My Tuning Tech Frank Smith Experience
02-18-16, 01:05 PM
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My Tuning Tech Frank Smith Experience
Hey guys,
I wanted to take a quick minute to share my experience of TTFS and my tune. First some things about me and my car. I have a 07 IS250 AWD automatic with 81k miles and change and it is all stock besides the tune. It is my daily driver. I am not on the forums much, I am what you would call a lurker I guess. I come more to do research when I need information. I have always enjoyed cars but never got into modifications that much. Haha maybe that is why they said non enthusiast owned car.
Well that all changed a few weeks back when a friend of mine told me there was a local shop that could tune Lexus's now. He told me that no one has been able to tune Lexus until recently a few companies started offering tunes. He said I could be the one of the first if not first 2nd generation IS250 tuned in America and that they were looking for a local IS250. I was sold! I made the call and set an appointment.
So I show up for my appointment and the shop is the cleanest and nicest shop I have ever seen and been to. I see a E55 AMG, The new M5 and some older M3's, a Porshe, and a Viper. Frank and Kyle greet me and show me around the shop, very cool they had a separate dyno room and engine building room. I wish I brought my camera. So they got right to work, Kyle pulled my car into the dyno room, strapped her in, and got some baseline runs in. Then began removing the ECU. I was there for some time so I watched from the windows that look into the dyno room and they also had a tv with a feed into the dyno room in the customer area. Once the ECU was out Frank went to work in another room I guess I will call it the lab since it seemed high tech with all the gadgets. He asked me some questions but it was pretty straight forward since my car was stock and I chose not to raise my rev limit.
Anyways they were very accommodating and offered me something to drink and if I wanted any food from outside since it wasn't a quick job. Haha they even had the Velocity channel on in the customer area too which was nice. Random guys would show up to the shop just to hang out which was pretty cool. It helped the time go by and we chatted about cars. The shop was like a hang out spot.
Anyways back to my car, after Frank finished flashing my ecu, then Kyle went to work putting it back in. Once it was back in they did the after dyno runs and they were impressed with the results considering it was a stock car.They made sure I did not have any codes and lights and asked me to go for a spin and come back.
I could tell a difference right from the start. I did not need a graph to tell me something was different. My car definitely had more kick to it, it was more responsive if that makes any sense. The power was smooth through out the the rpm range and the shifts were better than before in manual mode. I was very impressed. Once I got back they asked me some questions and what I thought about it and so on. Frank told me if he had any updates that he would give those to me at no charge. He also told me about a upcoming open house they are having and for me to come by.
Now that I have had the tune for a few weeks I think I have the mod bug lol and am looking into some more power adders. I want to see if I can gain some more power. Not just that I gained some power but I really enjoyed the experience I had at the shop and talking to other car guys. I now can understand the bond car guys have.
Back to the TTFS team those guys were extremely knowledgeable and professional. A lot of the stuff Frank was telling me was way above me. But at the same time they were very down to earth and it did not seem like I was at a shop. These guys are legit, I will bring my car to them when I install more parts for sure.
I hope this helps as a review. Hopefully I did not miss anything. I attached my graph below too. Thanks
I wanted to take a quick minute to share my experience of TTFS and my tune. First some things about me and my car. I have a 07 IS250 AWD automatic with 81k miles and change and it is all stock besides the tune. It is my daily driver. I am not on the forums much, I am what you would call a lurker I guess. I come more to do research when I need information. I have always enjoyed cars but never got into modifications that much. Haha maybe that is why they said non enthusiast owned car.
Well that all changed a few weeks back when a friend of mine told me there was a local shop that could tune Lexus's now. He told me that no one has been able to tune Lexus until recently a few companies started offering tunes. He said I could be the one of the first if not first 2nd generation IS250 tuned in America and that they were looking for a local IS250. I was sold! I made the call and set an appointment.
So I show up for my appointment and the shop is the cleanest and nicest shop I have ever seen and been to. I see a E55 AMG, The new M5 and some older M3's, a Porshe, and a Viper. Frank and Kyle greet me and show me around the shop, very cool they had a separate dyno room and engine building room. I wish I brought my camera. So they got right to work, Kyle pulled my car into the dyno room, strapped her in, and got some baseline runs in. Then began removing the ECU. I was there for some time so I watched from the windows that look into the dyno room and they also had a tv with a feed into the dyno room in the customer area. Once the ECU was out Frank went to work in another room I guess I will call it the lab since it seemed high tech with all the gadgets. He asked me some questions but it was pretty straight forward since my car was stock and I chose not to raise my rev limit.
