[mustangandy190]

Hey everyone

I did my PI swap a while ago and I'm starting to wonder if i NEED a tune. The car is a 96 GT with a FULL swap (reman engine with PI heads, intake, etc.)

The tune is pretty costly and I know I would get the added bonus of a tune on top of setting the engine to the compression that it should be at. For me in small town Saskatchewan, the nearest tuning place is 2 1/2 hours away, and when we calculated it out, it was ranging from $600-$1000.

Then again, would I just be able to go to a local wrecker and try and find a computer from a 99-04 GT and swap it? It has the ignition of the 96 (coil packs). Will that really matter for the new computer? I would rather go this route since it is a LOT cheaper...

 

[zukman31]

I do not think the 99-04 computer will work on your car (And Im saying "I" do not think it will ) I would get a tuner and play with it some. Just the can tune should help you out. It made a differance on mine. Good luck...
Jimmy B...

 

[coopdog123]

i would also like to get some info on this. im getting ready for the swap myself, and if you can just switch computers ide be super stoked.

 

[mustangandy190]

zukman not to disagree with you, but when I called SCT, they told me no canned tune would get me the power I should be putting out. He said no basic tune on any programmer (diablosport, SCT xcalibrators, etc) is capable of changing the compression by that much, if at all.

And coopdog, are you doin a full PI swap or just the heads and intake?

Any more replies or knowledge on this topic would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[johnr2001]

a tune is not really going to do much for you for just a basic pi swap. I am doing one this weekend on a 98 using Hitech stage 2 cams. doing heads,cams,intake and upper plenum and tb. now this will probably need a tune to get the most out of it.

 

[coopdog123]

mustangandy, im doing the heads, intake, cams, what else is there? im keeping the stock bottom end if thats what you mean.

 

[mustangandy190]

mustangandy, im doing the heads, intake, cams, what else is there? im keeping the stock bottom end if thats what you mean.

My car has a entirely new long block, all stock parts.

 

[mustangandy190]

By tune I mean a dyno tune at a shop with a professional, not just a handheld tuner

 

[OrlyPorlyPie]

Just get a dyno tune, the computer we have was made for our cars, im not saying you cant use the other one but youd be better off getting a dyno tune, youll appreciate you did. And as for JOHNR, hi-tech stage 2 cams on a 98 with a p.i. swap your going to have to fly cut those pistons if you didnt already know.

 

[johnr2001]

Just get a dyno tune, the computer we have was made for our cars, im not saying you cant use the other one but youd be better off getting a dyno tune, youll appreciate you did. And as for JOHNR, hi-tech stage 2 cams on a 98 with a p.i. swap your going to have to fly cut those pistons if you didnt already know.

no need to fly cut the pistons just a little valve work....

I think you and I have already had this debate over on corrall unless it was someone else from miami?

 

[zukman31]

zukman not to disagree with you, but when I called SCT, they told me no canned tune would get me the power I should be putting out. He said no basic tune on any programmer (diablosport, SCT xcalibrators, etc) is capable of changing the compression by that much, if at all.

And coopdog, are you doin a full PI swap or just the heads and intake?

Any more replies or knowledge on this topic would be greatly appreciated!!

I do agree that a canned tune will not get the full potential that a dyno pull and a custom tune will do, but If you are running a stock ECU with no change at all a canned tune will pick up your performance. If you want the best you can get you will have to take it to a tuner and get a custom one made...
Good luck and let us know what you do and the power increase...
Jimmy B...

 

[mustangandy190]

I do agree that a canned tune will not get the full potential that a dyno pull and a custom tune will do, but If you are running a stock ECU with no change at all a canned tune will pick up your performance. If you want the best you can get you will have to take it to a tuner and get a custom one made...
Good luck and let us know what you do and the power increase...
Jimmy B...

I know what you're saying,and i agree. I am just wondering if I can save some money and get a 99-04 ECU to bump up the compression to what it should be?

 

[racin366]

Ok, just to set this straight, the tune does not have anything to do with the compression!!!! That is determined mechanically, ie, by the heads, bore, stroke, piston height and shape, combustion chamber size, and valve shape. It is defined us unswept volume (piston at BDC) vs swept volume (piston at TDC), that's also why overboring an engine INCREASES the compression. The tune will determine how the enigne makes use of itself by way of the fuel and ignition maps. There is a lot of gains to be had there, not just in power, but reliability, longevity, efficiency... Getting a tune would be a good idea, but a tune for a PI engine would help to begin with. If you already have a tuner you may be able to download a PI tune from the manufacturer's website and install, or there are some people, like Scott Beer, who can give you a custom tune for around $75. The custom tune isn't as good as a dyno tune, nothing is, but better than the canned tune, they are pretty good and customized to the mods and useage of the car.