dyno tune vs. PMS

[670 of 4993]

Hey guys, i finally worked out the small kinks and its time to retune. I was thinking, for the money i can pick up a decent 3rd or 4th gen PMS on corral or something for the price of 1 or 2 good dyno tunes. I'm a rookie with piggy backs like this, so is it worth it?

 

[badvenm]

Just my opinion, but unless your going to buy a fast or big stuff get someone to dyno tune and a chip burned using a wide band. PMS and Tweecer aren't worth the money.

 

[670 of 4993]

i hear you. but theres 2 factors that are giving me hell haha. The first is i dont trust any of the tuners up here in new england. the last 2 have pretty much murdered my car :fm: Second is money. I dont have money for something like a standalone :bash:

 

[carguy19]

Just my opinion, but unless your going to buy a fast or big stuff get someone to dyno tune and a chip burned using a wide band. PMS and Tweecer aren't worth the money.

Totally disagree. The PMS does a great job for both street and track applications and some of the fastest cars in the US are tuned with PMS. Its way more user friendly then fast or big stuff and can be tuned easily with the right tools by someone that has limited knowledge of tuning and work great.

 

[carguy19]

i hear you. but theres 2 factors that are giving me hell haha. The first is i dont trust any of the tuners up here in new england. the last 2 have pretty much murdered my car :fm: Second is money. I dont have money for something like a standalone :bash:

670, I can hook you up with a great tuner in NJ if you get a PMS and want to travel to NJ. He's a record-holder for NMRA and knows how to tune simple street cars to 8 second monsters.

Let me know.... anything I can do to help out.

 

[carrew]

I went down this road. PMS is great if your a racer trying to squeeze every little bit out of the car. Also if you enjoy sitting at the local BP for 10 minutes while the car comes up to temp and adjust it for evening cruise.

Now if you just want to climb in your car and go to dinner, go the test and tune night, or just go for a cruise. I then recommend just getting a custom tune done and be done with it.

Now if you are planning for more mods or slowly adding mods a PMS is a benefit since you can adjust the tune for each mod. Where a custom tune would require a new tune for each new mod added.

Pending on which PMS you get at times the computer will reprogram itself back to a stock tune. But you just have to upload the tune back in which is no big deal.

I prefer the custom tune, because I just like jumping in the car and driving it. I don't have to learn or adjust it everytime I go out.

 

[carguy19]

I went down this road. PMS is great if your a racer trying to squeeze every little bit out of the car. Also if you enjoy sitting at the local BP for 10 minutes while the car comes up to temp and adjust it for evening cruise.

Now if you just want to climb in your car and go to dinner, go the test and tune night, or just go for a cruise. I then recommend just getting a custom tune done and be done with it.

Now if you are planning for more mods or slowly adding mods a PMS is a benefit since you can adjust the tune for each mod. Where a custom tune would require a new tune for each new mod added.

Pending on which PMS you get at times the computer will reprogram itself back to a stock tune. But you just have to upload the tune back in which is no big deal.

I prefer the custom tune, because I just like jumping in the car and driving it. I don't have to learn or adjust it everytime I go out.

My PMS was tuned once and I havent touched it in 3 years. Never reset or reverted back to a stock tune. I never had to make weather adjustments either. If you use all the tools that are available with the system (the map sensor, datalogging and wideband) its pretty much foolproof. To each their own though I guess.

 

[buddha93]

The only real difference between the PMS and a custom chip is that the PMS can be reprogrammed by you, the car's owner. If you make a change to your combination, this is where it's worth it's weight in gold.

Now, if your never going to change a thing, then by all means go the chip route. They work great and you won't have any issues with them. Just be prepared to shell out more change if you want it reflashed after a few engine mods.

I've had my PMS on two differnt cars and 3 engine combinations. No regrets here!

 

[MG_93]

My PMS was tuned once and I havent touched it in 3 years. Never reset or reverted back to a stock tune. I never had to make weather adjustments either. If you use all the tools that are available with the system (the map sensor, datalogging and wideband) its pretty much foolproof. To each their own though I guess.

Totally agree with the above statement. I have had the PMS/UEGO 2000/map sensor since 2004 and it easily pays for itself even buying it brand new assuming you mod your car (which it obviously looks like you do). It's really easy to learn and there are several forums that you can find tuning information on (just do a google search).

The UEGO (wideband) has 3 minute recordability/playback so you can get away with that for a while until you get the datalogging software and a laptop.

These are just the obvious facts about it, but one of the best things about tuning your own vehicle is the amount of knowledge you will gain. Don't waste your money dyno tuning after every mod, get the PMS setup.

 

[hi_po_heads]

i have 2 cars with pms 4 and i love it. never had any problems with them, even took one car to anderson for a dyno tune. the pms is very easy to learn and use, adjust on the go,and save up to 3 tunes.