Questions on mail order tuning.

[Nfrnoss]

So, I recently made a post (2010 Camaro SS cam help!!!!) regarding tuning by a mail order tuner. I was told by other members that the tune i received was messed up and all wrong. It was done by a guy in Texas that is supposed to be top notch. Is there anyone out there that had a mail order tune done by mailordertuner.com and received a tune that was bad and did not work? My car will not idle right and chugs like its not getting enough fuel when i leave from a stop. No cam lope at all and it sounds like a tractor. I have the texas speed F-35 cam. Its a pretty big cam so if tuned right it should lope pretty darn good. Now, I am having to take it to a dyno tuner out of town to get it looked at now and its costing me double.

Im hoping to get some other people's input on this company on whether anyone else has had or knows someone who has had a bad tune from them. Thanks everyone.

5100 ss factory MailOrderTuner Retune 2.hpt

[GHuggins]

First off is pricing - usually you get what you pay for. Even a dyno tune won't get you a full in depth tune. The OE spend up to 3 years dialing everything in before releasing a build and even then have issues. As for you texas speed tune. I'm going to post a tune for you to use as a compare file. This is a stock file from GM for their 533hp connect and cruise motor and states - REQUIRES TUNING... This is what you paid for I'm not bashing anyone, but I really do get ticked off when the so called "the pro" just does such a lousy job... I go in behind so called tooners like this all of the time. A true tune requires experimenting and takes time........

[Nfrnoss]

I fully understand what you are saying. It just ticks me off that i pick something that is supposly the best and in the end it is not the best and costs me more. Thank you for the file. I will surely compare it. Hopefully the dyno tuner will at least get the car running the way it should. Thank you again!

[LS ROB]

I, unfortunately, spent $300 on a mail order toon. any questions i asked, he was really offensive in his responses (i should have picked up on this but i try to give the benefit of doubt. maybe he was having a bad day. idk) i filled out the online form and when my e38 showed up to him, he called me and told me i need a new one. so i contacted speartech, spent money there, and had them ship to him. My toon showed up about a week later and boy was it a mess. it did start well and idled at 1100 rpm( i can and have idled my car down to 690rpm with the scanner but its not happy there. currently idles 800rpm). most of the DTC's were disabled and if not for a few of the more experienced guys on here, id still be chasing my tail even more than i am now. But to answer your question, yes i received a jacked up mailorder tune. im just curious how much others get for a tune.

[charcoal03silvy]

My car will not idle right and chugs like its not getting enough fuel when i leave from a stop. No cam lope at all and it sounds like a tractor. I have the texas speed F-35 cam.

Try this 5100 ss factory test.hpt

If that doesn't run halfway decent, you probably have a mechanical issue

[Nfrnoss]

Sounds like we possibly used the same place. Price is the same. Guy was also rude to me and tells me he doesnt tune for lope he tunes for performance. Yet car doesnt idle correctly lol. Car does start well and seems to run decent but idles weird with no lope with the big cam i have and also stumbles bad when i give it gas to leave from a stop. Im sorry you went through all this too. I go april 25 to a dyno and hopefully they will fix it right.

[Nfrnoss]

Thanks charcoal03silvy. Ill try that tomorrow and see how it does. I have an appt on april 25 to get it dynoed. Supposly this dyno guy knows his LS stuff. He has tuned a coworker of mine's G8 and that car rumbles. Thanks for helping me out.

[LS ROB]

yeah.. we used the same guy im sure. but its not what happened, its what you learned. or thats how im looking at it anyway. good luck with your new tuner.

[Dave_In_VA]

Check the thread I started on mail order tunes: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...s-learned.html

I paid for three mail-order tunes and none of the tuners one got my injector data correct (despite being given to all three tuners).

This forum helped me get in my tunes basics corrected.

I've got a decent MAF tune and I'm now working on my SD tune. Working to use SmokeShows' GMVE tuning method.

[Nfrnoss]

Thank you Dave. I read the post you sent me to and its just crazy. These so called reputable mail order tuners say they can do you right. But in the end its not and now im paying the price for it TWICE! I actually found a youtube video of another camaro with my same setup and he used the same tuner i did and his car sounded just like mine. No lope at all and sounds like a tractor. Im just blown away at this whole situation. Seems like Im not the only one to pay the price. Thanks you responding to me.

[charcoal03silvy]

No lope at all and sounds like a tractor..

I do hope you realize that most of the hard "lope" you're expecting to hear isn't typically the natural sound of the engine and exhaust setup. Most of the lope you here in LS engines is intentionally caused by the tuner with manipulation of adaptive idle spark and airflow to intentionally make the idle less stable for "chop". With some tuning tricks you can make mild cams sound much larger than they are, or large cams sound much smaller than they are.

Test out that file I posted and report back.

[Nfrnoss]

charcoal: thank for trying. i just think the mail order tune messed it up too much. after you looked at it and sent the file back it still stumbles from leaving a stop and sounds like a tractor still. I think my best bet will be to take it to the dyno tuner and let him start from scratch with my stock tune. I appreciate all the words and help from you and everyone else. Hopefully the dyno guy will fix it up.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3UZiaqLpq_U?feature=share

[charcoal03silvy]

Without seeing a datalog it's hard to say, but I bet you've got a mechanical issue more than a tune problem. What I provided should have ran very well, and the sound from the video doesn't sound like it should. I'd be surprised if it's running on all 8.

[Nfrnoss]

charcoal: From what i can tell there is no weird noises or anything at idle. Everything i replaced when i swapped the cam i triple checked the torque specs. No check engine light and no pending codes. Plugs are ngk tr6ix and new and wires are summit racing 8.5mm (made for them by msd i believe) and they are new and i reused the factory coils which were perfect before the cam swap. When car is warm and driving its a beast and wants to go sideways like crazy. its only at idle that doesnt sound right and stumbles when leaving from a stop. ill post my last datalog i did for the mail order tuner.

log #2 order#5100.hpl

[Nfrnoss]

Thats the last datalog i sent the tuner and he responded to me saying everything looks good to him.

[LS ROB]

a word of advice on those codes... check them.. all of them. Most of mine were turned off by the great wizard tooner.

[Nfrnoss]

LS Rob: I did check. looks like all codes are good and not turned off. nothing pending or showing. Just seems weird that the car runs great when driving. zero issues. just seems at a sit still at idle is when i see problems

[GHuggins]

Just off of that last log it looks like your O2's aren't dialed in, fueling isn't dialed in that well and we already know your VE's not dialed in - which is a lot of the takeoff transient issues. You also need to be logging lots more for a good tune... Surprised, but not really I guess, that your tooner didn't want you to log more.

[LS ROB]

good deal. well good luck with your dyno trip. hopefully they're reputable and good. im sticking to hitting up these forums since some of these guys do this on the daily and are not just hobbyist/enthusiasts. i know at least one dude in this thread that could get you lined out for sure. your car, your call though. happy tuning!

[Nfrnoss]

Ls ROB: Thank you for that. I have a coworker that has a g8 with a btr stage 3 cam in it and im taking my car to the guy that dynoed his. His car runs awesome and sounds beefy. Apparently this guy im taking it to does nothing but LS builds and has a 1100 horse vette. So we shall see in a week what happens. I appreciate all your help.