Hey all,
I am trying to sell my car, but the tune is not very well. The AFRs are all over the place and it just runs like @!#$.
Anyway, I am considering keeping the car because I have owned it for 10 years and put alot of work into it & never really got to drive it. I know I'll never really get what I want for it...
Anyway, I contacted a local guy who specializes in dyno tuning. They do work w/ all types of tuning software w/ HPTuners being one of them. The guy guarantees his work & says he can get my car running good..
Only problem, he wants AT LEAST $595 for the dynotune... I dont know if extra charges are gonna come around, maybe I need bigger injectors or something needs to be changed etc..
Is $600 too much to charge for tuning someones car??
2.4L Manual, Built motor, T3 super60 turbo, Intercooled, innovate wideband. Hoping to run about 12-15lbs.
Let me know what you think !!
Thanks!!!
500 is pretty much a standard tuning rate for boosted cars in my area.
(At least) $595 is what's scary. If he would say a max of $595 that would be a little on the high side, but for a good tune that is not a ridiculous price. I wouldn't pay more than that man. Your close to philly , I'm sure you can shop around for a reputable hp tuners oriented shop. I love the car by the way .
Here is a couple shops you might wanna check. Phoenix is about an hour from you it looks like. And they are very familiar with hptuners.
phoenixperformance
Or try these guys
harrisspeedworks
the guy here only charges about 400 for a dyno tune. but everything is cheap where i live
Well... He didnt say the words "at least"... Those are my words..
I told him what I had done.. He just said "I will tune your car for $595".
We all know theres gonna be some extra costs involved. I just dont want this to get into the 800-900 range, Its not going to make my car that more valuable and its money I could spend elsewhere..
On the other hand, I love this @!#$ car and I never even really got to drive it... I know I'll be taking a HUGE hit if I sell it, but its tough to sell a car that doesnt run right.. I just dont think Im getting an extra $1000 outta it if it runs good or not.
We spoke on the phone today & discussed some things.. He cant give a solid price without lookin under the hood, and I fully understand where hes coming from.. Its just alot of cash to drop... Im just afraid hes gonna tell me I need bigger injectors and have it run an additional $300, install, new plugs, this, that etc.. OOPH !!
On a side note... Do you guys think 36lb injectors would be sufficient to run 12-14lbs through a T3 turbo???
my 2 cents...
I think you could run 10~12 lbs on 36# or 37# injectors. If you're running more like 14 or 15 psi you may want to bump up injectors so they're not running high duty cycle on boost.
I happen to know just the guy with some darn good injectors - check my classified (RC-Injection set).
I would just find a guy or friend that can do some good road tuning with HP tuners for a couple hundred bucks (considering time and cost of credits). You should be able to get it running pretty decent and conservative on the road tune. At least then you can drive it and/or sell it and just let the buyer know it's road tuned - not dyno tuned and you're not dropping $1000 to sell it.
If you know you're going to keep it for sure, then spend the money.
I normally charge $450 for a boosted Jbody tune, plus the dyno time fee. Other cars I charge less for, but they don't take as long to tune as the Jbodies... I also include touch up tunes at no extra charge (unless major mods have changed and I have to start from scratch)..... This does not include labor for other repairs or work that needs to be done prior to tuning. Also, keep in mind that most tuners out there have not touched Jbody PCMs and they get frustrated when they look at it. Might ask him to pull the file (this does not cost anything to do) and see if the tuner is comfortable doing it 1st.....
P&P Tuning
420.5whp / 359.8wtq
Thanks for the info... I have paid a tuner to come down to my area twice last summer, we spent pretty much a full day on it, but we were using the histograms to tune it. The commanded AFR of the car kept jumping around, so that was throwing the whole table off... Its not really any better off than when I started. We couldnt figure out what was causing it to act goofy, so we got nowhere.
I got fed up w/ the car and parked it last summer. I need to move outta my shop and Im tired of the car going to waste. Im going to get it tuned.
I just ordered some Rc550 injectors. I checked the classifieds, but came up empty. I got a brand new set off eBay for $250.
Im gonna install those, get my registration & insurance up to date & take it somewhere..
Not sure if Im gonna go w/ the guy I was talking to though, I spoke w/ a few people down @ my shop & one of them had taken a Malibu to him w/ a procharger on it and from what I hear was pretty pissed w/ the svc. I have to speak to owner to hear it first.
Anybody else interested in tuning it?? Near Philly.
I checked out the phoenix performance site- didnt really see anything about tuning. But I gotta call.
just a heads up i was running 32lb on 14psi injectors were maxed now on 42lb and its perfect alot of room left i would say go atleast 42lb
How soon are you looking to get it done? I'm busy with my car and family stuff, but if you can drive up to me (if the car is drivable), i'll help you out for the cost of credits. Although if you already have HPT, I'd do it for the fun of it
Mecahnically it's working all right? Wiring and all sensors including WBO2 are working ok? If so we could get it street tuned in couple hours.
I was the guy that went down to work on it last summer, the problem the car is having is that when you turn it on the commanded AFR is in the 13s, nothing seems to be able to make it go to 14.7, even a completely stock Z24 flash still caused it to command 13s during the entire drive. Couldnt figure it out, thought possibly it was a primary 02 sensor but I believe he already replaced this.
I can provide more detail I think I still have the info on my lappy
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
Yeah... The car is just an overall pain in the ass now.. I have to get out of my shop @ the end of September and I need this car outta there.
Its really sharp and a blast to drive- but i pretty much ruined it by turboing it. I was only trying to make it better..
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I'm not going to be taking the car to the guy that quoted me the price. I spoke w/ a buddy from down my shop & he said the guy "tried" to tune his car 3 times and he just didnt know what he was doing, giving him the runaround etc.. So- hes out.
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On a side note, I picked up a set of RC 550cc injectors. I figure these should be enough to get the fueling I need.
I appreciate all offers, but the other problem w/ the car is the inspection. I let it run out last year, I also let the registration drop last year... So I can reregister it, but I dont think Im going to be able to get some stickers on there because of the way it runs. W/O stickers, I can't really drive it around tuning it and without tuning it, I can't really drive it around !! Its a deadly cycle.
I need to limp it somewhere & just drop it off and tell em to call me when its done.
