Scotty, that really doesn't sound too bad. even the part about leaving it a few days. The speed shop here gets $125.00/hr with them tuning. no further than jet, squirter and timing changes as far as I know and if you don't have a Holley or equivalent don't bother. The only question is, are you comfortable enough tuning and tweaking on your own to save the money? I'm starting to get the hang of it myself, but I still don't have a sniffer to tell me if I'm lean at part throttle, moderate load 3000RPM. (just an example) If you decide to do that, don't even dink with trying to get it close before you bring it to them. Just tell them what you want and let them have at it. Give them a max RPM so you don't have to sweep up any connecting rods though.
I agree with number two if they know what they are doing is a decent deal. It takes time to tune a car right. You can either do it there or at the track over several weeks. It cost 15.00 bucks to run at the track for test and tune, plus gas and transportation time, your labor, buying the parts etc..At my track you are lucky to get 3 runs in on a busy night and it gets dark which makes it hard to work on your car. So it would take at least 3 trips if you get lucky. However, more than likely several trips to get it dialed in for everyday use. If you race you may need to tune every time you race to accommodate weather changes/elevation changes etc.... If you are going to race occasionally I recommend you let them do a basic tune. They can get the fuel set right for all throttle positions from idle to wide open. Also the timing set for ease of starting and maximum performance for your personal needs. You can do it yourself but unless you have all the right equipment it is all based on time slips and plug readings. Be honest to the tuners for the usage of the car though. Don't tell them to do a full race tune if you plan on driving it on a regular basis, as it will not likely be reliable for everyday driving,due to hard starting, overheating etc.....
I would just buy a wideband with datalogging capabilites and an ebay laptop and save the dough, but I am kind of a do-it-mah-danged-selfer
I have done plenty of DIY. But as badmav said, it would take several trips to the track (or really pissed off neighbors) to get it right. It is not for a lack of knowledge but more of a lack of time and available "testing areas" The shop sponsors several cars and runs two of their own at the local track. i trust them
You also need to check what kind of dyno they are using. Some dynos are set up to simulate aero drag and weight of the car. This makes for a big difference in tuning, especially for timing and carb setup. But many will just plot hp/torque numbers which will usually be higher but a little less helpful for tuning purposes. Not that they are useless but just not as comprehensive and driveability may not be as good.
Nope. I thought you were suggesting my horsepower at 240. Then I saw where you said you were guessing yours at 240
There is typically an additional charge to dyno WITH a wide-band to check air/fuel ratio and that's a must to get the tune right Also, most dyno shops have what they call a "dyno day" occasionaly, where they will get a car club or a good amount of cars prepaid and you'll get a cheaper rate. I had to have my modded '03 Cobra dyno-tuned and it was $125 for an hour with wide-band, included laptop tuning and I got 5 pulls with adjustments for each run until it was spot on. $475 seems a bit high to me, may want to check another shop or two for comparison
Hmmmm. I would find a 4 lane. One or two WOT blasts while logging, take it home, change jets, timing, etc. back to the 4 lane for a couple more blasts. 2 or three times out and you should be set. Plus if you decide to change HCI, add Nitrous or a blower later, you can tune it again for free. Then again you would have to watch for CHP if you do this Sure is fun though. :bananaman
Now that you mention it, that is a good point. This is less money and can definately allow you to dial it in. http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?CP=1&part=INN-3724&N=0&Ntt=lm-1&Ntk=KeywordSearch&rsview=sku&Ns=
