big name tuner with best drivability?

[ManBearPig]

I have read lots of threads here about tunes, and realize that almost everyone is happy with their chosen tuner when using one of the big names (Livernois, Lund, etc). I have no doubt that they are all "good", and most will claim that theirs is better than the other guy but have no real evidence to back that up. However I'm interested to see if anyone has actually ever had any personal experience with both of these big names? Yes, I know they're both great but I'd love to hear from someone who could provide some feedback on the differences between the two. For example tuner "A" pulls harder but tuner "B" has better drivability, etc. Objective stuff like that. I have a stock car, but will be adding LT headers soon. My plan is to buy the tune and the headers now, but will probably not install the headers until the winter. I have heard some folks say that you *do not* need a revision for headers. Does this apply to all tuners? That just seems strange to me. If the tune for headers vs factory manifolds is the same, why do you need a tune to run headers at all? Is it only to turn off the downstream o2 sensors? My main goal with the tune is to have smoother drivability and better throttle response (less lag) than the factory tune. Sometimes I can roll into the throttle hard and count to 3 before I feel the car give full power. This drives me nuts and I want to get rid of as much of that as possible. Yes, more power is great but I'm after smooth throttle response and good manners more than anything. I don't want to deal with any hesitations, funky idles, etc. I'm very picky about that sort of thing and am not willing to sacrifice any drivability for an extra few HP. I'd also like to get rid of the herky-jerky feeling the car has when it's cold but I don't know that any tune is going to accomplish that. Input and opinions welcome.
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[Gibbo205]

Tried a few, drive ability wise, AED was the best.

 

[Jayme]

AED.

 

[wildcatgoal]

Happy with my VMP tune especially after my revision.

Keep hearing how wondrous AED tunes are for driveability on this forum lately. But have seen the same for Lund and VMP.

Anything from VMP, Lund, or AED has to be better than the Ford PP2 tune I had... that sucked.

There's also Palm Beach Dyno. Seems to have good reviews for power - haven't seen any specifically about driveability.

 

[Gibbo205]

Happy with my VMP tune especially after my revision.

Keep hearing how wondrous AED tunes are for driveability on this forum lately. But have seen the same for Lund and VMP.

Anything from VMP, Lund, or AED has to be better than the Ford PP2 tune I had... that sucked.

There's also Palm Beach Dyno. Seems to have good reviews for power - haven't seen any specifically about driveability.

I tried on the 350 setup, JDM, Lund, PBD and AED:
JDM: Was on 350 TB, surged badly, updates were slow as main guy was out, so in the end refunded me, so can't argue with the service and am sure they could of maybe dialled it in with time.
Lund: 350 TB, was rather touchy, even after JonSR worked some magic that improved it a lot, I still reverted to the stock TB, which drove great but not perfect.
PBD: Would only tune for stock TB, best drive ability so far, but again still could be touchy, car felt super quick as well, in fairness this was 3rd revision, so it could get better, but Ken must be the busiest guy on the planet, sometimes a revision took weeks.
AED: Back on 350TB, first email tune (base file) the car had never driven so good, it had completely stock like characteristics with a natural feel throttle pedal. Performance tune kept the throttle fantastic and the car felt great, makes less timing than Lund/PBD but it feels quicker, of course no dyno/quarter times to prove but this is a post about drive ability and well the AED tune trumps them all. Also Shaun is super fast, he had my tune and the performance revision within 24hr of ordering, revisions take 1-2hr as long as he is awake and he is super communitive, replies in minutes again if he is awake. I think one major advantage of Shaun is you pay him the money for a tune, and it is him who does your tune, the big man himself. Your not dealing with a random member of staff like the bigger busier tuners. Though PBD is the same, Ken does the tune, he is just insanely busy which means slow response unless you pay him big bucks.


This is on 350 setup, for me Shaun has best drive ability, car feels fast and he is easy to work and communicate with. He has even for $250 offered to remotely tune my car live on the dyno for 4hr to also extra best power etc.


They are all great and can't really complain about any of them, but if your running a 350 setup and your not too happy with the throttle being a tad touchy, give Shaun from AED's tune a try.

 

[ManBearPig]

Great feedback. Thanks guys. I won't be doing a different manifold or TB but it's good to know those can be dialed in as well. I thought I have read in the past that Shaun at AED does not offer remote tuning. Has that changed? And can he load a tune on an ngauge or does he just use the SCT?

 

[Gibbo205]

Great feedback. Thanks guys. I won't be doing a different manifold or TB but it's good to know those can be dialed in as well. I thought I have read in the past that Shaun at AED does not offer remote tuning. Has that changed? And can he load a tune on an ngauge or does he just use the SCT?

Nope but what he told me is he only offers remote tunes for setups he has tuned in person. As such he did not release tunes for 2015+ until he had got his own car and done the tuning and testing in person.

I guess this is how he guarantees pretty good drive ability.

Also I should note that many owners out there prefer the throttle to be more sensitive / touchy, an example is look at the amount of people who buy a device like a pedal max or sprint booster. If your that kind of person you'd absolutely love the Lund tune.

 

[ManBearPig]

Nope but what he told me is he only offers remote tunes for setups he has tuned in person. As such he did not release tunes for 2015+ until he had got his own car and done the tuning and testing in person.

I guess this is how he guarantees pretty good drive ability.

Also I should note that many owners out there prefer the throttle to be more sensitive / touchy, an example is look at the amount of people who buy a device like a pedal max or sprint booster. If your that kind of person you'd absolutely love the Lund tune.

I'm definitely wanting the throttle more sensitive than it is in stock trim. I don't have any drive modes to mess with but the car feels pretty laggy sometimes. Are lunds tunes touchier than most others?

 

[Tatum337]

Tune

Little unknown guy name Rob Shoemaker!!! He will be in touch almost anytime. Look at data logs, talk with you on the phone, text, whatever. Best customer se vice in the business. Power and drivability are unbelievable. I'm full bolt on Paxton boosted. Changed from one of the above mentioned and would not go back.

 

[Gibbo205]

I'm definitely wanting the throttle more sensitive than it is in stock trim. I don't have any drive modes to mess with but the car feels pretty laggy sometimes. Are lunds tunes touchier than most others?

Lund definetely wake up the DBW system for sure.

 

[V8EATR]

AED

 

[Chad11491]

I have AED. It drives just like stock but with more power and responsiveness everywhere and pulls like a beast. Love it.

 

[Swayse]

I wish AED used HPtuners, I'd be set.

 

[1badrz28]

I started out with someone mentioned here, car surged at warmed up idle and had a high initial start up idle to the tune of 1800 rpms for 3 minutes, until it calmed down when warmed up. The revisions came slow and never fixed the start up or idle problems which was mentioned several times. So I left and went to Lund and have been happy since that time. Lund has been straight forward honest with all the questions I have asked about certain mods and other items.

 

[Bill88stang]

1badrz28 who did you get your tune from originally?

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