Generic v live tuning debate

Hi guys I just thought i would bring up a topic I think might have some legs.

How valid in the terms of quality tuning is the mass produced generic plug and play type tune offered by those companies sporting the likes of Alientech and such, where guys in vans turn up at your door plug in an obd11 and download a map, only to e mail it to their master unit provider who I am assuming has an off the shelf map file to send them and upload to the ecu. After all, what actual correct figures can the map writer actually be able to quantify without actually being at the source of the ecu interpretting live data?

What do you guys think? Especially Andre if hes watching. If you are im enjoying your course immensely and keep it going with more and more great topics.

Martin UK

Generic tunes have their place, but they need a standardised set of components to work. So really only of any use for mapping otherwise standard production cars.

I would say, on a completely standard car a generic tune is OK to use, if the map isn't too crazy and aggressive.

I do a lot of ECU re-flashing for Holden, Ford, Mitsubishi and Subaru and will only supply a generic tune for lightly modified Holden's.

Even with similar mods I still find that each tune is slightly different and would not take the gamble of supplying a generic tune to anything turbocharged.

Like Error404 said "Generic tunes have their place" and anything other than a lightly modified N/A (which I have tuned hundreds of so have a good tune file base) I wouldn't supply a tune for without putting it on the dyno.

I know many companies that get good results and don't have any issues with their generic tunes. I am just not interested in not being able to give the best result possible which you can only achieve via a live tune.

I think the earlier replies have really covered this pretty thoroughly. A generic 'off the shelf' style of map will typically leave a little bit of potential on the table so to speak. In these situations where you aren't seeing the actual car in front of you on the dyno, it's sensible to be a little on the conservative side with a little less timing and a slightly richer mixture than you'd use if the car was to be tuned live. This is still a viable option though for many who have no access to a local dyno.

Through my old business we worked with a company who reflashed Euro cars that we had no live support for. With the handful of cars that they provided a generic map for, we ran them before and after on the dyno and I must admit I was often quite impressed with the results. If you're going with a generic map like this and you have access to a dyno I'd strongly suggest getting a before and after reading to prove the worth (or otherwise) of the reflash.