Newb question - confused about tuning and ecu's
 

:mitsu:Hey all,
i just bought a evo 8 from a long history of v8's - glad to make the swap. but im a little lost.. i know my question will be obvious to the rest of man-kind..

.. whats the difference between buying a new ecu plug in and having a tune (which u do after each modification?)
is it easier to buy a plug in ecu and get that tuned after ur modifications?

any help would be appreciated. thanks

Not sure what you mean by plug-in ECU, unless you mean a full standalone system like an AEM setup or something. It's far cheaper to get your ECU tuned.

Tuning the ECU is just reprogramming it. There are aftermarket ECUs but these aren't required for most applications below 600HP. You should read all the sticky posts in the newbie forum and the main thread. They will explain just about everything.
You can connect your car to a computer to reprogram it or just to log what the engine is doing. Find a good tuner in your area, they can help you reach your goals.