I wanted to get a performance tune and was told that the hand held units are not the best option. I have spoken to a couple companies that told me to mail them my computer and they will reprogram it? Would this be the same effect/results with car in the actual shop?

It's a big step up from a hand held. Theres a few good ones out there I plan on taking my car to Chuck at corvettes of wenchester. I bet Tim (tstar) will be able to give more info on this.

There are some really good ones out there. I know PCMs For Less does an excellent job;

http://www.pcmforless.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

They also make circuits around my area so you can get a Dyno/Tune. Unless you have some unusual additions to your car or a mechanical problem, I feel the mail order tunes are just as good as a Dyno tune. If you have a choice, I'd go with the Dyno/Tune BUT they've done so many of these by now that it's almost cookie cutter...

Who are you looking at?

Chuck Cow has made some exaggerated claims in the other Forums but I think he's probably a very able tuner.

Thanks guys, I was talking to breathless performance?

I used to have a hand held program in my car, went and had professionaly tuned (you spend more $$), but so much better. I have learned alot about this. With the car there they can tune it to all your mods and maximize power, shift points, and so forth. You may want to check who in your area does this.

Go with the custom tune over the hand helds, you will be happier and get more HP out of it!

I used to have a hand held program in my car, went and had professionaly tuned (you spend more $$), but so much better. I have learned alot about this. With the car there they can tune it to all your mods and maximize power, shift points, and so forth. You may want to check who in your area does this.

:iagree: Go get a custom tune from an experienced tuner. Chuck of Corvettes of Westchester did mine. I have the A4 tranny and I can tell you that even when the car was bone stock, the difference was amazing. Chuck spent over three hours road tuning it until he felt it was darn near perfect. Never had any pinging, check engine lights, just alot more power through-out the entire RPM band........and it was done safely. Just tell Chuck exactly what mods you have and you will get a custom, SAFE computer tune!!

:iagree: Go get a custom tune from an experienced tuner. Chuck of Corvettes of Westchester did mine. I have the A4 tranny and I can tell you that even when the car was bone stock, the difference was amazing. Chuck spent over three hours road tuning it until he felt it was darn near perfect. Never had any pinging, check engine lights, just alot more power through-out the entire RPM band........and it was done safely. Just tell Chuck exactly what mods you have and you will get a custom, SAFE computer tune!!

I was just responding to another post about bad tuner. Whats the difference between road tuning and on dyno? I have used both hand held tuners and professional tune on dyno?

As others have said mail order tunes are a step up from hand helds. BUT mail order tunes will NOT replace a dyno tune. Lets face facts, no 2 cars are 100% identical so taking one tune from another similar car may get you in the ballpark, I guarantee it won't be 100% correct. If you don't have a competent tuner local who can give you a good dyno tune, then yes you're stuck with a mail order tune. If you have access to a good tuner who can put the car on a dyno and dial it it to what YOUR car wants, then by all means, go with that option.
Personally I'm not one who's happy with "close enough" and I've seen plenty of mail order tunes that were "close" but still had knock and other problems. I don't offer mail order tunes to customers for that reason. If a customer wants a mail order "base" tune just to drive a modded car to the shop, that's one thing. I will NOT provide a mail order final tune because at that point it's just a guessing game.
That's my .02 but good luck with your tune. Just make sure you're getting your monies worth when you get your tune.

Brian
Kaltech Tuning and Performance

:iagree: Go get a custom tune from an experienced tuner. Chuck of Corvettes of Westchester did mine. I have the A4 tranny and I can tell you that even when the car was bone stock, the difference was amazing. Chuck spent over three hours road tuning it until he felt it was darn near perfect. Never had any pinging, check engine lights, just alot more power through-out the entire RPM band........and it was done safely. Just tell Chuck exactly what mods you have and you will get a custom, SAFE computer tune!!

Sounds like you found a great tuner there, I don't know if you noticed but I'm located in TN?

I used to have a hand held program in my car, went and had professionaly tuned (you spend more $$), but so much better. I have learned alot about this. With the car there they can tune it to all your mods and maximize power, shift points, and so forth. You may want to check who in your area does this.

My husband did the tune with a little green hand held thing? Is this the same? How much more can be received from a tuner?

here's another discussion on this same subject:
http://www.smokinvette.com/corvetteforum/showthread.php?t=1808

C5cowboy, we can probably help you. Depending on where you are in Tennessee you're probably only 5-6 hrs away.

feel free to give me a call or PM

Ed

I was just responding to another post about bad tuner. Whats the difference between road tuning and on dyno? I have used both hand held tuners and professional tune on dyno?

