maxshuty

Dyno tunes are obviously the ultimate way to squeeze the most horsepower out of a vehicle, but how much more hp do they generally squeeze out of it over a canned tune? I recently went f/i and I want the most horsepower I can get a but a good dyno shop charges at least $500 in my area. So now my debate has begun; get a custom dyno tune - or stick with the canned tune and spend $500 towards something else.
Does anyone have any dyno sheets from a canned tune to a dyno? Any advice on what I should do?

S8ER01Z

how much is the canned tune? For me it ends up being such a small difference it's just worth dropping the 500.00

I just worry that a canned tune might have an issue that ends up getting missed and I lose my engine over it. With FI I would be even more nervous, unless you are using logging/wideband info to get the canned tune?

maxshuty

I do have air to fuel and boost gauges and also my tunes are free through American muscle so they cost me nothing out of pocket

Stone629

You'd be making a huge mistake running a canned tune with FI, imo. Its not all about numbers as much as it is about tuning YOUR car. A canned tune will get you by, but you'll be leaving a lot on the table, trust me. Especially in your situation. Spend the $500.

Explosive

You're F/I and your car hasn't seen a dyno ???

I wouldn't think about messing with canned tunes once I go F/I, dyno all the way

Franchi

N/A I'd say email tune is fine but with any boosted car, I'd def get a quality dyno tune.

$500 is cheaper then a blown engine...

maxshuty

I'm not so much worried about a blown engine - I've been running this canned tune for a month and a half and running it hard. I haven't notice anything serious so it seems to be running fine. I'm more concerned about wether or not I'm missing out on lots of hp

drhoward

You will be down on hp, a canned tune for a f/i setup is going to be very conservative, someone working with the car on a dyno will be able to make a lot more changes to get power out of it


I say it's money well spent

moochman4life

Sure, you might be. Gotta remember though, that numbers will vary from dyno to dyno. Even the same dyno might churn out a reading you were not expecting because - for instance - your car wasn't cooled down, it was a hot day, cold day, etc.

Mishri

on the s197 4.0 running a supercharger they are all about the same, even with f/i i dont think you'd pick up more than 15-20whp over the BAMA tune. (and that is a maximum, i think 10-15 is more realistic)

IF you get a dyno tune make sure its from someone who has good experience with the 4.0. the engine is strong, pistons are weak.

A lot of people with the v6 and v8 s197s are running canned tunes with superchargers and without issues.. sadly enough, most issues come from getting a dyno tune because the tuners try to push it too far to get more than the can tune they already base lined at. if your AFRs are looking good there isn't much more a dyno tuner can pull out of it.

I'd say no to the dyno tune unless you have a local tuner who is really good, has a lot of experience and his customers tell you that they dropped .2 off their ETs with the dyno tune.