Northwest Members - OR: Tuning shop

Hey guys, I just swapped an LS into my car and want/need some tuning done. Are there any good shops in Oregon? Maybe even the Salem area?

Wong's proformance engineering in vancover does great work from everything I have heard.

What did you swap it into?

+1 Wong's Performance

Tom is the go to guy here's his shop number 360-695-9433. He knows Gm shit inside and out

Hey guys, I just swapped an LS into my car and want/need some tuning done. Are there any good shops in Oregon? Maybe even the Salem area?

What kind of tuning are you needing done? Sensor deletes, code removal, etc... I can help you with. I work in Salem. If you're needing full dyno-tuning done, I'd be willing to help with that as well by setting up my laptop and interface on your car.....then you could get a remote tune from either edcmat-l1 or Frost. You'd need a wideband o2 installed on your car. Or, you could go with a "mail order" tune from one of those guys, and I could flash it in for you....whatever you choose. I have access to a steady-state capable dyno as well....I'd have to double-check on current rental rates....but it's here in Salem as well.

Just some food for thought.

I have a wideband o2 already for my PLX gauge. I would like a full dyno tune, but not a necessity. I need the idle raised and the shift points on my 6x tuned really good and I've never tuned anything. So help would be appreciated, Im used to the euro scene so finding GM tuning shops is new to me.

Thanks guys.

Well Wong's is the way to go its a one stop shop. Call him and tell him what you have going on and let him know what you wanna do.

Wong's for sure

I will only say that when I called Wong's for tuning my FFI Fbody, I got some answers to questions that did not jive with what Frost had told me. I'm not going to slam the shop, but Steve's (Frost) reputation here is VERY,VERY good....and that's an understatement.

Just my $.02

Wong's proformance engineering in vancover does great work from everything I have heard.

What did you swap it into?

Sorry, it's in a 00 BMW 528.

I will only say that when I called Wong's for tuning my FFI Fbody, I got some answers to questions that did not jive with what Frost had told me. I'm not going to slam the shop, but Steve's (Frost) reputation here is VERY,VERY good....and that's an understatement.

Just my $.02

What's the name of the shop? I want call and get prices and vibes from both shops, I have a hard time letting other people touch my car. Lol anal I guess

What's the name of the shop? I want call and get prices and vibes from both shops, I have a hard time letting other people touch my car. Lol anal I guess

PM edcmat-l1 or Frost....both members of this forum. You can also visit Frost's website www.tunedbyfrost.com

With either one of these guys, you'd have to rent dyno time locally and have access to a tuning suite such as HPTuners. That way, they can remote tune the vehicle. Overall, this would be a more expensive route than going to Wong's...as you'll have to rent dyno time locally, AND pay for licensing of HPTuners for your vehicle. The plus side to this, is that your car will be tuned by, arguably, the best in the business.

Edit: Also keep in mind BOTH of these guys are friggin' busy, so it might take some time for them to get back with you. I'm going to be scheduling dyno time in the next few weeks to have edcmat-l1 tune my Miata....if you feel like it, we might be able to do both cars at the same time. Just a thought.

What's the name of the shop? I want call and get prices and vibes from both shops, I have a hard time letting other people touch my car. Lol anal I guess

I am the same way, hard to let anyone that I dont know touch my cars after being screwed by one shop & having issues with another.

but I have known tom for several years & he is one of two shops that I will allow to touch my cars.
Ellis of speed secrets is another one.

I would not do any kinda of mail order tune its a pain in the ass and its not going to be anything close to a dyno tune. Mail tunes are crap! If not Tom ellis would be my second choice up in snohomish, WA

I would not do any kinda of mail order tune its a pain in the ass and its not going to be anything close to a dyno tune. Mail tunes are crap! If not Tom ellis would be my second choice up in snohomish, WA

I agree...a regular mail order tune would suck. That's not what I'm suggesting in the slightest.

one shop you should not go to is PSI!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know to many people that got screwed over by them and they dont know how to tune Ls's worth a shit

There's dyno in Salem? News to me lol.. Where is at?

So you rent a dyno do some pulls while logging data with HPT or EFI Live etc. Email file to whoever. Then have to rent more dyno time down the road so you can upload the tune and then log some more data? Sounds like a huge PITA to me.

I am very happy with my tune from Wong's, who is also very busy and hard to get an appointment in short notice.

Dan Judy automotive has a dynojet. Wouldn't take my car there for tuning, but they're nice guys.
I'm not in a hurry for a tune, I'd like the idle bumped up soon, but I'm still breaking in the engine. So it'll be awhile, maybe I'll call wongs and schedule an appointment in a month or so.

