View Poll Results: What sort of income do you have as a pro tuner?

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  • < $35K

    5 17.24%
  • $35K to 50K

    6 20.69%
  • $50K to 75K

    9 31.03%
  • $75K+

    6 20.69%
  • I ain't tellin'

    3 10.34%
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Thread: Pro tuners - what kind of money do you make tuning?

  1. #1
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    Pro tuners - what kind of money do you make tuning?

    Just curious--I left the poll anonymous so hopefully people will be more willing to answer.

    Are the guys that tune professionally making a good living? I do not do this professionally but am starting to do it on the side for some extra money. It seems like once you start getting licenses that cover unlimited quantities of a model/year that you tune often, and can get cars in/out with common setups, you could probably make pretty decent money.

    Though I'm sure there's always the trouble customer that comes back 10x and wants it all for free...

    So, how's the business side of tuning going for you guys?
    Last edited by schpenxel; 08-03-2016 at 03:15 PM.
    Post a log and tune if you want help

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  2. #2
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    I think you'll find shops that build the same/similar combos over and over again make the money, you won't make a ton dyno tuning guys that built their own combo and then bring it to you to perform magic. Just my .02
    It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be done in two weeks...

    A wise man once said "google it"

  3. #3
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    Makes sense. I know of two shops that do a particular very simple build. Basically 3 major parts, in and out in 2-3 days, 600-750rwhp depending on tune/pulley and has been reliable considering. They barely need anytime on the dyno now that they've done the same combo so many times.

  4. #4
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    I'm right on the threshold of being able to support myself exclusively through tuning right now. Currently I work on all types of vehicles as the experience is valuable to me

  5. #5
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    Cool--yeah you've gotta have some pretty consistent work to make enough just from tuning

  6. #6
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    I am a retired GM tech now running my own shop doing general repair and dyno and tuning. I am doing 3-5 tunes a week right now and its a mix between carbureted and fuel injection. The LS market can be cut throat but then you have the LS swap guys wanting quality service too. I get a lot of calls wanting tuning but in reality they just want code removal. I try to offer support for vehicles others don't which requires buying software no one else is willing to buy. I currently have over $200K invested in my venture and investing more everyday. Its all about doing what you enjoy and not getting all wrapped up in the all mighty "Dollar". It's all about income and expense and expense is always got to be higher...

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by HackAbuse View Post
    I'm right on the threshold of being able to support myself exclusively through tuning right now. Currently I work on all types of vehicles as the experience is valuable to me
    Depends how much you need/want to make & how much you charge and how good you are.

    For instance if you are doing dyno tunes you need to secure a dyno which costs money so if you try and lowball any local competition you might end up selling yourself short, eventually you'll realize this and would need to raise your prices accordingly. Again, most shops thrive on more than just tuning and when guys bring you cars that have been halfassed together you should be able to fix mechanical issues as well, just one more place you'll be able to make money. Also if a car is poorly built I wouldn't touch it unless they want to fix it properly, if something goes wrong or if your tuning doesn't magically fix his issues word of mouth can travel fast, even if its not your fault it will be made to look like it is.
    It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be done in two weeks...

    A wise man once said "google it"

  8. #8
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    It's always the tuner's fault

    And all tunes are "spot on" according to the tuner

  9. #9
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    I remember years back there was an overseas tuner that was charging roughly $800 for tuning LS1's and was getting that amount because he was good at what he did, reminds me of the mechanic story where they charged $10,000 for a fix $1 for hitting the machine with a hammer $9999 for knowing where to hit the machine with the hammer.
    It doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be done in two weeks...

    A wise man once said "google it"

  10. #10
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    That's awesome--I can imagine several years ago a really good tuner could probably get that amount. The knowledge on how everything works is a bit more common now, in my opinion anyways (except on gen 5's which still have some voodoo it seems, at least to me..)

    If you're JUST doing tunes the only guys I know making good money are extremely busy and do not spend a lot of time on each car. They pretty much have a base file for most common setups and do small tweaks from there, dyno pull or three, and send it out the door. One guy charges $700 for a tune and spent about an hour on a buddies car (before I knew anything about tuning).

    I'm sure they are making on the high end of the numbers in the poll

    But.. the average guy doing a tune here and there, not sure how well they really do. I mean, you pay $100 for licensing unless you have an unlimited license for that model/year, then if you have to rent dyno time, there's another $100 at least.. pretty soon not much of that $500 is left
    Last edited by schpenxel; 08-04-2016 at 11:05 AM.

  11. #11
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    most tuning for ls stuff has pretty much stayed around the 700-900 mark in australia for the past 10 years.

