Right...what is complaining to US going to do? You're the only person I've seen who isn't satisfied with Ion's work. I went from trapping 96-97 to trapping 101 with his tune and a set of gears.

 

All I have to say is wow. I have not received any kind of notification from you or anything, not to mention, that the tune might not even be the issue, since plenty of cars see that 13 RWHP gain out of the same tune. And for the amount of things you get done for $80, I don't see how that could ever be a bad deal to the point where someone would post something like this.
Just go ahead and send it back, I'll put it back to stock and refund your money.

 

Trust me dude Ive been there. Just do everything on your side as stated (dyno graphs with a/f ratio, datalogs, etc) then do the little things like complete tune up etc. I thought my car was fine also but I had very small issues that made things harder for a person a million miles away to know which isnt there fault. Email him, take his advice and you may even get a problem solved that you had even before the tune.

Doesnt help to now start getting edgy with him. Not every business has a 100% happy client list. What matters is how the business responses to the unhappy client. Ion offered his money back and a reflash, cant beat that in the tuning world. Not sure but Ive never seen a refund for a tune.

 

I couldnt be happier with my tune from Ion. I think it was the second most noticable bolt-on next to headers. When I first got my tune my car started messing up and I thought right away it was from the reprogram. So I talked to Ion and he told me he didnt really think the tune would cause that but he decided to send me another pcm anyway. Sure enough he was right and all I had was a misfire. I felt like an idiot for causing him trouble but i think this shows that Ion stands behind his work and is willing to fix a problem even if it's against his best judgement. Infact i'm about to get another tune from him for my hotcam.

 

This is all assuming there are no other variables changed. Type/brand gas, temperature, car condition, fouled plugs. So many variables to consider that cannot be controlled 2-3 weeks later. If you swapped PCMs out after a base run with a 10 minute delay this thread might have some validity.

I felt a good difference in the power gain with Ion's PCM tune. It was a very good mod, and Ion has taken care of me my last 5 PCM tunes. I dont doubt that with all variables controlled you wouldnt see at least 10rwhp from a mail order tune.

I hope if you have a problem with your car you get it fixed, but I just think that some variables could not be controlled in this experiement and therefore to me it has very little validity.

Thanks Ion.

-Dustin-

 

I didn't say anything about a rebuild. I am referring to internal work as in different cam, ported heads, etc. You can sit around and think of 50 more reasons why it doesn't make sense to you, I really couldn't care less. It's my opinion. If you think a mail order tune is worth it on a bolt on car, then fine- doesn't bother me one bit.

 

94 camaro z28 A4- 3 inch Borla catback, 3 inch cut out in place of cat, MSD blaster coil- MSD wires, K&N FIPK,160 thermostat, TPI air foil, Descreened MAF,MadZ28 tune. 275.7 whp/ 312 ftlbs


Ok, maybe I am missing a mod, but all I see that is worth a crap is the K&N and borla. So, you don't have headers, pulley, anything else? It that's the case, you are complaining about not gaining 15 RWHP from a tune? My car made 260 rwhp STOCK with a T56, and only made 300 with LTs and a K&N. So you expected your A4 to be at 300 rwhp with ONLY a K&N? Sorry boss, while it might be possible, it sure as hell isn't probable. Also, did you compare the power under the curve? Peak don't mean poo poo really.

 

This promised gain of 15 rwhp on a bolton car is complete BS. There is no way in hell that a properly running car will pick up that much power. A tune can be good for things like upping the rev limiter or deleting codes, but don't count on gaining a lot of power from a tune. I have to disagree with alvin saying that a tune on a bolt on car is the best bang for the buck mod you can do. The 6 hp you get from pulling out the airfilter and maf screen will net better results. I have sitting at my house 3 pcms... 1 stock, 1 tuned for bolton's from madz28, and 1 tuned for boltons from pcmforless. Fact is there really was no gain to be had with either pcm and I dyno'd less with the madz28 tune than i did the pcmforless tune. I can guarantee that if I put my car on the dyno and dyno the pcms back-to-back-to-back that neither pcmforless or madz28 will gain the stated 15rwhp! I bet I don't even gain 7 rwhp.