So you rent a dyno do some pulls while logging data with HPT or EFI Live etc. Email file to whoever. Then have to rent more dyno time down the road so you can upload the tune and then log some more data? Sounds like a huge PITA to me.

I am very happy with my tune from Wong's, who is also very busy and hard to get an appointment in short notice.

Um...nope. That's not how it works. But whatever.....I was just throwing the offer out there. If you're happy with Wong's, great. For myself, they'll never touch my cars. Call it personal choice, or whatever ya want. I just don't feel comfortable with them, for my own reasons. To each, their own.

i just dont like the idea of some dude doing shit on the other side of the country. His tunes are nothing special. The only people that make him sound like he's the shit are people with autos. It takes no brains to bump up the line pressure. I like the idea that if you have a issue with your tune you can go back to the shop with it not email some dude and wait on what he says

So what again did tom not know how to do??? Cause every person that's used tom doesnt have anything bad or negative to say. I have always herd good things about him and personally i have used his services for 3 years and never had no issues of any kind with him....

And he also has more corvettes in his shop than the local dealer. If he was a shitty tunner or shitty repair shop his doors would of closed a long long time ago. In the corvette crowd if word goes around of a shitty shop no one use's that shop.

Damn man....take it easy.:D I refuse to start a "bash Wong's" thread. I have my reasons. I'll just leave it at that. If you're happy with them, then great...I know that a lot of folks are. But based on conversations I've had in the past with him, I decided that's not the shop for me. That's all I'm going to say about it. You're entitled to your opinions, as am I.

I'd have to agree with salemtro. I was given some awful info from wong along with a good personal friend of mine had some tune work done to his camaro and the car ran like shit afterwards. We ended up tuning it ourselves.

Dan Judy automotive has a dynojet. Wouldn't take my car there for tuning, but they're nice guys.
I'm not in a hurry for a tune, I'd like the idle bumped up soon, but I'm still breaking in the engine. So it'll be awhile, maybe I'll call wongs and schedule an appointment in a month or so.

If you plan on going to Wong (even in a month) I would definitely call him now. If you call him in a month it's probably gonna be another month or so until he can get to you.

Salemetro and GreatV8, did you actually get your cars turned at Wong's Performance Engineering? If not what are you basing your opinions on?

As for me I bought my car camed and tuned by someone else and took it to Wong's to be re-tuned as soon as he had an opening. I picked up 6 hp and could tell it was running better before I even pulled out of his parking lot. There's a really good reason for why it takes a month or more to get an appointment with him, just sayin...

LOL if the car ran like shit why the hell wouldnt you take it back. Sounds to me like horse shit cause if theres ever a issue Tom would take car of it. But nice try. And greatv8 what year camaro was this that your good buddy has?

Called performance racing engineering (Steve Tepper) and he gave me the number of a guy here in town that tunes. And he says he wouldn't trust anyone else, and around here, coming from Steve, that's HUGE!

LIke in your town??? salem

LOL i hope your not talking about PRE out of gresham cause they suck at tunning.

No, it's a small shop in Salem, he doesn't do any tuning. But he's been around for 30+ years he has some CRAZY cars and knows EVERYBODY that knows anything about cars around here.... In short, I really trust the guy. Lol

So much negativity around here :) Tom is great at what he does. Are there others with his same knowledge and experience...yes. Good luck OP with your tune. Hope to meet you and cruise this summer.

Called performance racing engineering (Steve Tepper) and he gave me the number of a guy here in town that tunes. And he says he wouldn't trust anyone else, and around here, coming from Steve, that's HUGE!

One thing to consider, is that Steve knows very little about LS-based cars....or much about late-model EFI for that matter. As a bit of proof, just look at the parts he keeps in stock.....nothing for late model cars. He's an old-school hot-rodder, who has some VERY valuable knowledge for the things that he works on. He has done some very impressive old-school builds, but let's just say that the newer stuff is not his forte'. I say this not to bad-mouth him, but to just state what my experience has been with him over the past 20 years. He's a good guy, but a big fish in a small pond.

There are no quality tuners here in Salem that I'm aware of....certainly none that have made much of a name for themselves. I'd suggest calling the guy...then ask him how many late-model GM vehicles he's tuned. I think that you'll probably find the number to be very few.

My suggestion, fwiw; Look somewhere else for a tuner.

I realize Steve is an old school guy, but he knows a lot of people that know just as much about efi cars as he does about carb'd cars. The guy isn't a big tuner guy like wongs or frost, just a guy that has some experience with tuning efi cars. I talked to him and he seemed very knowledgable. I'm not getting a full tune done through him, just some tweaks so I can live with it until I have time to go to wongs.

