boostedgLt7 Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 1997 Volvo 850 GLT Stage Zero ARD White Tune Turbosmart T Manual Boost Controller ( set at 12lbs) Spectra Short Ram intake Very happy with ARD tuning (Lucky) He was great since day one and stayed in touch and gave me great customer service! Helped with all questions i had to throw at him. Tune is absoluetly STOUT! Made my car an animal for mainly having it stock! FIVE STARS to LUCKY and ARD TUNING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow95 Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 1997 Volvo 850 GLT Stage Zero ARD White Tune Turbosmart T Manual Boost Controller ( set at 12lbs) Spectra Short Ram intake Tune is absoluetly STOUT! Made my car an animal for mainly having it stock! FIVE STARS to LUCKY and ARD TUNING! You do realize that the "white tune" is not a tune right? It just removes the fuel cut at 12 lbs so you can use the MBC. Just an FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjer Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 ARD Green tune M4.4 auto AWD. 98 V70R SAS delete - works perfect. Rear O2 delete - No CEL, but doesn't set ready. Still passes Emissions in my State. Bought the tune 20k miles ago, car has run fine since. Nearly 200k now on the car. Had some trouble getting 17psi at first, but after contacting Lucky I was able to track down the source of the problem and get my desired boost. My experience with Lucky has been excellent, and I much prefer this tune over my previous IPD tune. Pulls harder all through the RPM range. Occasionally I can get a spike to 19 PSI at WOT when the car shifts into 3rd,but it hasn't really worried me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjflexer Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 Maybe try backing off the wastegate a turn and see if that helps with that occational spike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gsellstr Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Don't get here much but stumbled upon this and a few other threads while digging for something else. Toss me in the unhappy customer pile. Car is a 96 855R manual swap. Picked up one of his ME4.4 manual conversion ECU's as he promised it would clear all emissions monitors here in Cali. First ECU from him didn't clear any and was setting continual codes for either misfire or evap. Returned that, second tune set SAS codes...car has no SAS, ran like crap, still didn't clear monitors. 3rd ECU arrived with 3 bent pins (not from transit, packaging was 100% intact). Fixed those, no CEL, still didn't clear monitors, car was WAY down on power. Tossed a stock 628 back in just for reference and the car ripped. Also with the 3rd ECU if the temps were over 90* the car was a dog, especially with the AC on. Trying to take off from a stop it felt like you were in 2nd gear, even if you were in first. At one point in 2nd gear I got passed going over an overpass, while at WOT, by a beat down Ford Escort wagon! Also this iteration of the ECU had an issue where the RPM's would hang if you had the AC on, such as coasting up to a stop sign. NOT pleasant at all. Of my conversations with Robert and Michele I was told first to take it to a professional mechanic (had my ASE cert's for a decade, work with a knowledgebase of 30-40 lifetime tech's, had a local shop look at it as well). I was also told it must be the car, since the ECU they sent was fine. If it's the car, why was the stock ECU running fine and having no issues, plus loads more power? ARD tune you couldn't even light a tire up. Stock tune with the manual it would burn em thru the intersection. I have since found the monitor issue to be a wonky aftermarket Bosch O2 sensor (still working as expected, monitors cleared when I installed the stock 200k O2), however that doesn't explain all the CEL's, power issues, and the AC issue. Never was told what tune I even had after asking repeatedly. Many times I would ask questions trying to diagnose issues and I would maybe get a somewhat related response to 1 out of 10 questions, usually after 3-10 days. Finally ended up converting the car back to auto so I don't have to dick around with smog and having a guy anymore. Car runs and drives like it used to before the ARD ECU's, has power even when hot, no quirks, nothing. I know Lucky means well, but dammit, his product was beyond sub-par in my situation, as was his customer service. I also know of several others on the road with issues. I've seen one posting up here, the others I haven't, but I will let them voice their own complaints. Just my .02. Probably won't check back in here since I'm a regular on TB instead, but if anybody has questions, please feel free to pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
855R Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 So as the title states, what's the current feel? I've read some past threads on VS and some happy people and some people feel let down to put it one way. I've gotten the impression that within the last year or so tunes have improved. Is this really the case? I just recently figured out that our esteemed VS member "Tightmopedman9" offers tunes and may/is responsible for the recent improved quality of ECU upgrades available because of his hard work on improving the breed. Are his tunes still available? Customer service aside concerning ARD, are their ECU upgrades "still" good? I know a lot of questions, but only because I can find very few answers. This is in no way as a bash on ARD I just have some genuine questions for upgrades on my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHN_CENA Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 I do not have any personal experience with ARD or TMM9 tunes. That being said, I would go with a TMM9 tune because: Its cheaper Its custom made for your car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clintonpriddle Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 ^^^ what he said. As these cars are getting old, they are not all the same anymore (if they ever were?). As such, in my opinion, a custom tune will get so much more out of your car, and far more safely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PalmFist Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 I currently have an ARD tune for the bolt on upgrades I have installed. I am pleased with it. That being said, after getting my feet wet with open source tuning and planning for a full build with a larger turbo, self tuning seems a little overwhelming if you don't have some serious time to afford it. After gathering some intel on tuning I highly recommend TMM9 for a fully custom tune. My .02 cents, take it or leave it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpin Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 I do not have any personal experience with ARD tunes. Then you dont have any say. You are one sided Sir. I have had both(ARD Blue and Black and TMM9). I hit 342whp on an ARD Black. A lot of people have been bad mouthing ARD based on comparing maps but ARD has done nothing wrong. ARD broke new ground and stepped away from the only available tuning companies on the market. Everyone was please as punch when Lucky did this. They (ARD/TMM9) are both good. The difference is the customizing abilities Aaron provides. I am now trying out Aarons tunes and so far been pleased. I have not left ARD with a bad feeling, just moved on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyXXL Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 '?do=embed' frameborder='0' data-embedContent>> Decide for yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalvin Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 In before the parrots arrive. I have been running an ARD tune for more than a couple years now and have never had any issues related to the tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D s50r Posted August 7, 2014 Report Share Posted August 7, 2014 ive had two tunes with ard my first green tune was awesome... had one hiccup when i first got it kept throwing a barro sensor code but i sent it back to lucky and he fixed it, quick and easy.. my next tune whole different story lean as shit and it lead to my engine failure... it always surged above 3k i have been in contact with lucky ive tested all my bolt on components and the tune was the last thing that was left but i stopped communication with him at that point because im not going to go to small claims court over this... i ordered a new engine from erie volvo and ill be going with someone else for tuning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straight Five Junkie Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 I had my white tune with e85 for a year+ now. No problems at all. I think ARD is a good route to take for those who have mild mods and are generally new to Volvo tuning. If people want to slap on gt30 turbos then learning to self tune is the next logical step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOHN_CENA Posted August 8, 2014 Report Share Posted August 8, 2014 Then you dont have any say. You are one sided Sir. I didn't have a TMM9 tune either, I moved on to ME7. I'm not saying ARD is bad, I'm just stating facts about TMM9's tunes, but from several parts I bought from Lucky, he does have good communication as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.