Tuner

[sufferer]

Well I've decided to buy a tuner instead of MILs to account for my O/R X, read that MILs don't always work. I'm assuming that with a tuner I can eliminate my CEL and restore normal operation relatively easily. Any recommendations? I've read all about the Diablosport Predator but anything cheaper that's just as good? Thanks for the help

[Chris@JDM]

I went the route of a SCT tuner with a custom tune when I did my long tubes and offroad X. No problems, a lot more power, even a little better fuel economy, could not be happier.

Every time I make a change to the car, I just call the tuner and get a new tune. Did a cold air and throttle body, changed the catback, did a fuel system, 42 lb, 90mm MAF, pullies and electric water pump. Every time I just get a new tune. About to hit the car with the 150 shot again (last time I did it was damn near stock with no tune), I'll be doing it on the dyno with a retune this time.

[Scwoodsy]

I put the Predator handheld on mine for about 3 months then took it off. Can't really tell that much of a difference, I think when I put the 125 shot on it I will have it dyno tuned.

[Chris@JDM]

Did you have a custom dyno tune loaded into the car or were using one of Diablosport's "canned" tunes with programmable parameters?

My experience is that they are completely useless. With the custom tune, the tuner asks a bunch of questions...year, pcm code, modifications, gear, tire size, etc. and creates a tune based of what he's seen similar pcm codes doing on the dyno in the past with those mods. Essentially, it's just short of a dyno tune, and they usually are really really good until you start getting up into big boy mods (aftermarket poweradders, cams, etc.)

[roushstage2]

The Premium fuel Predator tune is noticeable in my car. Friends and myself noticed a difference, in that I put it on, took it off, and then put it back on and there was definitely a difference.

A custom tune would obviously be best...

[Scwoodsy]

Originally Posted by Chris@JDM

Did you have a custom dyno tune loaded into the car or were using one of Diablosport's "canned" tunes with programmable parameters?

My experience is that they are completely useless. With the custom tune, the tuner asks a bunch of questions...year, pcm code, modifications, gear, tire size, etc. and creates a tune based of what he's seen similar pcm codes doing on the dyno in the past with those mods. Essentially, it's just short of a dyno tune, and they usually are really really good until you start getting up into big boy mods (aftermarket poweradders, cams, etc.)

It had a pre-programmed tune on it and just took about 10 minutes to put on, didn't ask me any questions. Would you suggest a dyno tune if I where to put a 125 shot on my car? Thanks...

[Chris@JDM]

Originally Posted by Scwoodsy

It had a pre-programmed tune on it and just took about 10 minutes to put on, didn't ask me any questions. Would you suggest a dyno tune if I where to put a 125 shot on my car? Thanks...

Yep, sounds like a 'canned' tune loaded off the SCT website.

Anything over a 50 shot, absolutely. You're adding roughly the equivalent of upping the boost 12 psi on a supercharged car. I've done custom tuning with my tuner ever since cold air and 3.73s all the way now to every bolt on known to man, drag radial full suspension car with 4.30s. He'd give me a start file, I'd run it a few days, take notes, datalog if I had stumbles or hesitations and describe the symptoms, he'd iron it out, send a new one back, repeat until perfect. My combination was close enough that it didn't require a dyno tune because there were plenty of other long tube bolt on 98 Cobras out there.

Now that I'm back to putting the 150 wet back on the car, it's dyno only for me. The combination is just too unique, and I'm pushing the stock motor so hard I want to be absolutely sure how safe the setup is. I'm doing one dyno tune to replace the current tune (93 Street) and then a second dyno (103 Race + 150 shot). Make absolutely sure you're using a wet shot and you have adequate fuel pump, lines, and rails to get the fuel up there.

[sufferer]

Originally Posted by Chris@JDM

I went the route of a SCT tuner with a custom tune when I did my long tubes and offroad X. No problems, a lot more power, even a little better fuel economy, could not be happier.

Every time I make a change to the car, I just call the tuner and get a new tune. Did a cold air and throttle body, changed the catback, did a fuel system, 42 lb, 90mm MAF, pullies and electric water pump. Every time I just get a new tune. About to hit the car with the 150 shot again (last time I did it was damn near stock with no tune), I'll be doing it on the dyno with a retune this time.

Good to hear, I'll look into that. My main reason to purchase a tuner is just to fix my CEL problem but any performance gains will be a huge plus.

[Chris@JDM]

Exactly. I tell customers, you put an intake on the car, the ECU does not have eyes - it didn't see you do it, it doesn't know it's there. It starts seeing feedback from sensors that are out of what it has deemed ordinary for the car and starts making small changes.

At some point, the computer is only allow to change so much before it starts throwing codes and thinking something is wrong (which, if you think about it, your car is tuned (factory) for one setup, and you changed that setup and not the tune, so the computer is right in thinking something is wrong). And once the computer thinks something is wrong, it goes into failsafe and uses measures out to protect itself. It starts ignoring sensor feedback thinking they cannot be trusted and running off preset protection tables rather than interpreting what it's seeing and changing to it.

Essentially, you start losing power and driveability. It can be as extreme as when I added the 90mm MAF and injectors and tried to start the car and it was insanely long crank before it fired, hunted for an idle, then finally idled high, visible fuel coming out the pipes, smelled like a gas station, tons of CELs. To as subtle as when I added the LTs and O/R X and was able to drive around for a few hours before my tuner got me my email tune. Just a CEL for the catalytic converter performance (non existent) and some mid-rpm part-throttle bucks/hesitations.

The tune needs to be changed to recognize the new modifications - I tell people if you're going to bolt parts on and not spend the money to get a tune, don't even bother buying the parts. You're expecting 10HP from an intake, if you don't change the PCM parameters to expect that extra airflow, you'd be lucky to gain 5HP. So what's the point of doing the modification if you're just going to leave the power on the table?

[sufferer]

Very helpful info, thanks Chris

[ninjarr]

you should also consider sniper special forces,or sniper comando(advance tuning), i bought it for my car a month ago,and i havent stop making tunes since then,u can create as many tunes a you wish,without calling or waiting for a tune in mail,i hav like 9 tunes save, from city driving to track,and its seriously like having 9 different cars, u can also have a real time data with the recon software thats included and with a laptop u have full access to all your tuning needs,including hp and tq calculator, u can also tune 2 cars...just something to consider since i did an extended research before my purchase too.

[Chris@JDM]

Originally Posted by ninjarr

you should also consider sniper special forces,or sniper comando(advance tuning), i bought it for my car a month ago,and i havent stop making tunes since then,u can create as many tunes a you wish,without calling or waiting for a tune in mail,i hav like 9 tunes save, from city driving to track,and its seriously like having 9 different cars, u can also have a real time data with the recon software thats included and with a laptop u have full access to all your tuning needs,including hp and tq calculator, u can also tune 2 cars...just something to consider since i did an extended research before my purchase too.

Yep, the Sniper software is good stuff. You just have to be ABSOLUTELY sure you know what you're doing and have a background in tuning - one incorrect keystroke or one overlooked detail can cause you your motor.