Tuners and Tunes

[dakcornholio]

I have a completely stock 2004 Grand Prix GTP with 46k. I am planning on putting a CAI on it (not sure what brand) but I have been trying to read up on tunes and tuners. What are the best tuners to buy? Also, what are the best tunes to use? What kind of HP/TQ gains can I realistically expect? I don't want something too extreme or something that is going to cause damage because it is a daily driver. Thanks for the input!

 

[TheOtherNick]

Get a canned tune from 3800 performance, the safest one you can get, besides having someone with tuner do a custom tune in your car.

 

[TheAce144]

Best tune you can get is a custom tune...However, I have an Overkill PCM and I am really happy with the results...expect around 15HP gains, with the supporting mods.

 

[rynoman03]

HP Tuners is the best if your going to learn to do it yourself. If you want a out of the box PCM tune PM Reptile he can hook you up.

 

[Explicit_Spade]

HP Tuners is the best if your going to learn to do it yourself. If you want a out of the box PCM tune PM Reptile he can hook you up.

I disagree. If you are looking to LEARN how to tune, DHP is the way to go. Its a lot more complicated than HPTuners. That being said, keep it simple and go with HPTuners, it will help you with every mod you make.

If you want to have a tune done for you, don't buy from a vendor, someone else will hook you up with a better tune for the price like Reptile, or Overkill.

Price comparison
Used tuner ~$300+Credits for HPT for 1 car ($100)=$400 lifetime of tuning
Tuned PCM ~$150-250 for a one time tune.

As far as needing a tune for just a cold air intake, don't worry about it. A tune won't get you a lot of gain for just an intake, however removing torque management and changing shift points makes your car more fun to drive.