Hack tuner + my poor engine= owned (Long)

spederman

Member
Apr 13, 2005
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I have the worst luck ever or all the performance shops in my area blow bigtime. First shop/tuner, tuned the car without the IAT. They dont use them, they let the ECU default to 100 degrees for a temp which it does when it doesnt sense the IAT sensor. Great, not an adaptive tune, but they were running the default timing with a standard SCT tune which is supposedly 14 degrees. So at least the motor never popped, i guess, but still not the safest not running an adaptive tune.

So i decide i better get a better tune and dump my old shop. So i go to this new shop and the tuner is telling me that the old shop is stupid for tuning that way and its so not safe. So he tunes it, advances timing and gets a lot more power out of it. Me being trusting that this is a reputable tuner and a pro, why do i have any reason to doubt him. Well, first full throttle run that nite in 3rd gear, i think i hear detonation but cant tell over my exhaust, hit 4th gear, definately really bad detonation, i let off the throttle asap. And since i was a block from my house, i just go back home. I'm pissed and decide to take it back to the shop for a re tune the next day. Next day, Now it starts and barely idles, and is running really really rough. I pull out of the garage and on the floor my car is bleeding. Two tennis ball sized oil drops. I limp it to the shop and it runs terrible. No power at all below 2500 rpms, and its running like absolute crap. I never pushed it above 2500rpms so not sure if there was decent power. Shop still hasnt looked at my car as of today, so i have no clue if the engine is done. Are shops liable if they blow your motor because of a crap tune? Man, i hate hacks, if the motor is done, looks like i will be making a 15 hour roadtrip to Modularpowerhouse and getting it done right.
 
Are shops liable if they blow your motor because of a crap tune? Man, i hate hacks, if the motor is done, looks like i will be making a 15 hour roadtrip to Modularpowerhouse and getting it done right.

If you signed anything, the shop is not liable for your car. If you didn't sign anything, you can sue. So the car wasn't pinging until AFTER you drove it home? Why didn't he back off the timing? Sounds like a very irresponsible "tuner". If I were you, I would buy the pro racer package. That way you can tune the car yourself. It's very reliable right out of the box, and only minor adjustments need to be made. Much better than driving 15 hours! Hope your car is OK!
 
wow i would definately demand them to fix it and if they didnt i would sue, that is horse-****, the tuner could have AT ANY time told you he didnt want to be responsible and didnt want to tune it. But since he did tune it he accepted the responsibility and therefore the liability and screwed up your car....
 
I would imagine they have all kinds of legal crap to protect them from this, but you should see what you can do. Sounds to me like they are responsible.

It's weird that he wouldn't have backed the timing off on the dyno. Good luck man, sounds like you've got a lot of headaches in front of you.
 
Still no confirmation on whats wrong with my car. They havent really looked at it yet but did say they cant find an oil leak, which is odd considering something has to be leaking to make 2 giant spots on my garage floor. Supposedly tomorrow it will get done, but they think its not a blown engine because it starts and doesnt sound bad even though it runs rough.
 
Yikes! Audable detonation in a blown car....a blown 2V!!!!!!! Tell the clown not to let the timing go above 16*s in any situation and that will be very very safe. He went trigger happy with the timing. (My timing is @ 15*s for refrence)

When I first read it I thought you were N/A and I wasnt too worried about you hearing audable detonation...but after Bennys post I looked at your sig and yep blower. Then I got worried lol. Fortunatly your only @ 8PSI so hopefully since it was a fairly short blast, your pistons survived.
 
Man, still no news on it or they are avoiding me. I call and they say they're working on it, if it is taking this long, definately not good news.

Urban: I'm in Tx.

Hotmustang: dude, no wonder you freaking drive all the way to MPH from TX. Its definately worth it for a shop that knows what they are doing. If the motor is toast, which i'm 90% sure it is, Thats where i'll be towing it.


So if i am going to get a new forged bottom end, what else should i have done to it while everything is apart to save on labor? Port&polish heads and cams? What does it take to hit 600rwhp?