Stupid Tunning Question

[JonnyG]

As some may know my Z Perf. M6 is expected to get here in about a month. I have been developing my MOD list and it seems when doing bolt ons like exhaust CAI and like it makes sense to do some type of tune - turbos seem to need that unlike a Supercharger. My experience with tunes is send the ECU out get a new unlocked one with tune added and if needed get a tuner either to modify or uplaod and update from original provider and move on.

It seems with these cars you need to buy a tuner and then get for example a Sonic tune added. I was thinking of the JB4 tune due to fact of the different canned tunes and your done. I will not 1320 my car - maybe once or twice if someone rents a track day and its a social thing. Maybe go to the twisties if feeling so inclined. It will be driven daily in a spirited manner. I am know to just cruise along at 100+ for distances. I always run 93 octane. I would like to get speed limiters removed, improve throttle response, adjust boost moderatly and like.

So, one am I right on the tune thing and two given how I will mod and drive is something like the JB4 the "right" thing. Trying to avoid going to tuners and putting on dyno just to get it running correctly. The pricing for both isn't prohibitive just looking to get the best bang for the buck given what I will use the car for.

Appreciate the patience and any insight given.

 

[VR30Infection]

Hey JonnyG, No question is a stupid question My vote is for an ECUTEK tune all the way. You do not have to do a dyno tune. Remote tuning is done all the time with amazing results. I suggest SEB @ SpecialtyZ. You would receive your first tune which would be a conservative tune with some instructions on what your tuner wants to see from some data logging that is done with the app. Super simple. Then you get a revised tune. And so on until the tuner feels like he has nailed everything down. A good tuner will be looking to keep your baby healthy and safe while seeking to nail down the goals you and the tuner agree upon. A LOT of this has to do with one specific mod. Downpipes. The secondary or second half of them is the main culprit. or you can do full downpipes (more of a pain in the butt) . This one mod and a tune yield the biggest gain. Heat exchanger is great to keep you going without heat soaking quickly and having the car pull timing which pulls the power right out from under you. With ecutek the tuner has control over pretty much everything. JB4 is not as extensive. Even though you aren't planning on competing in any way, My vote is for Ecutek because timing and fueling and everything else can be adjusted for your exact car rather than just a blanket tune. Hope this is helpful.

 

[JonnyG]

Hey JonnyG, No question is a stupid question My vote is for an ECUTEK tune all the way. You do not have to do a dyno tune. Remote tuning is done all the time with amazing results. I suggest SEB @ SpecialtyZ. You would receive your first tune which would be a conservative tune with some instructions on what your tuner wants to see from some data logging that is done with the app. Super simple. Then you get a revised tune. And so on until the tuner feels like he has nailed everything down. A good tuner will be looking to keep your baby healthy and safe while seeking to nail down the goals you and the tuner agree upon. A LOT of this has to do with one specific mod. Downpipes. The secondary or second half of them is the main culprit. or you can do full downpipes (more of a pain in the butt) . This one mod and a tune yield the biggest gain. Heat exchanger is great to keep you going without heat soaking quickly and having the car pull timing which pulls the power right out from under you. With ecutek the tuner has control over pretty much everything. JB4 is not as extensive. Even though you aren't planning on competing in any way, My vote is for Ecutek because timing and fueling and everything else can be adjusted for your exact car rather than just a blanket tune. Hope this is helpful.

Thank you so much for the response. So to be clear - with this platform you but a ECUTEK which is fundamentally a license and some hardware but not "canned" tunes then a tuner such as who you suggested either in person or remotely sends you tune(s) that you upload to the ECUTEK that integrates with the ECU. So basically the ECUTEK is algorithim(s) that integrate with the ECU platform and allows the tuners to do their thing. ECUTEK you are suggesting and most do seems to be a preferred integration tool. Then its all about the tuner you choose.

So utimately it makes sense to find the tuner you want to work with and buy an inital "loaded" ECUTEK from them load it and then let them either get data logs to adjust and or update in person on a Dyno.

This differs from what I'm used to in as I said you either get a new unlocked ECU or get yours unlocked with a "canned" tune. The software is irrelavent it's the tuner you use.

Again, thank you for the answer - it seems with this platform a tune will be necessary with bolt on mods.