Anyways they were very accommodating and offered me something to drink and if I wanted any food from outside since it wasn't a quick job. Haha they even had the Velocity channel on in the customer area too which was nice. Random guys would show up to the shop just to hang out which was pretty cool. It helped the time go by and we chatted about cars. The shop was like a hang out spot.
Anyways back to my car, after Frank finished flashing my ecu, then Kyle went to work putting it back in. Once it was back in they did the after dyno runs and they were impressed with the results considering it was a stock car.They made sure I did not have any codes and lights and asked me to go for a spin and come back.
I could tell a difference right from the start. I did not need a graph to tell me something was different. My car definitely had more kick to it, it was more responsive if that makes any sense. The power was smooth through out the the rpm range and the shifts were better than before in manual mode. I was very impressed. Once I got back they asked me some questions and what I thought about it and so on. Frank told me if he had any updates that he would give those to me at no charge. He also told me about a upcoming open house they are having and for me to come by.
Now that I have had the tune for a few weeks I think I have the mod bug lol and am looking into some more power adders. I want to see if I can gain some more power. Not just that I gained some power but I really enjoyed the experience I had at the shop and talking to other car guys. I now can understand the bond car guys have.
Back to the TTFS team those guys were extremely knowledgeable and professional. A lot of the stuff Frank was telling me was way above me. But at the same time they were very down to earth and it did not seem like I was at a shop. These guys are legit, I will bring my car to them when I install more parts for sure.
I hope this helps as a review. Hopefully I did not miss anything. I attached my graph below too. Thanks
02-18-16, 01:58 PM
#3
Lexus Champion
Hey guys,
I wanted to take a quick minute to share my experience of TTFS and my tune. First some things about me and my car. I have a 07 IS250 AWD automatic with 81k miles and change and it is all stock besides the tune. It is my daily driver. I am not on the forums much, I am what you would call a lurker I guess. I come more to do research when I need information. I have always enjoyed cars but never got into modifications that much. Haha maybe that is why they said non enthusiast owned car.
Well that all changed a few weeks back when a friend of mine told me there was a local shop that could tune Lexus's now. He told me that no one has been able to tune Lexus until recently a few companies started offering tunes. He said I could be the one of the first if not first 2nd generation IS250 tuned in America and that they were looking for a local IS250. I was sold! I made the call and set an appointment.
So I show up for my appointment and the shop is the cleanest and nicest shop I have ever seen and been to. I see a E55 AMG, The new M5 and some older M3's, a Porshe, and a Viper. Frank and Kyle greet me and show me around the shop, very cool they had a separate dyno room and engine building room. I wish I brought my camera. So they got right to work, Kyle pulled my car into the dyno room, strapped her in, and got some baseline runs in. Then began removing the ECU. I was there for some time so I watched from the windows that look into the dyno room and they also had a tv with a feed into the dyno room in the customer area. Once the ECU was out Frank went to work in another room I guess I will call it the lab since it seemed high tech with all the gadgets. He asked me some questions but it was pretty straight forward since my car was stock and I chose not to raise my rev limit.
Anyways they were very accommodating and offered me something to drink and if I wanted any food from outside since it wasn't a quick job. Haha they even had the Velocity channel on in the customer area too which was nice. Random guys would show up to the shop just to hang out which was pretty cool. It helped the time go by and we chatted about cars. The shop was like a hang out spot.
Anyways back to my car, after Frank finished flashing my ecu, then Kyle went to work putting it back in. Once it was back in they did the after dyno runs and they were impressed with the results considering it was a stock car.They made sure I did not have any codes and lights and asked me to go for a spin and come back.
I could tell a difference right from the start. I did not need a graph to tell me something was different. My car definitely had more kick to it, it was more responsive if that makes any sense. The power was smooth through out the the rpm range and the shifts were better than before in manual mode. I was very impressed. Once I got back they asked me some questions and what I thought about it and so on. Frank told me if he had any updates that he would give those to me at no charge. He also told me about a upcoming open house they are having and for me to come by.
