Tune or no tune???
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Tune or no tune??? I have a 94 Z and I was wondering if it would be worth it to get it tuned. My mods are a Moroso CAI, LT headers, Matching Y-pipe and an LT4 KM. For $500 is it really worth it for a tune? I don't plan on modding the car anymore, but I'm not sure if 10hp on the dyno is worth $500. What do you guys think? Tune or no tune?
I once said no more mods myself and look what I ended up doing. I bought LT1 Edit, not the greatest program in the world but still very capable. It's a little hard to learn but the learning curve is huge. Moral of the story is if you do mod in the future, you'll have room to grow and the money is already spent.
yea if you can get a laptop and tune it yourself that would save a lot of money, just be careful of course. dyno tuning would be the best to get the most power out of your car but if money is an issue i've heard that mail in tunes work pretty good. I went the dyno route myself, but it is lifetime tune and i've had it tuned 2-3 times already so it has been worth it. also i got a good deal initially though G-Force
its hard to say really, that is the thing about tuning, it is necessary after a certain amount of modding but it is different from car to car as far as what you gain. I didnt have a base number to see how much i gained, but some cars can gain as much as 30hp i've heard. or as little as 5-10hp. its kinda up in the air with that. if you are wanting faster times, maybe look into rear suspension instead of tune. you could probably gain the same amount of time if you dont have any serious mods to the motor yet. that is of course if you dont have any suspension mods yet
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you should have your car tuned just so that everything if working correctly together in terms of mods. You can also have you top speed limiter taken off, transmission changed for firmness etc. and do a power thing (forget the name) if u run 93 octane.
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The other thing to think about is not overall gain but the actual perfomance of the car. You may not see gains as in peak horsepower but that doesn't mean you won't see a big change in track times. Remember its not peak horsepower you want but rather the power under the curve and power within an rpm range that you can use it. I say if you are not that worried get a mail order tune, cause if price is that much of a factor LT1 edit is not that much cheaper than a dyno tune. Course with LT1 edit you can use it again if you do decide to mod more.... Also I hear tunercats is a good programmer and it is a little cheaper than LT1 edit.
O and dhdenney I have been looking into buying either LT1 edit or tunercats, so I have been gathering peoples opinions. Could you be more specific about what you didn't like about LT1 edit.
O and dhdenney I have been looking into buying either LT1 edit or tunercats, so I have been gathering peoples opinions. Could you be more specific about what you didn't like about LT1 edit.
Well, consider this....
You've got a pretty common "Bolt-on" LT1.
These mail order tune guys sell bolt-on tunes all the time.
A dyno tune isn't gonna net much more if anything that one of their tunes.
The only tune I can think of that is as common is is a Hotcam .bin file.
You've got a pretty common "Bolt-on" LT1.
These mail order tune guys sell bolt-on tunes all the time.
A dyno tune isn't gonna net much more if anything that one of their tunes.
The only tune I can think of that is as common is is a Hotcam .bin file.
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How do the mailorder tunes work? What do I send in and where is it? Also, won't I not be able to drive until I receive it back? How hard is it to do whatever it is that I have to do?
I just want to make sure the car is running ok since I put the LT's on. Although, couldn't I just get the car dynoed and they could tell me how it is running. Wouldn't that save some time and money? Because if the car is running ok, I don't need a tune. If it's running too rich or poorly, I should get it tuned.
I just want to make sure the car is running ok since I put the LT's on. Although, couldn't I just get the car dynoed and they could tell me how it is running. Wouldn't that save some time and money? Because if the car is running ok, I don't need a tune. If it's running too rich or poorly, I should get it tuned.
Originally Posted by Camaro 0wner
How do the mailorder tunes work? What do I send in and where is it? Also, won't I not be able to drive until I receive it back? How hard is it to do whatever it is that I have to do?
Originally Posted by Camaro 0wner
Although, couldn't I just get the car dynoed and they could tell me how it is running. Wouldn't that save some time and money? Because if the car is running ok, I don't need a tune. If it's running too rich or poorly, I should get it tuned.
My .02; this is one of the best tuners...mailorder or on car for LT-1s.
http://www.pcmforless.com/
I have used him(Brian) 20 times and he is the one to get the job done. Quick turn around, great customer service and a good guy.
I have a laptop with LT-1 Edit, I tryed handheld tuners, I used a dumba$$ that had a dyno at his shop that came highly recommended, and PCMforless is better.
http://www.pcmforless.com/
I have used him(Brian) 20 times and he is the one to get the job done. Quick turn around, great customer service and a good guy.
I have a laptop with LT-1 Edit, I tryed handheld tuners, I used a dumba$$ that had a dyno at his shop that came highly recommended, and PCMforless is better.
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Click Here to see what I'm talking about.
When I get the screen where I choose my car. (94-97 LT1) Do I click the "YES Please" or "No Thanks?" Whenever I click no thanks it's cheaper. I thought if I click yes please it would be cheaper, because I'm sending my old one in. I would think it would be more expensive with the no thanks. Because this would mean I was never sending one in and just having them give me one...
What I want to do is have them send me the tuned one and when I get it, I'll send mine in. This way I don't have to be without a car.
When I get the screen where I choose my car. (94-97 LT1) Do I click the "YES Please" or "No Thanks?" Whenever I click no thanks it's cheaper. I thought if I click yes please it would be cheaper, because I'm sending my old one in. I would think it would be more expensive with the no thanks. Because this would mean I was never sending one in and just having them give me one...
What I want to do is have them send me the tuned one and when I get it, I'll send mine in. This way I don't have to be without a car.
Originally Posted by nnolan
O and dhdenney I have been looking into buying either LT1 edit or tunercats, so I have been gathering peoples opinions. Could you be more specific about what you didn't like about LT1 edit.