 

[VR30Infection]

Thank you so much for the response. So to be clear - with this platform you but a ECUTEK which is fundamentally a license and some hardware but not "canned" tunes then a tuner such as who you suggested either in person or remotely sends you tune(s) that you upload to the ECUTEK that integrates with the ECU. So basically the ECUTEK is algorithim(s) that integrate with the ECU platform and allows the tuners to do their thing. ECUTEK you are suggesting and most do seems to be a preferred integration tool. Then its all about the tuner you choose.

So utimately it makes sense to find the tuner you want to work with and buy an inital "loaded" ECUTEK from them load it and then let them either get data logs to adjust and or update in person on a Dyno.

This differs from what I'm used to in as I said you either get a new unlocked ECU or get yours unlocked with a "canned" tune. The software is irrelavent it's the tuner you use.

Again, thank you for the answer - it seems with this platform a tune will be necessary with bolt on mods.

Yes, all tuners are not the same. You could have 10 of the same car with similar mods all on Ecutek with 10 different people tuning the car and have multiple different outcomes.

I had a Q50 tuned and was having a bunch of issues. The car would just fall on its face passing on the freeway. like a fuel cut or something along those lines. Turns out the tuner I had was not all he was cracked up to be. I started reviewing the data logs myself (learning as I went along) and noticed a bunch of terrible cut and paste cells with areas where the "tuned" portion was missing the changed data. Looked very choppy. We went back and forth like 5 times and finally I asked him for my money back. He admitted to being very busy with cars on the dyno and just plain not having the time to iron my tune out. So he gave me back the tune money. I found Sebastian at Specialty Z through the Q forum and upon his review (for free at this point) he found a couple of major issues. I was having major boost spikes up around 24+ PSI. I was able to see what he was talking about. I hired him that day. He fixed all of the issues I was having with the prior tune and the car ran smooth as silk. We started from scratch with his base tune which was more boost than stock and revised timing and whatnot. Then we upped the boost more and ironed everything out. It was a great experience. Seb has been in the Nissan performance world from way back. It probably sounds like I'm a fan boy or something at this point. lol Not the case. He is just a down to earth nice guy that knows what he's doing. I am sure there are others out there that are also great at it, but I will be back to Specialty Z as soon as I make exhaust decisions. I'm also waiting to see Soho Motorsports Air to Air Intercooler kit before I do a larger heat exchanger. I would really love to get rid of the air to water setup..

 

[Mrdeep]

Yes, all tuners are not the same. You could have 10 of the same car with similar mods all on Ecutek with 10 different people tuning the car and have multiple different outcomes.

I had a Q50 tuned and was having a bunch of issues. The car would just fall on its face passing on the freeway. like a fuel cut or something along those lines. Turns out the tuner I had was not all he was cracked up to be. I started reviewing the data logs myself (learning as I went along) and noticed a bunch of terrible cut and paste cells with areas where the "tuned" portion was missing the changed data. Looked very choppy. We went back and forth like 5 times and finally I asked him for my money back. He admitted to being very busy with cars on the dyno and just plain not having the time to iron my tune out. So he gave me back the tune money. I found Sebastian at Specialty Z through the Q forum and upon his review (for free at this point) he found a couple of major issues. I was having major boost spikes up around 24+ PSI. I was able to see what he was talking about. I hired him that day. He fixed all of the issues I was having with the prior tune and the car ran smooth as silk. We started from scratch with his base tune which was more boost than stock and revised timing and whatnot. Then we upped the boost more and ironed everything out. It was a great experience. Seb has been in the Nissan performance world from way back. It probably sounds like I'm a fan boy or something at this point. lol Not the case. He is just a down to earth nice guy that knows what he's doing. I am sure there are others out there that are also great at it, but I will be back to Specialty Z as soon as I make exhaust decisions. I'm also waiting to see Soho Motorsports Air to Air Intercooler kit before I do a larger heat exchanger. I would really love to get rid of the air to water setup..

Perfect timing for me to see this post. Finishing my OEM+ build with Nismo CAI and track exhaust, and the MAP chatted down Pipes. I've seen the sonic tuned and Z1 ecutek packs, but hadn't heard of specialty Z. Appreciate the info above, and anyone else's recommendations!