WS6freak

iTrader: (3)

I know it's a very powerful software, etc... But my question is does it come with some kind of plug-and-play programming? I mean, if I have just the basic bolt-ons (cat back and intake) and want a kick-*** tunning will this product perform out of the box or do I have to buy some binary file and/or take my car to the dyno $hop, etc....

In a nut shell, does it come with presets like "power", "stock", "mild", "intake/cat combo", etc??....

P Mack

iTrader: (6)

No, it doesn't come with presets. You really don't need presets on a maf based system in my opinion. You really have to log to see what needs to be changed.

horist

HPT is an interface to your PCM... it shows you the tables the PCM uses to make decisions... it also includes a scanner so you can see what the PCM sees....

at present there is no "tune my car" option (every car is different... and if you think about it... the liability involved is pretty great... even if their software tunes your car automatically 100% right... if there's a mechanical problem and the engine blows.... in todays society the first instinct will be sue HPT....)

Difference between HPT and a dyno tune:
Dyno tune: pay once, get WOT optimized (most shops only care about WOT AFR and spark) and that's it
HPT: Tune your own car... takes longer to learn what to do/what to change... and requires several driving cycles (unless you go up on a dyno) ... but if you add a new mod... you can make the changes yourself... you can tune driveability... you can basically tune whatever you want... just a greater learning curve....

P Mack

iTrader: (6)

My buddy has a wrx and a tuner thing that has a bunch of presets for different levels of mods so i can see where he's coming from. I wouldn't be comfortable with that kind of tuner though.

02BlueFirehawk

I used a friends hptuners the other day, the write is so damn fast, makes me want to get rid of my ls1edit. lol.

luv2spd

iTrader: (1)

What all do you plan on doing with your car? If it's just boltons get a predator or something with a preset tune. Or you could go the mail-order or custom dyno tune route. It all depends on what your goals are. If you plan on changing things often, I would just get the hptuners software and learn how to use it. I think its fun to tune my own car.

horist

Those exist for F-Bodies too.. but they're handheld tuners... and what works for some doesn't work for all...

Example:

Hypertech Power Programmer 3 .... they claim 10+ hp w/their power tuning... in reality ... it leans your car out, smooths the timing curve, copies high octane to low octane timing tables... and a few other things... so some cars see an increase... but most lose power....

w/a WRX what are the big mods? more boost? that's easier to configure for... but there are so many mods for our cars... any part in the motor can be upgraded damn near.... I'd rather have the HPT folks focusing on allowing us (The GM community) be able to tune ourselves... than focus on "if you have a lid, a ported maf, and headres.. this works ok... but if you don't have headers.. do this, but if you have no cats then you need to do this"

98Blubrd

iTrader: (13)

cant u tune as many cars as you want with hp tuners? I heard if you have the same year car you can tune as many of that year with it (not vin locked). I have a couple of friends that have 98's and was hoping this was true.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Yes, it locks to body_platform*year so all '98 Camaros
and Firebirds, or all '00 Chevy and GMC pickups, etc.

The tool gives you all the power you need; however the
wisdom has to be acquired independently. Read all you
can, develop good experimental / modifying habits, and
it'll come around.

gameover

the most common thing new users are very confident with and mess with a lot using our software is A4 shift point settings. It is something you can really tailor to you own driving style, believe me i've seen people create shift patterns they would never ask for from a tunershop..

Also, fan temps, gear/tire, cat protection, torque management etc...

Once you get confident with the basics, then most people move on to the spark table giving it small step-by-step increases based on the histogram, then finally LTFT's and fuel (recommend a wbo2 sensor for fuel tuning).

I'd say most people are confident users around the 1-2 month mark. As with most things "common sense" rules the day and the more experience and confidence you gain the closer your tune will move to the the edge (for spark and fuel this means stay on the safe side and learn what the primary signs of danger are eg. knock and lean mixtures).

Hope that helps,

Chris...