 

Why so bitter? All I did was share my opinion as you did so if you dont like my opinion on your opinion I really couldn't care less. It's my opinion. If you think a mail order tune is not worth it on a bolt on car, then fine- doesn't bother me one bit. Calm down. It's not even that serious. Like 3 other people made comments on your opinion but you got ruffled over mine. Relax.

 

I also had my PCM tuned by Ion, and i was very happy with it. He is a good guy and stands behind his work. I am not sure how you can complain about a 4rwhp gain for $80. IMO thats a pretty good bang for your buck. I am sure tuning would be more effective with more mods, but those are some pretty good numbers you are putting down with very few mods. If you are not happy with the results let Ion return your money and put the tune back to stock...then try to spend $80 to pick up 4-5hp....good luck with that, maybe you need a tornado under your hood! lol

 

You were singled out because of the comment "I can think of 50 reasons why that doesn't make sense to me", and also because you seemed to take my comment out of context. I said nothing about the need for a rebuild before a tune, but I did express that I felt with bolt ons it wasn't a great idea but after internal work (such as heads/cam) I thought it was justified. To be honest with you, I wasn't very happy with my mail order tune after my ported heads/HOTcam swap. I was happy with picking up almost .5 in the 1/8th, but was dissatisfied with the service after the sale when I actually had datalogs of the car running too rich but nothing was done about it. I feel that since I would like to dyno my car anyway just to see what it's making, spending the extra money for a dyno tune is the way to go after a major upgrade- you get a more exact tune, and a dyno graph showing what it made. Admittedly, if it's something common like a HOTcam or cc305/306, etc the mail order guys might be able to nail it down pretty good just because of experience.

 

Factory fueling is rich at WOT and timing can be further optimized some of you guys actually trying to claim optomizing those wont gain power? Step away from the car because you don't understand how it works. The factory tunes are full of compromise and have to work for every driver and every car, emmisions, milage and safety of the engine and will be conservative even trying to hit those goals, even besides the fact that bone stock the LT1 was nearing the 4L60E's torque capacity so they weren't going to push it any further there. They leave a fair amount of room for improvement and the vast majority of peoples expeiances are that tuning even a stock car is worth it for the low cost involved.
Ion has shown what a standup guy he is and frankly if I were him I would not just offer a refund and return to stock but I would request such because you are a bad customer and making you happy is not worth his effort because you are not seeing things clearly enough to be pleased. As stated if it is that rich there is a PROBLEM with the car that must be sorted out, hell if that rich it could have fouled the plugs signifigantly in the few weeks since the last dyno run that alone accounting for the low peak GAINS which are still gains. Also any chance you forgot a mod? There are things that if left out will cause issues.

 

I tell you what.. If any of you guys want to try a bolt on/stock tune from me I'll buy it back if you don't like it..

I'm that confident in them.. I've had too many guys send me timeslips and praises to think otherwize.. not to mentioned I just put a base file in my girlfriends stock engine Z28 that netted 16rwhp.

I'm sure Ion feels the same way.


Its pretty bad to think that this person would go make a post like this before actually contacting the person that did his tune.

 

I also think that the more bolt on's you add the more gain youll see from a PCM tune. Like stated with just a catback and CAI the addition of a PCM tune wont impact the car as much compared to having Headers, E-WP, CAI, catback, ORY, 1.6 Rockers, and a pulley. Just like a bigger TB wont impact a stock motor as much as it might with a 500hp 383.

Also if I put a PCM tune on my car and didnt make the power I wanted, didnt like the shift points or rev limiter, or whatever, I would talk to the person who sold it to me first. Someone has to have alot of nerve to just get on here and bad mouth a respected tuner over something which has at best "limited validity" to begin with.

-Dustin-

 

Actually I didnt mean to say rebuild. I'm in the process of getting a 383 stroker kit project underway and it's been on my mind all day. Youre right about getting a dyno tune for better more exact tune but for some of us it's just not an option if we want it done by a pro. But either way I understand what youre saying and I'm sure if reputable dyno tuners were available for everyone, everyone would do it.