figit

Short Version: Essentially my 93 BAMA race tune, after two rounds of attempting to get it right, successfully brought my car to below stock numbers while addressing the knocking it caused on the first set of tunes...

Full Version: I ordered the JLT intake & SCT X3 w/ BAMA tunes from american muscle back in Nov. as part of a sale. I was a little skeptical about canned tunes but figured I'd give it a shot. I filled out the form and listed all of my modifications and waited patiently. The tuner and intake arrived and the install & tune wen't great. I wen't straight to the 93 tune and it knocked horribly. Then tried the 91 tune, it knocked too. Fortunately the 87 tune didn't knock but I had zero interest in running the 87 tune.

I had less than a 1/4 tank of 93 and I was thinking maybe I got bad gas so I went to an exxon very close to the interstate and filled her up. I tried the tunes again and still got tons of knocking. At this point I was sick to my stomach and began to regret not getting a custom tune. I live 20 minutes from American Muscle/BAMA and offered to drive there to return the tuner and intake while allowing them to verify that the tune was not applied before a refund. No dice, you can't return it even if your show up on site. I decided I'd give them a chance to make it right.

BAMA instructed me to data-log while sending an instructional PDF (which is a 2 hour process to setup from scratch and only possible if you have a windows laptop) while driving. At this point I'm wondering why I'm having to spend the time doing this when my mods are VERY basic. I'm running a GT500 axle-back, JLT intake (which came packaged with the tuner), and resonator deletes. My car is nearly brand new and maybe my expectations are too high but I fully expected them to get it right the first time. I know every car is unique but still. If knocking is the result of the first tune's application, they should request a data-log FIRST before throwing tunes at the wall to see if they happen to work. I realize that the JLT intake requires a tune but if their first set of tunes knocks like crazy anyhow, what is the point of not data-logging first?

Ok so data-logs went back to BAMA. A few hours later I get yet another PDF file instructing me how to load the tuner with the updated tune. At this point I'm feeling good, the migration of the updated tune to the SCT tuner went great and I had no troubles loading it. They only addressed the 93 tune, the 91 was still bad which was fine and I'd plan to reserve the 87 tune to cases where I simply cant get 91 or 93. My engine didn't run like crap so believe it or not I was content. I think the knocking had me so paranoid that applying an updated tune which resolved the knocking was a huge success in my mind. The throttle certainly felt more responsive but I wasn't feeling any raw of the pants gains. I had planned on getting it on rollers asap and hit up PSI Proformance today.

Steve did 6 runs and the results? Horrible. No wonder there aren't any dyno numbers along with all of the raving reviews on the AM/BAMA site.

Peak HP: 332.33
Max Torque: 314.07
Dyno Type: Dynojet
Ambient Temperature: 62

The best two runs are attached.

PSI doesn't have the software needed to tune the 2011+ GT and suggested I get a custom tune somewhere. He said he's never seen a canned/email tune work anywhere near as efficient as a custom tune on any of the import cars that they usually work on. At first he thought my brakes were hanging and then possibly the tires were slipping. After inspecting the rear extensively, they couldn't see anything that would impose an estimated 50-60 HP hit.

I called evolution performance in Aston (bout 45 minutes from me) and asked what a custom tune costs. $500 if I bring my own SCT. I told him I had a BAMA tune and his response was "I'm sorry to hear that". I've never spoken to evolution and that was their response. Sure they want to sell a tuning session but that is a pretty bold statement to throw out to a stranger.

So to anyone considering a BAMA (or any non-refundable tuner/canned tune/intake combo) to please fully consider what your getting yourself into and spend the extra $80 or so to get some dyno pulls in to be certain your getting your money's worth out of it. I learned my lesson the hard way, I'm just hoping that I can help shed some light on the process I went through to help inform others.

figit

Adding the data-logging instructions.

Step 11 should be

Now that you no longer need an internet connection, unplug your laptop PC and get into your car. Then plug your laptop into the SCT while it's attached to your OBDII port via a USB cable. Get another human in the passenger seat holding the laptop and managing wires while you proceed to the next section.

GrabberBlue5.0

You don't need a dyno tune, just a tune from someone that knows how to tunes theses cars. Bama would be my last choice. And Lund tunes for Evolution. I would have Evolution send you an email tune and you could download it to your device. If you still feel the need to go there and throw it on a dyno then you can go that route.

figit

Thanks for the feedback man, I didn't even realize evolution does email tunes. $200 is great. I wonder if I put my stock intake back on, data-log, then send them the file and mention I'd be adding the intake if that would provide them with the exact information they'd need to do it right. Yeah at least if it doesn't go right, I could drive there and have them take a look. Hey thanks again!

