Just purchased my 1st pony a couple weeks ago. After finding this site, I now have mod. fever. It seems most recommend a CAI & tune as a good 1st mod. Of all of the vendors and choices available, I’ve tried to narrow it down. However, I still have a couple of questions. The octane available in my immediate area is 87, 89, and a mix of 92/93. Half of the stations I use carry 92, the other half 93. I plan on going with two 87 tunes; one mileage, one performance. For my third tune, I’d rather go with a 93 tune, but for convenience sake, I may go with the 92 tune. Is there a large difference between a 92 & 93 tune? Also, would the 89 tune be worth getting over the 92? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

No, not a large difference. But there is a difference, higher is better, but not always convenient.

Where I live, 93 octane is tough to find. 91 is a little easier. I ordered a pack of 3 tunes from B am a. One is a 91 octane torque tune. The second is a 91 Octane race tune and the third is an 87 octane performance tune. There have been several times when I've been out of town and have only been able to find 87 octane gas. If that is the case, I reprogram my computer, and run the 87 octane tune until I get home.

ORIGINAL: 68XR7

Where I live, 93 octane is tough to find. 91 is a little easier. I ordered a pack of 3 tunes from B am a. One is a 91 octane torque tune. The second is a 91 Octane race tune and the third is an 87 octane performance tune. There have been several times when I've been out of town and have only been able to find 87 octane gas. If that is the case, I reprogram my computer, and run the 87 octane tune until I get home.


That's good advice. You should pick the tune based upon fuel availability. Personally, I run 87, 93, and race fuel tunes from Evolution. During the winter when I'm not trying to cut low ET's, I run the 87 tune. The 93 tune (93 gas is avail 'round me) is my summer time tune, and I use the race tune when I can find 104 unleaded (track runs). If you cannot always find 93 octane gas in your area, a 91 tune (or two) might be a good choice for you.

91 is a safe way to go unless you have 93 easily available in your town and surrounding areas. the diff between 91 and 93 may be there but it is not noticeable. so 92 vs 93 should be almost indentical in "feel". best way to decide is on availability as mentioned by others.

I couldn't imagine a big difference between the 92/93 performance tunes. I would go with what is most convenient for your area, and where you fill up the most.

As for the 2... 87 octane tunes.......I would get just 1 87 octanne mileage tune.(for road trips, or if you commute on highways a lot)....and trade out the second 87 tune for a 92/93 torque tune (especially if you have an automatic.)

I reverted back to an 87 performance tune from a 93 performance tune....and the car fealt really weak....almost stock.

Going from stock to an 87 performance tune, you might be happy with your gains. ---I was downgrading to the 87 performance....and I could really feel the difference.

It is very easy to swap out tunes, go with your gut instinct, and swap tunes out later if you don't like what you have. Keep us posted on who you go with for tunes, and how you like them.

I have the 93 performance tune as my daily drive tune.
87 performance for road trips.
93 torque for nights out on the town.