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Tuning & Dyno Testing/Results Questions, experiences & results for electronic tuning and dyno tests

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Old 02-16-2018, 01:00 PM   #1
AlloyPony
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My tuner says you can't get much more

There is a shop about 20 miles from me that we all take our Mustangs to for dyno tuning. He's a former Ford mechanic who went out on his own to focus on performance for Ford vehicles. He tuned my bolt-on 2001 GT and got 40 HP and 50 lbs/ft of torque out of it. I was shocked. He does really good work and people come from other states to have him do their cars.

My father was talking to him yesterday about doing some work on his GT500 and while they were chatting he mentioned to the tuner that I have picked up a Mach 1 that I'd like to get tuned soon. The tuner told him that on the Mach 1, there isn't much gain to be had. He claims that on these specific cars, the tune that Ford used is really good and is pretty much at the limits already. He said there might be 3-5 HP to squeeze out, but without doing headers and more serious mods, there isn't much that you can add to the tune itself.

Have you guys been told this by your tuners? I want to keep this car closer to stock, so if 3-5 HP is all that's left on the table, I'm not going to spend the $450.
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Old 02-16-2018, 01:15 PM   #2
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

I wanna say you might be able to get into that 10-15hp range but there really isnt a ton left
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Old 02-16-2018, 02:03 PM   #3
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Your tuner is right, there's not a lot to be gained with tuning until headers, ported intake etc
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Old 02-16-2018, 09:33 PM   #4
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Hmm ok. Sounds like I probably should leave the stock tune in the car then. I don't plan on tearing into the engine on this one until it dies. Thanks.
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Old 02-20-2018, 03:49 PM   #5
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

I dynos 274whp stock. I put on intake spacer, pulleys, intake tube, catted x-pipe and catback. I then dynod 270whp. I called up Lund, got a dyno tune and then put down 300whp.

Different days, but same dyno.
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Old 03-16-2018, 02:42 PM   #6
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

About the best I got from mine was reaching the advertised HP.
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Old 03-21-2018, 04:18 PM   #7
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Quote:
Originally Posted by 311-420 View Post
Your tuner is right, there's not a lot to be gained with tuning until headers, ported intake etc
ported intakes add little; low bang for the buck.
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Old 03-21-2018, 04:19 PM   #8
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

A good dyno tune is worth the investment, even if stock.
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Old 03-21-2018, 09:08 PM   #9
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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ported intakes add little; low bang for the buck.
Haven't ported intakes been reported to pick up 10-15hp on most mild (N/A) combos?

Quote:
Originally Posted by na svt View Post
A good dyno tune is worth the investment, even if stock.
Whats a good dyno tune worth on a bone stock Mach 1? I know when mine was ported intake and longtubes it put down 310 on the stock file. After tuning it was 318. It didnt seem from my experience that Ford put a lazy calibration in these cars.

Money-wise, a flasher/chip plus tuning is about equal to the cost of a ported intake. An intake may even be cheaper if you find a "deal".

In summary, neither is a very good bang for the buck when you live in a world where options for boost are everywhere you look. But I understand and respect the desire for N/A power. Nobody loves stock cars on this board more than I do.
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Old 03-21-2018, 10:26 PM   #10
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Ported stock length intakes are good for maybe 10hp and almost nothing in the quarter mile while costing $600 or more. A well made short runner is good for 15-20hp at peak and 25-30 at 7k and will cost $950 or more. As far as performance goes, if on the stock cams it will add little. If the engine has aggressive cams, a short runner will allow the them to work in their intended rpm range.

One can spend thousands of dollars and gain little in both hp and performance, so spend wisely.
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Old 03-21-2018, 10:28 PM   #11
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

My auto mach 1 gained 12hp at peak from a tune and had increased power from 2000rpm to 6300.
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Old 03-21-2018, 10:57 PM   #12
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Mine was noticeably quicker with a ported stock runner and stock cams, even at part throttle, even before tuning. I still remember where I was when I first discovered the extra power while getting onto a hwy.
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:29 AM   #13
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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Originally Posted by 311-420 View Post
Mine was noticeably quicker with a ported stock runner and stock cams, even at part throttle, even before tuning. I still remember where I was when I first discovered the extra power while getting onto a hwy.
Many dynos have shown otherwise and even it 10hp was added, it would not be felt.
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:34 AM   #14
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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In summary, neither is a very good bang for the buck when you live in a world where options for boost are everywhere you look.
with this I agree.

n/a power is for a select few who are willing to spend hard earned money for little gain, but it is fulfilling when you whoop up on someone and they ask what supercharger is on it.
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:39 AM   #15
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Well, I have an appointment for next Thursday, March 29th. My tuner charges $450 to dyno tune the car and write a couple of tunes for the SCT programmer to take with you when you leave.

The ONLY thing I've got is an O/R H-pipe and aluminum driveshaft. I removed the "milk jug" from my stock intake tube, removed the "silencer" from my stock air box, and changed the spark plugs. Otherwise, my car is virtually stock.

I'm trying to decide if it's worth the $450 to have him run the car and make sure A/F ratios are safe, turn off the O2 sensors to get the dash light off, and maybe squeeze 10 horsepower out of her.

