I think a mail order tune has it's place on a FI car. Maybe after a new build getting your injectors scaled, idle air in the ballpark and light throttle out of boost tuning. Enough to let you fire the car up and do some break in miles while you check for leaks, cooling temps, stuff like that.

I want defend Frost, I think thou it is a mail order tune, I think it was just to get him to the tuner. I think there's some miscommunication between frost and the OP.

 

Hi,
Long ago i had all these same problems. Where I live it is impossible to get a tune for turbo car. Many shops opened and closed, including me. This is why i came up with the "Remote Real Time tuning" RRTT program. I found out that this is a systems integration problem and tuning is a skill that stems from calibrations engineering. The "cowboy tuner" is an industry term used by the OEM calibrators. Two different worlds all together.
I tried them all. M/O,cell phone,email, hpt, DS, SCT . After some 18 thousand dollars and three trailer trips out of State tries and breakage.

I finally figured out how to get it done.
The dyno ,software,mechanic and tuner are in themselves all different systems that need to work in concert. This is fragmented at best. The street tune is just not safe or practical. The dyno jet,inertia dyne, is not the best platform for a test cell, load is necessary. A real calibrator can use any software on any computer controlled implement. The general consensus is only around 100 top engineers are out in the States. The very top do not even want to tune cars any more. they are in a drag race competitive mode to be the next cool product. This model is a bust too.
The drag racer mentality is a hard one to overcome. they are all trying to be the best at what they do . This in itself leaves them each very busy folks. The very best are very busy ,it seems.
I simply integrated all of these factors and put them ,via internet, at a point of sale. Pointing the finger at a broken methodology will get us no where.

Frost has tuned thousands of cars, I would guess. He is not the problem. I will have a tool for him by the end of the year so this will be less of a problem. This is all the things needed to get it done in that targeted two hours mentioned above.

The first official site is up and running at Harbor Nissan ,Port Charlotte Florida, Relentless Performance. We still have bugs to work out. But so far we are doing it . I can say i have gone to the best in the individual industries and made partners in an endeavor to resolve all the issues and stream lined the industry. This will make it possible for all cars ,trucks anything with fuel injection and a computer to be effected for the best optimization. whether it be for performance or economy. We , the "car guy" , will never be able to just leave well enough alone. Change and tinker is the american way.

We all just need to understand this is a new industry and the way it has been done is not working. I do not have all the answers. I have had to learn the subsystems and find out the best cheapest easiest way to deliver a bin file to a pcm/ecu. I just saw a need and filled the gap.

A new service industry has emerged . All the tuners i have spoken with would just like some continuity to make the re-tune less of a hassle.

sorry for the length and my lack of written skills,

mike

 

First, Frost is not a fraud. He's my buddy, and a very good tuner.

Second, there is nothing wrong with tuning more radical setups via email, if the person on the other end has a clue. I email tune all kinds of combos, and 99% of the time, if there are issues, it's in the build, not my tune.

 

Ed knows the business in and out, up and down, and sideways.

 

I'm with ya Ed he is a good buddy and great tuner, and agree with you alot of the time it is in the build.

 

Yea just sayin......... ED IS THE MAN!!!

 

Why would you bash one of the top tuners? A mail order tune on a boost car is hard to get spot on. With out the know compression, injectors, what psi your throwing at it, etc, etc. You also have to factor in that Frost I'm sure has a very busy business. Athough it might take time to get a response if I was to build a boost lsx car I would take the car to a shop to get it tuned but thats just my 2cents.

 

I must say I have never heard Steve's name used in the same sentence as fraud. Inclined not to believe such.

 

I have a mail order BASE tune from Steve and it did exactly what it was supposed to do get the car running and provide a point to start from. Maybe the OP misunderstood what he was getting but I have had nothing but success when dealing with Frost, he also straightened out another tune via mail for another car I did a swap in after the other guy tried and missed 3 times!! Long way from a fraud in my book....

 

well this is certainly a first. never actually seen someone call out one of the most respected people here..

Ed is a hell of a tuner as well, also is very helpful to the hobby tuners. hell, both of them will answer questions youve got.

 

Frost has really helped out both me and my son with our builds and went the extra mile. I have the highest respect for both Steve and Ed.

 

well, after having tuned an amazing amount of badass vehicles I'd say he is not a fraud at all. If you live near him, you are lucky to have him really. This is the only review I have ever seen bashing him. It is strange that he has not gotten back with you though, and I am willing to bet he has a good reason.

 

Email tunes are always f*cked up somehow, the same story happened with me when we finished a turbo install on my cousin's Mustang.

 

all i know is my mail order tune from frost on my old set up( boltons+150rwhp shot) ran great never missing a beat with over 30 bottles ran thru the motor and its still alive today under boost but my own tune.calling frost a fraud is rediculous.just like everyone is saying there are way too many varibles going on,and who knows maybe your spec sheet got mixed with some one elses.

 

Well said.

 

Unfortunately idiocy can't be fixed via the internet

 

Problem usually isn't the tuner but the person getting the tune/doing the work.

Ask any respectable tuner how many DIY jobs come in 100% ready to go with no problems.

Steve is not only a excellent tuner but a great guy always willing to help out but some people just can't be helped.

 

Still waiting to hear from the OP and curious as to the details that went down. Steve is a stand up guy!

 

Well im still waiting to a reply to either my voicemail or email. As i said in my original post the first tune i got from him ran great. During last winter I put a new cam in with the help of a friend who builds his sprint car motors ( so yes he knows what hes doing ). Drove the car around the block after breaking it in. I then sent out for a new base tune for the new cam and thats where the problems arised. the car hardly wants to start and when it does run it has absolutley no power, i can barely make it up a small hill. The car ran better on the original tune. No where did i ever say that i expected this tune to be perfect out of the box but i was told i would be able to drive it to the tuner. which is not what happened. Ive tryed contacting him with no sucess. However to afew people who have replyed to this thread im a retard so who knows maybe i cant even work a phone.

 

In for the updates...

Years ago, Steve did a base tune for my FI Fbody. At the time, he warned me that it was just that....a startup-only base tune. Well, the build is still being finished years later (project got put on the WAY BACK burner), and I'm FINALLY getting to the tuning portion (finishing the tune myself). The original tune did EXACTLY what it was intended to do, and I have no complaints. Was it "off" from optimal? Hell yes....BY A LONGSHOT. But that's to be expected.....it's hard to supply a "safe" mail-order tune on a FI build that the owner won't get impatient and go out and try to pull some hot-laps with...and then try to blame the tuner that his tune was **** and now his car is in pieces because of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that YOU are that kind of person....just that a good tuner has to try to build in a good amount of safety margin to avoid bigger problems....making the whole process that much more difficult, and sometimes complications will come in to play.

Before I ever decided to finish the tune myself, I contacted Steve about doing a remote tune on the car. He was kind enough to tell me (not leaving me hanging) that he honestly just did not have the time to get to it for at least 2 months, as his business was in the full swing of the busy season. The point I'm trying to make, is that I'm sure there is a reason (even though it's still not fair to you, being the consumer) that he's not contacted you yet. Just don't feel alone. I share in your frustration for my own reasons (not related to Steve), which is why I have decided to take on the task of learning to tune my own vehicles. In my experience, these kinds of delays when dealing with problems are not uncommon. The only real way to get around it, is to either find a GOOD local tuner, or learn to tune yourself.

Hope it all works out for ya...