Digital Tuning Chip tuning in 2025, what are my options?

[FastDriver]

Side note: it's kinda crazy that folks out there are dropping thousands into the holleys and other stand alones on cars that would do perfectly fine on some minor tweaks and/or a QH/Tweecer/SCT chip.

I like the local team that I've put it on the dyno with, but seems like they talk everyone into Termintor X installs, no matter how mundane the build. Tried with me, but I already planned to use my $250 QH on my own. They couldn't beat that price, lol. Plus the car is running better than ever, and when I want to refine this or that in new weather on a whim, I can be out there tuning & tweaking in 10 minutes. You will never get that level of refinement from someone who has the car in 1 weather condition for an hour.

I mean, I get it on high end stuff & at the point you're pulling out hair over factory harness and computer problems, but on a stockish build where wideband closed loop adjustments aren't needed, just use a piggyback of some sort.

 

[FastDriver]

so I went to the Dallas area.

HPP Racing?

 

[AeroCoupe]

Ha ha ha!!!! Hell no, that guy can kiss my ass. He tuned my buddy's American Iron car and swore he could put a better tun on my car than what it had. When he got done with my car is was the worst tune ever. Took it back to Triangle Speed in Orange, TX and had Daniel put it back like it was.

This last time I had it tuned took it to True Street Motorsports out in McKinney, TX. I live in NE Oklahoma so it was a lot closer than SE Texas and I moved up from a 306 to a 331 so it needed changes and they have a good reputation. Very pleased with the tune and he told me a couple of things I could do to get more out of it. I have done those things but have not taken it back as I am going to the MSPnP Pro...just waiting on some nice weather as I am also putting a new ECU harness in.

 

[FastDriver]

Ha ha ha!!!! Hell no, that guy can kiss my ass. He tuned my buddy's American Iron car and swore he could put a better tun on my car than what it had. When he got done with my car is was the worst tune ever. Took it back to Triangle Speed in Orange, TX and had Daniel put it back like it was.

This last time I had it tuned took it to True Street Motorsports out in McKinney, TX. I live in NE Oklahoma so it was a lot closer than SE Texas and I moved up from a 306 to a 331 so it needed changes and they have a good reputation. Very pleased with the tune and he told me a couple of things I could do to get more out of it. I have done those things but have not taken it back as I am going to the MSPnP Pro...just waiting on some nice weather as I am also putting a new ECU harness in.

The car ran alright when I got it back from Manny, but he's a bandaid tuner, not a methodical one. i.e. he didn't have the initial injector settings correct. So, he was making adjustments and tweaks to make it work before getting the fundamentals right. If I wasn't into tuning, I'd have been happy with it.

Everything else, though, the timeline, communication, and work on my build was less than stellar. During their work, I lived in Dallas. While there, I moved to Fort Knox as I transitioned back into the Army. Because I couldn't get them to get to the work, I drove down to pick it up incomplete. It was the first time I got to talk to the man face-to-face. He promised to get after it and do a better job. So, I left the car and wasted an 8 hour trip.

Shouldn't have done it. after doing the work, the car dynoed ~640 rwhp. I told him something is way off. He told me that it's the 'heart-breaker' dyno. I chewed on that for a few days before I realized that the number was about 7/8s of what it should be. Informed with that, he found they screwed up installing the injector harness. Apparently, one of the pins had recessed. The car made 723 on pump on the next pull.

Meanwhile, I was still charged for the first dyno, the additional work to fix their screw-up, and the subsequent dyno. I was pissed, but I was also ready to just get my damned car back.

I don't think they're a bad shop, and they're far from the only one I have experiences like that with. But, they won't get my business or recommendation, again.

 

[Trogdor]

This last time I had it tuned took it to True Street Motorsports out in McKinney, TX. I live in NE Oklahoma so it was a lot closer than SE Texas and I moved up from a 306 to a 331 so it needed changes and they have a good reputation. Very pleased with the tune and he told me a couple of things I could do to get more out of it. I have done those things but have not taken it back as I am going to the MSPnP Pro...just waiting on some nice weather as I am also putting a new ECU harness in.

Must have been Archie or Sean, but most likely Archie.

The car ran alright when I got it back from Manny, but he's a bandaid tuner, not a methodical one. i.e. he didn't have the initial injector settings correct. So, he was making adjustments and tweaks to make it work before getting the fundamentals right. If I wasn't into tuning, I'd have been happy with it.

Everything else, though, the timeline, communication, and work on my build was less than stellar. During their work, I lived in Dallas. While there, I moved to Fort Knox as I transitioned back into the Army. Because I couldn't get them to get to the work, I drove down to pick it up incomplete. It was the first time I got to talk to the man face-to-face. He promised to get after it and do a better job. So, I left the car and wasted an 8 hour trip.

Shouldn't have done it. after doing the work, the car dynoed ~640 rwhp. I told him something is way off. He told me that it's the 'heart-breaker' dyno. I chewed on that for a few days before I realized that the number was about 7/8s of what it should be. Informed with that, he found they screwed up installing the injector harness. Apparently, one of the pins had recessed. The car made 723 on pump on the next pull.

Meanwhile, I was still charged for the first dyno, the additional work to fix their screw-up, and the subsequent dyno. I was pissed, but I was also ready to just get my damned car back.

