Am I good??

[PonyExpress]

I seek all your expert opinions on my newly bought used manual '06 GT as I'm a first time Mustang owner and loving the car.

I pride myself on doing all my own installs and have added the following;
• K&N CAI
• Steeda throttle body spacer
• the "Royal Purple" treatment
• front strut brace
• axle-back exhuast

Given these add-ons, do I have to tune? I'm not crazy about spending $300+ for a tuner and another $300-400 for the tune. Is there a way to have a shop tune it without having to buy the tuner myself? I'm also considering an underdrive pulley. Should I? I currently just have the stock 3:55 gearing. What about a coil upgrade?

I need your guidance.

[atlanticbluestang]

I seek all your expert opinions on my newly bought used manual '06 GT as I'm a first time Mustang owner and loving the car.

I pride myself on doing all my own installs and have added the following;
• K&N CAI
• Steeda throttle body spacer
• the "Royal Purple" treatment
• front strut brace
• axle-back exhuast

Given these add-ons, do I have to tune? I'm not crazy about spending $300+ for a tuner and another $300-400 for the tune. Is there a way to have a shop tune it without having to buy the tuner myself? I'm also considering an underdrive pulley. Should I? I currently just have the stock 3:55 gearing. What about a coil upgrade?

I need your guidance.

You can get a dyno tune from Springfield Motorsports 703-339-3780 8532W Terminal Road, Lorton, VA 22879 or Excessive Motorsports (703) 331-1422 9207 Venture Court
Unit A, Manassas Park, VA 20111

I personally would rather get a dyno tune rather then one of the hand held units.

[PonyExpress]

Do I need a tune given the simple bolt-ons I've added?

I visited Springfield Motorsports a few weeks ago, but the guy behind the counter seemed uninterested (maybe hadn't had his coffee yet) and told me I had to buy the tuner first. What should I expect to pay for a dyno tune either at SMS or Excessive?

Thanks!

[atlanticbluestang]

Do I need a tune given the simple bolt-ons I've added?

I visited Springfield Motorsports a few weeks ago, but the guy behind the counter seemed uninterested (maybe hadn't had his coffee yet) and told me I had to buy the tuner first. What should I expect to pay for a dyno tune either at SMS or Excessive?

Thanks!

It sounds like Alex at SMS. He probably did not have his coffee yet. :)

I would call SMS and Excessive and ask them what there price for a Dyno Tune is.

[PonyExpress]

Wow. Still about $675 for the dyno tune at either shop. Thanks for the info though. Speaking of costs, is being a Ncrmc member free or do you look for some sort of contribution?

[atlanticbluestang]

Wow. Still about $675 for the dyno tune at either shop. Thanks for the info though. Speaking of costs, is being a Ncrmc member free or do you look for some sort of contribution?

Club members can renew or join the National Capital Region Club online by clicking here (http://www.ncrmc.org/forums/payments.php) or you can still download the form and mail it with your check to:

NCRMC Membership
4222 Fortuna Center Plaza, #224
Dumfries, VA 22025-1515

Thank you for your support.

Membership Form PDF File (http://www.ncrmc.org/mem_form.pdf)or you can pay your Membership subscription fee online here. (http://www.ncrmc.org/forums/payments.php)

[Pete S.]

Pony Ex.,
I agree with the advice of Chris on this thread, and will add my opinions as well. We wouldn't want to make too many significant changes on the engine and drive it without the proper software/flash/tune for fear of damage from detonation? or other mismatch concerns. I lean towards the SCT unit to store the program, as for the dyno; I prefer Springfield Motorsports but I haven't visited the other facility. With the device purchased you have many options as they store more than "the tune currently in your car". It will store your current tune should you want to go back towards stock, you can have multiple tunes with changes that will help you perform better and safer on different octane levels; you can find the sweet spot and program you own engine rpm limit, I suppose you could even add a 'valet' tune that would limit to 1500 rpm and 20 mph if you were creative.
Good luck and please post your progress.

Pete S.

[rocket_rick]

Pony, first let me offer my apologies if you didn't feel our customer service at Springfield Motorsport was up to snuff. :( Not an excuse but Alex can be a little moody early in the mornings - particulary if he and his friends have celebrated hard the night before. Oh to be young and single again!

Regarding your current upgrades, the combination of the CAI and throttle body spacer could possibly put you in a lean condition but there is one inexpensive way to be sure. We can do a baseline dyno ($100) which measures the current horsepower and torque of your car and also the fuel/air ratio. This will document these throughout the power band and will tell you whether or not your motor is safe or needs to be retuned.

If a retune is required, a flash tuner is also required to load the new tune into your car's computer. Once connected to the car and a load commenced, this device is now electronically locked and can only be used on your car. You keep it with you and will be used again if you add other items that may require a retune (eg, long tube headers) and you can also use it for reading codes if you ever get a check engine light. So the first tune (when required) is a bit expensive due to the investment in the flash device but you won't have to pay that cost again.

On the underdrive pulleys, they are a nice, inexpensive power adder (10-15 HP) but....if you have aspirations of buying a supercharger in the near future, save your money. They will just have to come off again as they will negatively impact supercharger performance.

Please come back and see us again and I will personally ensure you are welcomed and treated well. We are open on Saturday's 9-5 and that's a good day to drop by and chat. Look forward to meeting you.

And NCRMC is a great club. I encourage you to join.

[PonyExpress]

Rick - no worries! I had planned to stop by again sometime. I had chalked it up to just a slow morning. I have heard nothing but great things about both you and Excessive. I happen to live in Springfield which puts you guys just down the street from me. I like the idea of a baseline to understand where my car stands now before adding anything more. Thank you and everyone else for the insight.

[PonyExpress]

To close out this story, I made an appointment at SMS for the baseline dyno run and all the guys there were great! After three pulls they told me that considering my small modifications, I didn't need a tune and that it was running clean. Nice to know. Given all the CAI's they said they've seen, they were impressed that the K&N backed up it's claims about not requiring a tune. So, now I have a good idea of what the modifications have done for me and I know I'm not detonating.

So, for anyone else like me looking to either get started with minor modifications or if you're looking to be sure your car's inline, I would definitely give SMS a call. Nice guys and know their stuff.

[Rare Pony]

Rick - no worries! I had planned to stop by again sometime. I had chalked it up to just a slow morning. I have heard nothing but great things about both you and Excessive. I happen to live in Springfield which puts you guys just down the street from me. I like the idea of a baseline to understand where my car stands now before adding anything more. Thank you and everyone else for the insight.

Here is Rick on a good day cruising along at 65 mph :

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w164/mikeofwarr/Blue%20Ridge%20Cruise%20May%2017%2008/DSCF3952.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w164/mikeofwarr/Blue%20Ridge%20Cruise%20May%2017%2008/DSCF3951.jpg

[atlanticbluestang]

I am glad to hear that you had good results on the dyno. It is good to get a good baseline before you do further modifications to your Mustang. I look forward to see you car at the Fall Show this year.