Tuning – in the real or virtual world – can dramatically change a car’s performance and handling characteristics. It can also be very time consuming, involving hours of tweaking, testing, trial, and error.
It’s also a generally subjective art; settings preferred by one player are are often unsuitable to another’s driving style. To further complicate things, a specific tune only applies to the car it was designed for – until now.
GTPlanet user Brendan Hobbart (pgagoober) has tackled this problem head-on in his new iOS app, “GTune 5”. It includes an ambitious feature known as “inTune”, which claims to translate settings from one car to another in Gran Turismo 5 while maintaining the tune’s characteristics.
When Brendan first contacted me about beta testing his app, I was skeptical of these promises, but accepted his free copy for review.
I found the menus to be fast and highly polished, if not a bit daunting. Fortunately, Brendan has integrated a set of pop-up help screens, which guides new users through the app. He’s also created this video, which explains all of the features and functionality in detail.
I decided to start with one of the sample tunes for FR cars, based on the small, lightweight Toyota 86 GT ’12. After a few laps around Tsukuba with the stock car, I applied the app’s tune. Although it’s noted the sample tunes are not intended to be optimal, there was a definite improvement to the 86’s already balanced handling.
This tune would be my starting point; could the app’s mathematical formulas really translate these settings for a small FR car to a significantly heavier, more powerful car?
Using the “inTune” feature, I created a new tune for the Dodge Challenger SRT8 TC. This isn’t an especially fun car to drive, but I was impressed with the improvement after applying the recommended settings. Turn-in was sharper, grip was more consistent through corners, and the car exhibited a greater sense of overall balance. So far, so good.
The real test would come next, with the Corvette ZR-1; it’s fun to drive, but it can be difficult to get cleanly around the track. After applying the newly translated tune, I was stunned with the results.
Power oversteer was reduced significantly, and when it did come, it was more predictable and easy to control. The car was stable and – dare I say it – felt like a big, powerful Toyota 86. The improvements were also reflected in lap times, as I dropped 1.2 seconds my first lap out after applying the tune. To consider this had all been brought about by a few lines of code and mathematical formulas made the results even more impressive.
Although I used one of the GTune’s samples for my testing, it’s important to keep in mind this tool is designed to translate – not generate – car settings. That means it will preserve characteristics about your favorite tunes as you transfer them from car to car, making each set of recommended settings unique and personalized just for you.
As of writing, the only drawback to the inTune feature is its handling of gear ratios. For now, these still need to be adjusted between cars for optimal performance. However, automated gearbox tuning is apparently coming soon in a future update and will certainly be a welcome addition. It’s also worth noting that not all of GT5’s cars are yet included in the app, though all of the Premium models are covered and popular Standard models will continue to be introduced in future updates.
At $4.99, this will likely not be an impulse buy, but if you want to go faster in GT5 without spending hours in the game’s tuning menus, I consider it a good value.
Brendan, the developer, is active in the community here and has outlined plans to improve and support the app over the long term. As a site sponsor, you can chat with him here in the forums to submit your feedback, questions, or suggestions.
GTune 5 is available in the App Store now for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Check out the app’s official website for more information.
GTune5 is not available in South Africa. How can I get hold of it.
update is out!
do you know when apple will be putting up the update? Im having the same problem as thaisn, app starts up fine then i push the spanner and it shuts down, my ipod has version 4.2.1.
Sorry vivalafeng. It will probably be available in about 4-5 days. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do to speed up the review process. I will post again here and in the forum when 1.02 is released.
Just to re-iterate for anyone else reading, this bug effect iOS 4.x only.
Cheers dude, thanks for the eta.
To answer the question on the main page, yes, it works.
I’ve never paid for an app before but when the android version of this comes out ill be the first in line:-)
Please consider putting this on windows, even if you make it more expensive.
Well, I will certainly be considering every platform but to be honest right now Windows is a long shot. Still – I have made no decisions and like I said, everything will be considered if there seems to be enough demand to warrant the cost of development. GTune 6 probably stands a much better chance of hitting multiple platforms as I will be in a position to launch much sooner after game release, and that should be a big factor in app sales. Of course I will also factor that into any GTune 5 platform decision as it will be easier to modify an existing codebase for the GTune 6 release that it would be to start from scratch. Decisions decisions, and all of them difficult :)
well i dont see it on play store?
Sorry Teejay143 – right now this app is available for iOS only. I am giving strong consideration to creating an Android version but if it happens it will take quite a while to create.
