What do you think a "tuner" is?

[Sincere]

Is it having all the hottest parts from Japan?
Maybe having a 10sec car you know nothing about..
Or is it just the fact that you like cars?
I'm not tryin to bash anyone anywhere, but how many do their own work on their cars? Can anyone on this site tune cars?

Just wanted to know after reeding the poser thread, what people think a tuner is. PLEASE don't get into a ricer rant. Thats NOT what i'm asking..

[Aaron]

I think a tuner is somebody that can wrench their own car and tweek an inexpensive car into a quick car using a combination of hardware that works well with one another that doesn't blow up. We don't have a lot of people here that "tune" their own cars, just a lot of bolt on mods that don't need much tuning. I'm not a tuner, but until there is Tristateguysandgirlsthatlikecarsandstuff.com, I'll be here.

[TROLL]

sidenote: when choosing a name for the forum, it was important that it was easy to say and to remember. i wasnt sure if 'tuners' would have the right connotation but really couldnt find anything else i liked as much.

i think a tuner is someone who works on their car. i'm a big fan of working on your own car when you can, or having someone help you do it so you can learn as you go. thats not always possible, so if you're having major work done no loss of respect for dropping it off at a shop. also, tons of respect for people who race their cars legally to take full advantage of the time they've spent working on it.

bryan

[wrx_snobordr]

well acording to merriam-websters a tuner is "one that tunes" but in general i think this is a hard question to answer. Its almost like asking what is rice. If you talk to a guy who owns a speed shop but doesnt do the work it may be anyone who wants to make their car faster or look better. If you talk to a mechanic he may say anyone who can actually tune the ecu. Then if you talk to a general kid on the street it may be anyone who is into cars and wants to do work to their but may not have enough money. I personally feel a tuner is someone who has the technical ability to do quality work that the average person cant. So bolting on an axel back muffler doesnt mean you are a tuner. But if you can rip apart your entire suspension and put it all back together you qualify.

[Driven]

I personally have always taken it literally.

A tuner is someone who tunes a car. When the people on this board who don't tune their own car take it to get it tuned, they generally say "I'm taking my car to the tuners."

I've always tuned my own car though and never even thought of letting someone else do it so maybe that's why I have this conception.

[GeforceXtreme]

A device for tuning, especially an electronic circuit or device used to select signals at a specific radio frequency for amplification and conversion to sound.

Example: TV or radio

[97TSi]

Originally Posted by Driven

I personally have always taken it literally.

A tuner is someone who tunes a car. When the people on this board who don't tune their own car take it to get it tuned, they generally say "I'm taking my car to the tuners."

I've always tuned my own car though and never even thought of letting someone else do it so maybe that's why I have this conception.

Agreed. Like I said in that other post in the thread. Just slapping on an exhaust, or other bolt-on part, does not make you a tuner. When you actually dive in and start messing w/timing, fuel, suspension, etc. then you can call yourself a tuner.

I also do all my own work and tuning on my car. The only place my car goes for work is NTB for tire mounting and balancing.

[PaleDSM]

To me a tuner is someone that tinkers with their car to increase its performance. Whether that is just bolting on an intake or exhuast or something larger and more involved. To me you are still tuning your car to a higher level than it came off of the showroom floor.

Personally I actually do my own engine managent tuning and have tuned various EM systems for others as well. Very rarely will anyone other than myself do anything at all to my car. I just don't trust anyone else. That and if something goes wrong I would prefer to blame myself rather than a friend that helped.

[SexyDSM95]

Originally Posted by PaleDSM

To me a tuner is someone that tinkers with their car to increase its performance. Whether that is just bolting on an intake or exhuast or something larger and more involved. To me you are still tuning your car to a higher level than it came off of the showroom floor.

Personally I actually do my own engine managent tuning and have tuned various EM systems for others as well. Very rarely will anyone other than myself do anything at all to my car. I just don't trust anyone else. That and if something goes wrong I would prefer to blame myself rather than a friend that helped.

What would you consider if the person has other people do the work for them and say that they did it themselves?

