$600 dyno tune?
#11
02-12-2018, 09:12 AM
Club Member
So I've played with my mapping and have a good running engine with a significant amount of mods. I don't plan on doing any engine work for a few years at least and am looking at seeing what a tuner can do for me. I have a limited number of tuners in my area and the best one I know within 4 hours is charging almost $600. Anyone who has had a tune done, what kind of price have you paid for a good dyno tune?
#12
02-12-2018, 09:24 AM
#13
02-12-2018, 09:40 AM
The Screamin Eagle Race Tuner
No, it's good info and I hear what you are saying. When I got the bike it came with the race tuner so I luckily have been able to adjust the timing and fuel table along the way myself. It's been a learning process, but after I felt comfortable with making adjustments I started the engine work and have dialed in three times now with data runs but I figure an experienced tuner could get more out of it than I could. I don't want to go that route until I reach my engine end point which my initial build I have done. It is a reliable road bike that handles well and has a good boost in performance. The only place to go now is increasing air flow with a larger throttle body, valves, and a higher lift cam and increasing compression by milling the heads. I look at the price of it and the risk of running hotter and the strain with the higher lift and doubt I really want to take that gamble and spend that much money for another 10 or 20 HP. I will probably just send it to the dyno but every once in a while I wonder what more could I do.
IMO it is most important to have a clear goal and decide which engine builder to listen to and stick with it to the end. Do not get part way into the build then decide to alter the build to fit your new goal. That rarely, if ever, works out as expected.
You can have a great riding bike with stage 1 or 2. Built with low rpm torque in mind, cool running, and reliable.
Or you can choose to build a high compression fire breather. Have a noted engine builder assemble a great build for you! Do not assemble an engine formula from forum posts. 1000’s of forum members with 1000’s of options and combinations to offer up. Again, pick your builder, listen to him not the forums or pals or the magazine articles.
Too many folks get caught up in all the marketing and either don’t pick the best combos for their actual riding style or change the formula as they go.
Either way results are rarely as assumed/expected.
The other mistake I see all too often, is a shop builds a great running, powerful engine based on experience with a given formula of parts that work exceptionally well together. Ie: 128hp/122tq from a little 95” TC on pump 91octane.
That’s a bitchin’ 95”er and to assume a “latest” cam change, or a “latest” pipe change, or more compression, or even a different set of heads will be a worthwhile change powerwise is rarely the case.
What you should be clear with is that any change you make to the air going through the engine needs to have the fueling and timing recalibrated (tuned) for those changes. And yes, even stock stage1 bikes benefit from recalibration simply due to the plethora of variables induced from production tolerances.
It’s prolly a lot more information than you asked for but you are not alone with your thinking and I just hope my comments are taken in the spirit intended.
Bob
You can have a great riding bike with stage 1 or 2. Built with low rpm torque in mind, cool running, and reliable.
Or you can choose to build a high compression fire breather. Have a noted engine builder assemble a great build for you! Do not assemble an engine formula from forum posts. 1000’s of forum members with 1000’s of options and combinations to offer up. Again, pick your builder, listen to him not the forums or pals or the magazine articles.
Too many folks get caught up in all the marketing and either don’t pick the best combos for their actual riding style or change the formula as they go.
Either way results are rarely as assumed/expected.
The other mistake I see all too often, is a shop builds a great running, powerful engine based on experience with a given formula of parts that work exceptionally well together. Ie: 128hp/122tq from a little 95” TC on pump 91octane.
That’s a bitchin’ 95”er and to assume a “latest” cam change, or a “latest” pipe change, or more compression, or even a different set of heads will be a worthwhile change powerwise is rarely the case.
What you should be clear with is that any change you make to the air going through the engine needs to have the fueling and timing recalibrated (tuned) for those changes. And yes, even stock stage1 bikes benefit from recalibration simply due to the plethora of variables induced from production tolerances.
It’s prolly a lot more information than you asked for but you are not alone with your thinking and I just hope my comments are taken in the spirit intended.
Bob
#14
02-12-2018, 10:43 AM
Club Member
Awesome, bought my bike at Big Barn a few miles away from there. Been looking to get my 110 dyno'd and looks like they might fit the bill. Thanks.
#15
02-12-2018, 09:12 PM
It's really not about price (although you usually get what you pay for). Which tuner (TTS, PowerVision, Thundermax) are you planning to use to do the tune? Dyno tuners are not that rare but, good ones are. If you don't get a guy who knows what he's doing with the tuner you have, you are wasting your money. For my S&S 111 build, I decided I was going for the TTS because it had the capability to do more to the ECM than the other options. Then I contacted TTS to see who they recommended. Find out who the manufacturer of your tuning hardware recommends in your area and go with that. As I said, there are a lot of folks claiming to do a dyno tune that just go through the motions because they are not knowledgeable enough. Unfortunately, you are marginally better off after their tune than you were before.
Sorry, just saw you're using SERT. That limits your options but, the closest to that tuner is the TTS since the guy who owns the company worked for HD on the SERT. Find a good tuner who know TTS and ask if he can do a SERT tune.
Sorry, just saw you're using SERT. That limits your options but, the closest to that tuner is the TTS since the guy who owns the company worked for HD on the SERT. Find a good tuner who know TTS and ask if he can do a SERT tune.
Last edited by 99Birdman; 02-12-2018 at 09:17 PM.
#16
02-13-2018, 08:43 AM
#17
02-13-2018, 11:30 AM
IMO the limiting factor on a tune should not be the knowledge of the tuner using the product. If that is the case. You found yourself a program operator and not a tuner. The recipe for VE based tuning is the same with all of them. VE's got mapped and spark set correctly for many of years before any auto tune, smart tune, vtune ever hit the market. Some of these programs are better than others but if one truly knew what they were doing and had the underlying concept of VE tuning. The limiting factor will be the options of tables in the tuning program, and how much the tuner will allow you to go away from the starting calibration.
As for as price. I let my local market dictate that. If a potential customer think that my price is too high but my schedule is out 3 weeks for tuning work. I remind and suggest they look at the other 3-4 dealers in the STL area that also have dynos. Because they are cheaper, and if they want to save money on their tune. My Speed Shop might not be the best place for them. Never any hard feeling from my end.
As for as price. I let my local market dictate that. If a potential customer think that my price is too high but my schedule is out 3 weeks for tuning work. I remind and suggest they look at the other 3-4 dealers in the STL area that also have dynos. Because they are cheaper, and if they want to save money on their tune. My Speed Shop might not be the best place for them. Never any hard feeling from my end.
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