I will buy this on Android as well.
Tried it. My tunes are better, but good for Noobs.
Did you try it with one of your own tunes? Remember the sample tunes are just that- samples. Many have commented how much they like the sample tunes and as a result, the inTune-generated tunes based on them. However, if the sample tunes are not to your liking then you will get most value from the app by starting with your own tunes(s) and using them as the basis for generating tunes for other cars.
I’m going to try some more tonight. The Yellowbird was the first one. The new tune put the ride hight at -40 in the front, which is way too low. My tune is used with full ballast, and not so low. I like it for the most part, and will try a few “tune the untunable” cars with it. Great app though. Very compehensive.
5$? That’s dirt cheap. 4 kilograms of sugar fetches something around that price here, not expensive at all.
i hope u omit the 2d , 2j , gsxr etc lol , as these cars r ruining online tt’s , nice idea though , how about a ‘pro’ update that uses real world tuner demo car setups , you know how the minnions go mad for anything labelled pro , would bring variety to the leaderboards ,
Why would you want to not have all the cars in the app?
And by the way, your post violated the AUP: http://www.gtplanet.net/aup/
well goddamn it i thought we were here to discuss gt & cars not to get a HND in english literature
Gotcha w115ter – I’ll add some code to make sure any tunes generated for those cars perform poorly. Interesting idea about the real world tuner setups. Can you send me a PM with more details? Thanks.
Oh – p.s. Just kidding about hobbling those cars ;) lol
Nobody ever said anything about diplomas, just that posts should be written in common English.
And I must say I am a fan of English Literature.
Lol this looks like a waste of time.
Even if I wanted it I would need an iPad or Android version.
It pants waste of time at all.
Great app, pgagoober! Keep up the good work!
Thanks bud!
Ok maybee i dont understand properly, can i not use this app for any car in the game? are there only certain cars which it works with? that would kinda suck.
Is there anything like GTcalc or this which will work on linux mint 12?
As of now, it only works with certain cars.
But in the near future, it will work with all of them.
ahh : (.
Right now all the Premium cars and more than 50 of the most popular standard cars are supported. Collecting the necessary data to support all standard cars is an enormous task but is underway. I am targeting the end of September to complete the standard car support. In the meantime any user can request support for specific cars not already in the app and I will prioritize them for inclusion in the next available update.
thats better than i thought! good work pgagoober.
Jeez a lot of you guys are tight arses, whats 2.99?? especially when it lets you tune quickly on the fly. Picture this.. Your friend messages you saying that tonight we are having a 368PP FR race. But your FR you want to use is 450pp and perfectly tuned for it. now theres no more guess work in what to do to get a decent setup when lowering or increasing the power or weight.
Think the App price is 4.99. No need to insult people. We always have a choice. It is what it is.
yeah buddy but im from the UK, I dont use the DOLLAR.
and before you try correcting me again, $4.99 is £3.18 so i was nearly rite.
So it is cheaper in the UK than the US?
no, its currency conversion.
Well then use the pound symbol and chill on the Internet Bad boy razzle
why dont you use the $ symbol and chill on the internet titcrew.
Why doesn’t everybody just calm down and stop insulting people?!
Lol, typos ;p
Scrap for sale! Now for your IOS phone. And android wants that too…
I don’t understand, was that meant to be a joke?
Good old money grab application. If it was free, it would be great.
Sigh.
Everyone wants something for nothing. No matter the work and research that has gone into this.
£2.99 ain’t much – Think of it as buying the author a beer to say thanks!
The fact of money does not come into the equation of whether an app is great or not. there are much worse apps for the same price.
Is there going to be an Android version? :(
just bought the new version… it crashes down as soon as i touch the tune button :(
This could be a problem (obviously). I suggest contacting pgagoober, as I have not had any problems. Although, I am running on 4.2.1.
Sorry thaisn, sounds like you are on 4.x. The bug has been fixed in 1.02 which is awaiting Apple’s review. Note: gamerdog is running an early-access build which is why he is not having the same problem. I can help you do the same if you are interested. Just drip me a PM.
sounds good! when do you think the working version will be published? if its not too long i wait for that and dont steal your time on improving the app… thank you
Thanks for understanding thaisn! Based on the approval times for 1.0 & 1.01, I expect 1.02 to be released sometime around the 28th/29th of this month. My offer to give you early access still stands if you would like to take me up on it. Thanks!
