Dyno tuning $$ is it worth it? when to do it?

[DSMvroom]

Attention to those who have gone to the dyno for tuning. . .

1) How much did it cost?
2) What kind of hp gains did you see from it?

Attention to anyone who has their $.02 to input . . .

1) When is the best time to do it if it is worth it at all? (and i'm fairly sure it is worth it at one point or another)

The bottom line is should I wait until I've gotten all my sh!t in the car before I go to the dyno to get tuning, or can I go before all the sh!t is in and dyno-tune it later and have the end result be the same?

I'm planning on doing around ~300hp at the crank w/ an E3-16g with the supporting mods. My spec clutch is already at the UPS office waiting for me to pick it up and will be installed not too long for now (my oem clutch is giving up on me a little prematurely).

I also have some questions regarding a 255lph fuel pump and fuel controllers but that's goin to be in another thread.

Thx guys!

 

[NewB2dsm]

Attention to those who have gone to the dyno for tuning. . .

1) How much did it cost?
2) What kind of hp gains did you see from it?

Attention to anyone who has their $.02 to input . . .

1) When is the best time to do it if it is worth it at all? (and i'm fairly sure it is worth it at one point or another)

The bottom line is should I wait until I've gotten all my sh!t in the car before I go to the dyno to get tuning, or can I go before all the sh!t is in and dyno-tune it later and have the end result be the same?

I'm planning on doing around ~300hp at the crank w/ an E3-16g with the supporting mods. My spec clutch is already at the UPS office waiting for me to pick it up and will be installed not too long for now (my oem clutch is giving up on me a little prematurely).

I also have some questions regarding a 255lph fuel pump and fuel controllers but that's goin to be in another thread.

Thx guys!

300hp crank ? shit you could probably not even tune it and hit 300 crank easy with the evo 16g. Go after you have all your stuff on the car.

It is defenatly worth the money, i have been on a dyno about ~6-7 times. I go pretty much after every main mod. Turbo, cams, fmic, so on. Mine was cheap and only 50-75 dollars for as long as i wanted on the dyno. Helps when the owner doesnt care about making money but people using his awd dyno.

Go find a local dyno and see how much they charge

 

[DSMvroom]

thanks for the input. Do you have any numbers on how much hp you got in one dyno-tuning session?

 

[Staytuned]

I have not had a chance to do any serious tuning on the dyno but I have made some dyno runs to see what power I had last summer. I will say this, have all the mods you need to make it worthwhile, at minimum an AFC with EGT, boost gauge and a pocket logger. If anything it is 100 times more safe to tune on the dyno than it is on the street.

I will be going back to the dyno this spring to do more tuning with my new turbo.

 

[xian 1g]

While there are other methods of tuning, including data logging, which when done by the RIGHT person can be very effective for street tunes, and even for the track, IMHO a DYNO tune is by far superior.

Usually the owner of the shop, a great source of tuning knowledge, does the tuning for you. It will cost between 50-75 dollars. Typical gains are around 15whp and up depending on the car, mod, and tuning needs.

$50 for 15whp is not a bad price to pay. Personally, I'm sick and tired of all the little 'greeedy and intrax lower'n springs, i'm to ricer cool to spend money on tuning' people out there. I'm not saying you are one of them.

But, look at how much money you have spent on parts for your car? 500? 1000? More? Don't you think it is worth it to have those parts performing at their best? It's cheaper than a carbon fiber spoiler, cf faced a/f gauge, do it.


Sorry for the rant. When should you dyno? After every major modification, drastic changes in weather, or before any track event. I consider it like changing the oil, a regular maintance to be performed on performance cars.


If you want to post a list of upcoming mods, It would help us to tell you when to dyno. Since it sounds like you are going for a 16g set up though, I'd wait till you have all of your set up.


www.vfaq.com

TD05-16G (small) 345-365hp @ 22 psi
TD06-16G (large) 365-385hp @ 22 psi

300 hp is do able with a 16g, just make sure you have all the supporting mods and a good hand at the tuning.

 

[paul s]

I dynoed 350 AWHP and run 11.9/119 on pump gas. You can only compare numbers from the same dyno. My friend had Evo16g and got 270 AWHP and runs 12.9/110 on pump. Awd mustang dyno..tune on pump gas, thats what you mostly run..

 

[1993eclipseGS]

Wow around here it is alot more then $50.00, It's more like $200.00 an hour.

