Personal Tuning Preferences

Would it be more beneficial to be a tuner which specializes in different areas of the industry or cover a larger spectrum of capabilities? An example would be forced induction only, LS platforms only, drag only, reflash only, etc...or AWD, domestic, european, etc... I know this can be based off of what tuning platforms you have licensed and your comfort zone and physical region. I am just wondering what peoples choices are and why. I appreciate any and all input. Thanks!

Great question and I'd like to hear tenured tuners answers.

My thought process is stick to one platform you're comfortable with initially (Honda S2000 in my case) and do a really good job at it and as it becomes second nature maybe ease into a different platform.

I think there are three ways you could approach this.

1. Stick with what you already know, especially if there are lots of people in that market who are looking for tuners.

2. Learn about a vehicle with lots of potential customers. That probably means different things in different regions, for instance Florida vs Colorado vs California.

3. Learn about something that is unique, so you are among a small handful of people who service that market. This could be something expensive and rare (if you can get access to learn about them), or it could be something fragile or obscure enough that most shops avoid working on them.

There are probably advantages and disadvantages to each. My experience is odd because I know specific details about engineering and some parts of tuning but I'm not exactly a tuner. My history is I installed an tuned AEM standalone ECUs in my personal car (RX7) then a few friends cars (Miata, Hondas, domestic V8s). I've tuned a few cars for work, although I still don't have nearly as much dyno experience as a regular tuner would have.

Good luck,

SB