Like I said, the last car I took to him was a 2001 GT that had CAI, mufflers, H-pipe, under drive pullies, and a TB and he made 40 horse and 50 torque over stock on his tune, on 89 octane fuel. He could have probably made more if I took it to him with premium fuel in it.

Hmm... decisions decisions.... it sucks to operate on a tight budget like mine.
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Old 03-22-2018, 08:49 AM   #16
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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Originally Posted by AlloyPony View Post
The ONLY thing I've got is an O/R H-pipe and aluminum driveshaft. I removed the "milk jug" from my stock intake tube, removed the "silencer" from my stock air box, and changed the spark plugs. Otherwise, my car is virtually stock.
Your af ratios are plenty safe with the stock tune and the removal of those items from the intake tube will add no power.

Last edited by na svt; 03-22-2018 at 10:58 AM.
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Old 03-22-2018, 09:54 AM   #17
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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Many dynos have shown otherwise and even it 10hp was added, it would not be felt.
I've got no reason to blow smoke around here. I don't make intakes and never have. Nothing to sell on my end.

Besides that, I never entered this discussion to talk about ported intakes or anything other than tuning. If you read my first post (and everyone elses posts in this thread except your own) you'll see it was regarding the topic of the thread which was about tuning. Then you not-so-cleverly made it about intakes and cams to subliminally promote your business. As transparent as cellophane to anyone with something between their ears.

I hope you prove me wrong on that by sticking around and contributing to the site on a regular basis instead of showing up out of the blue to lure people away for your own benefit.
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Old 03-22-2018, 10:56 AM   #18
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

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Originally Posted by 311-420 View Post
I've got no reason to blow smoke around here. I don't make intakes and never have. Nothing to sell on my end.

Besides that, I never entered this discussion to talk about ported intakes or anything other than tuning. If you read my first post (and everyone elses posts in this thread except your own) you'll see it was regarding the topic of the thread which was about tuning. Then you not-so-cleverly made it about intakes and cams to subliminally promote your business. As transparent as cellophane to anyone with something between their ears.

I hope you prove me wrong on that by sticking around and contributing to the site on a regular basis instead of showing up out of the blue to lure people away for your own benefit.
You mentioned ported intakes first.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 311-420 View Post
Your tuner is right, there's not a lot to be gained with tuning until headers, ported intake etc
I no longer port intakes or make short runners and haven't for a couple years.

I only mentioned cams because a short runner intake needs them to show big gains. I never mentioned that I sold cams.

There was no intention to promote any business in my response. Why would I state there is little to gain with ported intakes if I was trying to sell one. I'm all about bang for the buck and given my experience with ported intakes I can honestly say there is little performance to be gained by adding one. A short runner however will add some performance but only if it's combined with cams having more duration. I've seen short runners increase power above 6000rpm but at the track they've resulted in zero decrease in ET or increase in MPH. For ET lower and MPH to be higher the power gain has to be much greater up top or begin much earlier in the powerband; a gain of 15hp up top will do little. A 10hp increase in average power over the rpm range seen in the 1/4 mile will be much more productive than a 20hp peak increase combined with no gain below 6000. I've seen this with both B and C head short runner intakes.

Just trying to be realistic here and save people some hard earned cash.
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Old 04-15-2018, 09:34 PM   #19
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Guess I am a little late here but I found this thread interesting.

I have an stock 03 Mach 1 that put down a best of 262 rwhp and 292 rwtq. But the dyno operator was specific to tell me that my car was running "very rich" and that I would pick up some power with a tune and thin out the mixture a little.

Would anyone doubt this?

Thanks.
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Old 05-08-2018, 03:58 PM   #20
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

I wouldn't doubt that...maybe 10HP or so.
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Old 06-07-2018, 10:54 AM   #21
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

My tuner told me the same. (These cars are very well calibrated from the factory) If I recall, I dynod 299/313 with a K&N intake, Bassani OR x-pipe, Borla exhaust, and tune.
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Old 06-07-2018, 02:23 PM   #22
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Yeah just as an update, I'm using my old SCT X4 right now to keep the CEL off after the H-pipe installation, and I've decided to wait until this fall or maybe next spring to get a dyno tune. I'm exploring the possibility of going forced induction, so I may as well decide on that before dropping big dyno money.

This thing runs like a scalded dog already...
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Old 06-07-2018, 07:48 PM   #23
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

In talking a long time ago to the former Ford engineer who tuned this car, it was already aggressively set, which is exactly what some of the other folks shared regarding just attempting a tune-only change.

Ford did good on this engine in stock form. Of course, your results may vary as soon as you get into other changes.
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Old 06-11-2018, 04:24 PM   #24
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

Had another conversation with our dyno tech today while my buddy was getting his '08 GT tuned (it made 494 wheel horsepower with a Paxton kit) and the tuner reiterated that the Mach 1 calibration is very very good. He usually doesn't see much if any gain with them. He also said mods like CAIs, etc. usually result in little or no gain. He told me that one time, he had a guy come in with a mild set of cams and the cams made 50 horsepower on the dyno which really shocked him. But aside from cracking the engine open there's just not much meat left on the bone with a Mach 1.
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Old 06-12-2018, 05:15 PM   #25
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Re: My tuner says you can't get much more

If you really want to wake it up gears are the answer. 3.90s or my favorite 4.30s but of course there is the MPG thing
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