 

[GSX'er587]

Yea damn near my house its $200 an hour..kinda shady for that price i can almost buy another mod but the HP gains are nice

 

[CanadianTSi]

I doubt there is any Dyno shop the will actually tune your car for 50 bucks.

The Dyno that me and Staytuned and Paul S use charges 80 canadian for 3 pulls.

 

[boostvr4]

IMO dyno tuning is by far the best way to go. I just got back from pruven performance in Milford Connecticut for a little evo event and I was VERY impressed. My friend’s base run was 271 to the wheels in his 03 evo. 2 ecu flashes later...24whp! Unreal. You can’t go wrong with tuning on the dyno. No cops. No looking at every gauge you have while beating the crap out of your car, and you have numbers to back your results. Instead of "ummm it feels faster" you know that it really is.

PS-If anyone you know in southern New England has an evo, tell them to talk to Al at Dynoflash and Dan at Pruven Performance

 

[xian 1g]

I doubt there is any Dyno shop the will actually tune your car for 50 bucks.

Sorry, I stand slightly corrected. This rate was given as a 'group buy'. A local board had a cruise event and about 20 cars were dyno'd. Took all day. Was on a sunday. I'm sure his prices are higher for an individual.

 

[DSM2gTuna]

Pruven Performance in Milford,CT has a dyno for i think 85 bucks an hour. check it out sometime

 

[1Gdsmdriver]

i went to there site and it's 250.00/hr for all wheel drive tuning and 200.00 for 2wd

 

[DSM90AWD]

i went to there site and it's 250.00/hr for all wheel drive tuning and 200.00 for 2wd

I think you're two .02 is years to late

Most Dynos I've seen will have a $80-100 3-4 run deal in which you make back-to-back-to-back runs with minimal cooldown and no help from them to tune. With the $250+/hour deals, the shops does all the tuning for you an you get as many runs as it takes.

To get the most out of a Dyno visit your car should be in perfect condition w.r.t. ignition (plugs, wires), cooling, drivetrain (clutch, CVs), good compression, no boost leaks..etc, and at a minimum you need something to datalog and tune with.

I don't know about you, but $250/hr to me is alot of money for me to spend, so unless the "tuner" has that much more experience tuning DSMs than you and good references, I'd definitely be wary. Also, Dyno runs are not the same are 1/4 mile runs. You may get good/bad numbers, but until you actually run your car 3-4 gears at WOT, you'll never know if your tune was worth your money.

IMO, the best place to tune is a local track Test and Tune. My local track has them most Wednesday Nights ($14) and Saturdays ($35) for all the runs you want on a prepped track. Not bad. Then if you want to eek the last few HP out of your setup, hit the Dyno

 

[jongreene]

I know 2 guys that charge $85 an hour and usually go for 2-3 hours.

Watched them gain 60whp on a firebird not long ago.

Anyone in this area look up Autosport....Don Schloud and Adam Helmer.
no AWD dyno as of yet, but will be shortly.

 

[The_EE]

It really depends on a few things.

1: Is there a shop near by that knows what they are doing?

For me, there really isnt. The nearest shop that can tune is Tuning Technologies and well, they are known for AEM and EVO's, STI's etc. When it comes to DSMLink, they dont know it. Give them a car with AEM and Alfred will pull some serious power out of it thats for sure.

2: Price

For me, its about $160 a hour here in So Cal for tuning which a tad too pricey.


3: Can you tune yourself?

If you cant, you will have to find a place and suck up the cost. I was forced to learn how to tune my car because if I spent all kinds of money on tuning on a dyno, I would have less go fast parts. Last time I went to tune on the dyno, it turned out I got the car so close that we only adjusted 3 fuel sliders a combined total of 4% fuel changes and +2 timing.

In the long run, it will be cheaper for you to pick up a wideband, DSMLink and do it yourself. In the long run, later in the future, you could charge for your tuning skills and make some money so you can go faster.

 

[DSMvroom]

Wow, amazing what three years can do for knowledge. What idiot started this thread??

Well thanks everyone for your input. FYI the car still isn't ready for serious dyno time, as I _still_ don't have injectors or fuel management! Poor people for the lose

I did, however, get some fairly embarrassing baseline numbers so I know where I came from when all is said and done.

 

[boostenon114]

Worth every penny!

 

[98gsspy]

2-3 hours?!!!!! Shops should get a car done in less than 1 hour unless you give them a car they have never seen before.

 

[sbengineering]

Buy a Gtech