2002TransAm, Rachel

im looking at buying a programmer or chip or something to make my car run at its fullest, but want to stay in the 20 mpg area. is the SLP diablo a smart choice?

conde'strans

iTrader: (8)

Hand held programmers are not that popular around here to tell you the truth! You'll get way more for your money by simply taking it to a tuner (as well as more out of your car)!

IZRED

Handhelds are a waste of money. Trust me, that was a mistake I made when I first had my Camaro. If your car is modded heavily, get it dyno-tuned, if your car is basically stock or just has a few bolt-ons, get a base-tune or a mail order tune.

WSsick

iTrader: (13)

to answer the title of the thread, not much. theres relaly no reason to not get it dyno tuned, unless you are short on $$$. in that case, go mail order. look up FROST on here, he does mail order tuning, and i believe its on sale for $125 right now.

2002TransAm, Rachel

awesome thanks guys, where could i take it to get tuned by a pro to unlock my bolt on's?
im interested in this FROST guy but i dont quite understand how his method works

NVR_SPDS

iTrader: (39)

You cant really beat a dyno tune from a knowledgeable shop. I gained about 16rwhp on our old WS.6 with just a dyno tune.

2002TransAm, Rachel

sweet sounds good to me, but does a dealership do it or is there a designated place for dyno and all

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

honestly I dont like mail tunes, but being your a bolt on car he could probably be close. youd have to just send him your pcm and hed tune it and send it back to you.

I would get a dyno tune from a local tuner. talk to some locals find out whos the best and take it to him, that is the best way to get the most out of your car and to be sure your tunes right.

oh and a dealer wont do it.

OSU Football Fan

iTrader: (23)

Check out this article. It is a comparison between the different handheld
tuners on the market & how they did on the dyno:
http://www.gmhightechperformance.com..._in/index.html
Crane/Vinci & Diablosport Predator are the best IMO. The article says
that they gained ~ 10HP & 15TQ on a stock car.
You can usually find a used HH tuner in the for sale section for cheap.

All that being said, a dyno tune would definately be superior to a HH tuner.
Plus Frost could do a mail-order tune designed specifically for your mods.
I think he charges $125 + shipping.

Hope this helps.

2002TransAm, Rachel

thanks guys

brianfromhawaii

iTrader: (3)

take it to a tuner! DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

2002TransAm, Rachel

thanks i would love to go through frost but i dont quite understand if he takes the physical computer and keeps it for a couple days or if he can do it online. plus i cant find a good tuner anywhere close to me

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

You would remove the pcm and send it to him, which isnt hard..

like others say though. Get your car dyno tuned!!!!

drive a little out of the way if you have to..

johnLs1camaro

iTrader: (28)

also where are you located, Im sure if you goto the local spots at the bottom of the page thats in your region, you could post something up asking locals about a good tuner.

millenniumSS

what kind of flexibility in HP/TQ gains can you expect from a dyno tune? what is a dyno tune going to do that the hand-held programmer or mail-in won't do? the idea that you can re-program or return back to stock using a hand-held programmer appeals to me.

slow

iTrader: (7)

Then find a dyno tuner who uses custom tunable handheld tuners. I know of 2 for the ls1 cars, SCT and Diablo.

There are major benefits to having a handheld, you just need a custom tunable handheld.


Ryan

13lu91rS

iTrader: (1)

I had my car dynotuned and I baselined 323/330. After tune was done ended up with 340/345 rwhp.

I haven't heard anything good come out of HH tuners

joshctr1

iTrader: (1)

Dyno tune...

tiddle51

Dyno tune is the way to go, although most shops overcharge for them. I got my tune from a buddy of mine who owns the HP Tunes program and I saw significant improvement in shift speed and strength of my auto. Pretty much he turned up the line pressures in the transmission and changed shift points and whatnot. Almost perfectly duplicates a shift kit. I'd have to say for this reason tunes are much more beneficial on a4's.

If you really want to go all out and are willing to put the time in to learn how to tune your car the right way, I would say invest in HP Tunes. It will enable you to do anything you want including deleting O2 sensors, egr's, timing, etc... If you plan on doing multiple mods over time, it will definitely save you money. It costs around 700 bucks for the program. Plus you could charge people for tunes and make a profit if you wanted.

2002TransAmKid09

i have a buddy with a supra that bought a programming software for his car and downloaded it to his car so he could do it himself whenever he wants. he told me they make one for the ls1, is it pretty much idiot proof? and if so how much does it cost and how much memory does it take up?