Chuck does his tuning by driving the car on the road. Remember, Dyno tuning is good for getting an idea of the power your gaining and to baseline the car, however, your driving the car on the road all the time and the conditions are just not the same. For example, take alot of the intake systems out there, like the Vararam which I have on my car and love it. Your not going to get the real world airflow readings by putting the car on the dyno, I don't care how many fans you stick in front of the car. The dyno is SIMULATING real world load, airflow, etc. Chuck first downloads your stock tune, makes some adjustments and then road tests the car and logs info. on the computer. Then he makes needed adjustments as needed. Like I said, Chuck spent over three hours road testing and tuning my car and would not let me leave until the car was dam near perfect (and if you want anything changed like shift points, firmness or whatever, just tell him and he will do it). Don't know too many tuners that spend this much time tuning your car. Chuck also explains everything he is doing. Give him a call at the shop: 914-332-0049 and speak to him. Hope this helped a bit!

:iagree: Go get a custom tune from an experienced tuner. Chuck of Corvettes of Westchester did mine. I have the A4 tranny and I can tell you that even when the car was bone stock, the difference was amazing. Chuck spent over three hours road tuning it until he felt it was darn near perfect. Never had any pinging, check engine lights, just alot more power through-out the entire RPM band........and it was done safely. Just tell Chuck exactly what mods you have and you will get a custom, SAFE computer tune!!


I have heard of Corvettes of Westchester, they do great work there. I thought I have seen them in a magazine? I know I have read something about them and it was a good thing. Whats their website?

The hand held devices are as good as the tune that is programmed onto the device. The tunes that come on the devices are 'generic' for the vehicle but obviously are not the same as a custom tune. However, depending on the device you are using you can have some adjustability within the hand held to make adjustments yourself based on your individual vehicle and conditions. The hand held Predator is a nice unit in that you can work with a custom tuner to dial in your vehicle and it gives you the scanning function to watch the data live and give your tuner feedback (something that the mail order PCM's are not capable of unless you also purchase some scanner software). The hand held typically gives you the ability to read and clear DTC's as well.

I tune with hundreds of customers each year via email and a hand held tuner. With good feedback from the customer - we dial in the tunes just like I was there in the driver seat. Obviously getting good feedback is critical to making the proper adjustments - that is where the hand held, especially if combined with a wideband AFR gauge, is a great tool.

Turbocharged tunes are one of the most sophisticated tune out there (a lot more dynamic than a SC tune) and I dial those in on a daily basis using the Predator, CMR Software and email. Another nice thing about doing it this way is the customer ends up with a very good education about tuning and understands what is going on by the time the tuning process is finished. You also have the tools to see what that tune is doing and know if you got a good tune or not based on the data coming out of the PCM. I'd be glad to work with you guys if you need tuning help.

Rick@STSTurbo.com
www.STSTurbo.com

The hand held devices are as good as the tune that is programmed onto the device. The tunes that come on the devices are 'generic' for the vehicle but obviously are not the same as a custom tune. However, depending on the device you are using you can have some adjustability within the hand held to make adjustments yourself based on your individual vehicle and conditions. The hand held Predator is a nice unit in that you can work with a custom tuner to dial in your vehicle and it gives you the scanning function to watch the data live and give your tuner feedback (something that the mail order PCM's are not capable of unless you also purchase some scanner software). The hand held typically gives you the ability to read and clear DTC's as well.

I tune with hundreds of customers each year via email and a hand held tuner. With good feedback from the customer - we dial in the tunes just like I was there in the driver seat. Obviously getting good feedback is critical to making the proper adjustments - that is where the hand held, especially if combined with a wideband AFR gauge, is a great tool.

Turbocharged tunes are one of the most sophisticated tune out there (a lot more dynamic than a SC tune) and I dial those in on a daily basis using the Predator, CMR Software and email. Another nice thing about doing it this way is the customer ends up with a very good education about tuning and understands what is going on by the time the tuning process is finished. You also have the tools to see what that tune is doing and know if you got a good tune or not based on the data coming out of the PCM. I'd be glad to work with you guys if you need tuning help.

Rick@STSTurbo.com
www.STSTurbo.com


Great post, so what hand held do you recommend? You talk about the preditor, is this the one that you like the most?

I have heard of Corvettes of Westchester, they do great work there. I thought I have seen them in a magazine? I know I have read something about them and it was a good thing. Whats their website?

Hey man....Here's my info!

Chuck CoW

I wanted to get a performance tune and was told that the hand held units are not the best option. I have spoken to a couple companies that told me to mail them my computer and they will reprogram it? Would this be the same effect/results with car in the actual shop?

I have Diablo hand held tune on mine and love it, I have learned how to tune my own car from this unit. Out of the box it had directions, then as you get better with it you can modify the tune further to your likings. Hypertech makes another handheld that is pretty good from what I have been told, only experience I have is with diablo. Have fun!

I have Diablo hand held tune on mine and love it, I have learned how to tune my own car from this unit. Out of the box it had directions, then as you get better with it you can modify the tune further to your likings. Hypertech makes another handheld that is pretty good from what I have been told, only experience I have is with diablo. Have fun!

