Help me understand a custom tune

[Defleshed]

It's going to be time for a tune, once the blower comes. (soon).

now whats the deal with this?

I'm looking on modular depot. I see, this:
http://www.modulardepot.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_46&products_id=47

what the hell is that? It looks like a computer program. How's this work? I'm assuming I'm plugging it into my laptop, and... what? Plugging a cable into my diagnostics port in my car? Then what? Is my car going to upload data that I manually reconfigure? do I drive around with this cabel into my laptop to get the A/F? Is the program any good? Is this the way you custom tune your car? Do you as the user make ALL the changes? Does the program itself detec things and make suggestions? How automated is? How manual is it? Whats better, the chip or the flasher? I'd assume the flasher... but I'm not sure.

Now, it see THIS: http://www.modulardepot.com/product_info.php?products_id=88

it says upgrade... But thats about all I'm getting from the ad... whats upgraded... what can you do with the "upgrade" that you cant with the normal software? It looks exactly the same. And for 500 bucks, I'd hope there's something more to it.

Lastly, I'm seeing this: http://www.modulardepot.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_47&products_id=82

Now, whats the deal... you, what, right a letter to an address with your mods, and they mail you back a program in the flasher for your car? That sounds pretty seedy... I mean, everyone knows not all engines make EXACTLY the same power, so obviously, not all mods are going to change the A/F ratio exactly the same... how do they know how to custom tune to your specific car needs...


Finally, I saw something about a datalogger. I dont know the web address, or maybe I'm just not seeing it here. I'm assuming you plug it into the diagnostics port, drive around, and it logs the info. Alright. So then what? I mail that info to SCT and they come back with a tune? Where do I get the data logger at?

Personally, I'd be more comfortable with having a professional do my tune, since I've never done this before. But the mail order thing, where I write my mods down, just doesnt sound effective?

PS. I've searched all over stangnet for more information regarding this, before I posted my questions, and I can't find anything except hand held "non custom" flashers (such as diablosport deltachip/predator) Versus customs (SCT). But no real good info on what goes into having a custom tune done.

Anyone with a custom tune, if you could enlighten me, and maybe others with questions regarding how you went about doing this, it would be great. Any suggestions? Any thing i should stay away from? Anything I should keep in mind? Any horror/success stories?

I tried to type this out as comprehensively as possible, trying to properly state my questions and understanding as best I could making it easier for you to read/answer. I appriecate any help, and I'll continue to monitor this thread for any updates. Thanks guys!!

 

[nickthegenius]

Unless you have a lot of time and like tinkering with your car, I would say the handheld flasher with custom tune would be a great start. That way, you have a good basic tune from a reputable tuner. Modular Depot and Apten merged in recent months and Apten had a reputation of being one of the best tuner shops around. They should be able to send you a program on the flasher that is VERY close to where you need to be as long as you give them a concise list of your mods.

I myself wouldn't buy one of the Racer packages for a blown car. I see "tinkering" with a supercharged car's tune like tinkering with explosives. Thats just my opinion though.

 

[Defleshed]

that's literrally all the info you're giving the people who are going to make serious tweaks to your car though? Just a list of mods? No hard data collected from anything? And the outcome is pretty good from that? I mean, sounds good if so, but... I cant imagin they'd be able to get your car's needs down that well with just a list, year, model, ect. I dont know, maybe im being too obsessive... I just want this done right. Think i ought to do a dyno pull first to get more info? or is that not needed? I have so many questions! ARRGGHH!!

 

[scalder]

Just do it the safe way...take it to a shop that is knowledgeable with mod motors and have them dyno tune it....

 

[WhiteDevil69]

that's literrally all the info you're giving the people who are going to make serious tweaks to your car though? Just a list of mods? No hard data collected from anything? And the outcome is pretty good from that? I mean, sounds good if so, but... I cant imagin they'd be able to get your car's needs down that well with just a list, year, model, ect. I dont know, maybe im being too obsessive... I just want this done right. Think i ought to do a dyno pull first to get more info? or is that not needed? I have so many questions! ARRGGHH!!

Here is what I have planned, I decided on a chip brand (SCT), then went to their site and searched for a local dealer. Found one about 50 miles out from my house and called them up. They gave me a quote for 375 for the SCT chip dyno tuned, same price as most mail order SCT's, cept you have no worries. Good luck, Bryan

 

[raykrv6a]

Take it to a well regarded performance shop in your area. 375 or so is cheap for the expertise and it's verified on a dyno.

 

[stang976]

definatley take it to a shop. they will throw it on the dyno and adjust the A/F ratio, fuel pressure, timing.. during all RPM ranges off and under boost for the maximun performance and reliability. most shops dyno tune, then drive it on the street (street tune) with a laptop hooked up to check drivability and other issues. its well worth the $375-$550 price tag for a custom tune on a supercharged car. good luck

 

[nickthegenius]

I had mine custom-tuned on a dyno. I guess I read to much into the original post as Defleshed wanting to get something mail-ordered. In that case, you would be surprised how close Tim at T&J or the guys at Modular Depot/Apten could get your chip set up to your car.

However, a dyno tune would be the best way to do it. I see you are located in Hell. You might see if Adolf or Benito (aka The Moose) at Axis Power Motorsports might be able to help you out. I'm fairly certain those three are located in hell as well.

 

[kah9911]

Well if you were on the MD web site go into the forums and go down to the SCT stuff and starts reading. There is a LOT of info in there and will answer your questions.
The MD crew are some of the best tuners and the SCT stuff is really good. The thing with the PRP (pro racer package) is that you can tweak anything and everything you want to. They will give you the base tune and you go from there or can have it dyno tuned from there. Now if you blow your car up with a change YOU made I dont know how they will handle that. I would hope if any damage is done with there or any tuners tune they would stand behind you.
1st link is for the whole package, PRP + chip
2nd link is for the "up grade" if you already have the chip or flasher.
3rd is for a hand held tuner that is like the little brother of the PRP.

