School Me on tuning please

[J.Cagle]

Ok, I just purchased a C&L intake and sct tuner for my car. It is used, and the tunes for it is for an auto car and mine is manual. The tuner is unlocked so I can put custom tunes on it. My question is, how do I go about getting a tune for it? My car is all stock except for the intake when I get it and is a 5 speed. I would like to get a 91 octane tune since 93 isn't easy to find around here. What do I need to do?

 

[walter]

Contact one of the major tuners i.e. (Bamachips, Brenspeed, VMP Tuning etc. etc.) and purchase mail order tunes. All you need to give them is the strategy (code found as a sticker on your ECU under the hood) and the list of mods you have plus some options you'd like and you're good to go. Once they write you a tune they'll e-mail them to you.

 

[J.Cagle]

I know this is a very dumb question, but where is the ecu, and what does ecu even stand for?

 

[walter]

Engine Control Unit.


I believe in our cars is actually under the hood to the left side of the engine. It's a silverish box that has a huge plug for the harness going to it. It'll also have a small sticker with the code for the strategy which you will need to write down and send to the tuner.


Kind of an odd location as in most cars it's usually in the passenger compartment tucked in the passenger footwell.

 

[J.Cagle]

I read somewhere about one tuner being better for 1/4 mile, and one being better for top end but I cant seem to find that thread. Is it brenspeed or bamachips that is better for 1/4 mile?

 

[walter]

Better is a relative term really.

All I can say that some tuners have different options for the type of driving you do.

Torque tunes are usually optimized for low RPM driving
Performance tunes usually give you more punch up top.
Race tunes are optimized to the highest extent possible on the whole range but can cause some pinging issues if some variables change like altitude, air density, gas quality etc. etc. much easier then the previous two.

I have Bamachips' tunes and that's what he does anyway.

 

[J.Cagle]

Hmm, Id like a 91 octane tune, but With weather changing like it does in southeast kansas I wonder If It'd affect my drivablity. It gets hot in summer, cold in winter, and springs are humid.

 

[walter]

Sounds like the weather in Houston. When I specified my tunes I asked for a 87 Race, 93 Torque, and 93 Race. I had to revise the 93 Race because it was pinging especially in cold weather.

When in doubt the 87 Race will work without a hitch especially if you feed it 93 octane. That's the safety net I opt for when I think things don't feel right.

Still as much as I respect the abilities of tuners nothing beats a one to one session on a dyno where your AFR is constantly monitored and adjusted according to your setting. That said some like VMPtuning and Bamachips are known to go on a roadtrip every now and then and take a mobile dyno with them for test/tune sessions. You may want to check into that.

 

[ViperNuge]

Dude I read hundreds of posts from 3 mustang forums on which tuner to buy from. Bama and Brenspeed by far are the most popular. Overall I got the impression that I would be happy with a tune from either one. Bama has been backed up for a few months so I went with Bren for now cause I cant wait long to get my sh#t. Later on I plan to order bamas race tune since its why I bought this car. For now though, its a brenspeed tune which I am looking forward to getting (hopefully) next week.

There are other tuners out there, tillman, vma etc.... I am not dissing them at all. Might even try one of their tunes later on too. Like Walter said, if you can do a dyno session that would be the best tune for your conditions.

patrick

 

[J.Cagle]

Well I think I am going to order the 3 tunes from brenspeed for $125. But, I got to thinking about my future plans. Down the road I'd like to add an off-road h-pipe. So, I know I will need a new tune once I instal this. Once I do this do I simlpy delete the old tunes from the tuner, and have new ones made to match the h-pipe? Like I said before, I know absolutely nothing about this stuff.

 

[J.Cagle]

Ok, one more newbie question.The tuner is already loaded for 87 Performance, 89 Torque, 93 Race tunes(I bought it used) The only thing is my car is a standard and the previous owners car was an auto. I probaly can't use the tunes that came with it can I?

 

[dbrufus1234]

Sounds like the weather in Houston. When I specified my tunes I asked for a 87 Race, 93 Torque, and 93 Race. I had to revise the 93 Race because it was pinging especially in cold weather.

When in doubt the 87 Race will work without a hitch especially if you feed it 93 octane. That's the safety net I opt for when I think things don't feel right.

Still as much as I respect the abilities of tuners nothing beats a one to one session on a dyno where your AFR is constantly monitored and adjusted according to your setting. That said some like VMPtuning and Bamachips are known to go on a roadtrip every now and then and take a mobile dyno with them for test/tune sessions. You may want to check into that.

I didnt think Bamachips had an 87 Race tune, i thought he only had a Perfomance tune for 87 octane?

 

[Don 95Vert]

Couple things - the sticker on the PCM is its box code. The strategy is the 'family' of processors - you are much better off giving the tuner the strategy because on '05 and up Mustangs the dealer will reflash the PCM to upgrade programming and sometimes change it. They'll do this without telling you and may do it whoile they are doing warranty work, changing oil etc. To get the strategy, plugh tht X3 in the car, then go to Vehicle Information, and one of those options under that is "Read Strategy".

