Essential Guide to Challenger Tuning

Tuning a car is the act of dialing it in for maximum performance throughout its rpm range. This is done by manipulating fuel to air ratios, shift points, ignition timing, and many other variables. Challengers have been in the game a long time, even in the mechanical era of operating systems. Back then, tuning took a skilled hand equipped with some tools and time under the hood. Nowadays, it’s as simple as tapping into the PCM to change the computer's settings. Unless you’re gunning for a custom which takes a bit more effort.

The idea of a tune is to make the power band as level as possible. Look at any dyno results, and you will see there is a curve of power. As RPMs increase, the amount of power does too. You’ll also notice there are some spikes in the trend as the engine travels toward its redline. What you’re trying to do is flatten the curve and keep the climb as steady as possible.

Whatever the goal is, the idea is to change fuel mixtures and timing as it climbs; the end goal is to make an engine run as efficiently as possible. This is true for an attempt to improve power or economy.

Benefits of tuning an engine:

• Increased power
• Increased economy
• Improved engine operation
• Custom shift points (automatic transmission)

The idea behind most people’s efforts to tune an engine is to unlock or increase horses their Challenger is packing. So how much power can you really unlock with a tuner? Assuming stock settings, all around handheld computers, like those offered by Diablo Sport, SCT, and Hypertech can increase the output by an average of 10-20 horsepower. It doesn’t sound that impressive, but you have to take into consideration these ponies are already there. Releasing them will generally take no longer than 20 minutes of time.

What if the engine has other modifications? Well, the appropriate tune changes. With simple upgrades like cold air intakes and an exhaust, handheld tuners will suffice.

In fact, the amount of power they can help you gain at that point may go up a bit as the engine can breathe more freely and is already more powerful than a stock one. Seeing as no defining characteristics of the engine have been altered, the tuner can do its job.

If you’re diving into an engine that has some hardcore modifications, things change a little bit. Challengers are hot-rodding icons; they always have been. You may dive under the hood and make changes to the cam and valve train, the rotating assembly, or even up the ante with a supercharger. At this point, a handheld programmer may help a touch, but it’s truly best to set yourself up with a custom tune which can be achieved with a good dyno tuning session.

One major obstacle that can come into play is a locked PCM. On Challengers running from 2008-2014 this isn’t an issue.

2015 Challengers come from the factory with a locked PCM. This means handheld programmers and dyno tunes are out of the question.

One available option is purchasing a Scat Pack stage 1 PCM which is unlocked. With this, tuning is an option but all other factory options are locked, unfortunately.

Handheld tuners are the most popular tools for tuning any car and unless you’re going all out, this is probably what you’re considering. It’s affordable and really easy to do and will do the job for street cars.

How does it work? With handheld programmers the typical method is you purchase a generic, blank programmer. You then go to the manufacturer’s website and download the tune from the internet onto the programmer. After that point, the tune is loaded to your Challenger’s PCM via the OBDII port. This sounds like a pain, wouldn’t it be easier to just preload programmers with the tune? Then whatever the tune is, it is. If there is an updated, more efficient tune released down after the part number was released, you’re out of luck.

This method keeps everyone up to date with the latest programs. With that being said, some will allow users to update from their older tunes while others may not. This is something to keep an eye out for while shopping around.

Custom tuning is done in different manners. If you’re going all out with your Challenger, it’s wise to plan ahead with this stage. The reason being is you’ll want to find a decent shop with a chassis dyno and a skilled tech. They will be able to hook up to the car’s computer and run test tunes on the dyno until they find what works for your setup. The technician then tweaks the parameters to further dial in the tune to your exact build.