I also emailed wongs and am talking to him about a few things and what his schedule is like.

LOL well if your guy cant get it done Give Wongs a call. All his parts he keeps in stock are LS parts and is the Northwest only Gm dedicated tunning shop. Use him and you wont be sorry. i've got a buddy that talked the most shit about toms tunning with out ever having any tunning done by tom and he just finished up his cam and ported heads ls2 vette with long tube headers and i convinced him to have tom tune his car cause the other shop he used on his other vette did a poor job tunning. Well he walked out a happy camper his car made 470whp and 440tq and drives like a nearly stock car.

So the car is running around 600 like it should, my tach is just off. I've noticed that its been getting better the more I drive it, so maybe it just needs to learn/adapt. I'm gonna call wongs and set up an appointment.

Tim I kinda skimmed over your post and noticed 470hp and 440tq and I was like I never bad mouthed Tom lol but it's someone else with the same dyno numbers. I would suggest Wongs though. He is very knowledgable and does a really good job and for the guys that have issues let him know don't just bad mouth him and say he sucks because I know a lot of happy customers that come out of there including myself. But to the op deffinitly go to Tom wong's while I was there, I had a bad o2 sensor and he was like, I have an old one in the garbage from the last car that replaced both of them. threw it on and solved that issue for me for free.

If you want it done right...... You will take it to Tom, if your anal about your cars........... You will definitely take it to Tom.

Was able to snag an appointment with Tom the first weekend of may... Excited to see what she puts down.

Talk to Steve Heino at Modern Classics Auto and Performance. A friggin Awesome at tuning. Last time I saw him he had a LS3 in a 70 camaro, tuned to perfection. His LS swap and tuning landed him in a GM Edge article (thats how I found out about him) him and his wife are really good people. He's the only tuner I trust in the area.

http://www.modernclassicsauto.com

Very pleased with wong's, car idles lower, smoother, feels more responsive and snappy. And I'm getting the fuel economy I should now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y85NiMNYAyc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii362/JFreak-09/d7215eef.jpg

http://i549.photobucket.com/albums/ii362/JFreak-09/fdf4962e.jpg

Nice numbers

Nice numbers

I think they're spot on. I was actually a little surprised considering all the power the auto eats up.

Nice ride. So where are these numbers? I don't see them anywhere. The attached file would not open for me. What year Beemer?

Nice ride. So where are these numbers? I don't see them anywhere. The attached file would not open for me. What year Beemer?

427 whp
413 ft-lb torque

It's a 2000

Nice!

Very nice man!

nice i just missed you after you left. Good numbers and nice car

nice i just missed you after you left. Good numbers and nice car

Thanks
Was your car there? Did you see that black c5 vette? I left right as they were unloading it.

Thanks
Was your car there? Did you see that black c5 vette? I left right as they were unloading it.

No my car wasnt there i just cruised out there cause that guy with that black c5 z wanted to hear the cam in my car and i got lunch with tom afterwords. That guy has a super clean vette

427 whp
413 ft-lb torque

It's a 2000

Nice #'s

Nice bimmer, i dig it. I bet u piss off a bunch of m5's

Nice bimmer, i dig it. I bet u piss off a bunch of m5's

Thanks.
Yah, m5's, m3's, m6's, srt8's and a 2010 camaro so far. Lol

Thanks.
Yah, m5's, m3's, m6's, srt8's and a 2010 camaro so far. Lol

I love pulling up to all the above and blowing their doors off. 5.0 Mustangs too :)

I can't wait tell I pull up to you all and completely blow your doors off..lol

I can't wait tell I pull up to you all and completely blow your doors off..lol

your car will definatly be a beast once you get it going. well i just got some cash ive been expecting for a while now so tomorrow i am gonna be buying some parts and getting an appt with tom. the silver bullet will ride again very soon

LOL good luck Tmoney=)

I'll have a few surprises after I log a few miles... Haha

I can't wait tell I pull up to you all and completely blow your doors off..lol

so what is keeping you from going with a 408? if i had that block id def go that route or maybe even 421ci

Lol Tim you'll get me at the track buddy but roll racing, that will be a differnt story.
I don't want to spend the money on the kit.
I'm going to have plenty of power with my set up, maybe more then enough:)

I can't wait tell I pull up to you all and completely blow your doors off..lol

The only thing you are gonna blow is your motor :judge:

:rotflmao::rotflmao:The only thing you are gonna blow is your motor :judge:

:rotflmao:

I'll smoke all y'all

Lol so you think:)..

