Dyno Vs Mail Order Tune ?

OK2013GT

I can feel a vibration in the seat of my pants
Nov 20, 2016
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0
1
I found a local (Oklahoma City) tuner. My question, is a tune done on a dyno better than a tune sent from say VMP?
Also, if I get the tune done on the dyno that's one tune, usually when you order tunes you get 3. And if I get a dyno tune I don't have the hand held programmer, do I still need one or is that only needed if you get the email tunes?
Or should I get the X4 even if I get a dyno tune?
 
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I have a 16 gt with the bell 2.8 at 11 lb but when i called them about putting a set of long tube headers on it they said don't run it at all until I have a dyno tune put on it and I also got a snow meth inj to put on it.What I want to know is the hand held tuners good enough for some thing like this bell don't think so.my 1st blower
 
My experience with mail order tunes has been disappointing. I have done several on the Mustangs I've owned with little results that justify the cost. I was some what happy with the PI swaped 96 gt I once had with an auto. It really made a huge difference to get the auto shifting faster and the rpm I liked. It was the only and last auto Mustang I owned. I actually sold my white 2000 and kept the SCT tuner and just used the can tunes on my 2010 and noticed more of a slight improvement over the tunes AM was giving me. I agree with one of the other member in the case of getting some more mods before you pay for a tune session. Unless you have money to spend, that is.
 
Get a dyno tune when you have installed all the major mods to the car. Why would you want to pay $400+ for a tune that becomes obsolete the second you install a new mod? Buy an SCT SX4 from BAMA and let them make your customized tunes until you are dyno ready.
 
I went the route of getting a canned tune myself, but my results were a little puzzling. I have a '14 that is relatively unmodified save for a couple of very minor things such as a SR CAI and TB Spacer (nothing but noise I'm sure, but I like that so...). I had the car dynoed about two weeks ago and it pulls 364.7 horse and 380.4 tq. The car was ran on a dynojet, temps in the upper 50's and it was misting so rather humid. At first I was curious to know if the tune was even doing anything but when a few 550's went on the dyno, their results were even more puzzling to me, pulling anywhere in between 354-360 stock to 374 with the same tune (Bamatunes 91 race) and tuner (X4). That being said, I was pulling anywhere between 20 to a 60 more ft lbs of tq (tuned 550 to stock 550).

Seems like the ONLY think my car really gained was torque, and a good bit of it...Maybe I should send some log files and have them rework it? In the sake of total disclosure if asked, this is everything the car has done to it (though mostly not relevant):

Track Pack
Pypes Axlebacks
19X10's all around with 285/35/19's
Steeda STS
 
I haven't looked into Dyno tunes & I have a 3.7L V6 base 2.73 gears. I do however have an SCT tuner and it was a huge improvement in my shifting times. The Airaid CAI I got later was mainly noise but does seem to help on hills. On the handheld tuner you don't have every option unless maybe the programming company gives you some, but in my experience, at least with MPT Performance, their tunes didn't work well with my car, however the settings on the SCT that were already there to use worked perfectly. It allows you to change some things such as CAI, axle ratio, and a couple others. It also allows you to view certain car stats such as certain system pressures & also allows you to clear some error codes. I would suggest doing the handheld until it no longer can handle the upgrades on your car. The other good thing about handheld is you can change things at any time or return to stock without a fee or without having to take it somewhere. That's really helpful if you still have a warranty and don't want to void it. Once your car is too awesome for the handheld tuner to handle, then the Dyno one sounds perfect :cool:
 
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