"If a car can be made better by tuning why isn't that stock?"

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
07/25/2014 at 13:52 • Filed to: None

My dad is having a difficult time grasping the concept that aspects of a car can be improved/made sportier by tuning the computer.

"If it could be made more powerful or more efficient then they would have done that from the factory! Nobody can do better what GM spent millions in R&D on."

Well, their millions of dollars in R&D resulted in the stupid-as-hell airbox design I dealt with yesterday, or the ridiculous fusebox location, or the terrible transmission.

So obviously they aren't infallible, and there are places where the hobbyist could pick up some of the slack left behind.

"If shift kits make a car better, why isn't it like that stock?"

"If the engine vanity cover didn't have a purpose they wouldn't put it on there"

[screaming intensifies]

DISCUSSION (31)

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 13:53

Ugh I hate that, same with my pops. Everyone with a turbo subaru knows the stock tune is pig rich and tuning to stage 2 gives you almost 7-8 more MPG's on top of more power.

Brian Silvestro > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 13:54

Engine covers make no sense.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 13:56

Wow, that's impressive. My car is NA but a tune will firm up the lethargic slushbox and make shifts a lot quicker, as well as reducing wear on soft parts since it isn't engaging two gears at once briefly in the name of "comfort". It also removes the "abuse mode" which limits torque from a standstill, which will allow for "mad burnouts yo" and hopefully faster launches.

My goal is to be able to beat JayhawkJake's turbo Sonic RS in a straight line. If the tune doesn't get me there I'll get a high-flow cat and a power log.

For Sweden > Brian Silvestro
07/25/2014 at 13:57

It makes more sense when you think of them as spark plug/injector wire covers.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Brian Silvestro
07/25/2014 at 13:57

The engine doesn't like to be naked in front of you and that is why they exist. It doesn't want to whip it's injectors out like some crazy person at a nudist colon.

For Sweden > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 13:57

Any engineering design is a list of compromises. GM made a mass-market compromise. Tuners allow you to make different compromises.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Brian Silvestro
07/25/2014 at 13:58

Agree. I <3 my rocker covers. I just cleaned the damn thing, I wanna see that sexy plastic intake manifold and white rocker covers, dammit!

Brian Silvestro > For Sweden
07/25/2014 at 13:58

Or a deterrent for young people who are curious about what's under the hood.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian Silvestro
07/25/2014 at 13:59

They do if your engine is direct injection. great story, I had a guy ask me (cause im a car guy I guess) if i could look at his car because he's be hearing a funny noise. Long story short, its a v6 Camaro and the noise he hears is the ticking of the DI.

"but my friends Camaros don't do that"

"are they V8's"

"yeah"

"there you go sport."

I guess consumer reports shows a correlation between customer satisfaction and the noise coming from direct injection, i.e. people think there is something wrong with their cars if the noise isn't well damped.

Brian Silvestro > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 13:59

It is TOO a real muscle car!

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic
07/25/2014 at 14:00

"nudist colon"

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 14:01

I was pretty impressed myself, I was getting between 20-21 in my Forester XT 5MT and guys with a stage 2 tune are getting about 26-28mph depending on how much they baby it.

OPPOsaurus WRX > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 14:01

can you elaborate on this a bit? I kinda thought if that was true they would have done it themselves. why wouldn;t they and how do you go about doing it?

Brian Silvestro > HammerheadFistpunch
07/25/2014 at 14:02

Oh. Well I guess they're good for making stupid people go away.

Jayhawk Jake > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 14:03

Downpipe should net me 8 hp, and a short shifter will improve my 0-60. Bring it.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > OPPOsaurus WRX
07/25/2014 at 14:05

Well, stock Subaru tune is pretty damn rich, when you go cobb stage 2 or just a protune with an exhaust/intake/downpipe you can increase your MPG quite a bit. Cobb also has a preloaded "Economy mode" map on their accessports which is basically a very low boost tune that helps MPG. WRX's and STI's seem to get around 2-5 more mpg and Foresters get waaaay better for some reason.

HammerheadFistpunch > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 14:06

I remember babying my forester, but going 26-28 mph was so trying...

E30Joe drives a Subaru > HammerheadFistpunch
07/25/2014 at 14:07

I hate my MPG, luckily that'll change soon.

HammerheadFistpunch > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 14:08

I got 27 once...what a day.

Mattbob > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 14:08

The number one reason for most of these things is reliability. Engines run richer, and transmissions shift smoother than an enthusiast may want so that it is easy on them and they dont have to have more recalls than they already do when shit blows up. A lot of components on cars are closer to breaking than you might think. Take this story for example: A couple years ago there was a problem with a certain car breaking drive shafts due to its launch control.The solution was to reprogram it to have a softer launch with launch control. It was the cheapest compromise and made the car much less prone to major issues in the future.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 14:09

I for got the Y ok?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jayhawk Jake
07/25/2014 at 14:10

Damn your weight advantage.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic
07/25/2014 at 14:22

You made it better.

DipodomysDeserti > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 14:47

30% increase in fuel economy? That's not what mine was getting. I had a bigger turbo too, so maybe that's why.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > DipodomysDeserti
07/25/2014 at 15:14

My buddy went from averaging around 19-23 and now is at 26-28 on a lower boost map with conservative driving.

DipodomysDeserti > E30Joe drives a Subaru
07/25/2014 at 15:21

Damn, he was getting pretty crappy mileage to start. That's what I was getting on my Forester XT. I was getting 23/28 stock. 21 if I ran her hard. My wife managed 18, but she has a lead foot. I went with a biturbo diesel on her next car. Speed and efficiency.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 15:34

MFR's are also protecting against idiots that don't change their oil and/or other fluids. They run a car slightly richer than it needs to, to protect against people not changing their oil often enough. This is one way that tuners pick up horsepower and efficiency gains, with the caveat that you need to be more on top of your fluid changes, which if you are a gearhead, you likely will be.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/25/2014 at 18:12

Some people will never get it. Sorry you must deal with this.

crowmolly > Brian Silvestro
07/28/2014 at 10:18

Sound deadening and "appearance".

crowmolly > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/28/2014 at 10:29

Prime example directly from GM:

CAGS.

If you are unfamiliar, CAGS (computer aided gear shifting) is a feature in 90's-00's GM six speeds that forces you to shift from first to fourth under low throttle. You get locked out of 2-3. This is basically the first mod that everybody with a 6 speed F-body does.

It is easily removed via a plug in module, tuning, or in early stuff a simple unplugging.

This was put in place to satisfy government fuel consumption laws and was designed to be easily bypassed by the owner. There is no real benefit to the driver and while you may get an additional 1-2 mpg on the highway it's a greater safety risk if you aren't used to it.

Cost cutting and government regs force compromise in car design.

Another example is suspension parts.

On my Trans Am I took off the stock stamped steel panhard rod and could distort it a few degrees with my bare hands (!).

And that's the part that keeps the axle centered. After adding an adjustable tubular one the car tracked a lot better and I was able to center the axle under the rear- which it wasn't originally due to production tolerances.

n54 & s38 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
07/28/2014 at 14:19

To a certain extent I agree with him. It really depends on how much you research what you're doing, IMO. Too many kids just wanna throw parts at a crapp