gixxerbill

I met a guy that owns a performance shop that says that he can get me about 30 hp with a computer tune for $300 because he says the stock one is pretty conservative. I would love to get the extra 30 but wanted to check with ya'll really smart people here to see if ya'll thought it was a good idea. I am a little concern on what it will do with shifting(got auto) and other electronics with the motor, tranny and differential.

He has a dyno to that he said he would run after he tweaked the computer to see what I gained. What is rwhp anyway around 400ish? I have the npp exhaust.

I hope this isn't a dumb question but I would really like the hp if it isn't going to hurt anything.

HalfMoon

There is some power left on the table with the tune. That said, you need to be informed before you take that step. Be prepared to lose your power train warranty and pay out of pocket if problems arise. GM wants information before they pay out a large claim.

Not saying don't do it, but make sure you know your possible liabilities. Only you can decide. Good luck.

mattkilla2015

From what I have read on the tunes from the c5/6, there isn't any problems with the shifts being jerky if that was your concern. People have said the tunes make their cars come alive more and no loss of drivability. There should be tuners selling 4-500 flash drives as well so you can tinker with different settings on how you like the car to behave. Throttle response will be sharpened so expect an even funner car to drive. Most also come with free updates as well. If you go with a shop, you should be able to get multiple tunes and I've heard you get a better tune from shops of the programmer is good. Finally having your car dynoed is a big plus.

Like half moon said, you will lose your powertrain warrenty if they find out it has been tuned. There are tuners who say that their products can be reversed to go back to stock if you need to bring it in. but from what I have read, gm and car companies in general are getting better and better at figuring out if the CPU has been tampered with. Is it 30rwhp or just crank hp? I think you can however get aftermarket performance equitment like air intake, headers, exhaust systems that will not void your warrenty (call gm to confirm, look at your warrenty info) IMO it is the better choice to go since engine and tranny work, if things go bad, will probably be more to a lot more expensive than aftermarket parts. If you're not planning on keeping your c7 long, it won't be as bad of a risk/reward. If you do plan on keeping your c7 for 5 years/60k miles I find the risk far too great on a car like the c7. Just my humble opinion.

leadville1

I am buying a Corvette for the first time, and the amount of people I see on these forums raising the red flag about warranties and tunes surprises me. I have put a tune on virtually every car that I have owned. An aftermarket flash of the otherwise factory system is not going to lead to a warranty related failure, I highly suspect these tunes aren't pushing the threshold of tuning and aren't going to cause a failure.

What is going to cause a failure is going to be a manufacturing defect, and or a known issue or weak point with a platform. If your alternator fails are they going to look in your DME for a tune? If you have a water pump fail will they look to your DME? What in this tune is going to cause a failure that is going to set off red flags and send them searching?

To me this is a bit paranoid, I had a 100k plus M5 with software tuning and had several warranty jobs done on my car.

C8Jake

Go for it

DALE#3

Be careful.RESEARCH the crap out of it.People that tell ya it's all right.Probably sell tuners?I own a colorado 2011 pickup w/a 5.3 factory.It goes good...i want more.Almost went for a tune till i got friendly with a tuner.Not on line,personal.He said...if your dealer won't hide it for ya you'll have a problem.Don't know this platform in the 7.Does anybody yet?Get the tuner to put it in writing you won't have a problem.Your call.Do your homework.

B Stead

The ECM tunes for more horsepower, they lean the air/fuel ratio and increase the ignition timing. And they can also change the valve timing on some cars. Then the tunes really are more horsepower. The problem to watch out for would be cylinder head temperatures but which would probably not show up on the coolant temperature gauge.

But when I put an aftermarket exhaust system on a car, if the exhaust is popping too much then I go to a richer air/fuel ratio. (Take a look at the HKS AFR.)

Don't go by what I say but read the SAE papers on aftermarket ECM tuning. Except I haven't found the papers yet.

Finally, search the internet and technical bulletins from the car maker to the dealer concerning ECM tunes can be found. Basically, there has to be some problem for the tune to be found at fault but the dealer might be more simple minded than that.

Some local tuning shop is probably using a nationally offered tune and then just confirming it on the dyno
.

Glenmcp

I know a dealer owner. If you have a power train failure, especially an engine failure and the dealer does not cover for you, you are going to have a problem if the dealer reports an ECM modification to GM. Depending on what, where and when you have a problem you might not be able to put the ECM back to "stock" before the dealer gets their hands on it.

AORoads

leadville: "...What is going to cause a failure is going to be a manufacturing defect, and or a known issue or weak point with a platform. If your alternator fails are they going to look in your DME for a tune? If you have a water pump fail will they look to your DME? What in this tune is going to cause a failure that is going to set off red flags and send them searching? ..."

OK, I'll throw out a caution flag, based on the above para from a post.

If your engine goes boom, and GM is on the hook for replacing/repairing it there are warnings to dealers that they must check certain things, such as the ECM. If it's found to have been changed, there is cause to deny a claim. If a claim is once denied, it can be entered into GM's system, and the car now has a "history" which is what their system is called, "IVH".

Bring it in again for the same or similar problem to a different dealer, they call up your vin, claim denied.

Will it happen? Maybe not. Can it happen? Yes.

Are you willing to roll the dice? Don't know, but the operative phrase is, "If you want to play, you have to be willing to pay."

Not GM paying for you with THEIR warranty, but you paying for you even while you are within their warranty period because you decided to alter things.

It's all on you, not them. Isn't that the way it should be?

02-z28

What is the name of the shop? Can't believe nobody asked that yet.....