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Hi guys. I got ARH headers, X pipe, Akrapovic exhaust, AFE momentum carbon CAI, Tony Mamo TB. Just scheduled a tuner to get the car properly tuned. Was told that it’d cost $850 for updating to GM newest software then tune the car from there. All would take about 2 hours.
1- Does $850 sound right for the software upgrade and tune?
2- Is 2 hours enough for a proper tune?
I’ll keep the name of the shop and the person’s for now cuz I don’t want to bash or praise here. I just want to make sure I’m stepping into something solid or getting jacked around.
The extra cost is not to update to the latest GM software , it's because HP tuners software requires more credits to tune a newer ECM
What are you getting for your $850 , dyno tune or street tune , is it going to cost you for additional time if the tune is just not right ?
As far as time , tuning for.headers and a CAI is not black magic , most tuners have a proven base file they will load and make small changes dependant on your car ...
Now a cam , blower or turbo ... that will take more time ....
The dyno tune on my 2015 was $550. 2017 and up require extra licensing for HP tuners but I think it's only an extra $100, so $850 seems a little rich but depending on how reputable the tuner is, might be worth it. LT tuning is no joke compared to LS tuning. It's not as easy as one thinks for someone who hasn't done a lot of LT stuff. I found out the hard way.
I’m in Wichita KS and I’ve already scheduled for the tune tomorrow in Dallas at noon. Thank you for all the replies. I’ll update this thread after it’s done. The shop and its owner are very well known and have their own C7s. That’s what make me feel comfortable with having them doing the work on my car. This is my first car I’ve ever getting tuned so I was skeptical.
If he's a GOOD tuner then $850 is money well spent. If he's a poor tuner, it's a high price for tuning.
In other words, a good tune forgives a lot. It's worth it if he's talented. I've never been to Kansas but if it's anything like Saskatchewan, you don't exactly have two dozen LS tuners to pick from!
2 hours seems reasonable. Figure 20 minutes to get set up, software licensed and connected. Another 10 to strap it down and you've got an hour and half to make maybe 6 or pulls with tuning in between, as a guess? For a well-known system like this, it's fine.
a tune like that is a cake walk and would take us an hour, pricing seems right in line given the $200 in credits alone for PCM.
Right …..
at the extreme risk of oversimplification , its all in knowing what ***** to turn and what buttons to push ...that is what you pay for ….
Someone mentioned that an LT tune is " NO Joke , and he is right , if its a CAI , CAM , Header or Blower tune but just a header tune is not that complicated and if a tuner messes it up he has no business tuning anything
I had Sam Miller at Advanced Mordern Performance in Dallas did the work. Very nice place and friendly people. I like how it turned out. Will have to be back soon with more upgrades. Definitely worth the trip and money.
It depends if you have an A8 or M7. To license an M7 car is 4 credits for the ECM which is $200 plus time/labor for the tune.
An A8 requires a $200 TCM unlock procedure plus $200 to license the TCM and the $200 for the ECM so it costs $600 to license an A8 car plus time/labor for the tune.
$250 to flash an existing file to your car might be a little steep but to actually custom tune your car on a dyno for WOT and on the street for idle and part throttle is actually a steal. A full, real, quality, custom tune that maximizes spark at MBT over the entire RPM/load range plus fully tuning your MAF AND VE tables takes a LONG time....
most tuners get spark close at WOT and tune your MAF and leave the rest of it alone.
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Getting tune and having few questions
