Some Tuner questions...

[mf959100GT]

So I've been debating lately weather or not to take and have my car tuned at a performance shop, or buying a handheld tuner from somewhere like Americanmuscle.com(http://www.americanmuscle.com/x3-custom-tuner-9904gt.html possibly this one)...but idk which way would be the best I have done a little research on the tuners and called about prices on getting a tune and they seem to be around the same price...just would like some input from people who know more about both ways to see which way would be the best bang for my buck...oh right now my car is a 2000 GT and has a cold air intake, flowmaster cat backs, and a BBK off-road X-Pipe, and a short throw shifter...another question I have is about changing out my gears to a 3.73 (at the same time, or before the tune) but does anyone know how much it effects gas mileage, and would doing a tune/tuner some what counteract the mpg difference??? Thanks for any help in advance I appreciate it :bigthumb

[blown96cobra]

I've got a 2002 gt with full boltons, headers, xpipe, catback, udps, plenum,cai and tbody, 410s and a super chips flashpaq handheld. I get around 28-30mpg driving my car easy. The gears won't hurt your gas mileage, as far as the tune goes your always better off to strap it to the rollers and have it tuned that way you know what your car makes hp and tq wise and the afr and timing curves should be close to perfect. Hope this helps.

[duststang]

I have SCT and it works great. I like the flexability to make changes anytime you would like.

[mf959100GT]

It does help I appreciate it a lot, blown96 do you have a handheld tuner and a dyno tune done?

[rtvickers]

I agree about having it dyno tuned. But I also agree with having the ability to have a revision anytime you want at no charge. There are some really good etuners out there like Amazon tuning solutions in NC. I need a tune also and Ill probably go with them. Ive had a few conversations with Rick and Linn and they are top notch people. Give them your setup and they will send you a SCT handheld and 3 tunes. You download you tune and datalog it and email it back to Rick and he will make any revision to get it spot on. And whenever you want to make a change just email him and tell him what you want to change and he will write a new tune. No charge, free revision for life. They have a few different packages you can look at on their website. Or you can drive down there and he will dyno tune it for you. There are other out there also. The other that comes to mind is John Lund. Hes doing some good work also.

[mf959100GT]

Ok, that sounds like the handheld tuner I'm looking at from americanmuscle.com, they have a questionnaire you have to fill out, then they send you the tuner with 3 different tunes on it and then it also comes with free tunes for life...but I called over to Finish Line Performance about taking it to them for some 3.73 gears and a handheld tuner with possibly a dyno, the owner is supposed to call me back with the prices tonight or tmrw...Im just ready to wake this thing up and actually have some power lol

[mustangboy]

If your plans are to stay n/a with the car you should really go with at least a 4.10 gear probably even a 4.30.

[smytty]

Ok, that sounds like the handheld tuner I'm looking at from americanmuscle.com, they have a questionnaire you have to fill out, then they send you the tuner with 3 different tunes on it and then it also comes with free tunes for life...but I called over to Finish Line Performance about taking it to them for some 3.73 gears and a handheld tuner with possibly a dyno, the owner is supposed to call me back with the prices tonight or tmrw...Im just ready to wake this thing up and actually have some power lolIm pretty sure Am uses BAMA for the tuning, they seem to have a good rep..
Finish Line uses Lund which also has a good rep...

[rtvickers]

Ok, that sounds like the handheld tuner I'm looking at from americanmuscle.com, they have a questionnaire you have to fill out, then they send you the tuner with 3 different tunes on it and then it also comes with free tunes for life...but I called over to Finish Line Performance about taking it to them for some 3.73 gears and a handheld tuner with possibly a dyno, the owner is supposed to call me back with the prices tonight or tmrw...Im just ready to wake this thing up and actually have some power lol

You probably wont get free tunes for life from them. The etuners can address the gear change very easy. You may be able to do it yourself with the handheld.

[mf959100GT]

If your plans are to stay n/a with the car you should really go with at least a 4.10 gear probably even a 4.30.

I really would love to put a supercharger on it, just don't have the funds right now (probably after college) but it is in my long term build list to have it done eventually.

@rtvickers, I have read up on the handheld from AM, and it does have good reviews, and yeah it is Bama Performance...and I have heard a lot of good things about Finish Line on here

[rtvickers]

@rtvickers, I have read up on the handheld from AM, and it does have good reviews, and yeah it is Bama Performance...and I have heard a lot of good things about Finish Line on here[/QUOTE]

Im not saying anything bad about Finish Line. I dont have any experience with them. All Im saying is think about future mods. $150/hr for every tune on a dyno. Thats an average price. And who knows how many hours a tune will take. Yesterday I heard a horror story about a local shop that quoted one thing and charge twice that many hours. Its your car do what you feel is best. Just my $0.02. Good luck.

[mf959100GT]

Im not saying anything bad about Finish Line. I dont have any experience with them. All Im saying is think about future mods. $150/hr for every tune on a dyno. Thats an average price. And who knows how many hours a tune will take. Yesterday I heard a horror story about a local shop that quoted one thing and charge twice that many hours. Its your car do what you feel is best. Just my $0.02. Good luck.

I know you weren't saying anything bad about Finish Line, I appreciate your help because I don't have any experience with either one of the options...just wanted some insight on both before I buy so I can go the best route.