I have a pretty basic and stock LS1. What would a giid tune produce?, what are they actually tuning?, also what should a reasonable price to pay for good tune?

 

mail order tunes run from $175 and up, while dyno tunes can cost hundreds more. they dont necessarily produce a set number of hp, but free up a percentage of what you have. stock you might see a very small, to small gain at best. better off investing in some basic bolt ons. lid, cat back, headers, ssra, things of that nature first

 

more bolt ons...then the tune will yield better results.

i've heard tuners claim 10-13hp guaranteed on thier mail order tunes. not sure how they "prove" the gain.

but typically you get better drivability. things like lower temps due to loweing the fan settings, adjusting shifts and rev limits. things of that nature.

 

With LS1 edit they can change timing, fan turn on temps, torque managment (auto), delete codes etc, mail order tunes I'm sure won't be quite as good. On a stock car there is no real need for a tune, a general dyno tune is 400-500 usually so you'd be better off with a set of headers.

 

Best thing to do is to hold off completely on tunes until you've got your car needing it. For example, full boltons and a heads/cam swap require a custom tune, that's when the money is worth something.