Hope it cleared thigs up a bit. -Kevin

 

[twogts4us]

Here is what I have planned, I decided on a chip brand (SCT), then went to their site and searched for a local dealer. Found one about 50 miles out from my house and called them up. They gave me a quote for 375 for the SCT chip dyno tuned, same price as most mail order SCT's, cept you have no worries. Good luck, Bryan

That's hard to believe they can dyno tune a $325 chip for $375. I don't doubt what they told you, I just know what happened to me...
My (former) tuner quoted my $370 for the SCT chip, but it ended up costing me $627 after dyno time, tuning, etc. All this money for a (at the time) stock GT with catback and gears.
If I had it to do over again, with minimal mods, I'd do the mail order SCT Tuner. You can always get re-tuned later via mail, email (with the appropriate cable) or at a dyno.
I think Nick gave some good, logical advice in his post above.
Defleshed, you ARE shopping at the right place - ModularDepot. If you want to know more about the PRP, check out their pre-order forum. The PRP takes some dedication of your time and does assume some basic understanding of how the EEC works, but it's not for racers only. But again, if you're wanting to tune a blown engine, you'd better have a good understanding of the info you can get out of a datalogger, an A/F Ratio meter and the variables you can tweak (and how they each affect one another) or you'll end up with a different kind of blown engine.
If this is all about tuning for a blower, you really need to get it on a dyno, where your A/F ratio, which is oh-so critical, can be properly metered and managed by a professional.
And for those who haven't seen it yet, SCT has updated their website - ck it out at www.superchipscustom.com. They also now have their own forum, but it's new and rather thin right now. As WhiteDevil69 did, you can search for a dealer there.
Diablo also now has custom tuning, under the name DiabloSport ChipMaster Revolution or CMR for short. www.diablosport.com
One of the biggest things to consider when choosing which tune to go with is support! Find dealers near you and go talk to them...tell them what you want to do and find out if they have any experience with your planned setup.
Best of Luck!

 

[cold96snake]

Well, there's no tuners here in Maine, so if I got a custom SCT chip, would it be safe until I got it to a dyno? Could they adjust the tune after I installed it and dyno'd it? Also going to be blown soon.

 

[jbrown]

just buy a chip that can accept dyno tunes, I think md has the sct chip for 325 with a custom mail order tune. Just get that until you can get to a dyno. If you have a dyno near you they may offer a package price with the chip and dyno tune(usually about 400-500 I think). Personally I dont think the prp is necessary you can have a dyno tune for less money. And the flip chip isnt a handheld tuner its kind of like the sct chip that you can change between programs.

 

[BanginStang97GT]

You will gain a lot more hp and torque by spinning a dyno and having a pro alter anything that needs to be changed. Take a trip from Maine to NJ. I'm going to have Larroca's tune mine the end of this month or beginning of November. You spending a lot of money on something you my as well spend the extra $600 to make sure you investment doesn't become a boat anchor.

 

[GT2000JAY]

Here's my opinion on tuning, FWIW. First, you can do it yourself regardless of whether the car is N/A or blown. I would be extremely hesitant to use a mailorder tune on a blower car - I'd rather tune it myself. However, you must have datalogging and wideband a/f capability to do it properly. The SCT Pro Racer Package is just the tip of the iceberg - there's another $400 (or so) for a good datalogger and around $450 for a wideband a/f meter like the LM-1 (which I use) with the aux. cable for capturing RPM.

The biggest resource you would have is the SCT user forum at ModularDepot. The SCT guys and other SCT dealers browse it frequently and answer questions, provide new information and modify files.

Once you begin to get the hang of it there are several reasons to tune your own car. 1) You don't have a local dyno tuner - mail order will get you *close*, but the most critical factor in the tune, the MAF xfer function, requires datalogging to get it dead-on, especially for a blower car. 2) You want to make changes yourself, whether it be trying a little more timing or making another modification. 3) Every car is different and will respond differently to various modifications. SCT can get you close via mailorder, but again close isn't dead-on.

Granted, the PRP is not for everyone. You have to dedicate the time to learning and you have to follow the logical progression laid out by SCT in the manual.

In my opinion, it's been the best single investment I've made. I've learned a bunch about how our cars actually function, I've been able to work through small issues with my setup and I'm convinced that I can perfect my tune because I have the opportunity to continue to dial it in and manage it.

Jay

 

[cold96snake]

You will gain a lot more hp and torque by spinning a dyno and having a pro alter anything that needs to be changed. Take a trip from Maine to NJ. I'm going to have Larroca's tune mine the end of this month or beginning of November. You spending a lot of money on something you my as well spend the extra $600 to make sure you investment doesn't become a boat anchor.

Well, I plan on getting it dyno tuned anyway. My question is whether a custom burned SCT chip can be altered on the dyno at say $125/hr, or if I'm gonna have to buy another $400 chip + the 125/hr dyno time when I get to the dyno.
Yes, I'm a dummy when it comes to these things.

 

[jstreet0204]

The SCT Pro Racer Package is just the tip of the iceberg - there's another $400 (or so) for a good datalogger and around $450 for a wideband a/f meter like the LM-1 (which I use) with the aux. cable for capturing RPM.

I bought the tweecerRt w/ datalogging and a PLX wideband for a little over $800, which would just get you the SCT package alone. The documenatation isn't as good, but the forums are a great source for learning.