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Tuneboy vs. Power Commander???

2696 Views 10 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Joe Houle
What is the advantage of each? The guy who's going to help me tuning swears by PC, he says that it allows more capabilitys, particularly feed back when you're not on the dyno. True? sorta true?

I know most folks here are using TB, why?
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Because It's awesome, that's why!

You can adjust way more w/ TB. Plus it doesn't stay on your bike. But, if you feel more comfortable tuning (and your buddy does too) w/ PC go right ahead.

From what I understand, and I could be totally off base, PC intercepts the signals going to your EFI, and basically tricks your stock ECU into doing what it wants.

TB allows you to reprogram your ECU, changing everything from fuel to ignition, to AF targets, speedo constants.....

Basically if your ECU controls it, so does TB. It also allows you to diagnose/clear trouble codes. Very cooooool.
Having used both, I would say the guy that is going to tune your bike, may have no experience with TuneBoy/TuneEdit. And may not use it. Many Dynojet shops know nothing else, and refuse to try anything else. A Power Commander is a Dynojet product.

http://www.tuneboy.com.au/Compare/Compare.html
I've seen that page before, on the other hand I've never tuned so I really don't know how much of that is actually useful and how much it typical sales freatures and benefits copy.

The guy working with me on this is a friend who's a technical engineer type who's used the PCIII before but not tune edit. I'm not sure if he's looked into the tune edit much. One of the things he pointed out was that with a PCIII you can go in and see what it's recorded while you were riding and diagnose some performance issues/points with out having to put the bike on the dyno. How useful is that, can you dp the same thing with TB?

I'm initially not looking at getting either, but I may end up with something before I'm through.
I've got a riding buddy with a newer speedy and he got his pretty well tuned with a PC. If your not the tinkering type then I don't see a point in the tuneboy.
Tuneboy is easy to use.
You can plug in your PC and gofor a ride as a mobile Dyno.
You can access many things that PC can't.
If you end up rubber up, there is nothing physical for your insurance company to see.
Ditto if you blow the motor, replace the tune with the stocker in 5 minutes.
Don't need a dyno all of these wonderful guys are happy to share maps.
AA
XTR said:
One of the things he pointed out was that with a PCIII you can go in and see what it's recorded while you were riding and diagnose some performance issues/points with out having to put the bike on the dyno. How useful is that, can you dp the same thing with TB?
I have used several Power Commanders. I don't know how useful the PCIII can be for diagnosing anything. Look at the installation documents. The unit is a piggy back emulator. It is wired in to the harness, and reads throttle position and rpm, but disconnects the oxygen sensor and alters the ECU fuel curves by giving the ECU a false sensor signal, and changing the outputs the ECU sends to the injectors. The ECU can never work in closed loop with the oxygen sensor while the PCIII is on the bike.

With a Power Comander, you can add fuel, but not take it away at a specific rpm/throttle position in all cylinders. You cannot alter ignition timing. You cannot alter rev limit. You cannot alter start up and idle rpm. You cannot check the sensors.

Tuneboy/TuneEdit allows a tuner to actually alter the tables in the ECU and diagnose sensor inputs and faults. Because you actually have access to the ECU, you can alter just about anything it controls, including the fuel curves in each cylinder, and ignition timing. Comparing the abilities of each one directly is not even close, the TuneBoy software offers so much more than a PCII ever can. EVERY time I show someone the abilities of the TuneEdit and TuneBoy software that knows anything about tuning bikes, they are jealous that TuneBoy is not available for their bike.

A PCIII is cheaper than the TuneBoy cable. And almost all cycle Dynojet owners will tune a bike using one. You will pay extra for the dyno tuning. Many shops refuse to use anything else, or let you do your own tuning. For many guys the PCIII is a good option, or their only one.

If you have access to a TuneBoy cable, A TuneEdit tuning key for your bike is cheaper than a PCIII, and there are lots of good maps/tunes available for it (more all the time) that will get your bike very close without the need for a trip to the dyno - although tuning your specific bike and modifications will make things even better.

Find a few guys that have tuned (or had tuned) Triumph Speed Triples using the PCIII and talk to them about their experiences. Read a few of the threads on this site about the results of guys that have simply downloaded a tune and installed it in their bike using TuneEdit, or have done specific tuning with TuneEdit. Read the information on each site. And decide which works best for your needs.
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To me it doesn't make much sense using PC, if you can use the TB.

It is however easier to find someone to tune with PC. But there's more ready speed triple maps available for TB.
I had the same dilema. I've no ECU type knowledge of tuning so watched this and many other sites (non Triumph) to suss the issue out. I met the PC rep at the bike show and asked his advice on why go PC and not go the TB route. He said who / what's TB. I explained, he said "we sell millions do they?" That didnt detter me; most who slag off the opposition are scared.

Anyway after reading up I decided on the TB route despite a PC tuner being 30 miles up the road. I wanted to be able to do the self help thing with my own laptop.

The guys here are great help too; swapping tunes and working together on new ones.

:pow:

I can now switch in minutes to suit different cans, baffles in / out / twin / single side Art or Zard.

I'm just finishing off my bikes upgrade and will take to have a custom tune loaded during the summer. I'll post it here too for all to share.

:drink:

Tuneboy the biz

MH

XTR said:
What is the advantage of each? The guy who's going to help me tuning swears by PC, he says that it allows more capabilitys, particularly feed back when you're not on the dyno. True? sorta true?

I know most folks here are using TB, why?
See less See more
my 2013 speed triple smells rich and wondering about fuel milage. It has arrow exhaust and I am curious about Tune Boy advantages and cost ??? Thanks !!!
Jerome, WTF are you doing? You should know better than this.

This thread is fukn 9yrs old, and your questions are 100% answered using the search function.

I call BS on you even owning an S3 at this point. Stop trolling us STIMS
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