Joe Simpson didn’t grow up building cars with his dad or surrounded by race engines. Instead, an early fascination with imports, turbo Hondas, and the underground tuning scene slowly pulled him towards a career he never originally planned—eventually becoming an incredible fabricator and tuner.
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In this episode of Tuned In, Joe explains how he started with almost no mechanical experience before teaching himself fabrication and tuning out of necessity. Beginning with basic piggyback controllers and early Hondata systems, he steadily built his skills through repetition, experimentation, and plenty of time on the dyno.
We also explore Joe’s transition from Honda tuning into domestic performance, HP Tuners, and eventually the Holley EFI ecosystem. He breaks down the differences between the Sniper, Terminator X, HP, and Dominator systems, where each works best, and why the most expensive ECU is not automatically the right solution.
Joe and Andre also discuss why making huge horsepower numbers can be easier than achieving factory-like street manners. Cold starts, idle control, drivability, and reliable power management can require far more attention than simply producing an impressive dyno result. Finally, Joe shares how his YouTube channel evolved into Tune The Trilogy, turning years of workshop and tuning experience into online education.
This conversation is full of practical insights and real-world experience. Joe’s honest approach to learning, problem-solving, and continuous improvement makes this an episode every performance enthusiast can take something away from.
👉 Use the code ‘PODCAST500’ to get $500 OFF HPA's VIP Package: https://hpcdmy.co/podvip
Follow Joe Here:
Instagram: joe_at_tempest
Youtube: JoeSimpsonAtTempest
WWW: tempest-racing.com
WWW: tunethetrilogy.com
Timestamps:
0:00 From Turbo Hondas to Holley EFI Guru
3:15 How did you become interested in cars?
11:16 Discovering Honda’s
19:46 Getting your first job in a performance shop
23:14 Do you need a qualification to be a mechanic in the US?
30:15 How did you learn to tune?
38:38 How did you find moving into the K series?
43:58 How did you switch from JDM to US domestic?
53:32 Tuning big power is easy?
58:28 What Holley products are you working with?
1:01:25 Holley Sniper self tuning
1:09:04 Holley Terminator X
1:10:02 What’s the advantages of the HP and Dominator ECU’s?
1:16:43 How good is transmission support for the 4L60, 4L80 on the Terminator X?
1:18:17 Best and worst features of the Holley ECU’s?
1:27:23 8HP integration
1:31:42 How did you start Tune the Trilogy?
1:36:42 Is there still time to run a performance workshop?
1:49:39 Final 3 questions
