I'm with Blue2000s the tune really adjusts the way the engine responds and improves the driving experience. Nobody knows what your hp really is and it really doesn't matter when you get right down to it its just a number. What matters is how much the car excites you while driving.
I did the velocity tune with fabspeed xpipe and mansory exhaust, my 4.7 is a totally different beast and I love it.Peak hp is up but when you look at the dyno graphs the best change is along the rpm range that you really use which changes the driving experience. Yes I can still have buddies with 150hp miata''s turn better lap times than I can but I have a hell of a lot more fun doing it in my car.

 

I don't know, I also have a 130hp Miata and on the street, it's alot more fun than the Aston

 

True probably mostly because on the street you can go to wot on the miata and not be doing over 100 in a very short period of time. I have several other track cars but the Vantage is still the most fun to drive at it's limits. Not the fastest just the most fun and I'm just getting too conservative to test its limits on the street.

 

Yup, low weight and low limits.

 

 

 

 

So, you just installed the ECU tune from VP? I've thought about doing that only, but have been concerned that by itself I wouldn't notice a difference....

 

I noted previously, even starting from the power pack, the VAP tune is noticeable. It's not going to add much power (but some), but it changes the character of the engine's response to throttle inputs, which is dramatic.

 

 

i know you cant compare apples and oranges, but did the same mods to my mustang gt (cold air intake.exhaust.tune)
totally different car,$600 cost. i know aston is an exclusive car and prices are higher,but $2000cdn for a tune is really
pricey , when you think about it the v8v ecu is a ford product,its just price gouging to me,

 

well there are waaaay less cars to sell it to especially compared to a mustang LOL, and the cost of development remains the same so they kind of have to charge more if you want them to stay in business and continue to provide stuff in the future...

 

I mostly agree but I suspect there's always going to be some tax on an exotic car as well. Either way, oh well, buy the car, pay the costs. But that's not to say that one shouldn't look for ways to reduce paying alot for a part that can be found cheaper somewhere else.

 

How easy/simple/straight forward is the process of reading and then flashing the ECU? I am familiar with POWER Commander etc... on bikes, just not on a car. Pretty straight forward process?

 

We installed the stage 1 tune a year ago. Only additional mods were Redpants dry hi-flow air filters. As others have said it livened up the engine response and perhaps modest overall power bump. We had Velocity AP change the curve slightly when the exhaust opens up, so we get to enjoy the enhanced sound a little earlier without need to pull fuse 22.

We don't have 200 cell cats yet, thinking of buying, installing sometime this year.

As for how easy, it was simple. VAP ships their tuner tool, you down load some software on your computer to update firmware, plug it into your car to download the base tune, email that file to them, they update based on your needs and car hardware and email back. You then copy it back to the tuner tool and upload back into the car.

Kevin