Best power programmer?

**SemperWS6** · 10-15-2009, 07:47 AM

I am looking to buy a power programmer for my 02 WS6, but I don't know what to look for. I want something that is going to give me a horsepower increase and I am not concerned about gas milage. My car is completely stock and it would be the first modification besides a flowmaster and a K&N that I installed. Some advise please

**Mr. Luos** · 10-15-2009, 08:17 AM

My advice??? Pass on ANY handheld tuner.

Get the real deal or have a shop dyno tune it.

**00z28bubba** · 10-15-2009, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

My advice??? Pass on ANY handheld tuner.

Get the real deal or have a shop dyno tune it.

true, true. bolt ons first then get a real tune.it will be much more thorough and will increase gas mileage whether you want it or not. most handhelds just change your air/fuel ratio(dont recall if it goes too rich or too lean) to get power. a bolt on car will perform well when its a/f ratio is cleaned up after full exhaust installs.

**MrKid** · 10-15-2009, 04:05 PM

I bought a Diablo tuner for my 2000 with bolt ons. I noticed nothing as far as acceleration. The only thing it was good for was getting ric of CAGS, and changing the gear ratio program for the speedo. Get yourself a nice dino tune, and you will notice much better gains.

...or I'll sell you a used Diablo Predator

**Y2KPewterSS** · 10-15-2009, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

My advice??? Pass on ANY handheld tuner.

Get the real deal or have a shop dyno tune it.

I agree, handhelds are 99% of the time a waste of money.

**rick67** · 10-15-2009, 04:40 PM

Get a torque converter!
I took .6 seconds off my 60' and 1.2 seconds off my ET by simply installing a Yank 3600 torque converter. I didn't change ANYTHING else with my setup.

...seriously

**pajeff02** · 10-15-2009, 04:50 PM

The prior owner also sold me a Hyperpac unit when we picked up our WS.6. That was a few months before I joined this site. I agree, that as a "tuning" tool it is quite limited. It simply has a canned performance program that can be uploaded to your PCM. It probably alters the fuel and timing tables, but I really do not know for sure.

What I do like about the Hyperpac is that it will display all sorts of information. I have the unit mounted to our flip out cup holder and it seems to integrate nicely with the car. I always have the temp monitor up as our factory temp gauge is a poor approximation -- it reads 205 no matter what once the car is warmed up.

I have utilized the unit to firm up shift points, adjust our rear tire size (don't know why, but the stock setting was incorrect), read DTC's (we had secondary air issues at the time of purchase), reset our fans after installing a 180 degree thermostat, and as stated above, keep an eye on things. Although I have not changed anything other than shift firmness, you can also adjust shift points for the A4, change your rev and top speed limiters, and it does have a dragstrip and dyno function.

**blackSS01** · 10-16-2009, 12:10 AM

When the hell did the Hypertech do all that shit

I had one for about 15 hours and out the door it went

**pajeff02** · 10-16-2009, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by blackSS01

When the hell did the Hypertech do all that shit

I had one for about 15 hours and out the door it went

Our unit has a 2005 build date.

**blackSS01** · 10-16-2009, 04:17 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Our unit has a 2005 build date.

Gotcha, mine was a 2001 build date

**Sweet Chops** · 10-16-2009, 05:10 AM

I would say put some mods on your car. Then get a mail order tune. You can get like two MOTs for the price of a Handheld.

**blackSS01** · 10-16-2009, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by Sweet Chops

I would say put some mods on your car. Then get a mail order tune. You can get like two MOTs for the price of a Handheld.

This is the truth. Mail order FTW with mild mods over handheld.

**karpetcm** · 10-16-2009, 12:11 PM

Frost does a excellent job in tuning and i would really recommend using him. On my first Z i had many years ago i used a handheld, Hypertech and it was crap. I was new to camaro's and had no idea what i was doing. Ive never used a handheld since then and ive had 4 camaro's after that. If you dont have a list of crazy modifications a mail order tune is really one of the best ways to go if your not familiar with tuning our cars yourself.