So called 'torque tunes' are just someone messing with the drive by wire settings to give more torque at lower RPMs to improve what it might feel like - you don't actually gain power because it's just like you giving more throttle down low all the time with a cable throttle system on an older car. i,e, it opens the blade more with less pedal and demands more torque at a lower pedal position.

You will most likely need a new tune for your car unless yours is the same strategy as the one you bought it from. It is not the same box code because the tranny is different. But to be safe, I'd get one for it if it were me - they are pretty cheap - we charge $50/tune and Justin at VMP is also excellent and his are in the same price range.

My own '06 picked up a LOT of power from a C&L Racer (they make different CAIs) and a tune - though I dynotuned mine. I also modded my drive by wire settings because I hated the feel of the way that SCT's recommended settings felt. I have used my own derived settings on a number of customer's cars and they really liked them.

You will need to specify WHICH CAI you have exactly as the '05's and up are particularly sensitive to changing the inlet. Exhaust changes, except for long tubes, usually do not require any tune changes - have whoever does it for you shut off the rear 02s and you'll be good to go when you put on the O/R pipes.

Don

 

[bradleyem]

Couple things - the sticker on the PCM is its box code. The strategy is the 'family' of processors - you are much better off giving the tuner the strategy because on '05 and up Mustangs the dealer will reflash the PCM to upgrade programming and sometimes change it. They'll do this without telling you and may do it whoile they are doing warranty work, changing oil etc. To get the strategy, plugh tht X3 in the car, then go to Vehicle Information, and one of those options under that is "Read Strategy".

So called 'torque tunes' are just someone messing with the drive by wire settings to give more torque at lower RPMs to improve what it might feel like - you don't actually gain power because it's just like you giving more throttle down low all the time with a cable throttle system on an older car. i,e, it opens the blade more with less pedal and demands more torque at a lower pedal position.

You will most likely need a new tune for your car unless yours is the same strategy as the one you bought it from. It is not the same box code because the tranny is different. But to be safe, I'd get one for it if it were me - they are pretty cheap - we charge $50/tune and Justin at VMP is also excellent and his are in the same price range.

My own '06 picked up a LOT of power from a C&L Racer (they make different CAIs) and a tune - though I dynotuned mine. I also modded my drive by wire settings because I hated the feel of the way that SCT's recommended settings felt. I have used my own derived settings on a number of customer's cars and they really liked them.

You will need to specify WHICH CAI you have exactly as the '05's and up are particularly sensitive to changing the inlet. Exhaust changes, except for long tubes, usually do not require any tune changes - have whoever does it for you shut off the rear 02s and you'll be good to go when you put on the O/R pipes.

Don

Hey Don,

I noticed that you're in Delaware, Ohio

Do you also do dyno tuning?

I'm in Columbus and would like to get a dyno tune done here pretty soon. I am currently running a Brenspeed 93 Octane tune, which I like alot, but I think that there is much more to be had from a dyno tune.

 

[Don 95Vert]

We did local dynotunes for 6 years or so, but decided to get out of it in this economy considering Columbus has WAY too many tuning dealers - it's basically cutthroat. We had to decide to buy a dyno or just get out of it for now - we got out. We were the first SCT Dealer in Ohio, but it got too crowded when SCT started adding dealers like crazy. I now concentrate on doing onsite training for new SCT Tuning dealers, mail order tunes, doing tuning days across the country and writing - I did SCT's Dealer's Tuning Manual, the Pro Racer Tuning Manual and a comprehensive tuning manual for another big tuning company. Working on more. Plus I tune at Rodeheaver's dyno in PA as well as others on contract here and there. In Ohio, for a dynotune, if I could not tune myself, I'd go to Big Shot Dyno in Akron. They took our on-site training and really do a good job.
Don

 

[walter]

I didnt think Bamachips had an 87 Race tune, i thought he only had a Perfomance tune for 87 octane?

Looking at his site you're right 87 Race isn't an option. I thought it was a while back. I'll check my tuner as soon as I get a chance and see what 87 tune I have.

Either way when I want to be 100% safe with detonation I run it with a tank of premium. Good thing to have when you're in doubt with the quality of gas you're putting in your car.

 

[J.Cagle]

What is the difference between the c&l street, and c&l race? My intake has the C&L Street's 85mm MAF section and the " C&L Racer's" plastic inlet pipe. Do I tell the tuner I have the street or the racer?

 

[J.Cagle]

Don95vert: You say you charge $50 per tuner. How do I go about getting a tune through you? Do you have a web site?

 

[J.Cagle]

Ok, I plugged the tuner into my car today and got the stategy code. How do I see what strategy code the current tunes are for?

 

[Don 95Vert]

You have to have that info from the old owner. You can try it if you think it'll work, but if it's different, you may get a 'no start' and have to have it towed back to the dealer for a reflash.