LOL T my car shines on the highway=) I love roll races=)

I'm sure it does man. All I'm saying is it will be fun:D

Mike and I need to get our shit together. Technically from what I can recall of who still has their cars and actually post in here the fastest is mike, me, Tim(salvage), then I think Steven has the next fastest slip. I'm not sure what Cody runs except consistent 9's on his bike. Jsafe sold his car. So all in all, I guess Tim is the fastest for now with a running car lol.

I could care less who's car is the fastest or if I'm the slowest. My ride is flawless and looks and runs good...that's all that matters to myself. It's nice to have a group of locals involved in the same hobby and our cars will spank 95% of anything on the road.

Yes yes Todd and brandon!! I loves these cars and the group of guys that are in it. I wouldnt trade for another group for anything...well maybe a Turk sandwich..lol

I agree Todd. We do have beautiful cars that from the factory are fast as hell.

And I think Steven and Todd's cars are the nicest

Yea both of those cars are very clean that's for sure.

Mike and I need to get our shit together. Technically from what I can recall of who still has their cars and actually post in here the fastest is mike, me, Tim(salvage), then I think Steven has the next fastest slip. I'm not sure what Cody runs except consistent 9's on his bike. Jsafe sold his car. So all in all, I guess Tim is the fastest for now with a running car lol.

u made a mistake, im next after salvage. my car would have a much faster time if it wasent for the pedal sticking to the floor every run. my best is a 12.1 so far

And I think Steven and Todd's cars are the nicest

Yea both of those cars are very clean that's for sure.

there are alot of nice cars in our group. if i had to rate them id say #1 goes to steven tho, then probly todd. i dont wana rate mine, dont wana have to brag too hard lol. im jk


im also picking up some clear corners, and im finnaly gonna lower it while im at it. im thinking im gonna go with strano springs, does anyone have another sugestion for springs?

I'd rate mine dead last because of the homo behind the steering wheel. ;) The thing I like about the WS6, you don't see them on the street that much. If you do, they are usually a V6 or a LT1 car. The Camaro's are a almost like the GT Mustang....they are all over. Don't get me wrong, I love them. I just like having something more on the rare side. Like Welldone's 35th anniversary edition Camaro.

Strano's or BMR's. Basically the same spring really. BMR more or less took Strano's design and copied it. Can't go wrong either way.

I'd rate mine dead last because of the homo behind the steering wheel. ;) The thing I like about the WS6, you don't see them on the street that much. If you do, they are usually a V6 or a LT1 car. The Camaro's are a almost like the GT Mustang....they are all over. Don't get me wrong, I love them. I just like having something more on the rare side. Like Welldone's 35th anniversary edition Camaro.

Strano's or BMR's. Basically the same spring really. BMR more or less took Strano's design and copied it. Can't go wrong either way.

geez todd dont be so hard on your self! lol, you have a clean car man. i wish mine was still that nice. i also love the 35th LE, they look sick with the right wheels, the stockers are nice to tho. thanks for the input on the springs dude. is the LCA relocation a must or can i wait a little longer to mess with that?

Me personally, I would do rear LCA's w/ the relocate brackets at the same time. UMI sells them at a good price. Are they a must...no.

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_138_108&products_id=117

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_138_101

Z28's yes, SS's not that many, at least I haven't seen very many of them, same thing with the WS6. Seen many firebirds but not WS6 Trans Am's.

Me personally, I would do rear LCA's w/ the relocate brackets at the same time. UMI sells them at a good price. Are they a must...no.

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_138_108&products_id=117

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_138_101

shit, you know what? im getting way ahead of myself here. im just gonna get it running right first

geez todd dont be so hard on your self! lol, you have a clean car man. i wish mine was still that nice. i also love the 35th LE, they look sick with the right wheels, the stockers are nice to tho. thanks for the input on the springs dude. is the LCA relocation a must or can i wait a little longer to mess with that?

I would at least get the relocate brackets, you really don't need new LCA's the brackets are more important and will make a bigger difference than the LCA's will.

LOL T my car shines on the highway=) I love roll races=)

thats what i was going for with my setup. now i just need to get it into wongs so he can do the swap.

roll racing= less shit breaking too haha

thats what i was going for with my setup. now i just need to get it into wongs so he can do the swap.

roll racing= less shit breaking too haha




I know what you mean. my cars not geared for drag racing so thats why i love going from a roll. Ill do dig races but not that many people like doing them. So you have all your parts ready?

I know what you mean. my cars not geared for drag racing so thats why i love going from a roll. Ill do dig races but not that many people like doing them. So you have all your parts ready?

i agree, the only time i like goin from a dig is at the track. i prefer a 60 roll, that way when i shift down to second im starting off at the top of my power band.