Sorry, not for £2.99, if it was 59p then yea I would, I know it’s only £2.99 but, at that price it puts a lot of people off of buying apps, if it was 59p they would sell loads more, get it in the top 25 then boom, but at that price I can’t see many buying it, sorry.
FYI, version 1.02 has just been submitted to Apple. It contains the fix for iOS 4.x devices and a few additional cars requested by users. Please see the thread in the Tuning forum for more details.
GT5 calc and GT5 quick tune for office will run on PC and MAC for free. If you take the time with the programs you can save each tune created giving you the ability to edit your tweaks for refrence later. All this for a wopping price of just $0.00us funds.
Thanks for the Quick Tune plug lol unpaid spokesman.
LMAO :D
I think that, along with GTCalc, this will make my job as a tuner a lot easier. I mean, if I can take one of my better tunes and use it as a base tune for a different car, it would take a lot less time as I could spend more time with the fine tuning.
$5?! That’s a insane price for a app! One and maybe two dollars is resonable, but $5? That’s crazy.
I once paid $24.99 for one app. If it is worth it, which I expect it is, than it is worth it.
As the world around us gets more expensive, everybody expects everything for nothing?
I do understand the reaction though. Pretty much right away when the App Store launched, it was flooded with free and 99c apps. Most of them were very simple or even didn’t work. Of course some were good but were targeted at a much much larger market than is addressable for GTune 5. For example if I could make Angry Birds sales numbers I would be thrilled to price it at 99c. That’s obviously just not possible unfortunately. Since this is a full-time effort I have to price it so that I have a chance of paying the bills, although to be honest even at $4.99 that is very unlikely. Knowing the amount of effort required to make this app really work, I know it is well worth the asking price, but for many they will need to experience that for themselves or rely on the feedback of other users such as yourselves. Fortunately the feedback so far is very positive and I greatly appreciate that. Thanks guys!
It’s worth noting too that Apple take 30% of the sale price of anything in the store. They also charge you $99 per year just for their development kit, which needs an Apple computer to run on. Seeing a pattern here? :)
I can only imagine the hours of coding this project required and for one person that is a huge undertaking. Aand that’s not including the effort gone into creating the inTune feature or getting all the car data.
Thanks a lot RDAardvark. Then of course Uncle Sam takes another big chunk, leaving me with something like 38-40% of gross sales after all is said and done. Sheesh – it doesn’t bear thinking about. Oh well – at least I enjoy the work!! :D
Thanks for your time and efforts. I will buy this app soon. :)
It really depends on how valuable the app is to an individual. You also have to remember the app is not targeted to just anybody, the audience is very narrow – PS3 user; who has GT5; most likely a hard core GT5 player; has an iPhone. This isn’t some fart app that anybody would download!
Nice! The perfect app that I need!! But oh wait. It isn’t for Android.
That was my biggest worry when I first saw the article. I knew it was too good to be true…
Based on the response to the iOS version so far, and the many Android requests, at this point I would say an Android version is almost a certainty. It will take some time though.
I might have to get an iPod just for this app.
For those waiting for the Android version of this app, have a look at my wee app (http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=204661). It’s not as complete or as polished as this app, but hey, it’s free!
Nice work RDAardvark!!
Nice work :)
Wow. Looks cool. Some people are talking about how this might even the playing field for noobs online who can’t tune. That’s ridiculous; There will definitely be room for improvement with these tunes. Besides, it’s not going to make anyone a better driver.
Quite true. Only the driver can tune what’s between his ears :)
Great an app that helps those too stupid to learn how to tune a car thus leading to a career in engineering. Quite lazy I think but it is a good app. Even though it will improve on the settings you already have it does not leave room for self improvement thus giving a feeling of self achievement and progression of the learning ability of the human mind. Oh….what a boring video!!!!
Well excuse me
GAY! ^^^ really?? are you going to get a career in engineering because you put “I tune many of the cars in GT5 myself” I think not somehow. go to college then uni for a real career in engineering.
Oh and im also to stupid to tune myself, I use RKM tunes on my cars (and damn GOOD they are too) If there isnt a tune at RKM for the car i want i pick something of similair power, weight and drivetrain then copy and paste it over with a few tweaks here and there.
looking forward to the android version
What is android ? :O
Well there goes the challenge of tuning, now I’ll have to find a new advantage online, lol. Nicely done, for $5 I can’t right now, maybe later, but good job on the app
Lol. Sorry mate. Thanks for the compliments though :)
Congratulation on your new app. I think its an exellent idea. I hope to purchase it soon.
