My tuner says you can't get much more

[AlloyPony]

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.

[DSG2003Mach1]

I wanna say you might be able to get into that 10-15hp range but there really isnt a ton left

[311-420]

Your tuner is right, there's not a lot to be gained with tuning until headers, ported intake etc

[AlloyPony]

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.

[SchwermoRacing]

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.

[FordMan]

About the best I got from mine was reaching the advertised HP.

[na svt]

Originally Posted by 311-420

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.

[na svt]

A good dyno tune is worth the investment, even if stock.

[311-420]

Originally Posted by na svt

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?

Originally Posted by na svt

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.