I know what you mean. my cars not geared for drag racing so thats why i love going from a roll. Ill do dig races but not that many people like doing them. So you have all your parts ready?

Cant tell if your car is a Z06 or not. factory 3:42 gear?

yeah man, everything is sitting in the garage waiting. been calling tom alot over the last several weeks. hes busy and im waiting for him to get one of the lifts free so I can drive the car up and drop everything off. Hopefully should be in another 2-3 weeks. HOPEFULLY.

Also located a MN12 that Im trying to pick up and send to rpm for a level 5 build. Its crazy how expensive the rear ends are in our cars. I can get a built tranny cheaper then a built rear. I wanted to switch to 3:73s, but if I get the MN12, ill keep the 3:42s and just save up for 300m axles and a carbon clutch pack. Built tranny and shoter gearing > factory tranny and built rear with 3:73s. besides, might as well do the trans if its cheaper and everything is gonna be out anyway.

I only plan to make it to the track ones in this car just to see what I can do. dont care what I run, just want the trap speed around 125-130. I wanna be able to pull 600ccs from a roll, could care less about running 10s.

You will be able to pull a 600, I hung dead even with one that had a pipe and I put down less power than you should make and weigh about a quarter ton more than you.

Cant tell if your car is a Z06 or not. factory 3:42 gear?

yeah man, everything is sitting in the garage waiting. been calling tom alot over the last several weeks. hes busy and im waiting for him to get one of the lifts free so I can drive the car up and drop everything off. Hopefully should be in another 2-3 weeks. HOPEFULLY.

Also located a MN12 that Im trying to pick up and send to rpm for a level 5 build. Its crazy how expensive the rear ends are in our cars. I can get a built tranny cheaper then a built rear. I wanted to switch to 3:73s, but if I get the MN12, ill keep the 3:42s and just save up for 300m axles and a carbon clutch pack. Built tranny and shoter gearing > factory tranny and built rear with 3:73s. besides, might as well do the trans if its cheaper and everything is gonna be out anyway.

I only plan to make it to the track ones in this car just to see what I can do. dont care what I run, just want the trap speed around 125-130. I wanna be able to pull 600ccs from a roll, could care less about running 10s.



Na its just a 99 FRC. I need to get 4.10's or 3.90's or a MN12 trans. The long gears down low kill me. Tell me about it man F bodys are so much cheaper to build. Gotta love the corvette tax. You should roll over 600 with out a prob. Cause i dont have any issues running them=) arent you doing some big cubic inch motor with nice heads??

You should be able to take a 600. Most of them (your average rider) runs low to mid 11's in the 1/4, but that is when they really start pulling. Street bikes have no bottom end and can't get out of the hole very good. They are much better at rolls, but like others said, you shouldn't have a problem. Just watch out for them 1000's. I know you wouldn't be able to take mine. LOL

You will be able to pull a 600, I hung dead even with one that had a pipe and I put down less power than you should make and weigh about a quarter ton more than you.

thats the plan! :)


Na its just a 99 FRC. I need to get 4.10's or 3.90's or a MN12 trans. The long gears down low kill me. Tell me about it man F bodys are so much cheaper to build. Gotta love the corvette tax. You should roll over 600 with out a prob. Cause i dont have any issues running them=) arent you doing some big cubic inch motor with nice heads??

My 00 FRC is $70 a month full coverage. The 02 Z I almost bought, was $175. Lol it was a no brainer which to buy knowning I was gonna do a swap.
Yeah, Im just waiting for Tom Wong to get some free time. He slammed right now. but the basics are

427 (11.75:1)
LS3 heads CND by SDPC
Lunati Voodoo 243/255 .651/.651 112+2

and everything else in my sig. I have everything, its just waiting to be put in. Should hopefully be able to get him the car by the end of the month if he can make room. Also working on getting an MN12, but im waiting to hear back from RPM. They are out of town right now. Gotta give them a call tomorrow.

You should be able to take a 600. Most of them (your average rider) runs low to mid 11's in the 1/4, but that is when they really start pulling. Street bikes have no bottom end and can't get out of the hole very good. They are much better at rolls, but like others said, you shouldn't have a problem. Just watch out for them 1000's. I know you wouldn't be able to take mine. LOL

yeah but even a pro rider on a 600 traps in the mid to high 120s right? dont they do around 125-127 in the quarter? Should be easier to take them from a higher roll I would think? Hell my old turbo cavalier, I was able to pull a 12.5@116 :p

And yeah, I dont plan on trying to beat 1000s. my pockets arent that deep.:eek2: