With tuning finally unlocked for the 2024 Ford Mustang, the team at Palm Beach Dyno brought in two nearly new cars from Steeda to answer the big question: how much power is a tune really worth? The showdown pitted a Mustang GT against its more powerful sibling, the Dark Horse, to see the real-world gains over a stock Mustang baseline.

The test began with the Mustang GT, which laid down a baseline of 403 rear-wheel horsepower in the hot and humid weather. After loading a custom tune, tuner Ken Bjonnes went through multiple revisions, carefully dialing in the camshaft timing. The process revealed a quirk in the new S650 platform: an inferred oil temperature reading in the computer can limit power right after a flash.

After letting the car warm up properly, the final tuned GT produced 422 rear-wheel horsepower. More importantly, it picked up huge power in the middle of the rev range. “We have a huge gain here in the middle of over 25 horsepower, which you’re probably going to be spending more time here than you are up here,” Bjonnes explained.Next, the Dark Horse was strapped to the dyno, making a stronger baseline of 414 rear-wheel horsepower. As Bjonnes worked on the tune, he took the time to explain his philosophy of educating owners. “We want you guys to be educated owners, not just believe all the marketing you’ve been fed,” he said, showing how gains across the entire power curve are more important than a single peak number.

After several revisions, the tuned Dark Horse put down 433 rear-wheel horsepower, again with significant gains in the midrange. PBD uses this intensive dyno process on new platforms to ensure the remote tunes they send to any stock Mustang owner are reliable and effective.The stock versus tuned showdown revealed that having a custom tune for your car is one of the most effective ways to unlock its hidden potential. While the peak gains were around 20 horsepower for both cars, the real story was the massive increase in midrange power and the broadening of the powerband.