Newb question about tunes.....etc

[SkipBuxton]

I have searched and lurked on here long enough.......and I really cant answer my question. When you get a tuner to do a custom tune and a dyno pull - Do they load the tune on the cars PCM - or is a seperate chip (like a piggyback)?

And one other question - If I were to get a mail order tune for my car......do I have to have a handheld to load it or is it a seperate device? I guess I am still stuck in the fox age of piggybacks.........but I have gained a ton of knowledge from this site and learn more each day :thumbsup:

 

[I8URZ28]

I believe if you get a mail order tune you need hand held(SCT/Predator) to pull it off your computer and Download it to your car.

 

[ChicagoMike]

You can do a mail order chip as well. There is a slot for another chip that overrides the stock chip. It will 100% void your warranty though if you chip it, because you have to scrape off the coating over the 2nd chip bay next to the stock one.

Cool thing about a chip is you can change your tune on the fly and store more than 3 tunes.

With a handheld flasher, you are limited to 3 tunes plus your stock one. Then to flash, you have to connect the device each time you want to change your tune and it takes a couple of minutes.

Buy the handheld flasher from your tuner. If they need to tweak it later, they can email you tune files which can be downloaded into your handheld tuner. Or you can do a mail order chip, but you can't flash your own chip without the stuff to flash the chip - not sure how much that stuff is.

 

[burnzilla]

Get your car tuned right there and then when/if you get it dynoed...
Its the best way, and you only have to do it once.
( well, until you mod to the point where another tune is needed )
Just my .02