My friend has a tuner for a 98 Expedition, its a 4.6 so i was wondering if it would work on my car?

 

What kind? Check the manufacturers webpage.

 

i thought tuners are VIN specific.

 

Well then how can people sell used ones? Not sure on the manufacturer, ill have to find out.

 

They are locked to a specific vin, yes, but they can be used on diff cars. Like the application is broad, but once it's used, it is locked to the vin until you pay to have it unlocked.

 

Would a hand held tuner even add anything? or would i just be better to go to a dyno and do it?

 

As far as I know, as long as the stock program is is re-installed to whoevers car it is, then it can be used on another car as long as its for the same model car. Or one that the tuner will work on.

 

No. Not on a diablo tuner or an xcal2. Maybe a hypertech, but for the others then you aren't technically supposed to be able to use them. Maybe there are ways around it, but it's not supposed to be able to. It is "locked" to only one vehicle. It's on their websites.

 

to be honest with you..ive looked at them..and they wont really help u out all that much...maybe 10 hp max..they are better for superchargers and all that...but like i said..N/A tunes dont do all that much...i didnt feel $400+ was worth 10-15 hp..lol

 

Yes, it stays locked while you have their tunes programmed to your car. Once you return it all back to stock, you can use it on another vehicle. They do this so you can't just keep using the same one to tune a bunch of different cars with only one tuner. They have to be able to make their $$$$.