OK, so I'll throw out a crazy idea here that has worked in other communities where good tuners (and software ...) of a certain type of vehicle are rare (*coughVADIMcough*).

A Tuning Road Trip!!!

Theoretically it could go something like this:

- we get some people together in a certain geographic area (I'm talking about DC of course, but could work elsewhere) and find a shop with a dyno willing to cooperate

- we split the expenses to cover the costs of flight/hotel/strip clubs/whatever for said tuner

- Vadim brings his flashing and data logging equipment and slaps down some sweet custom dyno tunes on the cars

- We each pay him a few hundred for his time + the software (assuming Powerchips) license fee + some consideration to the shop for dyno time

- we all profit!!!

Playing this out with some example numbers for fun ... let's say PC will do a group buy for us at $1K/flash instead of their normal $1400 or whatever:

1000 - flash
500 - tuning + dyno time
200 - expenses

These numbers are just very rough estimates, but if we get the right number of people, each person could potentially get a custom tune for <$2K while Vadim could walk away with a few grand for a days tuning work and the dyno shop could take in some decent cash as well.

Questions to be answered:

- How many people will we need to make this profitable enough for Vadim and the dyno shop?
- Will PC or any other flashing vendor step up and do a group buy to lower their per flash licensing fee?
- Is the flashing and data logging equipment portable enough to bring on a flight (if not, what would the dyno shop need to supply)?
- Can Vadim spare a day away from the busy Cali shop (maybe could do a Sat or Sun)?
- Am I dreaming?

Thoughts?

HAHA!!! You can't have him!! Vadim is crazy busy right now, so I dunno if a road trip is gonna be worth his time. Also, you would need a full team of pros. George does the installs (but travels extensively), and PC does the tuning with all of their equipment.

There is no reason why the rest of you guys can't get the same VRP products and base tune that Vadim has developed out here and have him / PC fine tune it for you based on data.

The key s to have a shop on your end that can generate the proper data. the dyno and A/Fs are a no-brainer, but the hours of datalogging and interpretation is different.

We need to firm this up quickly since I am ready to pull the trigger on a VRP Puley and ECU tune..............

Either I send back and forth to Vadim or he comes to the East Coast. I would prefer the custom DYNO tune........

A road trip just won't work.. There are at least 2 people that need to go: Jeremy & Vadim.. Not to mention there is alot of equipment that has to go as well..

At that point, you guys are better to find an enclosed car carrier that can pick up your vehicles and share the transport cost and have them all taken to our shop that way we have everything that is needed there to do the work.

Get a list together of everyone that needs tuning done.. Then, with the car carrier they can plan a route to pick up each car along the way until they all reach Cali. This wouldnt be as expensive as you would think and a heck of alot cheaper than trying to get everyone together in a central location.

Food for thought..

For just Pulley and ECU, send it back and forth. IF your shop has a flashbooster and agreement with VRP, then they can email the file back and forth from VRCaliP along with the dyno and datalog data. Makes things faster and lets you do more "revisions". I thought VRP was spreading itself to most corners..

Jangy,

Remember, I have TB, Headers, phenolic spacers and KN FIlters as current mods. So my future ECU flash will have to incorporate all of the aforementioned mods PLUS the VRP pully and VRP IC. Victor sugggested that the VR600 ECU flash will work great for my car. It should be right at 99% of where it should be. Later on when someone is on the east coast, I can get a DYNO tune to refine it......What you think??

Would two people really be necessary? All hardware installs should be done *before* Vadim comes, his purpose would just be to supervise the dyno runs, check the results, modify the tune and flash it back ... rinse and repeat until happy.

The dyno shop would supply personnel to load the cars on the dyno and operate it.

The only real question is the flashing equipment. Is is more than a laptop and some cables?

The shipping option is not totally unreasonable, but it would mean being without the car for a long time and in my case it's my DD so I can't really tolerate that.

