Tuning for dummies

[Ecoboosted]

Hello,

Did a search but haven't seen anything what i'm looking for. The only tune i ever did was the Ford power pack 2 on my 15' GT. I'm thinking of getting a custom tune for my 18' GT and possibly go Flex tune or E85 etc. but not really sure.

Please excuse the newby questions but can someone explain in the easiest terms of how you would go about tuning your stock car from start to finish such as what tuning device to get, company to pick for my specific tune specifications etc, data logging etc?

I want to do as much research as far as what things i will need and what company to pick for a tuning route to take and customer service for data logging, tune revisions (adding upgraded motor parts) etc. I want to be informed the best i can so i can get the right tuning device and tuning company without wasting time and money on the wrong parts or a tuning company that can't full fill my needs or has poor ratings/customer service.

Thanks for any advice!

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[FruityJudy]

If you search on here you will find the vast majority of guys are running Palm beach dyno or Lund Tunes or both. There are others ie: AED, VMP, etc that also have good reputation. Devices are the SCT BDX or Nguage. The Nguage seems to also be what the majority prefers.

 

[ugstang17]

apparently didn't look hard enough. The only topics talked about more than tuning on here are oil brands and exhaust preference.

 

[Ecoboosted]

Thank you!

 

[BrandonS550]

Call Palm beach and talk to Ken or Rob. They'll get you set up !

 

[AZ18yote]

If you search on here you will find the vast majority of guys are running Palm beach dyno or Lund Tunes or both. There are others ie: AED, VMP, etc that also have good reputation. Devices are the SCT BDX or Nguage. The Nguage seems to also be what the majority prefers.

Kinda lame the nguage does not include the KAM reset function the sct has. But can always just pull negative battery term for 30 min or more to accomplish. But for convenience it's nice to have it built in in 2 sec with the sct. Running a flex tune from AED using bdx and has been great. When I go super charger though it looks like I'll have to switch tuners since AED won't do 18+ fi cars without straight race gas or e85 and here in AZ the best we get is flex fuel which is about e54ish so 91 it is. At that point will probably go Lund with nguage.

 

[Zrussian13]

Kinda lame the nguage does not include the KAM reset function the sct has. But can always just pull negative battery term for 30 min or more to accomplish. But for convenience it's nice to have it built in in 2 sec with the sct. Running a flex tune from AED using bdx and has been great. When I go super charger though it looks like I'll have to switch tuners since AED won't do 18+ fi cars without straight race gas or e85 and here in AZ the best we get is flex fuel which is about e54ish so 91 it is. At that point will probably go Lund with nguage.

Lund should tune you for fi with the bdx unless you want the nguage. I reached out to them about going tt later this year and they said bdx is fine. They wont tune for e54 on boost with out a return fuel system though. Looks like I'll be going low boost on our crappy 91 for now.

 

[AZ18yote]

Lund should tune you for fi with the bdx unless you want the nguage. I reached out to them about going tt later this year and they said bdx is fine. They wont tune for e54 on boost with out a return fuel system though. Looks like I'll be going low boost on our crappy 91 for now.

Interesting so they are saying they will tune FI on e54 with the return style though? That is intriguing but with availability what it is here may still be stuck with the low grade 91.

 

[Zrussian13]

Interesting so they are saying they will tune FI on e54 with the return style though? That is intriguing but with availability what it is here may still be stuck with the low grade 91.

Yeah I was hoping to tune on the e54 so I could run a little more boost. My planned set up should have more than enough fuel flow to handle it but jon jr wont do it until I go return system. I can respect that. I'm not trying to be the fastest guy around just want to take my level of fun up a notch. So for now I'll go 6lbs on the tt set up to play it safe on our 91. Next year I'll probably do the fuel system and crank it up.

 

[CrashOverride]

If by tune you mean actually tune, then SCT or HPtuners is the way to go. If by tune you mean pay a tuner to write you a tune, and then you flash the car, then there are lots of "tuners" out there. But those tuners probably use HPTuners or SCT to write the tune themselves.

There is an okay book "The Coyote Cookbook" which is the only book I know of that is specific to our engine. I bought it and it is only so-so. The Tuning School supposedly has some great content, but it's somewhat pricey. HP Academy is a resource I will probably use soon because it is fairly inexpensive - but it is generic. Greg Banish is one of the best tuners in the country, he actually is currently a calibration engineer for FCA. He knows the cars more than any tuner, simply because he knows exactly how the ECU works - no reverse engineering required. He has a few books I've read on Amazon and they are generic, but good. He has actual in-person training classes and they are pretty expensive. I see that he has recently rolled out a set of low-cost tuning modules. I will probably use these myself.

As Banish says, there is no black-magic to tuning, it is a very simple process. The equipment to do it properly isn't cheap though. The Coyote has a sophisticated PCM (There are 26 mapped points for spark, fuel, and cam...each with over 100 data points) and it blends them to make it even more sophisticated. But, given the time and effort, it can be achieved.

 

[CEHollier]

Keep it simple. Lund Flex Tune, JLT CAI, nGauge. They mail the tuner. Email the tune. 20 minute JLT install. Plug and play. If you are not in a huge hurry there are holiday specials for members.

 

[Cobra Jet]

If by tune you mean actually tune, then SCT or HPtuners is the way to go. If by tune you mean pay a tuner to write you a tune, and then you flash the car, then there are lots of "tuners" out there. But those tuners probably use HPTuners or SCT to write the tune themselves.

There is an okay book "The Coyote Cookbook" which is the only book I know of that is specific to our engine. I bought it and it is only so-so. The Tuning School supposedly has some great content, but it's somewhat pricey. HP Academy is a resource I will probably use soon because it is fairly inexpensive - but it is generic. Greg Banish is one of the best tuners in the country, he actually is currently a calibration engineer for FCA. He knows the cars more than any tuner, simply because he knows exactly how the ECU works - no reverse engineering required. He has a few books I've read on Amazon and they are generic, but good. He has actual in-person training classes and they are pretty expensive. I see that he has recently rolled out a set of low-cost tuning modules. I will probably use these myself.

As Banish says, there is no black-magic to tuning, it is a very simple process. The equipment to do it properly isn't cheap though. The Coyote has a sophisticated PCM (There are 26 mapped points for spark, fuel, and cam...each with over 100 data points) and it blends them to make it even more sophisticated. But, given the time and effort, it can be achieved.

@CrashOverride is the LaSota Coyote Cookbook worth the $125? Can you elaborate just a little further about the contents? Is it mostly text, or does it contain viable examples (images) to assist the reader in understanding the theories and logic behind tuning a Coyote?

Thanks.

 

[Jackson1320]

Kinda lame the nguage does not include the KAM reset function the sct has. But can always just pull negative battery term for 30 min or more to accomplish. But for convenience it's nice to have it built in in 2 sec with the sct. Running a flex tune from AED using bdx and has been great. When I go super charger though it looks like I'll have to switch tuners since AED won't do 18+ fi cars without straight race gas or e85 and here in AZ the best we get is flex fuel which is about e54ish so 91 it is. At that point will probably go Lund with nguage.

You need to look again. Nguage can kam reset

 

[FreePenguin]

You need to look again. Nguage can kam reset

I think all the tuner devices can do it.

 

[m3incorp]

Ok Cobra Jet, I thought I was the only one that gets on late at night and reply to 18-month-old threads

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