I'm leaning towards getting and at least trying the diablo hand held. I would like to learn more and get involved with working on the car more. I have spoken to both diablo and hypertech and have received alot of information about hand held tuners. If I screw things up, then I can go to a tuner with my tail between legs!

Sounds like you found a great tuner there, I don't know if you noticed but I'm located in TN?

Hey man.... Call me.... I travel around the country in the colder months and do TUNING TRIPS.

Presently, I'm going to be in TEXAS AT VARARAM towards the end of January....

Or, you can mail me the pcm for the MAIL ORDER TUNING.

STAY TUNED!
Chuck CoW

I used to have a hand held program in my car, went and had professionaly tuned (you spend more $$), but so much better. I have learned alot about this. With the car there they can tune it to all your mods and maximize power, shift points, and so forth. You may want to check who in your area does this.

AMEN BROTHER! AMEN!:cheers:

Go with the custom tune over the hand helds, you will be happier and get more HP out of it!

Once again I say Amen! Forget those handheld things!:cheers:

As others have said mail order tunes are a step up from hand helds. BUT mail order tunes will NOT replace a dyno tune. Lets face facts, no 2 cars are 100% identical so taking one tune from another similar car may get you in the ballpark, I guarantee it won't be 100% correct. If you don't have a competent tuner local who can give you a good dyno tune, then yes you're stuck with a mail order tune. If you have access to a good tuner who can put the car on a dyno and dial it it to what YOUR car wants, then by all means, go with that option.
Personally I'm not one who's happy with "close enough" and I've seen plenty of mail order tunes that were "close" but still had knock and other problems. I don't offer mail order tunes to customers for that reason. If a customer wants a mail order "base" tune just to drive a modded car to the shop, that's one thing. I will NOT provide a mail order final tune because at that point it's just a guessing game.
That's my .02 but good luck with your tune. Just make sure you're getting your monies worth when you get your tune.

Brian
Kaltech Tuning and Performance
Plus area temps, altitudes, etc is different then say where the programer is. I'll always go the way of Dynotuning. I could tell right away. I was instantly satisfied. Even my wife who I swear is part Jew sometimes fely good about the money spent.:cheers:

Chuck Cow has made some exaggerated claims in the other Forums but I think he's probably a very able tuner.

Street tunes are so so for what you pay for them. I also heard that he locks the tune. So if you ever do mods or want to re-tune only he can do it or you have to buy a new puter.

For a tune on a stock motor the most you will gain is about 10 rwhp. Anybody says different they are exaggerating. You can not feel "SOP" 10 rwhp. What you can feel is adjusted shift points and firmness on A4 trannys. You can also re-program fan turn on speeds and some other things.

I'm leaning towards getting and at least trying the diablo hand held. I would like to learn more and get involved with working on the car more. I have spoken to both diablo and hypertech and have received alot of information about hand held tuners. If I screw things up, then I can go to a tuner with my tail between legs!

Check the HP Tuners forum (http://www.hptuners.com/forum)as there may be a tuner local to you.

If not, I can teach you how to tune your own vehicle via phone & email with the HP Tuners software. It won't be free, but you will have complete control of your engine, transmission, and what YOU want out of the vehicle. Is it cheaper than going to a local tuner? No, but you will be learning from one of the very best tuners.

Check the HP Tuners forum (http://www.hptuners.com/forum)as there may be a tuner local to you.

If not, I can teach you how to tune your own vehicle via phone & email with the HP Tuners software. It won't be free, but you will have complete control of your engine, transmission, and what YOU want out of the vehicle. Is it cheaper than going to a local tuner? No, but you will be learning from one of the very best tuners.
Now THAT is a kick *** offer! Very cool of you!

Check the HP Tuners forum (http://www.hptuners.com/forum)as there may be a tuner local to you.

If not, I can teach you how to tune your own vehicle via phone & email with the HP Tuners software. It won't be free, but you will have complete control of your engine, transmission, and what YOU want out of the vehicle. Is it cheaper than going to a local tuner? No, but you will be learning from one of the very best tuners.

Sign Me Up:cheers:

Sign Me Up:cheers:

I think I already cashed your check... LOL :D

Now THAT is a kick *** offer! Very cool of you!
Thanks Tim,
We always aim to please. :D

You know that old axiom:
You can give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Or you can teach him how to fish and he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day. :rofl:

I'm leaning towards getting and at least trying the diablo hand held. I would like to learn more and get involved with working on the car more. I have spoken to both diablo and hypertech and have received alot of information about hand held tuners. If I screw things up, then I can go to a tuner with my tail between legs!

Plus you can go and download new features to the handheld from your computer. I have heard this but yet to do it myself so don't know whats involved.