ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Like the title says, I've been shopping for a dyno tune lately and unfortunately, my local go to dyno tuner's shop who tuned my old setup has apparently gone belly up recently; I guess another victim of the recession I live in Charlotte which is sort of a racing hotspot and used to be lots of LT1 shops..I contacted every shop with a dyno within 100 miles and they only mess with LS, imports, or mustangs anymore; there was only one shop in Conover (over an hour away) "Tru Dyno Sports LLC" that has the abililty to tune a LT1....and he wants to keep it overnight to tune cold startups as well...and charge $525...seems kinda odd; maybe he just wants to beat on it LOL I'm a bit hesitant to do that...

To continue my rant PCM for less is right up the road, but Alvin doesn't dyno tune LT1's anymore either ....and Tick performance moved far away. Just wondering why no one will touch them; is it the software needed is outdated/expensive or is it just a lack of knowledgeable tuners out there? Or is it there's just not enough LT1's needing dyno tunes out there to justify getting the software?

Looks like my best option may be to take a 2+ hour road trip to Carolina Auto Masters in Durham and let Jeff Creech do it as he mentions he has a 420 RWHP LT1 car himself. Anybody have experience with his tunes? Recommendations?

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

ive been getting away from them too......the whole part of not being able to recover the computer from a load error is discouraging with the LT1 pcms....

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

From what I've read Creech is a good choice. They received a little bit of a black eye when one of the mechanics took a joyride in a customer car and ended up demolishing it a few years ago. I've talked to him on the phone and he seemed friendly and very helpful.
Reason why LT1 tuners are scarce is because there aren't that many in the performance world anymore. Contrary to the belief of many on this site, they are becoming extinct.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Yea a shop wrecking your car would be a bit of a pisser lol

96LT1355Z28

iTrader: (2)

Moe Bailey (Moehorsepower) just made a trip form Texas to KC, MO and did a great job. I was using Ed Wright (Fastchip) but he sold his dyno and shop. Moe did a great job I recommend him and will use him in the future. I know you don't want to travel and it was cheaper for me to gather some car around KC to share his travel expense for the weekend. I know he said he is really busy all summer but if you can get some others committed to buying a tune and have access to a dyno it might be worth contacting him.

warriorcustoms

iTrader: (10)

Moe does mail order too Since your so far away Id start there Im sure hes done many like yours Im havin him do my tune But Im only 98 miles from his stompin grounds Ive got his # somewhere if ya need it As stated he is a busy man

WS Sick

I'm allways in the same boat, I have had to learn it all myself, still have a "cloud" when it comes to some areas, but I can get my stuff nailed down over time...lol.

trilkb

iTrader: (4)

I was quoted around 700$ from the 2 tuners here to tune mine, so 525 seems reasonable to me haha.

The bitch of it is that for under 150$ you can get what you need to self tune, but you have to know what the heck your looking at. Can look at it is a learning thing though, plus you can change anything you want. Ive already done small things to mine to make it better then the mail order tune. Once my wideband is hooked up (been in a box for about 6 months) ill be alot better off.

WS Sick

The wideband is a God send, especially if you have ine that you can log with. Its allways funny when you compare the output of the factory O2s with the wideband.

wrd1972

iTrader: (12)

My tuner will no longer take new LT1 cars becasue most of the ones that show up, have issues and are not ready to be tuned. Most new LT1s he normally sees have ignition (opti) problems or something else wrong and it turns into something much larger than just a normal dyno tune. Most of the guys who have LT1 cars around here have them hill-jacked and thrown together and its just no longer profitiable to fool with them. Also they tend to be pissed off when they dont make the power of the LS1 cars and then cant accept reality.

He did recently tune mine however becasue he can count on my motor being "built right" with no issues to chase other than the ones relevant to the tune itself. BTW he charges insanely low prices compared to what is stated above and the quality of the work is very very good. He spent 4 hours on mine and only charged me $150.

In short, most good tuners simply dont want to screw with them anymore especially if they are coverd up with LSX jobs.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, but I already have a mail order tune from PCM for less. Drivability is great with the current mail order tune BUT it runs rich...terrible mileage (11mpg with 6spd) It seems a mail order tune is just WOT tuning...I need somebody to spend a few hours with in hooked up to a wideband and do some part throttle tuning as well. Also, my old tuner was able to add 11 RWHP over the PCM for less tune baseline dyno run on my old cam only setup and made it get better mileage; I'm hoping a good dyno tuner can pick up even more HP on a 383 11.4CR with ported heads, 36# injectors ect and at least hit 15mpg lol.

wrd1972

iTrader: (12)

NON WOT tuning can be done with some time and patience if you have a WB O2 and TTS Datamaster and Tuner cat.

Mystery Bird

iTrader: (7)

No dyno tuners in my area either. Ended up buying a wideband and tuned off a mail order tune. It takes so much time though, and end up reading till eyes bleed. I picked up a good 2 tenths at the track tuning myself over the mail order.

slomarao

iTrader: (6)

i have a buddy with a dyno outside chicago. but he was very very busy when i needed to get my car done.

I called everywhere with 150miles of chicago....1 place aside my buddy would do it. FLP...and they wanted 575 i think. I got mine done for 400. and i was there for 4.5 hrs.

I couldnt believe no one would touch an LT1 now days....didnt think they are that old ....

pitbull81chevy

RPM Motorsports in Garner,NC will still do LT1 cars.Had them tune mine last year in March. Pleased with every aspect of the tune and service.Had PCM for less tune but was real rich also, now with my RPM tune and 6sp and 3.73 i get between 18.5 and 20mpg.I got lt4 top end with cc306,58tb,etc.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Thanks....I'll check them out too and get their quote, just wish I didn't have to drive so far.

trilkb

iTrader: (4)

Yea, Ive forgotten most of what I read when I bought the wideband 6 months ago. I dont know how tuners know what the hell they are looking at and what to change. I guess it makes sense when you do a couple and compare wideband readings to spark tables vs rpms. It also help to know which of the 500 tables to modify with there crazy names lol.

My pcmforless tune is also crazy rich, Im sure its robbing power and spark plugs are starting to get effected

LT14LIFE JT

iTrader: (1)

^
This! They are awesome. I'm in southern VA and recommend them as well. It's worth the drive. Check out horsepowerjunkies.com They're a sponsor on site and you will see some real results.

IrocZ

iTrader: (2)

If you're willing to drive to Durham to get your car tuned you should definitely drive the 25 extra mins to go go to Mayhem motorsports to get them to tune your car. They are the ones who tuned mine and I'm very happy with them. Rpm is another good option but they'd be a helluva drive from where you are. I would for sure go to mayhem or RPM before I ever took my car to C.A.M

97Z28SS

iTrader: (5)

This is one of the main reasons I went EFI 24x because with the LSx computer I will always be able to get it tuned, the LT1 tuners are becoming as scarce as hens teeth.