Hey guys... I'm not too bright so I need some help understanding the whole process of buying a tuner and applying changes.

I usually try to find stuff on ebay or wherever to see if I can save some dough. After reading a few comments on used SCT XCalibrator and I thought I gathered that someone who is licensed by SCT would have to access it to change the file to match an ID code on my engine's computer. Is this the case? Are there ways around it? I see people talkin' about sending each other different tunes, etc. If someone e-mails a tune that they used, does it have to be modified to work in a different car (same model)? I've been through plenty of motors, and even though I"m only 30 years old... the motors weren't any newer than a '91... so computers didn't play much of a role in performance.

Can someone give me the rundown? I went thru another thread that seemed to answer a lot of questions... as if they were asked by somone who was at least vaguely familiar.

Thanks fellas.

If there's another thread that I didn't find that goes over this, pleas... point me in that direction.

 

your absolute best way to go is to have a "reputable" tuner tune your car on a dyno.......period. the handhelds are adequate but even they shoud be put on a dyno to see what your car is doing, don't forget, no 2 cars are the same so the tune you're getting is generic at best.
myself, i have Jerry Wroblewski from SCT tune my cars, he is hands down the best in the business, but to each their own.

 

I eventually wanna put a blower on it.. but that will be a new block all together.. I figured I'd save the dyno tune for then... initially, I'm just going for cheap HP gains. know what I mean?

 

you can't share a tune from anyone else's car since, like mentioned it's two different cars and no two are exactly the same.

these days, it seems even cheap hp gains need some tuneing to get the most out of them or to make your car run without throwing a code.

I've learned a lot in the last month just be reading a ton of posts, then searching for one i have more questions on.. and posting after i'm confused...

 

@clintoris...you should really go through a reputable shop. First jump on some other forum either here or other sites and just get as much info as you can. It is a great feeling have some sort of idea as to what you are talking about when you talk to the guy you plan to buy the XCAL from. Ask them questions and tell them your plans...I'd stay away from ebay on a purchase like this. JMO!

 

Spend 550.00 and you will be happy you did..brenspeed needs your code on the engine and any performance mods you have done..Thats it..I was intimidated at first but I took my time with the JLT2 install,plugged the SCT2 in and within a few minutes of that I was going down the street in my neighborhood giggling like a little boy STAY away from used tuners IMO.

 

If you want true custom tuning, I have heard good things about VMP in Ocala (Justin Starkey)

If you wanna go 'mailorder' you CAN'T go wrong with Doug and Bamachips......