I don't think they're a bad shop, and they're far from the only one I have experiences like that with. But, they won't get my business or recommendation, again.

Watched him dyno tune a silver turbo 90 notch that my friend had just bought from a mutual friend. The engine was solid, but my friend wanted it tuned up. Every pass he made the car had lower numbers until the 4th pass the car started smoking something fierce out of the exhaust. Manny still made one more pull instead of trying to figure out why it was smoking so bad. Long story short, my friend had to tow his car home and then to a different shop where they tore it down, but went out of business, so the car was never completed before my friend unexpectedly passed. Oh, he was still charged for the dyno tune session.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Archie was the one that tuned it. Dude was pretty cool and really knows his stuff.

 

[Dan02gt]

Can you explain to me how this process went? is there a cable you connect to the quarter horse which then goes to a laptop and then you have a tuning software that allows you to data log for the tuner? Do you need to install a wide band?

You are correct. I have a USB port in my glove box that I connect my laptop to. Decipha likes TunerPro RT for tuning software. He sent me a startup file based on the information I gave him. I then ran a data log and sent him the results that he used to dial in the tune. The QH / TunerPro combo is cool and even allows you to run the car off of your laptop so you can make tune changes in real time while the car is running.

 

[Dan02gt]

The X cam has been around longer than pretty much any tuning device.
I've had a handful of heads/cams/intakes/Throttle bodies and meters.
One cam i ran on my stock shortblock was really aggressive, idled fine, made a ton up top, very little down low and required notching the pistons with the isky tool. I have never had an idling issue.

If the AC is causing a surge, the system is failing to adapt. Not sure how you tune that out.
Do i know the answer? No, likely a great question for the late Jrichker.

In the stock tune there are several options, but none are accessible without a QH or some type of chip.

"Idle RPM adder for A/C - DNAC" I use this one and add 80RPMs

You can also add additional idle airflow with "Idle Airflow Increment for A/C - ACPPM"

 

[afjLX]

I was looking into a chip and just went with the MegaSquirt.

 

[Dontknowchit]

Can a sct or QH convert maf car to speed density with a map sensor input? Can it be tuned to run e85?

 

[Noobz347]

Can a sct or QH convert maf car to speed density with a map sensor input? Can it be tuned to run e85?

No. However, you could track down an SD ECU and tune [that] with a QH.

 

[Trogdor]

Can a sct or QH convert maf car to speed density with a map sensor input? Can it be tuned to run e85?

It would be easier to just go MS or Holley in the long run.

 

[Noobz347]

It would be easier to just go MS or Holley in the long run.

Yes. Any Mass-Air car harness would have to be modified for SD (MAF conversion instructions in reverse) and then install the SD computer (hoping that it works) and then figure out what needs to be modified on the SD computer (with what software, I'm not sure) to compensate for [anything] that is not part of the OEM SD combo.

Best of all... There's zero support for any of it.

 

[2000xp8]

What exactly are you tuning for e85? There is very little to gain with a Naturally Aspirated engine and e85. This could be a project that takes time and money and nets you very little.

 

[AeroCoupe]

My F150 with a Coyote makes 65 hp more on e85 vs gasoline and it’s NA. You can get way more aggressive with the timing.

 

[2000xp8]

My F150 with a Coyote makes 65 hp more on e85 vs gasoline and it’s NA. You can get way more aggressive with the timing.

Well, that's a massive number for just e85. Here's a good comparison on a coyote. It made 511hp on 91 and 532hp on e85 and that's on an engine dyno. 65hp is more than double what i've ever seen or heard of.

Ford 5.0L Coyote Dyno Test: CAI & E85 Tune Makes 532 HP

Car Craft dyno test’s Ford’s Gen 3 Coyote 5.0L crate engine stock, with JLT cold air intake, e85, and a custom tune from HP Tuners.

www.hotrod.com

I've seen it done on foxes, the gains aren't worth the effort. If all goes well, might be worth 10rwhp.
Let's not forget that pushrod engines don't have modern direct injection.

 

[FastDriver]

Noobz said it right. To go speed density, you'd need a pre-89 computer & wiring harness, but I don't have a clue why you'd do it. Plenty of folks have tuned blowers, turbos and nitrous with an MAF on a QH. And, I don't have any experience doing it, but I don't think changing to E85 is a big deal, since you can tell the computer what stoich is for the fuel you're using, or just change injector sizing to compensate for the extra fuel needed.

 

[General karthief]

Now I might be 'old fashioned ' taking into account my time in the automotive world let me give you my opinion, true, E85 is great, in theory, real world it can be as big a pain as an electric car.
Yes big (so to speak) gains can be achieved, it has a place, not on a 'street driven N/A pushrod engine, not widely available, does not store well.
Not worth it IMHO.
I didn't mention fuel mileage because......well truth is we don't have hotrods for the gas mileage

 

[FastDriver]

26mpg on my last 80 mph w/ A/C on trip.

 

[Dontknowchit]

What exactly are you tuning for e85? There is very little to gain with a Naturally Aspirated engine and e85. This could be a project that takes time and money and nets you very little.

Not NA, want to use it to cool AITs w/o intercooler and then up timing to avoid det.