Very noble response Mark.

 

Many guys I know got tunned by shiv and their cars are pretty fast and reliable. He is famous.... having few enemies are inevitable.

 

True that enemies are inevitable... When you are getting a name for yourself there are bound to have people down talk you so that they get the business instead of them.. I believe in vishnu's way and will be getting the xede box hopefully soon.. After I order my exhaust.. =)

 

^^^^Andrew tuned my v390 almost a year ago and I've been collecting trophies ever since. I'm taking the car to Solo Nationals with a conservative C12 tune and no reliability worries whatsoever.

Tuning is an interactive process. You have to let the tuner know what you want to do with the car-max HP fo the 1/4? usable torque for autox? sustainable HP for the road course?

Make sure you tune with an end goal in mind. Andrew asked all the right questions and I'm sure Shiv will do the same.

 

Andrew has tuned my Xede a few times also!!! He da man as well, and know's his stuff!!

 

I hate to resurrect old threads, but I've been doing some wondering along these lines--intuitively, it just seems like doing additional tuning to a car as high-strung as the Evo is inherently dangerous. From all the reading I've done, Vishnu is the gold standard of streetable Evo tuners. But, blown motors aside, problems seem to be inevitable after modifications. Just taking stories from indisputable sources:
Turbo Magazine had a Stage 1+ done and had persistent problems. Car and Driver had a Stage 1+ done and had persistent problems. I can't find any other magazine reviews of a Vishnu-modified Evo, with or without problems, so that's 0 for 2; they placed 4th in a tuner shootout but that's not really a venue where reliability problems would show.

I know it's greedy of me to want affordability, reliability, and the ability to spank Lambourghinis--but I can't help it.

 

The Evo out of the box is VERY conservatively tuned. I question what you are using as an indisputable source.

I have 47000 miles on my car, it has always been modified in some way, sometimes more highly modified than others..

1) I have had no drivability issues related to my "daily driving tunes"
2) I am **STILL** running a stock clutch!
3) I NEVER had any driveline problems
4) I have NEVER blown an engine

Problems are almost always a result of botched installations, poor tuning, or abuse.

I do agree that Vishnu does cater to street driven evo's and the tuning and parts choices reflect that methodology. However every tuner/shop has had their share of problems, no shop is immune to it.

You **CAN** have all of these things in an evo, however your choice of tuner, parts selection, and driving skill will have a huge impact on your desired results..

Understand that when it comes to parts and tuning, you get what pay for. Its important to do the research and not make your conclusions based on one or two articles which are not a true representation of the entire community of modified Evos or even tuners for that matter.

 

"From all the reading I've done, Vishnu is the gold standard of streetable Evo tuners"

Vishnu is probably the most well known Evo tuner to people outside the Evo community (I was there once). What do I know but it seems to me that Buschur and AMS are the two powerhouses in the Evo community with shops like Works, Turbotrix, TTP etc... closely behind. As far as I know Shiv is pretty much out of the Evo game and in to BMW's.

Really doesn't matter which shop you go with or if you go it on your own, your gonna pay to play, with time, money, and modification issues (it's still worth it). As the sign in No Limit Motorsports reads, cheap and fast will not be reliable, fast and reliable will not be cheap, speed costs money, how fast do you want to go? My .02

 

That last paragraph states clearly what I was pretty sure of, and asking about: trouble-free power kit installations are, in rarity, somewhere between lottery winners and loch ness monsters. If I wanna be absolutely safe I'd probably have to build the transmission, get a new clutch, buy a wideband MAF sensor and boost controller; then install a kit and tune it conservatively, myself.

The sensible solution for those of limited means wishing to go fast in the real world is probably somewhere between that, and buying a 500hp evo from some guy on Craigslist.

 

My only problem with Vishnu is their service. If you aren't ordering BMW parts it seems you get 0 attention. I had a blown turbo i sent back to them and it took over 2 months for them to tell me I had to buy a new one. They did sell me one at wholesale to make up for.... well it didnt make up for crap, i would have payed full price if i had been able to be driving my car for those 2 months. The tune seems fine. the car rocks my socks off.

 

Buying an already modified Evo might not be a bad idea for the cost savings. I think I might have done that knowing now what I know.

So, I have 400whp on my Evo (work and tuning done mostly by me). I do HPDE track days with it (4 so far with the new power) and knock on wood I am on a stock clutch and transmission, (if I was a dragstrip guy it would be another story since I believe that drag racing is much harder on the drivetrain).

If just want to drive then take your Evo to a reputable shop in your area and have them do the install and tune (going to cost $ of course). I don't mean to scare you away. I am not guaranteeing you will have issues but when I get on a racetrack I accept the possibility that I might go off track or put the car in to a wall and when you mod you have to plan for the possibility of breaking things. I love driving and working on my Evo but if 100% trouble free daily driving is what you are after including having a warranty then I suggest getting a Corvette. Hope this is helpful for you.