Now that I have had the tune for a few weeks I think I have the mod bug lol and am looking into some more power adders. I want to see if I can gain some more power. Not just that I gained some power but I really enjoyed the experience I had at the shop and talking to other car guys. I now can understand the bond car guys have.
Back to the TTFS team those guys were extremely knowledgeable and professional. A lot of the stuff Frank was telling me was way above me. But at the same time they were very down to earth and it did not seem like I was at a shop. These guys are legit, I will bring my car to them when I install more parts for sure.
I hope this helps as a review. Hopefully I did not miss anything. I attached my graph below too. Thanks
I wanted to take a quick minute to share my experience of TTFS and my tune. First some things about me and my car. I have a 07 IS250 AWD automatic with 81k miles and change and it is all stock besides the tune. It is my daily driver. I am not on the forums much, I am what you would call a lurker I guess. I come more to do research when I need information. I have always enjoyed cars but never got into modifications that much. Haha maybe that is why they said non enthusiast owned car.
Well that all changed a few weeks back when a friend of mine told me there was a local shop that could tune Lexus's now. He told me that no one has been able to tune Lexus until recently a few companies started offering tunes. He said I could be the one of the first if not first 2nd generation IS250 tuned in America and that they were looking for a local IS250. I was sold! I made the call and set an appointment.
So I show up for my appointment and the shop is the cleanest and nicest shop I have ever seen and been to. I see a E55 AMG, The new M5 and some older M3's, a Porshe, and a Viper. Frank and Kyle greet me and show me around the shop, very cool they had a separate dyno room and engine building room. I wish I brought my camera. So they got right to work, Kyle pulled my car into the dyno room, strapped her in, and got some baseline runs in. Then began removing the ECU. I was there for some time so I watched from the windows that look into the dyno room and they also had a tv with a feed into the dyno room in the customer area. Once the ECU was out Frank went to work in another room I guess I will call it the lab since it seemed high tech with all the gadgets. He asked me some questions but it was pretty straight forward since my car was stock and I chose not to raise my rev limit.
Anyways they were very accommodating and offered me something to drink and if I wanted any food from outside since it wasn't a quick job. Haha they even had the Velocity channel on in the customer area too which was nice. Random guys would show up to the shop just to hang out which was pretty cool. It helped the time go by and we chatted about cars. The shop was like a hang out spot.
Anyways back to my car, after Frank finished flashing my ecu, then Kyle went to work putting it back in. Once it was back in they did the after dyno runs and they were impressed with the results considering it was a stock car.They made sure I did not have any codes and lights and asked me to go for a spin and come back.
I could tell a difference right from the start. I did not need a graph to tell me something was different. My car definitely had more kick to it, it was more responsive if that makes any sense. The power was smooth through out the the rpm range and the shifts were better than before in manual mode. I was very impressed. Once I got back they asked me some questions and what I thought about it and so on. Frank told me if he had any updates that he would give those to me at no charge. He also told me about a upcoming open house they are having and for me to come by.
Now that I have had the tune for a few weeks I think I have the mod bug lol and am looking into some more power adders. I want to see if I can gain some more power. Not just that I gained some power but I really enjoyed the experience I had at the shop and talking to other car guys. I now can understand the bond car guys have.
Back to the TTFS team those guys were extremely knowledgeable and professional. A lot of the stuff Frank was telling me was way above me. But at the same time they were very down to earth and it did not seem like I was at a shop. These guys are legit, I will bring my car to them when I install more parts for sure.
I hope this helps as a review. Hopefully I did not miss anything. I attached my graph below too. Thanks
02-18-16, 02:00 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
02-19-16, 08:55 AM
#5
That's awesome Op! I'm glad you had a positive experience. Perhaps this was the mod that opened the flood gates to modding! Time for intake, exhaust, and headers! Then you'll be fully bolt on. Hopefully you can get her strapped back in for a more aggressive tune, If it's possible!
02-19-16, 09:20 AM
#6
Former Sponsor
Hey Shelby, glad to see you on here and thanks for the kind words. Sorry we did not mean you were not a enthusiast, we were trying to stress it was a stock daily driven car.
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