho thanks.

 

imo, sometimes you get what you pay for......

a 'good' tuner is worth his/her weight in gold.

DISCLAIMER: simply a reminder, not a statement in reference to anyone.

 

We are doing full dyno tunes w/dirvability for $399 bolt-ons & heads/cam, $499 FI & $599 SD.

 

Charlie
Can you explain your street tune.

 

It is quite true: you get what you pay for.

We tune every car like it was our own. If you're not happy, we're not happy.

We tune it all, whether it's a bolt-on car or an engine/twin turbo/methanol car. We use the same rate for most applications. A small additional hardware & tuning fee for 2 & 3 bar SD tunes does apply in those specific applications.

Give us a call and interview us so we can determine your specific needs.

Our tuner is a HP Tuners beta tester, forum moderator and works directly with HP Tuners on product development. He knows the cars PCM inside and out.

 

And your tuner has an EXCELLENT rep!

 

This is a good thread.

 

Both my cars have Charlie's tune on them. He spent many hours on his load dyno dialing in my 08 coupe. We found that it made more power being a nice safe 12.0 A/F. He tuned it with a 91/Torco mix, around 95 octane, and we saw 448 RWHP hot, and then 455 after a breif cool down!
Having well over 350 dyno pulls under my belt between my 2 vettes, I can really say that the "load" dyno helps the tuner to hit each fuel cell and get a more simulated street tune.

Here's the graph:


Charlie has also tuned my supercharged 98 coupe more times then he or I would like to admit! Every time one makes a significant change, he had to tweak the tune.
This last time was done with a SD tune on a 91/Torco, around 97 octane on this car. He spent many hours on the street dialing in the part throttle, and then followed that up with his load dyno to get the WOT just right. Once we removed the MAF, and added a bigger filter, I was making crazy boost with the NOVI 2k. Charlie advised me to go a bit rich on this last tune, for longevity of engine life.
The thing that I've found out over the years, is that a 11.5 A/F tune on a blower car on a dyno is no longer 11.5 after heated use on the street. It gets leaner, and that where some tunes can get into trouble...

At 777 RWHP, I'm just fine with the power, I don't need to push it to 800 just to say I have it...
Here's the graph on the 98:


It's obvious that I'm happy with his tuning, but if you didn't get that from my post, I'll say it for the record, I recommend Charlie at RPM...

JB

 

Nice results Joel!

BTW, which tune did the 08 get? the 550-650?,or the 850 speed density tune?Guess I'm asking how much it cost you...

About how much time did he spend on this dyno tune?

 

Why can't you guys just post up your prices and description like the rest of these good folks?

Then maybe people can make a preliminary decision on who they may want to go with

Just a suggestion,as personally,I like to be informed and not "sold" or "closed"

 

I think the tuner's reputation is more important than the price they charge.

 

Correct. On the West Coast LAPD, A&A, Charlie RPM are some of the best no matter what the price. Our prices are for the month of Nov & Dec to celebrate the dyno being finally paid off. If you search on us you wil see our satisfaction rate.

 

I went with a $550 Maf tune on the 08. We tweaked the tune a few times with just Torco, and then just Torco and a CAI.

Once we put the Dynatech 1&7/8 headers on, Charlie spent many hours on his load dyno to get the fueling just right.

JB

 

I do agree that reputation and experience tuning cars is SUPER important, but I'm not going to pay a guy whatever he wants, just because he's got a great rep... All within reason.

JB