PCM for less

[shaolinfox30]

I sent my PCM out to pcmforless. I have not noticed any substantial performance gains What the heck?
I have a 95 A4 T/A with: Ram air hood, K&N filter, hollowed out cats, Flow master 2 chamber catback, upgraded torque conv., new plugs, energy susp. trans mount, koni yellow rear shocks, 18" light weight wheels and just got my 4L60E trans fully rebuilt w/ perf. shift kit (post PCM reprog.) Any input? Thanks

[theorangeguy]

I sent my PCM out to pcmforless. I have not noticed any substantial performance gains What the heck?
I have a 95 A4 T/A with: Ram air hood, K&N filter, hollowed out cats, Flow master 2 chamber catback, upgraded torque conv., new plugs, energy susp. trans mount, koni yellow rear shocks, 18" light weight wheels and just got my 4L60E trans fully rebuilt w/ perf. shift kit (post PCM reprog.) Any input? Thanks

what did they tell you to expect? I've never used that company before...did they say tunes usually net you 10hp...? 15hp...? 20hp...? etc?

[scott5]

You have no mods basically. You probably picked up maybe 10hp-20hp if that. Mail order tunes aren't spot on unless your datalogging a lot. You basically got a tune that kinda worked in someone else's setup that had close to the same mods as you.

[pajeff02]

Just a note -- if the PCM for Less tune modified your transmission line pressures... and you added a modded valve body to your transmission after the fact, then you are probably running some pretty high line pressures. I had this issue when I installed a Performabuilt Transmission and failed to adjust my tune to back things down a bit.

[shaolinfox30]

what did they tell you to expect? I've never used that company before...did they say tunes usually net you 10hp...? 15hp...? 20hp...? etc?

They claim up to 25 HP. I was realistically expecting 10 but felt no difference at all.

[shaolinfox30]

I see... thanks guys. In the spring when it comes out of the garage I plan on going with some 3.73's next.

[pajeff02]

On a totally stock setup, my understanding is that a tune will net you around 10-15 hp. With aftermarket components, such as headers, exhaust, intake, etc. then you can see something greater. I will say that the tune in and of itself did not result in any appreciable change per my "butt dyno", however, the engine did feel more responsive and the shifting on our A4 was definitely improved.

[sjgreen6]

Really suggest you consider using Frost for your next mail order tune. Using someone who really knows the LS engines versus someone who has a catalog of "kind of right" tunes can make all the difference.

[shaolinfox30]

The thing is since I have a 95 it is an LT1. Does frost know them as well as the lLs1's ?

Really suggest you consider using Frost for your next mail order tune. Using someone who really knows the LS engines versus someone who has a catalog of "kind of right" tunes can make all the difference.

[shaolinfox30]

Thanks pajeff02

On a totally stock setup, my understanding is that a tune will net you around 10-15 hp. With aftermarket components, such as headers, exhaust, intake, etc. then you can see something greater. I will say that the tune in and of itself did not result in any appreciable change per my "butt dyno", however, the engine did feel more responsive and the shifting on our A4 was definitely improved.

[0rion]

Just a note -- if the PCM for Less tune modified your transmission line pressures... and you added a modded valve body to your transmission after the fact, then you are probably running some pretty high line pressures. I had this issue when I installed a Performabuilt Transmission and failed to adjust my tune to back things down a bit.

this caught my eye too.....if they raised the line pressures it's not a good idea to then also run a shift kit.

[sjgreen6]

The thing is since I have a 95 it is an LT1. Does frost know them as well as the lLs1's ?

You are right, my bad. Frost does not show LT1s on the web site. I'll go crawl back in my hole now. Someone poke a stick in when its spring.

[JustinEntropyRad]

Mail order tunes are always much more conservative than in-house. Alvin and his guys/gals at PCM For Less know their stuff, but they are car guys too, and they don't want to blow up your car anymore than you do!