Every build starts somewhere with bolt ons, and most claim to add a certain amount of horsepower. While a cold air intake might claim to add 5-10 horsepower there is actually a much higher power gain that you aren't able to unlock through a direct install. Aftermarket parts are designed to increase power but more importantly increase the POTENTIAL for more power. Your vehicle's electronics system is designed to produce a specific amount of power, meant to maximize performance with OEM parts, this means a certain air/fuel ratio or a specified shifting point. After adding a part that would perform better, the vehicle’s computer needs to be retrained to now work with the high performance parts you have installed and needs to know that it CAN make more power. Tuning your car is retraining its brain to utilize its maximum potential; this is a very mathematical formula to make sure you aren't over stressing any weak points in your build.

Tuning used to mean taking your car to some genius with a dyno, who knew your car better than his own mother. Custom tune writing was a costly endeavor and usually came with a high risk/reward trade off, but nowadays that is changing. Brands like APR, Racingline, and Dinan offer something called a “shelf tune”, where you can take your car to a dealer and have power unlocked on a lunch break. These tunes are by no means soft, however are tried and tested for your platform to decrease risk while still getting all the rewards you want. Brands are also offering tunes for unmodified cars that unlock hidden power and make the most of your vehicle, give our team a call to see what your car might be capable of.

At home tuning is a new normal, offering the end user the ability to do it themselves from their garage. Unitronic, 034 Motorsports, and Integrated Engineering are some of the leading names in this shift, depending on your platform or preference you can get a link cable to plug your computer into your car and tune your engine’s ECU from home. These are the same tunes you would get at a dealer, however with the purchase of your own link cable you have the freedom to re-flash your car to stock when needed, and in some cases you can access vehicle logs and more.

At home is the way to go if you are comfortable with doing the work yourself, especially on a warrantied vehicle. The ability to flash back to stock and then re-tune can add up over time, and could save you in the long run by doing it yourself. Beyond that, the ability to up-tune to the next stage becomes easier as well. By paying the difference from stage 1 to stage 2 you can flash to the next level once you have installed the required mods with ease. No need to wait until you have everything, at home options give you the ability to start where you want and take your time with the rest of your build. Not to mention the customer support through these brands is stellar and you will have on the phone help if any issue were to arise. Give us a call to learn more and get your setup at home to truly give you more control over your car and the power it is creating.