Worth it Going from an E-mail Tune to a Dyno Tune?

[LBV]

I figured I'd ask this here on the Camaro forums as you guys mod more and there's way more Camaro's running LS3's than G8 GXP's.

Anyone get a mailed tune, then try and tweak it further on the dyno and find it wasn't worth it?

Thx!

[Parag]

depends on what you have on your car, a mail tune is only designed for particular parts on a stock car, if just put a blower on, than a mail tune would be better, but headers.... dyno is better

[Zippy]

It honestly really depends on who your dyno tuner is. I've fixed some real hacked up tunes from dyno shops as well as mail order.

[mikeSS]

idk about that. usually mail tunes are right on the money or very close from good tuners. i personally wont mess around like that with tunes.

[JANNETTYRACING]

Originally Posted by LBV

I figured I'd ask this here on the Camaro forums as you guys mod more and there's way more Camaro's running LS3's than G8 GXP's.

Anyone get a mailed tune, then try and tweak it further on the dyno and find it wasn't worth it?

Thx!

With Data logging and dyno sheet feedback we can duplicate numbers that can be produced in person with ease.

I do many remote tunes while you sit on the dyno and I tune at my desk via Email.

Ted.

[ParisTNDude]

You'd be hard pressed to beat email tunes from the right tuner. I do believe email tunes from experienced tuners like Janetty can easily match a dyno tune for a whole lot less money! I know! Just be patient and learn how to datalog.

[94guy]

yes data logging is your friend along with ted

[JDP Tech]

VERY rarely is a mail order tune, even with some data logging better than a dyno tune.
They can be good, don't get me wrong, but a dyno tune will always be better.
Even mail order tuners will agree, they'd rather tune a car on their dyno, than tune a car from across the country.

There are many things which a normal customer driving on the street cannot do to get proper readings to accurately and safely tune a car from afar.
No matter the mods, basic bolt ons, or superchargers they're all the same.

We've had several people come into our shop with mail order tunes, who are running pig rich, lots left on the table, or whatnot, which we tune to what is best for that specific engine.
Safer for the engine, and often picking up horsepower.
One recently, a Maggie supercharged 2010 Camaro LS3 with a mailed tune, we took it from 559rwhp/608rwtq to 606rwhp/631 rwtq, running very safely.
Not necessarily typical results, but his engine is running much better than it was, very safe, his rear bumper won't stay soot black anymore, and the power difference is amazing!

[LBV]

Thx for the replies guys. Looks like Ted was talking about remote-dyno tuning and I can agree with THAT being very close to actually being on Ted's dyno.

My question is more on an e-mail tune done by a reputable shop who's actually got the same car as me as a shop car AND has tuned several others as well. I'm just not sure if there's much to add in that situation ... what, maybe 5-10 HP/TQ at the most??

[Bay Area SS]

Lot of good points made here. I think there are so many variables. Im very happy with my dyno tune. May sound a lil weird but its a great experience too and a lot of fun having your car dyno tuned. . .

[DandD]

I have researched this pretty thoroughly, and have decided to go with the mail order tune from Jannetty. While it may be true that having the car tuned on a dyno should be exact, that depends on the person running the dyno among other factors. With the email tune I will be able to go from my "stock" tune to the "custom" tune for just the initial price of admission, something that as far as I know you would have to pay for each time you changed going with the dyno tune. I have already purchased the SCT portable unit and am installing my headers on Tuesday, so later next week I will have an answer as to how it worked out for me. From everything I've read about Ted and Jannetty Racing I don't think I am going to be disappointed.

Dan

[2SSRSinBama]

Originally Posted by Tech@JDP

VERY rarely is a mail order tune, even with some data logging better than a dyno tune.
They can be good, don't get me wrong, but a dyno tune will always be better.
Even mail order tuners will agree, they'd rather tune a car on their dyno, than tune a car from across the country.

There are many things which a normal customer driving on the street cannot do to get proper readings to accurately and safely tune a car from afar.
No matter the mods, basic bolt ons, or superchargers they're all the same.

We've had several people come into our shop with mail order tunes, who are running pig rich, lots left on the table, or whatnot, which we tune to what is best for that specific engine.
Safer for the engine, and often picking up horsepower.
One recently, a Maggie supercharged 2010 Camaro LS3 with a mailed tune, we took it from 559rwhp/608rwtq to 606rwhp/631 rwtq, running very safely.
Not necessarily typical results, but his engine is running much better than it was, very safe, his rear bumper won't stay soot black anymore, and the power difference is amazing!

and I'm going to completely disagree and throw the flag, you give a tuner the proper software and let them tune in the real world, its going to be a better tune... you won't create real world conditions on your dyno... good luck producing the humidity of the Southeast in your shop Dyno shops used to have the leg up on "street tuning" but with some of the latest updates in software in the past couple of years, the game has done a complete 180

Good Street tune> "simulated conditions" dyno tune

now that doesn't mean mail in order tune, i'm against those as well... but we can now get the SAME parameters you are through software....out in the REAL world, not on some rollers with a big fan

now for a person going for peak dyno numbers, dyno tuning is still the way to go... but you can keep your peak dyno numbers, i'll stick with being faster

I will agree dyno>mail in tune... but as far as a street tune, i'm going to lean on it, not because of having better software, because of the environment, shops try so hard to recreate real world conditions, well, why not tune in the real world?

[JDP Tech]

I agree with you to a point. Real world street vs dyno is different.
Which is why a good dyno tune includes an Eddy Current Brake tune on the dyno, and should always include some street tuning after the fact.

A tuner on the dyno then driving and tuning the car using proper equipment (such as a wide band datalogged into the scanner) is completely different than a customer driving the car and the getting the tune adjusted.

At the same time, good luck producing 5,000 feet elevation from a desk in the east.

[JANNETTYRACING]

Originally Posted by LBV

Thx for the replies guys. Looks like Ted was talking about remote-dyno tuning and I can agree with THAT being very close to actually being on Ted's dyno.

My question is more on an e-mail tune done by a reputable shop who's actually got the same car as me as a shop car AND has tuned several others as well. I'm just not sure if there's much to add in that situation ... what, maybe 5-10 HP/TQ at the most??

Having tuned over 600 2010/11 Camaros to date I have an incredible data base to work with.

Ted.