stockA4

While many of the milder combinations you guys are putting together will "run" on the factory tuning (read idle and drive somewhat OK), they are going to be far from ideal in terms of the economy and power they will be capable of.

I have always said that good tuning with a quality wideband should be considered part of any build no matter how mild or what the budget is.

given how much a decent tune is worth on an average bolt on setup it should be a no brainer that internal engine modifications and engine swaps need tuning!

​​​​​​FYI back in the day my 02 LS1 z28 was so lean after I put a lid and headers on it that it would ping and pull timing!

get your stuff tuned people!

​



​​​​​​

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

I totally agree!

ChopperDoc

It's worthwhile learning how to tune too. It's not for everyone, but times have changed since the old days of the carburetor. A good gear head should consider learning how to tune. Shops are good for what they do, but they don't have the time that you do to devote to your car.

You'll see real quick how many adjustments are actually required to do a good tune. This will take longer than the day or two a shop has it. Trust me. Plus it's cheaper in the long run if you plan on further upgrades. And who doesn't plan for those?

The only time I bring my cars in is for spark tuning on the dyno. I tell them exactly what I want, and I make sure the rest of the tune is spot on. Then you can really focus on tuning for power.

G Atsma

This should be a sticky! A SHORT sticky, but still....

flipsta510fazn

iTrader: (1)

so your saying i should tune it then instead of running the 4.8 with an ls1 ecu
what i did was swapped all the accessories from the ls1 into the 4.8
I've been pretty easy and shifting under 2200 rpm and driving like a grandma the first 800 miles and the best I got was 15 mpg on the hwy and combine 13.8
also planning to get 4.11 gears later
so basically a tune is required to get better mpg

ChopperDoc

It's way more than just MPG. It's safety. Do you know what your AFR is? Do you have any detected Knock Retard? There are a ton of reasons to have a tune done. Safety is the biggest one.

You would be amazed at what you can see in the scanner. Even stock engines on stock tunes have a good deal of KR. You can't expect to change blocks and PCM's and not expect to have to change fueling, and of course spark and air.

If you do have a lean condition and decide to put the hammer down on that thing then it will likely let you down by melting a piston or two, if not the head, block and scrapping the whole bottom end. I would highly encourage you to get a tune.

black sky

iTrader: (3)

One of the best moves I ever made was to buy HP tuners and spend some time learning the software and how it all works. Plenty of info on LS1Tech and a few other sites to keep anybody busy. Once you get into it, it really all comes together. Sure there is a learning curve, but that's the fun of it. Hell, I still have plenty to learn like many others , but each small success will keep your confidence going. My dyno is the nearest expressway lol.

ChopperDoc

Same here. It's actually really fun, especially when you start making money doing it. I usually only charge my friends and family my cost, which rounds out to $100. Credits are $49.99 and you need 2, so $99.98... Always leaves me my .02 to throw around here like a big dog... lol

The more tunes I do, the more I get the say... lol.

SouthernRex

I have had headers on for about a year now without a tune (cause of money), but I'm going to be doing a Frost mail order soon. I don't trust anyone in my town to do Dyno tuning, although members here recommended a few places that were 4-5 hour drives from me, which isn't too bad.

ChopperDoc

I did this same thing many years ago, before I learned how to tune. I had trouble with my WOT shift points after it. You can get away with it for quite a while, but your also not taking advantage of the mods you have done. Headers aren't quite as bad as changing something like your intake or heads/cam. The PCM is still able to account for air properly, and make adjustments for fuel. It doesn't mean that you should ignore getting a tune. That's not what I'm saying. If you are in the VA area I could help you out. There are a lot of independent tuners around that are pretty solid. Not everyone, but worth checking around on here or hptuners for someone in your area. Frost is really good, but mail order isn't always the best route due to the lack of data.

black sky

iTrader: (3)

I'm on the friends and family plan as well. We should pool our .02 together and retire early. Lol

flipsta510fazn

iTrader: (1)