An app to take out the fun of tuning – why!
I play the game to race and and have fun and part of that is tweaking the cars to perform the best.
Price is cool $4.99 – It will be very usefull that’s for sure, and the amount of work that has been put into it, makes it a great tool/App – I’m in – I just wait to Vers1.02 But i guess updating is free ?
This will work as a setup sharing with Team members Right!! ? could be a nice feature to be able to send isetups by SMS to other T- members, and back with a edit and so on – bla bla bla.. Nice work pgagoober :o)
If they also have bought the App Of course hehe :o)
Thanks a lot, and I really appreciate your patience waiting for 1.02. I am planning an import/export function but I have not yet finalized the details of how it will work. SMS is an interesting idea but I’m not sure I could get enough info in there. I’ll definitely look into it though. I have been considering doing something like a scannable QR code for sharing in forums, but I need to see if that approach is patented before I move forward. Whatever I do, the goal will be to make it as easy as possible to share setups with other users.
Great Spirit Pga, best of luck with the Project :o)
Thumbs Up for the app – I use to use my Iphone for grabbing Pictures of setting, so i can read it whle creating a setup Hehe
Great Piracy if you ask me – this is creative and very useful Thanks :o)
I can get this app for free
It’s not exactaly hard to -_-
Just to clarify for anyone else reading, there is no free version of the app. What “i love gt5” is referring to is piracy.
And bretlei, too.
Nice work man! But I don’t have a telephone that support downloading APP’s. For everyone that is in the same situations as me we can try another FREE setup calculator at this website (scroll down to the bottom at the home page): http://hab-racing.com/
Regards Filip
Will it be ready for iOS 6 due out soon?
Absolutely. It doesn’t look like any changes will be necessary to support iOS 6, but the open question at the moment is what will happen with the new iPhone. If the rumors are true, we’ll be looking at a larger screen with a different ratio than we have seen before. It is not yet clear how existing apps will display on the new phone as Apple is keeping quiet. As soon as they release the information, I’ll be all over it ;)
Are there plans for an Android based APP? Best Regards!
Sorry. I’ve just found the answer for my question. I will be waiting for the Android version. It will save me lots of time and currently that is luxury (time) that I do not possess…
Waiting on the Android, although I hope the GT6 version is released shortly after launch.
That’s the plan. Hopefully the tuning system won’t undergo any radical changes in GT6. That would allow me to adapt the code and release a GT6 version fairly quickly.
Reminder has already been mentioned, this version does NOT work with iOS 4.x for the moment!!
DO NOT expect using it immediately :-( this is very very frustrating and what a pity having spent 4 Euros for nothing yet functional :-(
This problem is NOT mentioned on the Itunes website !!!
Again, I’m very sorry about this. The fix will be submitted today and I will update the website and comment in the discussion thread when Apple approves and releases it.
I’m concerned that you cannot see the notice in iTunes about this. As soon as I became aware of the problem I added the following text towards the top of the app description:
NOTE: iOS 4.x users should wait for version 1.02. Please see the Support section of the website for details: http://www.gtune5.com/support.html.
Is this not showing up in the European description?
If you would like to contact me directly via PM, I may be able to get you up and running as soon as today. Sorry again.
i dont have any problems with tuning cars, all thanks to my book APEX from GT.
Seen this and thought against buying it as I already tried one which didn’t work very well, after reading this I’m going to pick it up and see how I get on.
Sounds very promising tho :)
I seen this advertised on iTunes a while ago. Why the delay with showing it here?
Anyways, I’m off to download it…; )
Thanks!
Whack an “email settings to” function in there.
Yup – I am planning an import/export function for a future update. Realistically that will probably be in the October/November timeframe. I need to finish the transmission tuner first and add the remaining standard cars. I also plan to implement a Tunefinder so you can easily identify the most appropriate tunes to use for online races or seasonal events.
You’d think PD would’ve come with a solution like this for tuning. They should buy it from you to be implemented into GT!
An ad supported version for us “fruggle” folks would be great. The Keeper of My Wallet will look at me quite strangely when I tell her I want to spend $5 (sale price) for a tuning app. She’ll say “just get setups from GTPlanet like you have been for years.”
Any plans on making this app natively compatible on both iPhone and iPad?
