I think it's to early to make major judgments, I just didn't see a night and day difference and people tend to claim and I had hoped to experience.
I mentioned above that I needed to do more driving and that I have not yet used the 91 Octane tune. I understand that is really where you see the performance difference according to forums and tech documentation.
I also stated above that these are not canned pre-programmed tunes.
These are tunes based on the build of your vehicle. Most SCT tuners use similar software to make the tunes, but the shops may have philosophical differences of what they tweak. Some individual tune techs may know their stuff better than others, sure.
Lastely, I actually have done alot of reseach before buying this tuner, even before my problem I was looking into tuners down the road. Let's not forget at the start of the thread I metnioned cost was an issue. I also mentioned during the thread I plan to have add a true dyno tune soon.
That said, from what I can tell on the net people overall are happy with all of their tuners and tunes, regardless of make and tech. I have yet to find more than one or two complaint anywhere about most of these products, so I feel you can't really go wrong with any of then, though you may be able to do better.
I finally did some actual distance and mixed driving and mileage numbers are above pre-tuner averages with the new 87 economy tune. So that's good, no check engine light, no codes, everything seems to be within parameters from what I can tell. The exhaust/engine also feels smoother. The smell is still pretty pungent, yes. But I can play with the AF and WOT a little bit and see what happens.
Any good threads about that? I'm not finding any searching this forum.
I am really looking forward to trying the 91 octane performance tune. I should be able to tell a night and day difference, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Thank you all for the input. Yes, I can get a tune from anybody now that I have the tuner. Some people charge 50 bucks, some 25, but they are out there as you have mentioned Brenspeed, and others. AM will also give me more tunes f I am not satisfied as well, so I can try that. I am hoping these will do until I can get a dyno tune which runs about 500 bucks.
My biggest issue now is the smell and determining if it is a problem or not. That will have to wait now that all the money for this season is gone.
At this point, I'm going to say f'it and drive it.