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Nails

Which Tuner?

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Quick question for everyone who has had their car tuned, I am talking about the classic, manifold & remap. I can see most people on here go up to Tuning Developments. I gave Mike a call myself the other week and he seemed like a great bloke, really friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. However, for me to go there, you are talking about 4 and a half hours and 230 miles each way. That is a lot, even more so when you have a reputable tuner like Abbey Motorsport just 14 miles away.

My question is, why are people who are closer not using Abbey Motorsport for this service? Or perhaps they are and it is not being as well publicised? I did contact Mark at Abbey, and he quoted me about approx. £1650 for the same work that Tuning Developments do for £1500. So it is £150 more, but I would spend at least 60 quid in petrol with the Tuning Developments option, plus there is the hassle of the long drive and if anything was to go wrong Tuning Developments are not exactly local, so the price difference doesn’t come into it for me. I want to get the best I can for my money, and am wandering what people would suggest I do and why?

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Personally I prefer to build a relationship with a tuner - after all you're trusting them with your car, especially with regards to a remap etc. That's slightly tricky if they're absolutely bloody miles away. For me it's a no brainer, go to who's closest. As you say if something goes wrong, you don't want a 230 mile transfer bill just to get the car there too.

That's no disrespect to Mike by the way. :)

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Personally I use Tuning Devlopments for bits like tuning etc but I know there are plenty of people who use abbey and are just as happy with them as I am with Tuning Developments.

Like @Lowe has said you need to trust them with your car. Try and talk to them both first (sounds like you already have) you can normally tell just form a first impression what they are like and how much knowledge they have.

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I think you can order the tuning developments manifold if you wanted there one and I'm sure Abbey will fit it for you? Although not sure what the costs would be to deliver the TD manifold. 

And not sure if Abbey have worked it that manifold before but sure they can work around it but best talk to them before hand. 

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Abbey will install and map whatever you want them to.

 

There are plenty of good combos out there. Seems to be a current trend on this forum that TD is the only good option which isn't true.

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TD have had a lot of activity recently due to Mike and the team actively promoting their turbo kit amoungst other things. 

@Mark@Abbey M/S is highly regarded in the industry and on this forum, but he doesn't always have the time to be as active on here as some of the other tuners. 

You'll get exactly what you want from either Mark or Mike ;)

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I think a lot have used TD simply because they have well proven package so it makes it a one stop shop and the results obviously speak for themselves with one of the best available manifolds on the market. It also helps for me that their workshop is around two miles away from where I work in Warrington, so very convenient too. The top three of the N1 TSS class all use TD manifolds and remap. 

All said and done Mark at Abbey has a huge amount of experience and is a lot closer. You'd just need to source a manifold for them to fit. I guess it's possible to get the TD manifold (highly recommended) and get Mark to fit and do the remap for you. 

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1 hour ago, Cerastes said:

And not sure if Abbey have worked it that manifold before but sure they can work around it but best talk to them before hand. 

Mark had the FA20Club manifold fitted to a UK car quite early on, I believe he still has it. The TD manifold came later and is incredibly similar ;) The thing is that TD have a kit that they fit, Mark has always done the tailored mods route.

Ps My car is looked after by Abbey.

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1 hour ago, Lowe said:

Personally I prefer to build a relationship with a tuner - after all you're trusting them with your car, especially with regards to a remap etc. That's slightly tricky if they're absolutely bloody miles away. For me it's a no brainer, go to who's closest. As you say if something goes wrong, you don't want a 230 mile transfer bill just to get the car there too.

 

Absolutely this. I done it both ways, and whilst I can't fault any individual tuner, it's just easier when they're closer.

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Have you thought about FENSPORT? I have all my work done there and are really friendly and happy to help!! Adrian smith knows his stuff on the mapping side of things. But it’s personal preference all the tuners that have already been said seem to be the top tuners to go too as well as Fensport.👍🏼

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Abbey also have a dyno and their N/A tuning results have been very strong, they just don't offer the "complete tuning package" that TD do. As someone said further up, Mike and the team @ TD have been very active promoting their kit and also making sure their N/A tuning package is directly compatible with the turbo upgrade later, which for many here is a big plus (not having to buy another manifold etc).