Sorry Guys, but Vadim is not allowed to leave the Costa Mesa Shop.
Did you know that his office if furnished like a master bedroom suite.
Vacations, business trips outside of CA, and strip joints are a definite no go. His mind must stay pure so he can concentrate on tuning our mods.
Hell, if I can get my way with Victor, Vadim will be scratching his head and pulling out his remaining hairs in a couple of weeks.
Sorry I'm such a Vadim *****, but once I have my way with him, then I’ll be willing to pimp him out.

Gentlemen!............................. you crack me up.

I have to agree with Victor, having the car at the shop is the best way to go.

Once we have Power Stages completed, we should have software tune that will be very close to your modifications.

Take wait

No Harsh Feelings Buddy! Just Kidding Around, I mean.... you still have my SL? Right?..
Hey, just consider my VRP Build as "Job Security"!

Well George and Brian at www.ICSperformance.com has a dyno over here in Conn. Vadim and Vic you guys need to hit some of these east coast shops over the head and show them what you offer our cars.!!!!!
For the South east guys you (Vic,Vadim) could hit Activeautowerk.com over the head as well and tell them what you offer.

This is unless you guy are just interested in other places on this side that just have dyno's

Vadim,

Based on your comment, your ECU flashes for VR 550 VR 600 are not ready yet? I realize that VRP has the Pulley and ECU flash based on your work on Jangy's car.

I fully agree.

I dunno if I would go that far. Keep in mind that these files are simply the results of the work that they do and the added control that they get over the parameters. For example, a huge challenge on all these tunes has been the initial load limiter and re-mapping that MB was doing. It is like building a library. Once Vadim / PC basically reverse engineered my ecu map, it just becomes a matter of setting each parameter at optimal. That is when the real tuning even begins. The code sourcing of the ECU is done. Vadim and PC know exactly what parameters they can adjust and how far. As I said before, the tune goes waaay beyond simply advancing timing.
Now, we are moving on and adding TB and headers to mine. Then, Vadim and PC will take the tune and tweak it to meet the changed needs. I assume the changes will be minimal as compared to the initial, but then that should be the VR600 tune.

AGAIN, it isn't the tune that matters, but the tuner. If all we are going to do is flash everyone's car with the same tune, then we are repeating exactly what the big tuners did. The tune will work for 10% (me included) and not for the rest. BUT, if you take a well tested setup and a good tuner, you can get a pretty amazing and refined CUSTOM tune for a reasonable rate.

Not a chance that i would have gotten such a great tune from anyone else for under $5K. NO WAY. And to those that say it would take a simple afternoon on a dyno, please do your research. Vadim and PC put in WEEKS just to build the logic. Everyone keeps getting caught up in the tune, when you don't even think about the source not being open. The more source we can control, the more tuning we can do.

Shipping the cars to Cali is not a very reasonable option. Has anyone even looked to see how much it costs to send a car from the east coast to Cali and back on an enclosed trailer??? I have and the pricing is For me, spending $3k+ for transportation and being without a car for at least a few weeks is out of the question. That would mean spending ~$5k for a ECU tune

The east coast guys may want to inquire with active autowerkes to see if their tuner would be willing to travel. I have connections at Infinite Speed and Performance (they have a dynojet) and I'm sure we could rent out their dyno for a reasonable price. And if they wont travel, they are located much closer than Cali.

east coast guys may have an option available soon, there is stuff in the works not sure how far along it is, Ahmad u need to contact our man down south and he should have some answers for you.

Now that the work has been done on your car figuring out the load limiting issue and creating a great base map, yes I believe an afternoon on the dyno would be sufficient to tune most cars with the basic mods. 95% of the work has been done ...

Agreed there. I wasn't bashing, just wanted to make sure everyone understood what is involved.

Yes and they can use my Car for the R&D It sits in the garage most off the time anyways I need to found some time to enjoy it.... damn it!!!