Q: When you say dyno AND street tune, what do you mean?
A: Unlike most other shops, we have a two stage tuning process.
First we put the vehicle on the dyno and get wide open throttle dialed in. We're going to make some immediate changes to fueling and spark and then fine tune it from there. Once we are satisfied with the WOT tuning we'll move into the second stage which is street tuning.
Street tuning is exactly what it sounds like. We're going to drive your car on the street. Why? The truth is there is no substitute for the street. You drive your car on the street every day, you don't drive it on the dyno. We'll be adjusting your part throttle fueling, idle, etc and we will also be testing Wide Open Throttle in order to make sure what we did on the dyno, is working on the street. This is a complete tune, and its also how we got our name, Complete Street Performance.
Q: What exactly do you tune on my car?
A: We're going to tune many different aspects of your tune.
- Wide Open Throttle Fueling
- Part Throttle Fueling
- Spark Timing
- Skip Shift Elimination (for manuals)
- Shifting Patterns (for automatics)
- Intake Air Temperature Settings
- Torque Management
- Certain Engine Codes
- Idle Tuning for Cammed Cars
- Rev Limiter Raising for certain cars
- And Much More...
Q: I'm having my car tuned, what should I do to get her ready?
A: You'll want to do a few things in order to prepare your car.
1) CHECK ENGINE CODES. Some aren't a big deal, others are. Best practice would be to tell us which codes you have ahead of time. If you can't read your codes, take a little trip to your local parts store (such as Advanced Auto Parts). They will read your codes for free. Be sure to get the actual code numbers such as "P0106".
2) GET GAS. Bring your car with at least half tank of whatever octane fuel you plan to run at minimum. If you'll only put 93 octane in, fill her up with that. If you will sometimes run 91 - Do that. You don't want to run race gas for the tune, and then fill her up with 93 octane. This could cause major damage.
FLEX FUEL: If we are doing a Flex Fuel tune, please bring the car with LESS than 1/4 of a tank of gas (but not empty) and also bring 10 gallons of E85. That way we can drain whats left and fill up with E85 for a solid percentage. If you want to keep your gas, bring a container(s) to drain it into.
3) CHECK FLUID LEVELS. For example, you don't want to be dynoing your car if you are running low on oil.
4) STRONG BATTERY. When we're tuning a car, having a battery that doesn't go dead is very important. So if your battery is weak, replace it.
5) STREET READY. Make sure your car is able to be driven on the street safely. When we're programming the car, we will be tuning on both the dyno and street. You'll want to make sure your car has a registration and insurance and isn't going to kill us.
Q: Will disconnecting the battery remove my tune?
A: Nope. The only way the tune will disappear is if the dealer, or someone else, flashes over it. Resetting the battery will reset your fuel trims, emission readiness codes though, and a couple other things that the car learns. They will generate back though.
Q: I currently have a handheld tuner, should I bring it?
A: Yes, you'll want to bring it so I can unlock it while doing the tune. Then you can sell it. You won't need it/want it after we tune it.
Q: Do you tune for nitrous?
A: Of course we do! However, we have requirements. You will need the following for us to tune it:
- Pressure Gauge
- Window Switch
- Bottle Heater Regulated by Pressure Switch - Installed Before Bottle Valve
- Full bottle
We want to tune it with full bottle pressure as that is a major safety issue if you are running less when tuning, and then more afterwards. If we tuned it with less than full pressure, it will likely run lean with full pressure. The window switch is for your safety - if you are spraying nitrous, it could spray right through the rev limiter and do major damage, or through a shift and pop the transmission. The window switch will ensure that the nitrous is sprayed an an acceptable "window" and not damage the motor. The bottle heater is a must to regulate the pressure, and the pressure switch needs to be installed before the bottle's valve so it always gets the right data, not just when the bottle is open. If installed after the bottle's valve, you can over pressurize the bottle due to a bad signal to the switch. This is all for your car's safety. We aim to have your car as consistant as possible.
Q: I tow with my truck, any special instructions?
A: Depending how much you are towing, we recommend a couple different things. For example, we may want to tune you on 87 or 89 octane, and then when you tow, bump it to 93. Or we may tune the timing to be less aggressive. Or a combination. Best practice here would be to call/e-mail us with your setup and what you plan to do with it a few days before we tune it.
Q: I have an appointment but may need to cancel, what do I do?
A: Great news, tune rescheduling is allowed! However, we have some rules:
- If you need to reschedule, there is no issue if you do so with at least 3 business days notice.
- If you need to reschedule within 3 business days, a non-refundable payment of $100 will be required to reserve the new appointment. It will be credited towards the tuning for that appointment only.
- If the second (or any subsequent) appointment needs to be rescheduled, or any tune appointment is missed or cancelled on the same day, a non-refundable payment equal to the full price of the tune will be required to reserve the new appointment time. The payment will be credited towards the tuning for that appointment only.
- Appointments cancelled after hours on the business day before the appointment, will be considered a same day cancellation. For example, if a tune is Tuesday, Monday at 6:00 PM would not be enough notice and would be considered a same day cancellation. Or if the tune was Monday, the Friday before would not be enough notice and thus be considered same day.
- Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Mechanical failure, or failure to have the vehicle ready for tuning, is not considered a circumstance that would waive loss of an appointment deposit.