NC Tunes. Best way to go?

[INXCES]

Hello again. Awhile back I created a thread about going FI. Well it never happened, the money went into fixing my motor after throwing a rod and what I had left over bought exedy stage 1 racing clutch and fidanza light weight flywheel( anyone want to buy oem clutch and flywheel. $75 each). So im still at ground zero with a N/A motor and no FI.

But thats beside the point. I'm looking at getting a tune done for my 2008 NC-1 and was looking for some feedback. I've been considering going with the moto-east tune which is less, yet again I'm torn on going with a custom tune which will be more, decisions, decisions. Anyone have experiences with NC tunes?

[rpmchris]

I've had a Sniper since it was first released, and have no experience with dynotronics. That said, I worked with Mike Mann @Moto-East last spring for my latest tune, and it's been great.

[INXCES]

Did you go to Moto-East to get the tune done? Or have them set everything up and went to someone locally to install the tune?

[rpmchris]

I bought the Delta Force Commando hardware from Sniper after the 2008 SCCA Solo National Championships, where it had been tested on Brian Peters' CSP winning car. They included a "base tune" with the equipment (at that point, my MX-5 was all stock except for the AEM/Mazdaspeed CAI). I installed it myself, and felt a big difference right away. I drove it that way for a year.

Jason Saini (then at MER) provided some additional tuning on the dyno before the 2009 Solo National Championships and found a bunch of additional horsepower (they had also installed a Mazda MX-5 Cup exhaust including a DC header, straight pipe, and racing muffler).

Then, in early 2011, I purchased the new "template" from Mike at Moto-East, which he emailed to Jason. We spent a couple more hours tuning it on the dyno, with Mike and Jason speaking regularly about how to squeeze the most out of it (I now had the Goodwin header and midpipe). We found another 5 whp, and 6-8 wtq over our MX-5 Cup tune from 2009!

That said, my suggestion is to get everything from Mike in the first place, and let him tell you what you need. The installation is super simple (you just plug into the OBDII port under the dash, and the hardware/software does the rest).

[INXCES]

Awesome! Thanks for information. With your knowledge and and confidence in Moto-East, surely has help my decision on who to purchase a tune from.

[OZMDD]

I have had similar positive experiences with the DPTune/Dynotronics reflash. Joe is down in New Braunsfels and can handle everything via overnight shipping/datalogging. My results are very good. Not sure if I'm getting as much HP as Chris or not (hope to re-dyno soon with the new header), but I have not had to pay for dyno time or updates, and that is nice.

There are literally hundreds of posts/arguments on this topic on m.net (I think you've seen some of them), so read at your own peril. Very few manage to stay on-topic for any length of time.

My perception is that the Dynotronics is a little cheaper ($550+shipping) and requires little-to-no skill. You only have to be capable of unbolting the airbox and unplugging the ECU.
The Sniper costs a little more to get the full-function version ($800, I think), but is user-changeable, requires no ECU removal/shipping, and creates a more personalized tune.

I've heard good and bad stories on both, but mostly good. webspoke actually used BOTH on his NC, so he might be the best person to ask.