True - and they are great guys also


Back in the day I used to drive back and forth

 

I just called Pruven and I did not find this to be the case. I'll just say that $250 was on the low end of the price spectrum . If you can guarantee me a flat rate of $250 ON the dyno to tune the UTEC (granted maybe a bit more for installation, if I can't do it myself beforehand) you've got my business. I don't deal well with the "hourly rate"-- been screwed over one too many times with that one. If we can agree upon a pre-arranged, fair price then I'm as good as there. I'm confused though; are you affiliated with Pruven?

 

i know you want power now but
when i got mine, i called and asked TXS where i could get it tuned.
they advised me that they would rather teach me how to tune it....so i could do it myself ----so i asked questions and started slowly ive never been on the dyno but its making approx 430 whp---12.1 et--trapping 119.50 with only 1.89 60 foots...
you simply cant beat a road tune---dynos are good tuning tools dont get me wrong but a dyno cant duplicate a road run thats all there is to it...
good luck and happy tuning
regards rick

 

Thanks for the reply but I would tend to disagree. In my mind, there is no substitute for tuning on a dyno. Only then can you really unlock the potential of the car. Of course, I'm not speaking from personal experience, rather I am relaying what seems to be the prevailing opinion of most on this board. While I agree that I should learn how to tune the car myself, I have neither the required equipment or knowledge at this point in time, and acquiring both would require an investment that I cannot afford right now (monetarily and time-wise).

Also, I mean no offense, but as a side topic and out of interest: I didn't think that 1.89 sixty foot times were considered very good. On the contrary, I see most people making 1.6-1.7 with launch control (a feature I thought the UTEC had). What's more, while 430 whp is very impressive, it seems to me that you should easily be in the low to mid 11's with that kind of power. Maybe your 60' times have something to do with that. Also, who knows, maybe dyno tuning that beast would give you a good amount more hp wise? Sorry I don't mean to be a jerk, but I thought it would be worth discussing. I have no experience of my own as of yet.

Also, do you think it would be worth attempting the cam install by myself? I could save a lot of money, and I have a friend who has done them before (although on older vehicles like classic trucks and things). Is it worth the risk? This guy has every tool known to man, and some decent experience working on older cars, plus the how-to from evo moto seems fairly straight forward. I consider myself a fast learner but I have little experience working on engines. Could it even be driven to the tuning shop to get the UTEC tuned after the install?

And that reminds me- could I install the UTEC myself to save some cash and then drive the car to get it tuned? I haven't seen anything on the subject, but I was under the understanding that the UTEC can be switched off basically to rely on the stock ECU. So I guess if I could get the info. to install it myself it could be done. How involved is it? Let me know what you guys think. Thanks

 

Dyno tuning generally lets you get your best peak numbers, however you have to follow this up with a road tune to give you the best drivability.

I Have done cams before on other cars, but I'm letting someone else do my cams on my "stock engine" while I assemble another stroker engine with a more radical setup.

The UTEC does have launch control and flat shifting, and although 1.6-1.7 60' times are getting more common, its definitely not what "Most" are doing.

I must have been the exception at the time since I had run a 12.93 on a bone stock evo, followed up a 2 months later with a 12.42 on a Buschur exhaust, filter, MBC, and S-AFC.. I did not do a high RPM launch, and my 60' times were "Average" at around 1.7 or so.. I think my one advantage was my comfort with the AWD setup and no fear of very quick smooth shifts..

While doing some road tuning, we set up a GTECH pro on my car (had trouble getting an RPM signal at the time, but eventually got it to work) and with a fairly conservative tune on the UTEC replacing the MBC and S-AFC I clocked an 11.88 or so, in reality it was probably closer to a 12.1 or 12.2, Boost would spike around 23psi falling off to about 21psi.


FWIW, the UTEC really is a quick no-brainer install.. The hardest part of the whole thing is removing the glovebox to get at the ECU.. the ABC install if you choose to use it is the only other thing that I was reluctant to do initially. The first time I installed it it took around 30 minutes or so, I can swap mine out quite a bit quicker now.

The good news is the stock tune is pretty rich, so minor upgrades won't hurt things if you don't initially tune the car (AS long as you don't abuse the car either) and its likely once the ECU learns from a few run cycles, the closed loop fuel control will compensate for the new cams and other changes so it should run well enough to get you to a shop to be dynotuned.