Current best tuner

[RedDragon777]

Hey guys i have been out of the mustang world for a while. I am finally coming back in and i feel like my mustang is in need of a new tune.

The tune i am running is a tune Chris Rose wrote for me back when he was still working for Tillman Speed some time around 2009. About a year back i requested a new tune from Bamachips, since i still have lifetime tunes from when Doug was tuning. Well i was less than pleased. The tune fell short and seemed to only give me power in the mid range. I know my car does not have much as far as mods but with CR's tune i was able to chirp the tires in 1-2 when i wanted to and i could feel that i had that low end torque i liked but the power just kept climbing. A couple of months ago i took the car to a dyno day my old mustang club was hosting and well the CR tune beat my Bama tune even though CR put a rev limit on the tune and i was not able to push it as far as the Bama tune.

Well enough with my experience, back to topic. Since i am in the market to replace my Gen 1 X-Cal II, what is your opinion on a good mail order tune company? I have had my eye on VMP for a while but seeing as Justin has become more of a big business shop it is not as one on one tuning like it used to be. I have also heard a lot about jon lund and lethal performance but i do not know how they are with requesting new tunes.

I am looking for a tuner with great customer care and one that is friendly with new mods (meaning not requiring you to spend $100 every time you need a new tune for a new mod)

And before people start throwing around Lito's name, i asked him already and he mainly does mid to heavily modified vehicles. I will be looking into him again though if i ever get around to buying a turbo kit from S&H.

Mods for my car include: Off-road H-Pipe (custom made), JLT intake, Pype's Pype-Bomb axle backs, CMCV delete plates, and 27/35-18 wheels with stock 3.31 gears. I have an FRPP intake and shorty headers sitting here waiting for me to get around to the turbo kit so those will be in the near future as well.

 

[BruceH]

It's all a matter of opinion. IMO you would be better served searching with "tuner problems email" or something along those lines as parameters than asking. It will help to eliminate tuners from your list.

If all you are looking for is a tune that feels strong then request that a higher percentage of torque be commanded at lower pedal positions. That way you will get the torque of 50% pedal with only using 25% as an example. The motor will still make the same power but it will feel more powerful. That's the magic of drive by wire. Many tooners use this approach but in reality it's just trickery.

If you are happy with Chris Rose why not contact him about doing a side job?

 

[NotaHybrid]

Honestly, I've never heard anything bad about lito. He seems to be one of the best tuners out there.

Sent from my helicopter

 

[BruceH]

Honestly, I've never heard anything bad about lito. He seems to be one of the best tuners out there.

Sent from my helicopter

lito turned him down so now he's looking for suggestions. He would be my first pick.

 

[NotaHybrid]

Oh, I missed that part of his post completely.

Sent from my helicopter

 

[skwerl]

I think Justin (VMP) had some issues with lack of timely response for a while due to growing pains but he seems to have a good crew working for him now. I've been using him for the last two years and have been very pleased with his work as I've continued to push my car faster.

 

[RedDragon777]

If you are happy with Chris Rose why not contact him about doing a side job?

I tried a while back and he just referred me to the guys doing the tunes for Bama, i think the only way i can get him to tune for me is if i pay his way down here to Texas or go up there to get a custom dyno tune from him.

I think Justin (VMP) had some issues with lack of timely response for a while due to growing pains but he seems to have a good crew working for him now. I've been using him for the last two years and have been very pleased with his work as I've continued to push my car faster.

That seems more promising now, a mechanic friend of mine used to sell VMP X-Cal 3s with tunes that he would call Justin for but now i am kicking myself for not taking buying one when i had the chance.

Anyone keeping up with Brenspeed? I know when i first got into tuning with the X-Cal II a lot of people were running brents tunes.

 

[downtime!]

Brenspeed opened up a new place just south of Dallas. Not sure where Mercedes is, but it might be worth the drive to get it done right.

I'm currently running one of Justin's (VMP) tunes in my '05 and it runs great. He's always done good work for me.

 

[Rob72]

Anyone keeping up with Brenspeed? I know when i first got into tuning with the X-Cal II a lot of people were running brents tunes.

I ran a Brenspeed 93 race tune in my 2007. I was very pleased with it.

 

[downtime!]

Wow, you're way down south! Still be a good road trip up to Brenspeeds new shop though. Nothing beats a good dyno tune.

 

[RedDragon777]

Wow, you're way down south! Still be a good road trip up to Brenspeeds new shop though. Nothing beats a good dyno tune.

I was about to post "i might as well be in Mexico lol" But it is still about an 8-9 hour drive for me to get to dallas. But it is true if you want it done right might as well do it right the first time. I wonder how these guys are with custom stuff like if i were to take them the car after the S&H turbo or if it would be wise to just stick with Lito when that time comes.

 

[BruceH]

I was about to post "i might as well be in Mexico lol" But it is still about an 8-9 hour drive for me to get to dallas. But it is true if you want it done right might as well do it right the first time. I wonder how these guys are with custom stuff like if i were to take them the car after the S&H turbo or if it would be wise to just stick with Lito when that time comes.

