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Ls swap tuning ? Tune ?

Discussion in 'High Tech Retrofits' started by 72BIGBLOCK, May 23, 2020.

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  1. May 23, 2020 #1
    72BIGBLOCK

    72BIGBLOCK Veteran Member

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    Looking for opinions on having an LS tuned after a swap

    is it worth it ?

    I’d like to know what I could potentially gain as far as drivability, horsepower, fuel economy etc.

    When I did my LS swap initially I never had it tuned because the company who sold me the standalone harness said that it was already tuned but after speaking to a few other LS swap owners they recommended I get a tune and after so it can be tailored to my parts
     
  2. May 23, 2020 #2
    SS Performance

    SS Performance Veteran Member

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    How much you can gain depends on what you swapped in.

    If you live in an area that has 93 octane available you can gain more than if you can only get 91.
    If your motor was modified you might be able to gain some it really depends on the tune you were provided.
    Most box tunes are pretty safe. If you find someone with a chassis dyno then it can be tuned to your exact situation and that is where you would see the most gain.
     
  3. May 23, 2020 #3
    1972_Z-28

    1972_Z-28 Veteran Member Lifetime Gold Member

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    Definitely get a tune if you changed cam. Also a tune with stock will help. Every setup is a little different. My son did LS swap in his 3rd gen Camaro. Did upgrade cam/headers. Took it to a local shop and they actually screwed it up more.
    If you have acess to HP tuners I highly recommend this guy. He can email the tune file and my son car went from undrivable to great. The tune did get revised about 9 times but the outcome was great.
    https://www.patgtuning.com/
    GL
     
  4. May 23, 2020 #4
    72BIGBLOCK

    72BIGBLOCK Veteran Member

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    Thanks guys

    my ls is pretty much stock, I do have some headers and borla exhausts but aside that it’s pretty stock internally. Oh it has a cold air intake but I don’t really count that much

    that’s what I’m afraid off coming back with a headache and if I do it will be on a dyno

    I chose a shop that has good reviews and is decently priced at 475
     
  5. May 23, 2020 #5
    ULTM8Z

    ULTM8Z Veteran Member

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    My guess is the factory cars that use the LS engines had a decent cold air setup already, so the tune may already be taking credit for that in stock form.

    Back in the OBD1 days with the L98's, they used to run the power enrichment excessively rich... down around 11.5:1 or so. Mainly for engine safety I think. But simply leaning out the mixture up to 12.5-ish was worth a little power. My guess is GM isn't doing that any more and is running a more optimized mixture.

    BTW, have you been by Bob's on Friday lately? Any action going on over there? Or are the car shows pretty much dead for now? I'm tempted to venture over there maybe next Friday and see what's going on.
     
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  6. May 23, 2020 #6
    Knuckle Dragger

    Knuckle Dragger Mayor of Simpleton Staff Member Lifetime Gold Member

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    I had mine "tuned" by a guy in Maine that did harness work. It never ran "right" until we got HP tuners and made a lot of changes and tuned it to exactly what I had gong on. I think anything you get will be generic. My buddy (who I went in on HP tuners with) paid a local guy $450 for a "tune" that was pure crap and very generic even though he was supposed to be the best guy around. Like suggested above get into it yourself or get a buddy that' into it and customize it to your specific needs via HP Tuners or the like..
     
  7. May 23, 2020 #7
    jeff swisher

    jeff swisher Veteran Member

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    So do you purchase the HP tuner and then be stuck in the mud until you pay extra for what they call credits so you can tune your vehicles?
    WTF is that about?
     
  8. May 23, 2020 #8
    72BIGBLOCK

    72BIGBLOCK Veteran Member

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    I haven’t been out there in a while, since March I want to say so I don’t know but if you stop by let me know how it goes.

    hope all is well and your safe and healthy
     
  9. May 25, 2020 #9
    badazz81z28

    badazz81z28 Veteran Member

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    Unless the engine is completely stock, I would have it tuned by a professional. It will cost you about $500-$800...but it will be worth it. Make sure you are done modifying it and get a copy of the tune in case something happens to the ECM. I have done mail order tunes more than a couple of time and the engines run fine, but on a dyno they can dial in timing and A/F ratios and can make the engine not only run better and safer, it will pick up some HP.

    That being said, when I got my car on the dyno...all instances the timing was too high and AF ratio was not ideal...
     
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  10. May 25, 2020 #10
    72BIGBLOCK

    72BIGBLOCK Veteran Member

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    Do you know of any good tubers in ca by chance ?

    Im supposed to drop off the car on Tuesday at aspirated motors sports in East la
     
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