TriniGT wrote:Well can someone define it for anyone here what is a pro tuner, do you get a warranty after a tune, is it a sticker to say tuned by, is it after-tune support, does it require the person to be trained in the software and have a certificate, does it require that the tuner sell the software and ECU? I know of many tuners abroad that have skills that a certified one cannot come close to. This can get out of hand quickly give jack his jacket there are local tuners that not only can tune but understand how everything works entirely and how one thing affects the other and that helps so much when tuning, it is not guess work.
Well said. There are lots of Trinis home and abroad who tune their own cars but rarely post on the forums...tuner is a waste of time for any kind of intellectual discourse. Rather you'll see them sharing knowledge in person, msn, email, pm or on robust forums where people post their experiences via facts, logs, pics, graphs and so forth to compare their results and find a consensus on the best route. At the end of the day software is software...once you know what you are doing, the order in which to do it and have the proper tools to provide the data necessary to do the former you are good to go....could be expensive brand name EMS or open source software...in the end it just comes down to the user.
Because I'm a not as mechanically inclined as most old school tuners I lean toward the technology. You'll find most men will know how to swap or even build an engine but prefer to have someone else tune it....where as my generation tends to be the inverse: you build her, but when it comes to the tuning, the last thing I want is another person tuning the engine....who's to say what they have adjusted and
why...let alone it be a vendor and they lock the ecu.
As far as open source tuning automotive enthusiasts with a programming background have emerged as the pioneers. I'm 27 for example and people around my age grew up with computers...learning about programming from turbo pascal in school to C++. W2J is another tuner with a thorough background in computers and can attest to this as well. You see now that XML has emerged as the open source medium for defining roms but at the end of the day if you are a geek when it comes to programming, electronics and disassembly then you have a much easier path to figuring out the ins and out of open source tuning. Those who grew up driving/tinkering with EFI vehicles, are often just as capable of tuning a car as Tom, Dick and Harrilal if they educate themselves appropriately and don't play jackass guess work...you do your homework in terms of reading the proper books (ASE certified), test, compare and share knowledge with others who are doing the same and you'd be surprised that you
can have cheap, reliable and fast with respect to engine management with the right mechanical modifications to support it.
Those who have attended tuning seminars and are vendor specific certified will surely be able to master the idiosyncrasies of the said software and should be acknowledged for their software specific expertise but it be no means quantifies them as a professional tuner. A professional tuner should be defined by his/her ability to generate power gains that are reliable for the customers needs (be it daily driving, weekend warrior or track car) and should maintain a certain standard of driveability in doing so. Often times the best tuner will be one who is familiar with both the mechanical and electronic aspects of the vehicle as they work in tandem. As far as a guarantee this is a grey area. You can offer one based on the premise that the customer will not tinker but who's to say they don't change a part, turn up the boost, or adjust the tables behind your back...then come back and say you are responsible. At the end of the day finding such tuners are rare; you'll more often than not find someone who leans toward one or the other (mechanical background vs electronic background). I think dry is one of the few people I know who's as much a grease monkey as geek and altruistic enough to share his knowledge as it applies to either or both.
