TTS Mastertune V. SE Pro Street Tuner (Formerly Super Tuner)
Oftentimes, people ask us, which tuner should I go with? I want the most amount of power. The aftermarket shop recommended I go with the TTS Mastertune. Meanwhile, I am getting recommendations from you that I go with the H-D® Pro Street Tuner.
I am confused. I go on the Harley® forums and there are all sorts of misinformation there.
The truth is this: Neither is perfect. But here is why we recommend the Harley-Davidson® Pro Street Tuner for your Harley-Davidson® motorcycle. We tune with both all the time, but you're asking for our recommendation.
EPA Background
Let's take a step back a few years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been after manufacturers for years, including Harley-Davidson®. Harley-Davidson®'s best-selling part for several years was the H-D® Super Tuner. This allowed customers and dealers to go in, plug into their bikes, and push the motorcycle's Air Fuel Ratios outside the bounds of EPA regulations. In other words, you could go in and make the motorcycle produce a bunch of power and pollution. The EPA penalized Harley-Davidson® financially and as part of the agreement, they had H-D® agree that if a motorcycle has a Super Tuner OR other device plugged in, it would not warranty certain parts on the motorcycle (primarily power-train items).
Current Times
Advance a year after this. Harley-Davidson® Introduces the all-new Pro Street Tuner. This allowed us to get the motorcycle tuned but did not allow us to push the motorcycle outside the bounds of the EPA regulation. So we could plug in like we used to be able to and adjust the air-fuel ratio to where we needed it to be. You would think, the new Pro Street Tuner doesn't do everything the old Super Tuner Did. You would be correct. But, for 99% of the performance builds we do, it is perfect. Aftermarket Shops enjoy telling you all the things the TTS Mastertune does that the Super Tuner can't do. Factually, none of those "magical" things will be used for your bike.
TTS Mastertune
What's the difference? Why does the aftermarket shop recommend the TTS Mastetune? Well, several reasons:
*$$$$ The shop makes more money selling you the TTS Mastertune. Yep, the profit margin is substantially more. Feel like that impacts the recommendation? It does.
*Readily Available. The TTS Mastertune is readily available at aftermarket providers so they can order it for you rather than get it from the dealer.
Does it do a bunch more stuff than the Pro Street Tuner? Not for what you are going to do with it but keep it rideable and reliable. That's the key. We recently tuned a Harley-Davidson® with a Mastertune and a Pro Street Tuner. Which one produced more horsepower? The TTS Mastertune. By how much? One (1) Horsepower. Yes. One. That could have simply been barometric pressure differences between the days we tuned the bike.
Warranty Coverage
For those of you that still have a 2-year warranty. Yes, the TTS Mastertune does negatively impact your warranty. Oh, you say you are outside the warranty? Are you aware that Harley-Davidson® sometimes allows claims outside the 2-year warranty? Yes, that's true, especially if one of their components fails. They authorize goodwill in some cases when an item fails. Will they do that if they see a TTS Mastertune is installed-not a chance? Do we tell you that to scare you? That's what your aftermarket shop will tell you, but it's kinda nice to have support behind you when a component fails rather than asking you for the money to rebuild an engine.
Conclusion
It boils down to risk and reliability. If you believe that a component has to be non-Harley® for it to be aggressive and produce, then this article is not for you. If you understand the actual parameters of both, you will see that the Pro Street Tuner is the way to go every time. The only time we would differ is when you are going outside of a Stage IV kit and so aggressive you are looking to turn your bike into a ¼ mile racer. Otherwise, stick with something that has been designed, tested, and backed by Harley-Davidson®. But most importantly, it produces a great running result.
Lastly, got questions. Email us at Info@wilkinsharley.com or better yet, swing in, and visit with one of 3 Dyno Tuners who have all been to H-D® Super Tuner School, Mike Daniels Performance School, and Dynojet School. Ask them to show you the graphs of the builds they have completed.