tourer

OK guy's, Canned tunes vs a day at a tuner shop, Pluses and minuses.
Currently have Steeda Tunes on an X4 SCT Tuner.

ElkGroveFordGuy

Day at the DYNO will be better if you have a good person doing the tune.
Normally it is about twice as expensive.

EF1

Canned tunes are less expensive and more convenient, especially if you have only minor mods. When you get into forced induction a good dyno tune is a must. I am naturally aspirated with only a cold air intake and cat back exhaust, so a dyno tune is not necessary. I have been happy with the Steeda tunes, besides I don't have a reputable shop in my area that does dyno tuning.

5.M0NSTER

I completely agree with Elk and EF. The cost benefit ratio is probably not there for NA setup. I also have the Steeda tune and love it. I'm sure dunno tuning could provide a few more hp or tq, but for twice the price?

1 Alibi 2

Tuning, if done correctly, is done on the street, when the tuner is happy with his adjustments, it goes on the dyno.
If you have the mods to justify the cost, expect to pay $ 600-700 for a tune & dyno.
...........( my tuner used to work for Ford,......as a tuner )
Tuning is one of the places where you get what you pay for !!
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m05fastbackGT

As for a good dyno tune being a must for forced induction applications is concerned, that's not necessarily accurate.. It all depends on the who the tuner is and how much experience they have in writing custom e-mail tunes for FI.. JDM engineering and Brenspeed write custom e-mail tunes for FI based from years of experience in R&D testing on their test mules and also from writing hundreds of custom dyno tunes for customer cars as well.. Needless to say, it's now been nearly 2 years since running my custom e-mail tune from Brenspeed and everything has been spot on.. I also had the Brenspeed tune verified on the dyno by a local tuner who was very impressed by the tune and said that if I were to have my car custom dyno tuned, the most he could get for me would be just 5-10 additional RWHP..

Another option would be submitting a data log file of your car's parameters to the tuning shop who then writes your tune based off the log file you provided and if necessary, would make any adjustments to the tuning file that may be required.. That being said, unless your looking to squeeze every ounce of RWHP your car is capable of, there are other options available that provide safe and reliable tunes for FI which are nearly just as good as a custom dyno tune for less $$$..

EF1

I agree that there are some very good email tunes available out there from shops such as the ones you mentioned and that custom tuning is not really a necessity. I was speaking for me personally when I said it was a must. If I am going to the expense of a supercharger or turbo set up I am going all out and paying for the custom tuning. In the scheme of things, it isn't that much more money and I want to know that I am getting all the performance that I can out of my investment.

Blown CS

I ran 2 mustangs that were FI and both were canned tunes and they ran extremely well. With a canned tune, more responsibility falls on the owner of the car as they must ensure they datalog, know how to pick up when the motor is acting weird and finally communicate with the tuner. You have to be diligent and persistent and you might have to go through the datalogging process several times.
Is a dyno better, probably if you want to pick up a few more HP.

Blown CS

I ran 2 mustangs that were FI and both were canned tunes and they ran extremely well. With a canned tune, more responsibility falls on the owner of the car as they must ensure they datalog, know how to pick up when the motor is acting weird and finally communicate with the tuner. You have to be diligent and persistent and you might have to go through the datalogging process several times.
Is a dyno better, probably if you want to pick up a few more HP.

1 Alibi 2

.
A custom tune is developed on your car:
The tuner drives the car.
The tuner data-logs the car.
When he's happy with what he has on the street, the tuner puts it on the dyno.
..........Both of my cars run custom tunes by JDM.
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If you can order a tune by phone or e-mail, it's canned. They use file tunes & adjust them to suit your mods / needs, call it custom !!!
JDM has made tunes based on my custom tunes, it's the way the business is.
....................this pic is @ JDM, dropping off the 11, picking up the 14
.

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m05fastbackGT

And JDM also writes custom e-mail tunes based upon countless R&D sessions from their own test mule vehicles before ever releasing them to the public.. There are however some vendors that are in the business who market false claims by making all kinds of empty promises that if you purchase their generic one size fits all tunes, your car will make the highest HP/Torque gains..

So therefore I do not compare JDM's custom e-mail tunes with those certain other vendors who just simply use some generic file tune and then adjust it in order to fit the end user's needs, as I just don't buy into that at all.. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had my Brenspeed e-mail tune verified on a dyno by a local tuning shop that not only confirmed the tune was safe, but I'd also end up having very little to gain if I were to upgrade in having my car custom tuned on their dyno as well.. That pretty much says it all in itself as far as I'm concerned..

m05fastbackGT

I'll also add that canned tunes come as preloaded software that are included with SCT and Diablosport programmers in which the preloaded tune files are not written specifically for an individual car nor are any adjustments made in order to fit the end user's specific needs.. Custom e-mail tunes on the other hand are written by the tuning specialist specifically for the vehicle in question in which the vehicle's ECM calibration code is also requested by the tuner prior to writing the tuning files.. In addition, canned/preloaded tunes cannot be used for mod upgrades such as heads, cams, intake manifolds, LT headers and especially when it comes to FI applications.. Therefore custom e-mail tunes are not canned/preloaded tunes, as there is a difference between them..