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This is an interesting topic, let me chip in...

Both Mark @ Abbey and Mike @ TD were highly recommended by members when we discussed during few social events I attended. I also spoke to both of them and felt confident either of them will do good job, particularly considering I was after fairly "standard" mods.

TD was much further distance wise but this issue was sorted by one of my work colleagues volunteering (well, me being his boss probably helped) to take the car up to TD during one of his regular trips to see his parents. And I know I would end up venturing up north occasionally. So, distance was a big factor but not the deciding one for me at the end

Price wise there is a difference in TD favor.

But the main 2 factors that for me tipped the balance were:

1) I wanted several things done at the same time (NA tune, manifold, BBK, coilovers, alignment) and Mike's offer to deal with all this as a "package" was very tempting particularly considering I had a nearly fixed "mods budget" (ended up going over it - but all Lucas@Partbox fault for offering Rays at price I could not let pass).

Mike was very patient answering my basic and often dumb questions (including follow-ups) and was very frank when we discussed value vs amount spent (for example TD had a great offer on BC coilovers, but I wanted Teins, ended up sacrificing rear discs upgrade but going for Teins Flex As).

I know I would want to do more and will be going through few options with Mike over the coming months.

2) I also wanted simple and proven "pass" to upgrade to FI later on and here again, TD offered simple and cost effective solution.

TD also offers a range of options here, even for a "standard" turbo upgrade, so I would definitely need to go up to Warrington before finally making up my mind.

Then, when it comes to servicing and routine work, I would prefer a specialist shop vs dealership and would have no hesitation either using TD or Abbey.

This is just my personal opinion.

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I had quoted Nail on the same basic deal as Mike@TD quotes  using the TD headers/overpipe which with a good tune provide a very nice tune. Mike @ TD was good enough to allow us to by his items.

We are a little more expensive than Mike due to labour rate costs but as @knightryder said we used the FA20 header a long time ago with good results we also use the Ace header but alias it is a very expensive item. 

I feel we can do a good tune on these car on out in house dyno using the TD parts , any updates can be done in house @ Abbey saves the trip to TD in Warrington and we are a fair way down the line for our own Traction control add on to the Ecutek Remap we offer. 

@Nails up to you TBH I cant work the deal any cheaper as Mike is is discounting his package already but I can offer top quality service and over 20+ year of tuning trade.any questions ask away

 

 

 

 

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I haven’t remapping work done but just to echo what others have said, I’m sure you will be happy with either company. When I lived in London, Abbey worked on my 350z and now I’m further north TD have worked on my 86, both offered fantastic service and truly know their stuff. :)

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As said people are going to Abbey but probably not shouting about it as much. Mike from TD does a very good job at promoting on here and having a great website while Mark tends to offer more of a bespoke service. Parts aren't listed on their website so you have to email/phone. They do get back quickly, but you can't window shop.

Interestingly when Abbey remapped my car last year they were a fair bit cheaper than Fensport and Tuning Developments - which I was surprised at given it was a proper Ecutek map on the dyno with some custom things I asked for (soft rev limiter), and their standard safety limit built in when the oil temperature gets too high. I'm not sure if that is still the case but it was a pretty good deal.

Generally though they should cost a bit more as it's the South East. 

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I travelled a couple of hours to get my CR-Z modded at Torque Developments, Thurrock, and around three hours to get the BRZ modded at Tuning Developments, Warrington.  I appreciate good work and the ability to step up down the line, should I want to.

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57 minutes ago, Nails said:

Thanks for all the input guys, as suspected it seems Abbey are used quite a lot but it is just not as well publicised on the forums. Thanks also to @Mike@TD.co.uk and @Mark@Abbey M/S for commenting on the topic. Sounds like whichever one I choose I will be in good hands :)

Every time I've been to Abbey over the past few years, there's been at least 1 other GT86 there having work done. As you say, they're used a lot but it's not publicised as much.

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