Hey guys, I want to start getting some mods that require tunes, like a new H pipe and eventually cams. But I’m kinda nervous about using a handheld tuner. I have a 07’ GT with just under 100k on it. Would there be any risk in using a handheld or even getting a dyno tune? I really like the way my car runs now but would love to get more out of her, so a tuner sounds great but I just don’t want to risk messing anything up. Thanks!

 

Welcome aboard. H-pipe alone doesn't require a tune re-flash, but cams most certainly do. As long as you go with a reputable tuning vendor such as JDM engineering, Steeda Autosports and VMP performance? their custom preloaded tunes are perfectly safe for bolt-on mods which come included with the SCT X4 hand-held tuning device. The links are provided below if interested?
https://www.teamjdm.com
https://www.vmpperformance.com
https://www.steeda.com/2005-2010-mustang-tuning

 

hey thanks man. I was looking on American Muscle and the H pipe I was looking at with high flow cats required a tune. I’m gonna do some more looking and researching than.

regarding tuning, I’ll probably just try to get by without tuning until I get cams and than just have it dyno’d when I get them installed. Still going back and forth tho.

 

Generally a tune is required when you change something that affects a sensor and the way the computer should correctly control things based on that sensor input. If the mod requires a tune, then the car will not run right without it.

Or, you might want to "tune" the car to get better performance out of the stock equipment and/or mods that it already has. Just keep in mind, that is a different need and a different situation.

The hand-held tuner devices usually come with some "canned tunes" and can be adjusted for some modifications; but generally those tunes are not very good, and you can cause problems if you don't know what you are doing. The mileage on your car does not bother me, assuming it has been well maintained, with regular oil changes and the rest.

"Lito" (Manuel Pazo) is known as one of the best remote tuners, if you don't have a good dyno shop to work with. He uses datalogs to check and fine-tune. He has been a bit slow to respond lately, probably due to the pandemic, but you can contact him at support@tudyno.com

 

Anyone that claims high-flow cats requires a tune re-flash is full of B.S. Only long tube headers require a tune re-flash on 2005-10 S197 Mustangs. However, what American Muscle doesn't tell you is that high-flow cats will NOT pass OBDII emissions scan inspection and also require the rear 02 sensors being turned off in the tune in order to avoid getting a check engine light warning. To make matters even worse, thanks to the EPA's clear air act crackdown, tuning shops/vendors can no longer disable/turn off any monitors or devices associated with the OEM catalyst system and also have disclaimers on their websites that their custom preloaded tunes and parts purchased are NOT legal for use on any public roads, streets and highways, but legal for off-road use only. Therefore, it's recommended you keep all this in mind and know the risks involved. As for American Muscle? they've been linked to deceiving people into purchasing products by resorting to marketing hype B.S tactics, but when it comes to having actual real-world experience? they're unable to provide straight-forward answers to your concerns and questions. At any rate, there's obviously a very good reason for not including AM as a reputable tuner. That being said, IMO, you're on the right track by just getting by without tuning until having your cams installed and then having a reputable tuning shop custom dyno tune your car. Also note you can also purchase an SCT X4 hand-held tuning device from the custom dyno tuning shop who can also download your custom dyno tune files onto the device if for any reason you need to re-flash your car back to the stock tune calibration.

 

got the bama revx / jlt 3 intake combo from AM and it made the car feel like a completely different beast with the 93 octane tune. i was shocked about the difference. the process was simple and the communication from the bama guys was good. i had a bunch of questions and they always answered the emails. anyhow , i plan on eventually going with the magnaflow high flow catted h pipe as i imagine they design a unit that doesnt throw codes. im not going to digging into the motor. i have 117k on it and she runs smooth and nice so i dont want to rock the boat. thats my experience , good luck with yours

 

beware, that aftermarket catted h-pipe likely will throw codes, specifically a CEL (Check Engine Light) because the rear O2 sensors likely will report to the computer that the cats are not working as well as the system would like

the standard solution is to turn them off (the rear O2's) to get rid of the CEL, but you won't pass emissions ODBII inspection with them turned off

 

I wouldn't let AM/Bama touch my car if they were the last Mustang tuners on the planet. All they do is modify parameters of the SCT canned tunes and claim they're better. Only I had nothing but timing and spark related issues and wasted both my money and time by having each of their tune revisions checked by a local tuning shop. For the money I spent on the local tuning shop checking the BAMA tune revisions on the dyno, I could've used that money on getting a custom dyno tune written specifically for my car and dialed in right the first time. As for the Magnaflow high-flow catted H-pipe that AM/Bama claims won't throw a check engine light? see what they tell you after you end up getting a check engine light and fail the OBDII emissions inspection scan lol. And while your at it, also take into serious consideration the reason AM/Bama is no longer a sponsored vendor on this forum!