5.M0NSTER

This is a very good point.

1 Alibi 2

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What comes with a SCT hand held are generic upgrades.
What you get via e-mail are canned, they ask for your ECM code so it can't be used on another car.
A custom tune requires your car to be @ the tuners shop, it can't be done any other way.
You can believe anything you want, but being married to an ECM has nothing to do with weather it's canned or not. What car the tune was developed on makes it custom !!
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m05fastbackGT

First off, I'm fully aware of what a custom dyno tune is.. Therefore I don't need to be lectured by you nor by anybody else for that matter.. As for believing anything I want is concerned, the results speak for themselves just as I mentioned in a previous post in which my custom e-mail tune was both tested and verified on the dyno by a local tuning shop.. Once again, the tune was spot on and was informed by the tuner if I were to have my car custom dyno tuned by their shop, my results wouldn't be much better over the custom e-mail tune I already have and according to his opinion wouldn't be worth spending additional money for upgrading to a custom dyno tune.. Needless to say, I give full credit for the tuning shop being upfront and honest with me, as they could've easily said I could get much better performance than what I currently have by getting my car custom dyno tuned by their shop, but they didn't.. That being said, yeah I tend to believe what I want especially when it comes to people who back up what they say by not just their words, but also by their actions as well including those from Brenspeed and from JDM engineering.. Speaking of JDM, here's a description taken straight from the horse's mouth off their website for your viewing pleasure.. Enjoy !


2005-2010 Mustang GT Custom e-mail Tune for the SCT Flash Device

Already own the SCT Flash Device? Get a Custom tune built by JDM Engineering E-mailed to you! JDM Engineering can improve the drivability and performance of your bolt on or supercharged Mustang.

With our tunes you car expect to see improvments in Horsepower, Shifting (automatic), Throttle Response and even Fuel Economy in your 2005-2010 3V Mustang.

JDM Engineering custom builds each and every tune one by one. No can tunes are done here. Everyone's Mustang GT is tuned for their specs and for their driving habits. ONE TUNE DOES NOT FIT ALL here at JDM.

Specialty Tunes by James D'Amore Include but are not Limited to:

Saleen Supercharged Mustang Tunes
Whipple Supercharged Mustang Tunes
Roush M90/TVS2300 Mustang Supercharger Tunes
After placing your order you will recieve an e-mail to fill out a tune sheet that will have a list of questions about your Mustang's specs. Send it back to us and customer service will have the tuner, James D'Amore, build the tune from those specs. We will e-mail you the tune file so you can load it onto your SCT device via SCT's Device Updater Software.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2005-2012 Saleen Mustang E-mail Custom Tune by JDM Engineering



Got a 2005-2012 Saleen Mustang and don't like the tune you have or have upgraded more parts and need a re-tune?

JDM Engineering can do it. JDM Engineering has done countless testing on The 2005-2012 Saleen Mustangs. JDM Engineering has had their own Saleen's and has gotten the tunes on these Mustangs flawless so if you own one you should have a JDM Engineering -James D'Amore- performance custom tune.

If you already own a Xcal SCT tune device then all you need is a Custom Tune e-mailed to you.

How this works is after placing your order we will e-mail a tune sheet to be filled out and e-mailed back to us. Then we will have the tuner build the tune off of those specs .We will then e-mail you the tune file. Once you receive the tune you will download it into your XCAL and load it into your Mustang.

m05fastbackGT

If you know how to datalog, this is also another option you have as well.. Once you complete the log recording session, you then submit the log file via e-mail to the tuning specialist who then writes your tune file based off the data from the log file in which you submitted.. This method is referred to as remote tuning which is also another form of custom tuning..

Anyhow just another alternative you may also be interested in considering

EF1

Just curious, how does the cost of the email tune plus dyno verification by your local shop compare to the cost of the local shop doing the dyno and tune themselves?

m05fastbackGT

My local tuning shop charges $150.00 per hour for a custom dyno tuning session.. Most dyno sessions usually take up to 4-6 hours depending on the application.. His custom tuning rates are as follows: $150.00 per hour/$550.00 for 5 hour tuning package.. Anyhow, my custom e-mail tune from Brenspeed was $295.00 for one supercharged tune file and the local tuning shop that verified it charged $100.00 for one hour of dyno time which brings the grand total to $395.00.. If your car is naturally aspirated, you can select a single custom e-mail tune from Brenspeed for $95.00 or you can select 3 custom e-mail tunes for $145.00..

Hopefully this provides you with the comparison info you requested and I've also included a link for my local tuning shop in which you can verify for yourself that I provided you with accurate info..

http://www.rodeheavershotrod.com/pit...no_tuning.html
http://www.rodeheavershotrod.com/Dyn...burgh_Must.php

1 Alibi 2

Hopefully the OP got an answer out of these 18 posts, & was able to separate fact from fiction.
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m05fastbackGT

The OP has indeed got his answer from these posts in addition to separating the facts from fiction, as the facts have been both confirmed and backed up straight from JDM's own website