They have always been pretty adamant about only tuning for certain combinations. I sold a guy a Paxton one time and they wouldn't tune it because it had 47lb injectors. He had to buy 39lb injectors before they would tune it.

FYI I'd take a tune from lito, Eric Brooks, or Justin via email before a dyno tune from a lot of places. IMO the wot stuff is the easy part. Datalogging and interpreting the data to make the car streetable is where the tuners skill comes into play. Once again that's just my opinion so take it for what it's worth. A street pull at full load is far better than most dyno pulls. A loaded dyno can simulate it pretty good though.

If I was in your shoes I'd contact lito again and let him know about the future turbo plans. All you need for him to tune your car is a wideband that has a firewire output so it can be logged with the rest of the parameters.

Maybe you can stick with the tune you already have until the turbo install? If it's a good tune then there won't be much anyone can do to improve upon it.

 

[skwerl]

The fact that Brenspeed is so adamant about only tuning very specific combinations tells me that they most likely just have a library of canned tunes and plug in the appropriate one. If they cannot adjust a tune for a simple injector upgrade then that would be a huge red flag for me. I know they have an excellent reputation and do great work but every shop has certain specialties and limitations.

 

[NotaHybrid]

I just dropped Brenspeed because they couldn't get my car tuned and I have their Detroit rockers. I was having bad cold start issues. They have great customer service though, I just didn't have time to wait around on tunes for my car.

Sent from my helicopter

 

[onehotpny]

They have always been pretty adamant about only tuning for certain combinations. I sold a guy a Paxton one time and they wouldn't tune it because it had 47lb injectors. He had to buy 39lb injectors before they would tune it.

FYI I'd take a tune from lito, Eric Brooks, or Justin via email before a dyno tune from a lot of places. IMO the wot stuff is the easy part. Datalogging and interpreting the data to make the car streetable is where the tuners skill comes into play. Once again that's just my opinion so take it for what it's worth. A street pull at full load is far better than most dyno pulls. A loaded dyno can simulate it pretty good though.

If I was in your shoes I'd contact lito again and let him know about the future turbo plans. All you need for him to tune your car is a wideband that has a firewire output so it can be logged with the rest of the parameters.

Maybe you can stick with the tune you already have until the turbo install? If it's a good tune then there won't be much anyone can do to improve upon it.

Lito is very good at what he does..

 

[RedDragon777]

Lito is very good at what he does..

The last PM i got from him said this...

Hi, I really don't do bolt on stuff, have you contacted vendors of the forum? I dedicate mostly to remote tuning of custom combos, let me know if you need anything else, best of luck, Manuel.

I do admit he is my #1 on list of good tuners but in a way i see his thinking. Getting a custom tune from him requires time and a sort of skill to be in touch with what each vehicles needs. With that i do not see a point doing his type of remote tuning for some cars with small to no mods. Now a close second is Justin at VMP.

Really i want to upgrade since most tuners are only working with tune files that run on the X3 so i want to get rid of my X2 plus its been rattling in my trunk and sometimes the screen will not turn on so i think it is time to return to stock and get a new handheld before i lose my stock file. That is mainly why i am looking for someone that sells the X3 and can add some custom tunes to it. Once i am done with the turbo plans then i can move to Lito for a great tune.

On a side note i am running the Innovate MTX-L which i do not think has a way to data log but i could be wrong.

 

[weather man]

I am looking for a tuner with great customer care and one that is friendly with new mods (meaning not requiring you to spend $100 every time you need a new tune for a new mod)

Don't think you'll get far with that requirement. If you do get someone to say yes, you'll get what you pay for. Might want to rethink that.

 

[RedDragon777]

Don't think you'll get far with that requirement. If you do get someone to say yes, you'll get what you pay for. Might want to rethink that.

guess i got spoiled with Doug and CR. Both did not have problems supporting new mods, heck even Doug gave me a guarantee that if i ever did cams or full bolt-ons he would send me the files but then again that was in 2007.

From a business stand point i see what you mean. Well then let see what tuner will include 3 tunes with their mail order tuner, i have been looking around and it seems some tuners do not post options on their website for 3 tunes anymore. Just the tuner and an option to add an extra tune. I would like to have some kind of economy option. I have been running on race tunes almost the entire time i have owned the car and now i kind of wish i had an economy tune so i can do those long trips with the old mustang club.

 

[BruceH]

Not all tuners are going to nickel and dime you for small changes. Throw on forced induction or radically change your setup and expect to pay for their time but changing injectors, adding long tubes, etc shouldn't be a problem with the right tuner. You should be able to find a good tuner who is reasonable with small changes.

 

[fdjizm]

Never had an issue with AM's bamatunes or Doug (The original bamachips, he's with C&L now.)
Updated free for years and I usually get them within the hour. But I do have a simple NA setup.