And who's going to turn the rear 02's off? None of the reputable tuning vendors will no longer turn them off, thanks to the EPA clean air act crackdown. Perhaps Lito may still turn them off, but none of the tuning vendors in the U.S won't for fear of being either fined or shut down after getting inspected by the EPA police. Also keep in mind that aftermarket catted H-pipe will most definitely NOT pass OBDII inspection regardless of whether the rear 02 sensors are left turned on or turned off. The only other way it could pass OBDII emissions inspection is if the tuning vendor disables some of the OEM catalyst monitors in the tune which they will no longer take the risk of doing out of fear once again of possibly being fined or shut down by the EPA police.

 

im not doubting anything you say , i was just outlining my experience using their tune / intake on a bone stock car. maybe i got lucky , but for the money , i was blown away by the instant result and the car runs as smooth as ever with no issues. believe me , ive been frustrated by mods that have turned into frankenstein monster problems.

 

Then perhaps you got lucky just as you mentioned, but for the majority of those on this forum, including myself, we had nothing but poor experiences with Bama tunes. At any rate, I really hope you don't run into any future issues with their canned tunes for your sake

 

oh dam,
I’ve been killing myself trying to figure out why my light keeps coming on. Thumper cams, cold air intake long tube headers an no cats definitely sound like I need a programmer.
Anyone n east valley AZ want to knock that out for me 👌

 

I have had good experience with Bama tunes also, but it was several years ago. I actually took my Bama-tuned car to a local dyno tuner; and after the baseline run, he said he probably could not do any better without a LOT of dyno time, and even with that, probably not significantly better. It seems they have gone down-hill since then; or maybe we only hear the bad stories.

However, I think they do trick us with throttle response. They crank up the throttle response so that when you press the pedal a little, you get more throttle openning than before. And shazam! the car feels more powerful. Usually their remote tunes are fairly conservative, hopefully not dangerous to your engine but you never know.

Yep, car probably runs like crap with those mods and no tune adjustment, plus the CEL . . . with no cats and no rear O2 sensors, the computer will complain loudly unless you shut it up by turning the sensor off; but like he said, I am not sure who you are going to get to do that these days. If you want to talk more about your issues, you should start a new thread.

 

When it comes to more serious mod upgrades, such as cams, long tube headers and even cold air intakes that have larger MAF housings than stock? they all require a computer tune re-flash. Also FYI: long tube headers require the download of a custom tune file to upload into your programmer, otherwise, running your car with long tubes on the stock tune will cause your air/fuel mixture to run dangerously lean (run like crap) Running no cats will also cause your car to run like crap unless the rear 02 sensors are turned off by a tuning shop vendor in the tune upgrade. However, as mentioned earlier in the thread, custom tuning shop vendors will no longer take the risk when it comes to tampering with the factory catalyst system which include all monitors, sensors and equipment out of fear of being either fined or shut down by the EPA police, thanks to stricter enforcement polices of the EPA clean air act being imposed upon the aftermarket tuning industry. That being said, it is what it is..

 

I’d rather pay a shop to tune it. I use to own a dyno doing motorcycles but when it comes to car I’m clueless. Think I could do a programmer an flash it myself?

 

yes you can program it yourself, if you know all the technical details . . . personally I wouldn't dream of it because I don't know what I am doing and would probably break it

 

yeah I definitely don’t want to even try it unless it was with someone that has at least know a bit about what they’re doing. Few dyno shops I’ve spoken to say the fords are a bit harder than most to tune

 

and I should have mentioned before, the simple tuners like the SCT probably won't do it because they have very limited adjustment options; you would need HP Tuners or one of the other systems that allow you to adjust everything, like the tuners and dyno people use

 

found a place that is going to baseline it tomorrow wit AFR Hopefully it’s not to lean. I’m also picking up another ECU so that I can look into having it pinned an getting software to make my own adjustments. Definitely I’ll know way more tomorrow tho.

 

Best of luck and look forward to your baseline results.

 

never got there, I taped up a bit of my intake yesterday morning an drove it yesterday an a little this morning. Just getting home from the 3rd party cause it passed emissions bout an hr ago.
I’m going to finish adding my little bolt ons then I’m just going to get it tuned 👌