EI-03-GT

So i know that a dyno tune is the better way to go but will a handheld tuner give you a tune that will do for the time being? I am just being cheap I guess. will it do my engine any harm till i have the money to get a real tune from a shop is what i am asking i guess. Any help would be great.

MU71L4710N

thanks for all the information you gave about your car, its very beneficial in answering your question and we couldnt answer without it.



if your running a blower, then i highly suggest NOT running a canned tune. if you have cams, i still wouldnt. nitrous, i still wouldnt. if all you have is boltons, then i wouldnt even waste the money on a dyno tune in the first place the 93 octane tune will be fine.

boduke0220

anything more than bolt ons get a dyno tune

smitty2919

I dont see the point to get a canned tune. if you are going to do it, do it right and get a dyno tune regardless of your mods.

I only have TB/plenum, midpipe, CB and CAI and I plan to have a dynotune put on a SCT 4 bank chip. Maybe find a handheld used, then bring it to the tune and get it done. I have a locked Xcal 2 and a Diablo that I keep for just pulling codes, so handhelds are great for that reason. If money is an issue, put the money you have now away and save some more.

hot sauce

i would only use a canned tune if i done my own mods and was trying to get to a shop for a dyno tune.

b96gtman

dude i have a stroker bottom end with ported heads and cams, 24lb inj and 255lph fuel pump and full bolt ons and exhaust on my 96gt. and i had Justin @ VMP send me a cuple of custom tunes on my x cal 3 that i bought from him and the tunes are great. my idle and air fuel ratio are hell a legit. i took it in to my buddys dyno shop and had him check the tune and air and fuel ratios and they were real close to bein perfect. i had him adjust the timing barely with the end user adjustment and that was it. i wuda had a dyno tune to begin with but im breakin in my motor and didnt wana do it on the dyno and NO reputable tuners are in the area i live in that use SCT software which is the only one id want on my car. So VMP is awesome man. ive always heard great things about justin. he has tuned enough mod stangs to get his remote tunes real close. I would NOT do that for a forced induction application but NA? yes. just depends who is doin it. all kinds of tuners can give great base tunes and good NA tunes. just keep it safe and not push the limits

ddmsgtr1

Most of the mail order tuners like VMP and Bama will not do a mail order tune if you have more extensive mods like a blower or cams. Some of them will give you a nitrous tune, but I don't recommend it. For a bolt on car, personally I'd just buy the tuner and custom tune from somebody like Justin at VMP or Bama. To me, it's very hard to justify spending $300+ on a dyno tune for a bolt on car. You're not going to get that much more out of it than you would out of a good mail order tuner. But anything more than bolt ons and a dyno tune is a necessity.

mrtstang

I can personally attest to the fact that a good custom tune is definitely better than a canned tune, even with just bolt ons. When i switched my car was noticeably snappier and quicker, even though my dyno chart told me that i had the exact same horsepower as before.

EI-03-GT

wow sorry just spaced about the mods. I am going to be LT headers to a catted x pipe and cat back. As well as a new intake manifold and comp cams xe270ah. I know id need one with FI but i was hoping that i would be able to get away with it since im just going with the cams. I obviously dont want to do my engine harm though

98redstang

+1 heres your answer