    I charge less but i don't do the turn over of the larger shops as it's more done as a side business/hobby on weekends. I own my dyno/workshop/hoists etc

  12. #12
    Senior Tuner mbray01's Avatar
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    Where is the like button for all of bills comments
    Michael Bray
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  13. #13
    Senior Tuner mbray01's Avatar
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    Tuning here is about $385-$450 on average, hard to make a living tuning others builds, especially when everything is not as it seems
    Michael Bray
    Rusty Knuckle Garage
    Slidell, Louisiana
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbray01 View Post
    Tuning here is about $385-$450 on average, hard to make a living tuning others builds, especially when everything is not as it seems
    I'm learning this part the hard way, lol

  15. #15
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    In my opinion, it's a crappy way to make a living. lol.

    Too many F'd up builds, too many guys who want it perfect but don't want to pay, too many guys that change things after you're done and then blow their engines and blame you, and WAY too much support expected long after the initial work is finished.

    I've never put out my shingle as a professional tuner (and never will), but I've had my arm twisted to do work for many people over the years. I've had guys that I've turned down before litterally hand me an envelope full of 100's to PLEASE tune their cars! Since it's not my real job, I've done a pretty good job of picking and choosing who I work with. I have to say that at least 50% of the people I've worked with on their tunes are still friends to this day that text and email me about everything, and it's mostly NOT tuning issues.

    The most profitable tuning work I've done is for race teams. They have deeper pockets than most private parties and realize that tuning is often an ongoing process, especially with track cars. I considered doing that instead of my dealership job too, but again it's not the greatest way to make a living. (BTW, "making a living" is VERY different in different parts of the country. I noticed that nobody is in the $75k and up category in the poll. $75k a year is crappy pay where I live. It would take about 4 of those incomes to buy a house here. Even if I was in the top pay category as a "tuner", I honestly wouldn't bother for that kind of money around here.)

    There is one other tiny little factor in doing tuning work for a living. For about 90% of your customers, you're going to be doing something that's illegal. That's a big reason why I'll only really work for race teams, there's no smog law issues. How many of you guys are tuning dedicated race cars? I'm betting it's less than 5% of the total. So let's be honest, that leaves at least 90% of the tuning work being done ending up on smog controlled street driven cars. It's just MY opinion, but I wouldn't want to base my living on breaking the law day in and day out. Just a thought.
    Check out my V8 Sky build video. It's pretty cool!...

    https://youtu.be/2q9BuzNRc3Q

    https://www.youtube.com/user/gmtech16450yz

  16. #16
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    All good points.

    I have only done a handful of tunes for others and it does turn into answering a ton of questions, tune related or not. They pretty well expect you to know a bit about everything.

  17. #17
    Senior Tuner mbray01's Avatar
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    "hey man, after you tuned my car, i brought it to the track, it ran slower than before, and it spins through the 1/8"
    well, seems like you have a traction issue, now that it makes more power.
    "no, my uncle dad said its the tune"

    yep,
    Michael Bray
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  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by mbray01 View Post
    "hey man, after you tuned my car, i brought it to the track, it ran slower than before, and it spins through the 1/8"
    well, seems like you have a traction issue, now that it makes more power.
    "no, my uncle dad said its the tune"

    yep,
    Lol, pretty much.

  19. #19
    Senior Tuner LSxpwrdZ's Avatar
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    I started off working a swing shift factory job and tuning on my days off. After I got quite a bit of customer base built up and a name built for myself I quit the factory job and tune full time now. My day to day work consists of tuning one car on the dyno per day and when needed support email/mobile tuning for some other shops around the US. We also make decent money doing mail order tunes for those more common setups that work for the customers budget. I make enough living to be comfortable but I do this by keeping my overhead down so that there is meat left on the bone for putting food on the table and paying my bills.

    Some of the larger shops that do all inclusive installs/tuning get more money due to the popularity of their services. Pay for the name sort of thing. Some people say I'm high and some people say I'm cheap, it's all relative to what the customer previously was used to paying. My reasoning for scheduling only one car per day on the dyno is so I can have all day to make sure the car is perfect or as close to perfect as one could be. Sure this kills the $/hr spending lots of time on the vehicle but the way I see it is quality over quantity. That good customer service and thoroughness goes further than you can imagine. At the end of the day I'm paid enough to keep the lights on and be comfortable financially (not getting rich by any means) and the customer leaves knowing we went the extra mile to make sure their vehicles are performing to the best of their ability.

    I charge anywhere between 450-650 for a tune depending on the combination and platform. I include the license fees and dyno time in that set price to keep it simple for the customer and so it doesn't seem like we get them in here and tack on a bunch of nit picky items and shock them with a bill at the end that they weren't expecting. Now obviously if we spend 4-5hrs working on the car rather than tuning it we will charge for that but I've learned that being up front with them and letting them know whats going on and giving options keeps everyone happy.
    James Short - [email protected]
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  20. #20
    Advanced Tuner Road's Avatar
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    I would like to see the inside of the safe of the person not telling their income...