Question about an engine tune

[Candide13]

Hi,

I am contemplating getting an engine tune for my car, in large part because my car is throwing P2430/2432 emission error codes for the second time, indicating another problem with the unreliable secondary air circulation system that is only active at cold start. Rather than fixing that thing for a second time, I am looking for a permanent solution, and most engine tunes allow deleting the cold start cycle.

So I am wondering what the experience of folks with tunes are. My car is bone stock and at this stage I am not planning to delete CATs or put pipes in, so it would be a "stage 1" tune.

From what I've read this gives a modicum of more power and torque, and for those with DCT it can be combined with improved DCT programming, which apparently makes a noticeable difference. But I have a 6MT so I am wondering about the benefits I would get. Tunes run at about $1K, so it would be nice to get something for it...:thumbs:

So, if you have stage 1 tune, does it feel different at the track? How about everyday driving, fuel economy etc?

Any pointers appreciated, thanks.

[redpriest]

I have a stage 2 tune which was needed to get the CEL out for loss of cats. It feels great. I will say in terms of reliability, I've had over 70k miles on it, and many many track miles on this tune (8600 rpm limit), and no dead engine.

[AzE90]

I've been running the VRTuned ecu tune on my car for about 18,000 miles with no issues. Easy to install, and gets rid of cold start. Also am running the GTS DCT tune from Alex@alpinems . If you want to go with a similar tune contact James at vividracing and he can get you hooked up

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by redpriest

I have a stage 2 tune which was needed to get the CEL out for loss of cats. It feels great. I will say in terms of reliability, I've had over 70k miles on it, and many many track miles on this tune (8600 rpm limit), and no dead engine.

I have a "just delete cat" tune lol $150