QWKSNKE
03-15-2009, 07:22 PM
There are a lot of people that go through this dilemma. What's in it for me if I learn to do my own tuning? If I am interested in learning, what should I buy?
When should I worry about tuning my car?
1) What's in it for me?
It can save you a ton of money over the long haul. If you go through at least two combination changes, you just saved yourself up to $1200 vs paying someone else to do it. (Most businesses charge between $500-$600 to tune cars)
Also if you are one of those individuals who gets self gratification of learning something new that you can use for yourself or to help others, this is it.
2) When should I worry about tuning my car?
It really depends. If you own a MAF equipped fox body or 5.0 sn95, I would recommend tune when you do a H/C/I swap. It is definitely a must when installing supercharger/turbos in order to get maximum performance.
1996-2004 cars- Similar needs to 5.0 cars. Although boost seems to be the most common modification over heads or cams. Some people get custom tunes on mostly stock mod motor cars. I don't see where it is worth the money but that is my opinion only!
2003-2004 Cobras-These cars are worth doing a tune when in stock form. Seems like a tune is good for 30rwhp or so on a stock terminator.
2005-2008- Same as the terminators. Worth a tune right out of the box. Steeda claims a 38rwhp gain with their tune.
3)What should I buy?
This is a tricky question. For the 5.0 crowd I would have recommended a Tweecer R/T. Now that the Moates stuff is getting a little more popular, this could wipe out the Tweecer altogether. Especially with it being cheaper.
For the mod motor crowd a lot of 'self tuners' are using the SCT Pro Racer package. This seems to be pretty nice and actually comes with a instruction manual. (:doh: Why couldn't the Tweecer have come with that) The handhelds (SCT, Predator, etc) can do some tune manipulations but are limited.
AEM, F.A.S.T. are alternative options for all mustangs but keep in mind these actually replace your OEM EEC and require 'from scratch' tuning. Definitely not for the beginner!
When should I worry about tuning my car?
1) What's in it for me?
It can save you a ton of money over the long haul. If you go through at least two combination changes, you just saved yourself up to $1200 vs paying someone else to do it. (Most businesses charge between $500-$600 to tune cars)
Also if you are one of those individuals who gets self gratification of learning something new that you can use for yourself or to help others, this is it.
2) When should I worry about tuning my car?
It really depends. If you own a MAF equipped fox body or 5.0 sn95, I would recommend tune when you do a H/C/I swap. It is definitely a must when installing supercharger/turbos in order to get maximum performance.
1996-2004 cars- Similar needs to 5.0 cars. Although boost seems to be the most common modification over heads or cams. Some people get custom tunes on mostly stock mod motor cars. I don't see where it is worth the money but that is my opinion only!
2003-2004 Cobras-These cars are worth doing a tune when in stock form. Seems like a tune is good for 30rwhp or so on a stock terminator.
2005-2008- Same as the terminators. Worth a tune right out of the box. Steeda claims a 38rwhp gain with their tune.
3)What should I buy?
This is a tricky question. For the 5.0 crowd I would have recommended a Tweecer R/T. Now that the Moates stuff is getting a little more popular, this could wipe out the Tweecer altogether. Especially with it being cheaper.
For the mod motor crowd a lot of 'self tuners' are using the SCT Pro Racer package. This seems to be pretty nice and actually comes with a instruction manual. (:doh: Why couldn't the Tweecer have come with that) The handhelds (SCT, Predator, etc) can do some tune manipulations but are limited.
AEM, F.A.S.T. are alternative options for all mustangs but keep in mind these actually replace your OEM EEC and require 'from scratch' tuning. Definitely not for the beginner!