im about to pay a guy to tune my car with his HP tuners program on his laptop, im just wondering if the program is even worth installing into my vehicle and to pay him? its just 50 bucks, or im i better off just paying a shop 100 to do a dyno tune? and what are the HP gains from HP tuners?

 

Is he going to use a wideband O2 sensor? Do you have cats? If he has a sensor where is he planning on installing it? Did he suggest getting an extra bung welded in or does he have a rig to plug into one of your primary O2 spots? Is your car an A4 or M6? For fifty bucks, turning off some codes and upping some shift points for an A4 sounds in order. I see you are in the nanny state- Cali, emissions tests. Bottom line tuning air/fuel takes a bit more time / money to do. What are your mods? None listed. For a total stock A4 that you wanted to delete some codes and up shift points 50 isn't bad. Now on the dyno, same questions do you have cats and if so where is the Dyno going to plug in the sensor? This isn't cheap whatever way you look at it and depending on who is in your area with what level of trust you have for them should guide you. Personally, I would suggest learning how to do it yourself. I realize not all of us have the time to do so...but it all comes down to who are you going to trust your car with. A waterhead could kill your performance or even kill your car.

 

HP tuners is a tuning suite... your tune will only be as good as your tuner....

if the person tuning your car knows what they're doing and is using a wideband... then for 50 bux... definetly worth it... performance gains will vary from car to car however...

if the person isn't using a wideband... and you can get a dyno tune for 100 bux by a reputable shop... then I would go w/the dyno tune....

However, a street tune w/wideband by a knowledgable person will always be the best option...