I have an Hp Tuner and learned how to tune my first ls1 swap 67 camaro a little bit about a year ago but forgot how to do some things but i just recently deleted my boy's ls3 vats and it was a little different from the 4th gen camaro pcm

i really need help on the ve tuning for the ls2 ecm i dont understand nothing
Correct, at first i wanted to use my Hp Tuner to change the high/low octane tables the cylinder volume, MAF frequency and the primary VE table into the LS1 computer. but StockA4 said he had the same setup and ran it for a while and was fine but to add a wideband later on so i assumed it was okay to run but now after driving 1000 miles babying it best i got was 15mpg and now i decided to do some burn outs and donuts to have some fun
here is the https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...ss-camaro.html

i only made 0.02 cents only and i dont really want to burn my last 2 credits for this lr4 when i have another car 69 camaro ls1 swap that i want to tune

ChopperDoc

Get a WB, and set it up to work with your hp tuners unit (only works on the Pro version, but can be done on the non-pro using the A/C or EGR PID). There are lots of videos on this. Then set up your SD mode by failing the MAF and setting first 3 codes (101, 102, 103) to MIL on first error. Turn off DFCO, COT, and any other adders (except PE). *optional*- set OLEQ ratio above 176* to 1.0. Makes commanded stoich everywhere but in PE. Turn off STFT's and LTFT's. Copy high octane table to low octane table.

In the scanner, log AFR (WB), and commanded AFR. And the rest of the usual stuff... Set up histo that matches VE. Log error % between commanded and actual AFR. Adjust VE until it's +/- 5, or less.

It works the exact same way on Gen IV PCM's, except when you make changes to the VE, make sure to hit "yes" to update the formulas. That is NOT something you want to mess with. The math is very, very, complicated.

black sky

iTrader: (3)

Short and sweet. Well said.

flipsta510fazn

iTrader: (1)

sounds good but for this 4.8 at the moment i'm trying to swap the cylinder volume, the high/low octane tables. the MAF frequency primary VE table into having trouble with the idle airflow tables

do i copy over every table i have a 6 speed so not sure what not to copy so far i copied the base running airflow idle air flow , i'll snap a shot of the screen and if you have any suggestions what i should and should not copy the pink are copied over


thanks again in advance

ChopperDoc

Start with stock tune values for that engine, for all of your adaptives, etc. For cylinder volume, just divide your current engine displacement by 8 and enter that in the box, if it's not in the drop down. It doesn't make a huge difference, imo.

Do you have a wideband?
Also, what version of hptuners is that? There are newer versions out there.

flipsta510fazn

iTrader: (1)

ChopperDoc

Do a temp install on your WB. I've tuned lots of times with the WB in the passenger seat. Sounds like it's running a little too rich to be trusting your STFTs for tuning. They're okay if they're close... but if you're looking for mileage, I'd be using WB.

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

This is part of the reason I tried to match motor/ecu -- new crate LS3 running on an 08 Corvette ecu (which came with the then new LS3) -- everything stock. Engine in a 3000 lb. Volvo. Manual trans, 3.55 gears. Last 10 tanks around town between 19 and 24 mpg. Expect on the cruise/interstate mid to upper 20's. No pinging. 650 rpm idle. Quiet. Smooth. Reliable. Safe. Sure, there's some HP on the table on the top end with a tune to lean things a bit from the safe oem set up. But it's not worth it to me. I'll leave it just as it is -- running like a stock C5 Corvette with a brick hat.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

For just headers, a good and LS1 experienced mail order tuner should get you very close. Probably won't make record power that way, but it's not bad for something this minor on an otherwise stock engine. Driving all those hours for a dyno tune or spending the money to buy the tools and software needed probably doesn't make sense until/unless you plan on something more than just headers.

In principle, I don't really think it's any different than the carb days at all, both need time and experience to get dialed in properly; the more extreme the setup, the more time and experience is needed. There are obviously some differences in procedure and tools needed between carbs and EFI, but the goal and purpose is the same: best power, best driveability, and the fact that most shops can't/won't put in the time to really iron out as many bugs as possible on the road under all conditions.