New to tuning. Should I risk it?
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From: Southeast, MI
New to tuning. Should I risk it? Hey guys, I was wondering if I should take the plunge and tune my car myself when the time comes. Its going to be a 6.0 with a single turbo, being an FI set up i dont know if i want to take any chances. And i also wanted in tuned in speed density, not sure how hard tough that is. Im an auto mechanic so I got the basics down of how the engine and computer work together but ive never done any calibration of my own. I have a trust worthy tuner i deal with that charges about $450 for the initial tune then i believe its $150 after that. It would be nice to just have him do it for the peace of mind and lack of frustration on my part but it would be nice to have the satisfaction of being able to say i tuned it myself. Ive done a little checking and it seems like the efi live flash scan would be a good package along with a wideband. How tough is this program to use, is it in laemens terms or is it all graphs and charts? And the gf has a laptop i could probably talk her into letting me use this on so i wouldnt have to go out and buy one. any input would be great.
N/A engines are what I would start out on first. Being forced induction I would find someone competent to tune it for you. It's alot to delve into 2/3 bar map SD tunes for your first crack at it.
Check out the following site...
www.thetuningbook.com
This will help you decide if EFI tuning is for you. The book has a turbo case study in it. If you're a mechanic, your learning curve won't be as steep as the average beginner. I say go for it! May as well learn how to tune yourself and gain the freedom of modifying your car as you wish. Yes, I'm plugging the book, but only because it was written for people exactly like you...folks who have the desire but may feel overwhelmed with questions. If you study the book, you will gain the knowledge necessary to properly tune your car. Just take it one step at a time and make small, conservative changes one at a time.
www.thetuningbook.com
This will help you decide if EFI tuning is for you. The book has a turbo case study in it. If you're a mechanic, your learning curve won't be as steep as the average beginner. I say go for it! May as well learn how to tune yourself and gain the freedom of modifying your car as you wish. Yes, I'm plugging the book, but only because it was written for people exactly like you...folks who have the desire but may feel overwhelmed with questions. If you study the book, you will gain the knowledge necessary to properly tune your car. Just take it one step at a time and make small, conservative changes one at a time.
I took this approach:
1) Find the tuner you want to use, and buy the tuning package he uses. For you, HPTuners or EFI Live.
2) Start reading and learning, playing with the software on the car if it is up and running. Read, read, read. Practice as much as you possibly can. For certain, save your stock tune. Very important, IMHO.
3) Buy a tune. You want an SD tune right off the bat. Not what I would recommend for starters, but it's not my car. I bought a "mail-order tune". I already had the s/w, so I just got a file thru email and downloaded myself.
4) Continue to play with it, try tweaking a few parameters here and there. No matter how magical and powerful the tuning wizard, they are not going to nail it 110%. Even Gandalf made mistakes.
If it were mine, I would get a MAF tune from a tuner, and teach yourself how to do the SD tune. You can always revert to the MAF tune if you totally muck it up. But that's just me.
1) Find the tuner you want to use, and buy the tuning package he uses. For you, HPTuners or EFI Live.
2) Start reading and learning, playing with the software on the car if it is up and running. Read, read, read. Practice as much as you possibly can. For certain, save your stock tune. Very important, IMHO.
3) Buy a tune. You want an SD tune right off the bat. Not what I would recommend for starters, but it's not my car. I bought a "mail-order tune". I already had the s/w, so I just got a file thru email and downloaded myself.
4) Continue to play with it, try tweaking a few parameters here and there. No matter how magical and powerful the tuning wizard, they are not going to nail it 110%. Even Gandalf made mistakes.
If it were mine, I would get a MAF tune from a tuner, and teach yourself how to do the SD tune. You can always revert to the MAF tune if you totally muck it up. But that's just me.