GrabberBlue5.0

Honestly your stock intake is better than the JLT. The iat's go way up with the JLT intake.

Stage_3

BINGO! I would never get a Bama tune for my car. They're just "generic" tunes that they throw together. No thanks.
FWIW,.....Lund, VMP, and AED do great tunes. Good luck Mike and let us know why route you went.

dmichaels

Any OTS tune will not be as good as a good custom tune. I learned this with my last car. Had a couple OTS tunes, a custom one and then a number of ones I wrote myself. I could write a more powerful tune with extensive data logging but it took time and a lot of trial and error. That's why people like OTS tunes, they are better than stock (in general) and yield decent results (in general)

To really get the car running great, a custom tune from a good tuner will surpass pretty much any OTS tune. But you typically pay for it and it's usually based on a dyno not real world driving

I have logged various engine parameters with my car and have found that the IAT's are exactly the same as OAT's, so clearly the intake is pulling in nice cool outside air. I've always been skeptical of intakes in terms of performance adders... they look and sound cool, but if they are really THAT much better, why wouldn't the OEM just put that in to start?

Hope you get your tuning sorted out. If anyone knows of a good base tune for these cars in TunerPro, I'd love to get my hands on it to start messing around. I'm no expert, but I've got the basics down pretty well from learning with my twin turbo S4

dmichaels

Not sure I'd agree with "thrown together" - the tune is typically based on some dyno tuning, but the outside parameters (engine temp, OAT, fuel, car modifications, etc) are generalized, so the tunes end up fairly general. Every car is different and reacts a bit differently when being tuned, so a custom tune is the best way to go overall.

Stage_3

I guess I was being a bit "harsh". They are "general" tunes, which still suck.
This is 3 cars now that have Bama tunes that had been bad.

Supra

This

And this. Sell the hot air intake and put that money towards something worth while

dmichaels

Yep - agree. Just do some quick data logs of IAT vs OAT with the OEM airbox... IAT is nearly identical to OAT all the time. I was quite impressed.

My Jeep IAT is ~+10F compared with OAT at highway speeds, and 20F+ delta IAT to OAT at slower speeds and after sitting in some traffic. Mustang really did a great job... When I start doing power mods, I'll focus on exhaust side first for sure.

dmichaels

Fair enough - I know what you were getting at and I tend to agree.

PJRManagement

Thanks for sharing, Mike. This TMS Forum is great for help in so many areas. And when users take the time to share their experiences (both good and bad), it can be very helpful to others. Your saga sounds painful. Shame on AM for not making it right. Did you kick it up the flagpole at AM to a Supervisor? Or to the AM user on TMS (I think they have someone)?

jmaStang

Hopefully the AM reps on here can get a word in. And lol at "hot air intake."

FromZto5

Yepper. I knew back in the day, I would never get bama. On top of that, this is yet another case proof of AMs lackluster customer service.

MADSCOTSMAN

I have an AIRAID CAI and just recently purchased an inTune from AM with the BAMA tunes for life. The only negative effects I have had from the tunes BAMA has provided to me, are rediculously more power, throttle response, firm shifting that can break the tires loose 1-2 and 2-3 at WOT and the car wanting to come unglued when I peg it, making me want to poop my pants !!!!

Of course this has led to severe faical cramping because I can't get the CHIT-eating grin off my face every time I drive my car now .

woodzusa

Some hate going on in this thread. Yikes. That would be irritating to have that many errors with a tune.
I'm running a bama tune on my GT with cat deletes and Steeda intake. No issues so far. No knock or anything. I've played around with the 87 street and 91 performance and 91 race. I haven't data logged it to see where the A/F is. I ran a bama tune on my 2011 V6 and had zero issues.

kingofsting

No issues with my Bama tuned 13 GT. I've been shopping from AM for years now, and will only buy big ticket items (hood, rims) from them because of how much I trust them and how excellent their customer service has been.

I've had minor issues with them over the years (wrong item shipped once, confusion about replacing defective Lloyd mats, and an order that was processed but not shipped for several weeks) and each and every time they came through and made it right.

Thamac15

I've only used VMP for tunes so I have no opinion on BAMA. However, I see they do a lot of CAI tunes so I'm sure that's their focus. I wouldn't trust then for my supercharged car that's for sure.

Supra

I had a Bama tune for a month before I shelled out the cash for an AED tune. The Bama tune was "ok". It certainly picked up more power, but the drive-ability wasn't the best which really became apparent once I loaded my AED tune in. The car felt doggy at part throttle, and @ WOT it was running fairly rich, a little richer than it needed to be.

Was a super conservative/safe tune though, for those paranoid about the #8 issue. However i'll always recommend aed, lund, vmp, or jpc or a REAL tune