SurfnSoCal

This guy is legit.

I called him yesterday at 5pm pst, and didn't realize they are on the east coast. He called me back at 9am pst and had lots of info.

I told him I have an 05GT with Bassani axelbacks, K&N intake, and a Diablosport predator. I have been using the canned 91 octane tune. He said he would bet I am running way too lean...and I need a custom tune. He said he could do it today for me. I e-mail him my stock back up, he makes a new tune, and he e-mails it back to me. I told him I am leaving on a 300 mile trip tomorrow morning...and he said "I'll have it done today". Very nice guy, professional, and at $75 for a custom tune...with future adjustments included.....I am very happy.

I will post results of the tune tonight...he is working on it right now.

ILikeBond

How does he custom tune it without having access to your car? Wouldn't he (or anyone) need to, at a minimum, read your A/F ratio? Is there something in the file you sent him that tells him that?

I'm not knocking Brent at all, btw - everyone on these boards that has dealt with him only has glowing reviews... I'm just curious how "custom" it is, versus a "best guess"

2MFF

Brent is a great guy to deal with. He had my tune to me super fast. Love the tune also!

Good luck with your's and enjoy your trip

DeathMonk

I was thinking the same thing... I thought reading the A/F especially with a load on a dyno is necessary.

SurfnSoCal

he had me send him the the original backup. This file has all the necessary info in it (its almost 1mb). I will use the data log to test my A/F and see if I am running better than before.

SixtySix

Well, yeah, it's not "custom" in the sense that it was done specifically for your car. He does have 05' Mustangs available to him and was/is involved with JLT and their intake as far as providing tunes for that setup.

So I would say that it's a go-between. Between Diablo's canned tune and a full custom tune.

I think it's a nice alternative, especially considering that finding shops with 05' experience right now is a crapshoot. That's just going to get better as time goes on, but in the meantime it's a viable lower cost alternative.

max2000jp

You need a Wideband 02 to measure your A/F ratio.

SurfnSoCal

to measure....yes. To see how much you are running rich or lean....no. The live data logging can show you this....as a - or + percentage.

SurfnSoCal

BTW...I just received the custom tune back. I have to wait till I get home to load it.....aaaarrrg.

mmoonshot

willing to share ?

SurfnSoCal

I am pretty sure, because I sent him my original back up...it will only work with this specific predator tuner.

But if you want to try it, send me $75 so I come out even...and it's yours!

max2000jp

The wideband tells you if you are running rich or lean accurately. I am almost positive that the Predator cannot do this, unless I don't know about this feature.

SurfnSoCal

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=28166

Scott told me how to do this-

To check whether your car is running Lean or Rich...do the following-

Hook up the predator, and start the real time data logging. Drive the car at 60mph in 5th gear (or OD) for 1 or 2 miles. Go under "Gas Driveability" in the predator. If you get a "+" percentage it is running TOO LEAN. If you get a "-" percentage, it is running TOO RICH.

max2000jp

That doesn't tell you your A/F ratio and more importantly it doesn't tell you what your A/F ratio is under WOT. I don't feel this is an accurate way of testing your A/F ratio.

SurfnSoCal

again...as I stated earlier...it wont tell you your A/F ratio....but will in fact tell you if you are running rich or lean.

I think Diablosport knows whats up, and how their tuner works.

max2000jp

I understand what you are trying to say, but it is dangerous because it doesn't give you a specific readout(13.1 for example) and doesn't measure WOT(from what you have explained to me). I would have a 50% chance of guessing if the car is lean or rich.

y22kc

You can measure the MAF voltage with the tuner, which is in essence what gives the A/F ratio reading with gauges. What the formula is to figure voltage read by the tuner to the A/F ratio is still a mystery to me. If I had a dyno close by, I could come up with a rough estimate formula, but it'd be closer than just +/-.

SixtySix

Let's not overblow this. It's not as accurate as measuring with a wideband, nobody is disputing this. What it does do is give you an indication of which way you are leaning (all puns intended).

It's NOT dangerous.

max2000jp

A plus or minus doesn't tell you if you are running 16:1. My understanding is it only reads +/- during partial throttle. That is a dangerous way to tune an engine. Either buy a wideband or spend the money for some dyno time. Not spending money on tuning is asking for it in the long run.

SurfnSoCal

Why are so many people getting tunes over the internet then? And why would diablosport reccomend this as an option on their website if this wasn't safe?

look....they have a car in their shop. They set them up with the same mods that the customer's car has. They tune the car. They save the file and send it to the customer. I understand each car is different...but it will be close. I'm not running on a track, where 1-3hp is gonna make a difference.