Miserable

I'm starting to mod out my 2003 GT, so far I've added a catback exhaust and a CAI. I think my next move is to get a tuner so I can take a little more advantage of the mods that I've done.

My question is do I need to purchase a tuner to get the car tuned or could I just go to a speed shop, pay them a fee and have them tune it with their equipment? I guess my main goal with the tune is to tighten up the shifting and get and little more power.

I'm still a little new with all of this so it's kind of unclear to me. Looking around the net it seems like you may need to purchase the tuner first before you have a shop tune the car so I want to be sure.

tricky02GT

I am in a similar situation to you. I am going to be buying a tuner very shortly.
If you take to a speed shop they can tune it for you without need for a tuner. If all you are looking to do is tune the car then there you go. I personally want to be able to change my tunes for different applications. I also want to be able to watch my engine (data logging) with the tuner, and possibly be looking towards having a dabble at tuning myself.
For me the best option is clearly the tuner but the decision is up to you.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=50634

Take a look at the above thread. It might help a little in your decision.

tricky02GT

Oh and welcome to the forums. This place is really helpful with people with good advice and you can learn a lot here. I know I have!

Miserable

Cool, thanks for your help. I think being able to play around with the settings will be a help so I'm going to get tuner but I might take a trip to the speed shop just to get things together until I get the cash up for the CPU.

Thanks for the welcome, I've been lurking for a reallt long time and have already learned quite a bit.

tricky02GT

Well dont be a stranger.

When it comes to tuners everyone recomends Doug from Bamachips and I am in no position to argue with everyone here on the forum.
Will be placing order with him shortly and I will let you know how it goes.
It will cost some money at the speedshop, almost worth waiting for that tuner. If you do get it on the dyno please post results as I know I as well as others would be interested in the reults.
Just a CAI and catbacks installed right?

Miserable

Cool, thanks.

yup just the cat and CAI so far. Not sure how far I'm going with it though after the tuner.

At first I just wanted it to sound good but my father in law builds and races drag cars and he's really gotten me into that. I ran it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I'm hooked. I might keep going with hooking up the car or I might wait a little while and get something else to run at the track and keep the stang for cruising.

I'll let you know once I start getting some more things done, I read the forums everyday so I'll be around.

tricky02GT

[quote=Miserable]Cool, thanks.

yup just the cat and CAI so far. Not sure how far I'm going with it though after the tuner. quote]


If you find a cure for the addiction of modding please let me know.

No actualy dont.
"My name is Andy and I have an aftermarket problem."

Miserable

I doubt I'll ever have a cure. The only thing that's saving me is I'm remodeling my mom's house for her and playing hockey 4 times a week. Not much time to do anything to the car right now.

tricky02GT

Just to update I have placed order for X-Cal 2 with Doug.
Screwed up my order (sent twice) and Doug phoned me within minutes.
What a jolly nice guy! No problems recomending him, and I dont even have the tunes yet.

Miserable

Cool, I'm thinking of going the same way. I would just like to know if a canned tune has any real disadvantages to a custom tune. I would assume that the custom tune would be better since no cars perform exactly the same but is the difference in the canned tune going to be that great?

mudshuvel319

If your car is not completely stock, a canned tune cannot take advantage of the changes youve made to the car. A canned tune is a generic guess at the exact set-up of your car, so although it will improve your car over stock, it's usually inferior to a custom tune, even on a stock car.

If your can has any mods, skip right to the custom tune, because a canned is pretty much a waste of time and money. If you really want a finely-tuned car, you could go with a dyno tune, but they are expensive and it's difficult to find shops to do them.

Miserable

Cool, thanks. The main reason I want the tuner is to take advanatage of the mods I've done so I'll probably go with the custom tune. how much does something like that run? The good part is there's a speed shop around the corner from me and they always have 3 or 4 stangs out front.

Scothew

Dougs tuned so many cars with so many various mods, his "canned" custom tunes are pretty dang close for just about anything. Sure sitting in front of hte car on the dyno is gonna get you the most everytime, but for mailorder, i've seen his stuff come out almost perfect o the first try.

Miserable

Interresting. I guess it couldn't hurt to try his canned tunes. There's always the option of the custom tune in the future.

Thanks.

mudshuvel319

I considered Bama a custom tune. I was referring to a canned tune as one on the tunes that comes with a CAI pachage or something like that. It isnt specific to your car; it just takes into account whatever mod it's sold with.

Scothew

Remember this, if you order a tune from Doug, you can go to the dyno, then send doug your dyno sheet and he can modify your tune if there's anything needs to be touched up.

Miserable

Cool, I definitely check him out when I'm ready to order.

tricky02GT

Just got the X-cal from Doug. Will post results soon.

Miserable

Saw your post, I'm in! I have a couple of questions for him before I order but I think I'm going to place the order this week.

Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences with the tuner.