[xEJ20x]

What is a Tuner by George (me not that stupid english statement, but lets focus people )....

A person who has absolute knowledge about the car he is working on. Knows the stock specifications and what its capabilities are.
Someone who can perform the basic tune up with ease and install parts with little or no hassle.
Has the ability to perform basic bolt-ons and can do the more serious work such as engine rebuilds.
Someone who can rattle off the numbers of the car and compare them to other cars in the same catagory.
Someone who can tune a EMS with such precision that a highly modified car will run as if it were still on stock settings.

[igo4bmx]

nowadays when i think of a tuner, i think of a guy with a laptop, a wideband, and a dyno

[PaleDSM]

Originally Posted by SexyDSM95

What would you consider if the person has other people do the work for them and say that they did it themselves?

A poser.

[WrxJC]

A tuner is definately someone who can do their own work and knows what it is gonna do "performance-wise" to the car. For instance, If you can install simple bolts ons but don't know what they do for your car, your not a tuner. SO...its not only having the capability of doing stuff to your car its also the knowledge of what the outcome will be.

[TehWagon]

<---- not a tuner, though i agree with the afore mentioned definitions of said 'tuner'. for example, when i speak to chad block, i say, ''i'm talking to the tuner''. i hope to one day have the knowledge and skill to do that to my own car, but i'll be damned if i'm gonna eff with that level of stuff before i've got my brain around it!

[OutOfStock]

A "tuner" Id think is someone who knows what they are doing, and can work on the car to a certain extent and still know the car and the limits of what the car can do. I would call someone a tuner who can do most of the parts at home or in a shop but i wouldnt take them out of the category if they dont know how to do some of the harder stuff that takes specialty tools and such.

A "car enthusiast" is someone who knows about cars but isnt yet confident enough to do there own wrenching. They know whats going on, specs about more than just one vehicle and also can ingauge in idle chit chat about cars and not get lost in translation. This would be the grouping I think i would personally be in.

A "poser" is usually one of the people who, when they talk about what they are doing to the cars make it seem like they are ordering parts and having them installed like ordering a hoagie from wawa. I want this this and this and wham-o 400WHP. Also a person who reads stuff online but dosent comprehend whats going on and will just spout parts when they get into a confrentation with someone and most people know they really have no clue whats goin on they just know its a "better" part than.

[TehWagon]

That being said, i would like to point out that even though i don't claim to know alot about the technical inner workings of my car, i am eager to know more. i do my own work with guidance, so there's that... alas, i would hope to not be called a poser...

[OutOfStock]

Theres always circumstances but do you claim to know whats going on? like basically spouted straight from a site or making claims that you cant back up? That gets annoying fast hell i can rant about it all day lol

[TehWagon]

newp- i never claim to know more than i do- i always err on the side of admitted ignorance and go from there! my response wasn't so much a retort to what u said, so much as the fact that i re-read mine and it sounded a little too on the clueless side

[sisforsurfing]

Originally Posted by OutOfStock

A "tuner" Id think is someone who knows what they are doing, and can work on the car to a certain extent and still know the car and the limits of what the car can do. I would call someone a tuner who can do most of the parts at home or in a shop but i wouldnt take them out of the category if they dont know how to do some of the harder stuff that takes specialty tools and such.

A "car enthusiast" is someone who knows about cars but isnt yet confident enough to do there own wrenching. They know whats going on, specs about more than just one vehicle and also can ingauge in idle chit chat about cars and not get lost in translation. This would be the grouping I think i would personally be in.

A "poser" is usually one of the people who, when they talk about what they are doing to the cars make it seem like they are ordering parts and having them installed like ordering a hoagie from wawa. I want this this and this and wham-o 400WHP. Also a person who reads stuff online but dosent comprehend whats going on and will just spout parts when they get into a confrentation with someone and most people know they really have no clue whats goin on they just know its a "better" part than.

That's exactly what I'd have said if I would have taken the time to type it out. I'd also class myself as an enthusiast, ask anyone who's had my presence while wrenching... but I do know my info.