Pros & Cons of Car Tuning: Is a Tune Right For You?

We’ll come right out of the gate and tell you that tuning your muscle car is one of the best things you can do. With the right muscle car tuner, you'll squeeze more power out of your engine, improve its throttle response, and even ensure that aftermarket intake and exhaust systems are giving you the biggest power boost possible. While we love tuning cars, it's important to understand what a car tune can do for your vehicle, especially if you're new to the world of aftermarket mods. The good news is that we’re here to help. We take you through the pros and cons of tuning your car down below.

What Is a Tune?

Before we can discuss the pros and cons of tuning your car, it's important to understand what a tune is. Basically, tuning your car allows you to adjust things like fuel and ignition timing to squeeze more performance out of your engine. In fact, you can gain around five to ten horsepower with just tuning alone. You can also think of car tuning in a similar vein as tuning an instrument. You’re altering the ECU to get the desired performance you’re looking for. Whereas tuning an instrument can help you get richer tones, tuning your motor can help your engine run richer if you want it to. Car tuning can improve performance at the track when you’re commuting to work, and even off-roading if you have a truck or SUV.

How Do You Tune a Car?

Tuning a car is one of the easiest things you can do, even if you've never taken out a wrench. All you need to do is get a handheld tuner and plug it into your OBD-II port. For most vehicles, this port is located under the steering wheel and it's the same port you use to read engine error codes. Once you have the device with your tunes loaded, you can upload them to your vehicle’s ECU.

Pros of Tuning Your Car

Now, the moment you've been waiting for – the benefits of tuning your car. Learn about how a tune can take your build to the next level below.

More Power

Unfortunately, manufacturers have to follow a lot of rules when making and selling their vehicles. Regulations are in place that require cars to meet specific emission laws, which isn't exactly ideal for performance. For this reason, many muscle cars and other types of sports cars come with limitations that may reduce their power. This is where the tune comes into play. Tuning your car helps you unlock your engine’s full potential. You can uncap your motor and achieve the perfect air-to-fuel ratio for big power gains. What's more, some tunes can improve fuel economy, traction, throttle response, and much more.

Part Synergy

Installing a cold air intake from K&N or a new exhaust from Borla is a great way to gain power but you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don't tune your engine after. Once you install those shiny new parts your engine can gain around 10 to 30 horsepower, sure, but if your ECU doesn't know the engine is using parts that can handle more air and fuel, you're leaving power on the table. Installing a tune will help these parts work better together, especially if you're adding boost into the mix. You'll also find that high-horsepower builds tend to require proper tuning to avoid damaging the motor.

Flexibility

Something underrated about tuning your car is how flexible it can be. Looking at BAMA tunes, for example, you can grab a device that has several pre-loaded tunes. Essentially, you can change how your car handles and performs whenever you want, which is great if you like to drive your drag beast on the streets sometimes.

Cons of Tuning Your Car

Look, whenever you modify your engine you have to know the risks. Thankfully, tuning is one of the lowest-risk modifications you can make, but only when it's done properly. Learn about the disadvantages of tuning your car below.

Voided Warranty

Ending up with a voided warranty is likely the biggest disadvantage you'll face when tuning your car. While it may not seem like your engine was modified just by looking at the car, anyone can see if the ECU has been altered with the right tools. The good news is that this only applies to vehicles under warranty, so if you want to grab a BAMA tune for your 2011-2014 Mustang there's a good chance that there's no warranty to worry about anymore.

Reduced Engine Lifespan

The chances of you significantly damaging your engine with a tune is close to zero, but there's still a chance. Fortunately, it's very hard to tune your car into failure but you do need to keep an eye on your engine if you heavily modify the car and alter its timing. After all, an extra 10-20 horsepower may feel nice, but dumping too much fuel into the cylinders can damage the engine.

Loss of Value

If you plan on keeping your car forever, or at least until you run it into the ground at the dragstrip, then this shouldn't matter too much. That said, it's important to note that making changes to your car’s computer can reduce its value. If you plan on selling, make sure you find someone who's comfortable with the modifications you've made, and it's a good idea to give them the tuner you used because it's usually married to the vehicle.

Tune Your Ride with AmericanMuscle

Whether you’re someone who's just getting into the adrenaline-fueled world of cars, or a more experienced modder, tuning is always something to keep an eye on. Not only does it ensure that all of your fancy bolt-ons work together, but without the right tune good luck running a turbo or supercharger without launching a piston into the stratosphere. The good news is that we offer plenty of tuning solutions and even free tunes for life when you work with brands like BAMA. Shop online and connect with our sales techs to tune up the power of your muscle car without installing a single part.