Tuning Between Manufactures

[Snorlax27]

Hello all! I know this is a very generalized question and apologies for potentially opening up a can of worms, but is tuning between car manufacturers the same? I’m fairly new to tuning so please bare with me.

I understand that air/ fuel ratios and timing are contributing factors to maximizing power in a tune, but does tuning vary between manufacturers (I.E. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Ford, etc)? The reason I ask is because I’m doing research on EcuTek tuners, and a majority of the tuners I have found locally, in Northern California, are Subaru specialists. Is there really a difference between say tuning a WRX vs a Supra? Is it all just in the numbers?

Thanks for any feedback!

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[CC²]

The Supra ECU is fairly sophisticated. If the tuner has not spent a fair bit of time working with these ECU's/cars already, you will not get your moneys worth out of the tune. Any tuner can adjust timing and afr/boost, but theres alot more to do on this car.... Why not just e-tune with one of the already well known guys? Get much better results, save money, keep engine happy etc... E-tuning is pretty easy to do especially since you can log ECUTEK with your cell phone and send logs straight out to tuner from there...

 

[Ultimateone]

Hello all! I know this is a very generalized question and apologies for potentially opening up a can of worms, but is tuning between car manufacturers the same? I’m fairly new to tuning so please bare with me.

I understand that air/ fuel ratios and timing are contributing factors to maximizing power in a tune, but does tuning vary between manufacturers (I.E. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Ford, etc)? The reason I ask is because I’m doing research on EcuTek tuners, and a majority of the tuners I have found locally, in Northern California, are Subaru specialists. Is there really a difference between say tuning a WRX vs a Supra? Is it all just in the numbers?

Thanks for any feedback!

You should be looking for shops that tuned BMW motors, it's basically very similar for tuning.

 

[Snorlax27]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it.

The Supra ECU is fairly sophisticated. If the tuner has not spent a fair bit of time working with these ECU's/cars already, you will not get your moneys worth out of the tune. Any tuner can adjust timing and afr/boost, but theres alot more to do on this car.... Why not just e-tune with one of the already well known guys? Get much better results, save money, keep engine happy etc... E-tuning is pretty easy to do especially since you can log ECUTEK with your cell phone and send logs straight out to tuner from there...

That makes a lot of sense. The reason I’d love to work with someone locally is so I can literally go to the shop and have a dyno accessible. Something about a brick and mortar place to go to just sits well with me. I have heard amazing things from e-tunes and I think from a piece of mind standpoint, I might just go that route. When the time comes I’ll look at a Botti tune or Marin tune.

You should be looking for shops that tuned BMW motors, it's basically very similar for tuning.

That would be my preference, but searching for a tuner on the EcuTek website shows most shops tuning Subaru’s or similar cars. These same shops also incidentally work on BMWs/ Supras but they’re too far and few in between.

 

[KillxPoint]

Hello all! I know this is a very generalized question and apologies for potentially opening up a can of worms, but is tuning between car manufacturers the same? I’m fairly new to tuning so please bare with me.

I understand that air/ fuel ratios and timing are contributing factors to maximizing power in a tune, but does tuning vary between manufacturers (I.E. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Ford, etc)? The reason I ask is because I’m doing research on EcuTek tuners, and a majority of the tuners I have found locally, in Northern California, are Subaru specialists. Is there really a difference between say tuning a WRX vs a Supra? Is it all just in the numbers?

Thanks for any feedback!

There is a shop that has a dyno and work with tuners all over in our area called overkill performance. We should roll up there together and see if they do group discounts haha

 

[Snorlax27]

There is a shop that has a dyno and work with tuners all over in our area called overkill performance. We should roll up there together and see if they do group discounts haha

I was actually looking at snail performance up in Auburn. They have fantastic reviews but most of their tunes are on Subaru’s. It does look like they rent out their dyno as well, so if we ever etune, that would be a good compromise.

 

[KillxPoint]

I was actually looking at snail performance up in Auburn. They have fantastic reviews but most of their tunes are on Subaru’s. It does look like they rent out their dyno as well, so if we ever etune, that would be a good compromise.

Im talking with @Marin@GoodSpeed about getting a ecutek tune through him.

 

[Snorlax27]

Im talking with @Marin@GoodSpeed about getting a ecutek tune through him.

Awesome, he was actually the first one I wanted to reach out to because I heard his tunes are amazing. Let me khow your experience goes. I heard he’s out in Arizona but travels to California from time to time to tune and unlock ECUs.

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

Awesome, he was actually the first one I wanted to reach out to because I heard his tunes are amazing. Let me khow your experience goes. I heard he’s out in Arizona but travels to California from time to time to tune and unlock ECUs.

I am actually going to start planning my next California trip out early next week. I have a car that is unfinished in the bay area that I need to get up there and finish ASAP. As well as a handfull in SoCal. =D

 

[Snorlax27]

I am actually going to start planning my next California trip out early next week. I have a car that is unfinished in the bay area that I need to get up there and finish ASAP. As well as a handfull in SoCal. =D

Oh that’s awesome! Glad you came along this thread lol. I’m very tempted to want to start modding my car, but I’m just doing preliminary research until the time comes (aka when my warranty expires). I’ll definitely be on the lookout for you though! Heard great things

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

Oh that’s awesome! Glad you came along this thread lol. I’m very tempted to want to start modding my car, but I’m just doing preliminary research until the time comes (aka when my warranty expires). I’ll definitely be on the lookout for you though! Heard great things

Sounds good!

If you want to play warranty friendly an AMS catted down pipe + 2-3 gallons of E85 per tank is a way to pickup 20-40HP when stuck with ACN91. =D

No gaurantee's but the manual does state E25 is acceptable and iirc it states its acceptable to use for octane (its been a while since ive read it). So the car is compatible and this will get you past 93 octane, for very cheap!

 

[Snorlax27]

Sounds good!

If you want to play warranty friendly an AMS catted down pipe + 2-3 gallons of E85 per tank is a way to pickup 20-40HP when stuck with ACN91. =D

No gaurantee's but the manual does state E25 is acceptable and iirc it states its acceptable to use for octane (its been a while since ive read it). So the car is compatible and this will get you past 93 octane, for very cheap!

Oh that’s awesome. I was actually looking at an active autowerke Downpipe since they guarantee no check engine light. Also was going to pickup a flex fuel kit from burger tuning so I can monitor the e50 blend closely.

With catted downpipe, E50, and tune, what are the typical numbers we can expect Marin?

 

[Marin@MarinTuned]

Oh that’s awesome. I was actually looking at an active autowerke Downpipe since they guarantee no check engine light. Also was going to pickup a flex fuel kit from burger tuning so I can monitor the e50 blend closely.

With catted downpipe, E50, and tune, what are the typical numbers we can expect Marin?

Just a heads up. The Burger / fuel it tuning one does not work with ecutek or other tuning solutions. It is for view only. And I would recommend making new lines or checking with them to see if they have made any changes. A few members on the facebook groups reported some mild leaking on the plastic fittings. =(

Their controller works great for just monitoring though, and is quite affordable.

 

[Snorlax27]

Just a heads up. The Burger / fuel it tuning one does not work with ecutek or other tuning solutions. It is for view only. And I would recommend making new lines or checking with them to see if they have made any changes. A few members on the facebook groups reported some mild leaking on the plastic fittings. =(

Their controller works great for just monitoring though, and is quite affordable.

Thanks for the heads up! Is there a particular kit you’d recommend? I know Visconti and Titan have kits as well. Are these good alternatives?

 

[KillxPoint]

I to dont want my catted downpipe to throw any codes. What brand do you recommend?

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