I have thought about that for sure. I’m not certain about it yet but my thought was that most folks would find it easier to manage an iPhone while also navigating through the game, than they would holding an iPad. The other issue could be screen layout – the iPad has lots of real estate, which can be great but sometimes it creates a situation where the developer has to design a very sparse and enlarged layout, or risk overwhelming the user with too much information on a single screen. I’m not sure where the right balance is for GTune 5 as most of the UI elements are fairly small and really don’t need to be bigger.
Like I said at the start though – I’m not yet convinced I’m right about this and I’m open to feedback. If I do create a universal app with custom iPad layouts it will not happen for a while since I have more goodies to add to the iPhone app first :)
@pgagoober,
Cool, I only ask because I usually keep my iPad next to my Playseat while playing GT5. I’m not sure how much work is involved in making a universal app, but based on your comments posted, sounds like you got your hands very full.
Keep up the good work!
Five bucks for this app is cheap as chips if you consider how much time and stress it will save you. If I had a flash phone I’d buy it in a heartbeat. Well done sir!
“cheap as chips” – never heard that one before – love it :D Thanks a lot!
Cheap as french fries just hasn’t got the same ring to it.
Thanks for this app man! Do you plan to release this on other platforms?
If you read these comments? lol
I hope so. Assuming the iOS version is successful, next up will be Android.
Cool beans man, cool beans. Good luck!
Hopefully it’s successful enough because I use an android. I’d buy it if it were available for my phone.
Wow, this is cool! Too bad I don’t have an Apple product.
Well, thank You very much, Brendan!!!
You’re very welcome and thank YOU :)
I want but 5 bucks is a bit too much. Anyone want to gift it to me? ;)
I don’t have $5 to spend, but I want it really, really badly! :(
Who doesn’t have $5 ??
Somebody who’s dog just tore their ACL and needs a fairly expensive surgery
Just picked it up.
A must buy for the serious GT tuner, very easy to use.
What a cool app !
great app, i just downloaded to my ipad 3 and it works perfect. At first i couldn’t get the purpose of it but then i understood that inTune feature is the best to play with it.
i can get good improvements on my cars via intune settings, really great app, thanks to the developer :)
But we do need lots of great settings for inTune. RR, MR, maybe rally settings, drag settings etc. If I knew how to set up a car i wouldn’t buy this app. So for the people like me, please update the software gradually with those good base settings. this way we can intune other cars easily :)
Thanks banshee! I will look into providing additional sample tunes in future updates. If you have suggestions please let me know.
The only thing that is missing is automatically syncing your tunes. If it where possible that would be worth while.
I guess you mean syncing between the phone and the PS3? Not possible I’m afraid, but I agree it would be awesome if it could be done. Maybe PD will buy the patent and integrate it completely in GT6? :D
That would be nice
Forgot to mention – I hope to develop an Android version in time, but to be honest it will take quite a while as I still have work on to do on the iOS version.
Yay good news! But can you make a free version and a paid version? Some people ahem me ahem. I would appreciate it
Thanks so much for the review Jordan! To be fair, I feel I should point out right away that at the moment the app has a problem running on iOS 4.x but it has already been fixed and will be submitted to Apple tomorrow. Users on iOS 5.x are good to go right now.
The upcoming transmission tuning feature will hopefully knock your socks off :). I’m hoping to allow the user to take a picture of the on-screen dyno graph and then process the image for use generating optimal gear ratios and shift points. Early testing is very promising ;) I look forward to everyone’s comments and suggestions for future features. You have my undivided attention. Thanks all!
Wow, nice job and good to see you are still developing it. I will grab a copy of it real soon to show you the support you deserve for this :)
Thanks rumblina. You can all count on continued development and support for this for a long long time to come.
I grabbed it about an hour after my post and was hugely impressed :) Bring on the gearbox update!!!
P.S – Make it iPad none-zoom compatible lol
Yay more DLC money for me
Impressive! Need ans android version to further open the market to more customers. Or, a browser version even.
Not everyone has an apple smart phone.
None the less, this is an incredible feat. Quick, get it copyrighted before someone else does it!
Also, an official partnership with PD wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Kaz would just make tunes for GTRs
I have filed for a patent so I should be OK :)
This.
Looks promising! Might give it a try! ;)
Really cool app. Too bad it’s not available on Android.
Really cool app. Too bad it’s not available IN THE GT5 GAME ON THE PS3.
No Android, darn. Though I guess that gives me a good excuse not to feel the urge to splurge $5 on it.