Boxed tune + ported TB or custom tune?

[solteroblues]

I have an LLT with vararam, mace 25mm isolator spacer, otherwise it's stock. I'm coming into a little play money, enough to either get a boxed tune, like a Hypertech (please don't flame here), and a ported throttle body, OR a custom tune. Not knowing firsthand what the seat of the pants feel would be with any of these mods, I don't want to waste my money on something that isn't going to make a big difference.


What would be my best option here? With my limited mods, would I see a better gain from the basic tune and throttle body, or a Trifecta tune or similar? I know the boxed tune is basically just making the shift firmer, but I'm not going to be modding a lot more, anyway. Headers or exhaust way into the future is possible, but not real probable any time soon.


Thanks.

[jhiiidoc]

What are your future plans? If you only plan minimal bolt ons, go for the boxed tune, as tuners like Jannetty can update your tune as you bolt more stuff on...but there are limits to this.

I made the jump to an SC...now my Diablosport programmer is an expensive CEL reader because I opted for the dynotune after the SC install.

There are those that will chime in and say the dynotune is the way to go...I'd recommend this if you know what you are planning with your car and it is not too extensive, if you are planning upgrades as a package of components, or if you can find a tuner that will cut you a break on retuning as you add components...but this can get costly...

If what you have done is all you plan on doing, go for the dynotune. This will give you the optimal result for your pieces. If you know you are going to do more...weigh the cost of the handheld against the dynotune and decide which will give you the best bang for your buck....in the short term as well as the long term...

[Ohten]

Do your self a favor and avoid the snake oil in a can tune as most of these tunes are pretty generic.Find a good tuner in your area that will dyno tune your car.Trust me you will get a precise tune that will suit your needs as they will be able to get the most HP for your bolt ons.

[solteroblues]

Originally Posted by Ohten

Do your self a favor and avoid the snake oil in a can tune as most of these tunes are pretty generic.Find a good tuner in your area that will dyno tune your car.Trust me you will get a precise tune that will suit your needs as they will be able to get the most HP for your bolt ons.

That's a good idea, I never really thought about that. I guess my biggest concern, other than cost, would be finding someone who could do it. It seems to be pretty difficult to tune these LLT engines, there's only a few who seem to be able to do it. You v8 guys have it pretty easy with all of your available options, but we v6'ers are very limited.

[solteroblues]

Originally Posted by jhiiidoc

What are your future plans? If you only plan minimal bolt ons, go for the boxed tune, as tuners like Jannetty can update your tune as you bolt more stuff on...but there are limits to this.

I made the jump to an SC...now my Diablosport programmer is an expensive CEL reader because I opted for the dynotune after the SC install.

There are those that will chime in and say the dynotune is the way to go...I'd recommend this if you know what you are planning with your car and it is not too extensive, if you are planning upgrades as a package of components, or if you can find a tuner that will cut you a break on retuning as you add components...but this can get costly...

If what you have done is all you plan on doing, go for the dynotune. This will give you the optimal result for your pieces. If you know you are going to do more...weigh the cost of the handheld against the dynotune and decide which will give you the best bang for your buck....in the short term as well as the long term...

Good advice, but I don't even think anyone makes a handheld tuner for the LLT, I haven't been able to find one.