Well I figured since I have HPTuners I'd give tuning a shot on the 03 SSS I just picked up. The truck is bone stock other than a Vararam CAI and a Magnaflow muffler. Starting off I just wanted to adjust tire size, remove the speed limiter and reduce the amount of both engine and transmission torque management. I went out and logged the truck on the stock tune before messing with anything and at WOT I was seeing upwards of 8* of KR which I thought was kind of crazy for a pretty much completely stock truck.

Went back to the house and saved the log and pulled the stock tune, saved a copy of it and started working on the torque management and speed limiter. I followed some simple instructions I found on the HPT forum to remove all torque management, but used my own values to reduce it by 75%. Then uploaded the new tune file and went out for another log. This time I saw no KR at all at WOT, the shift from 1-2 felt a bit sluggish but I know I'm going to have to either add a vette servo or some more tuning work to fix that issue. But overall, the truck felt like it pulled much stronger than before. I also noticed though that with the stock tune, the commanded AFR was 14.68, but with my modified tune the value for commanded AFR was gone in the scanner.

Now, I don't know if something that I modified in the engine torque management is the culprit for the missing AFR value or not, because other than clearing codes, shutting off rear O2s or loading in a custom tune, this is the first time I have ever messed with HPT on my own. For peace of mind until I got some insight from someone more knowledgeable, I loaded the factory tune back in the truck before going to bed last night and kept my foot out of it on the way to work this morning. I did have a few instances passing other cars on the highway at about 1/2-3/4 throttle that I saw about 2* of KR this morning however so Id like to try and figure that issue out along with making sure my values for torque management are acceptable for a stock trans.

Thanks in advance!

 

Ime, stock truck tunes have way too much timing and not enough fuel. 8* is a lot, but not impossible.



do you know what tables to adjust to command spark and afr changes?

 

Yea every stock tune ive looked at has the same KR. Its because they are really lean from factory.

Best things to change are:
Power enrichment. Set enrichment rate to 2. And rpm delay to 0. This helps alot.

Remove all tq managment. Firm up shifts. And set shift times to .100 or so that should make them faster.

Also add some timing to the high octane table. I usually have anywhere from 28-30* on truck timing tables.

Also watch out for burst knock. Its basicly false knock. It will make it seem like u have real knock. Disable it completely under knock retard section.

 

I figured as much, but never logged my last SSS while it was this stock so I had no idea what to expect.

As far as spark and afr changes go, I have no idea. I've done a fair amount of reading so far on here, HPT forum and other car/truck forums, but most of the information is at least 5+ years old and the software has changed enough since then that some of the things Ive looked for I cant find. I mainly wanted to start out with just removing some of the torque management and the speed limiter, while reading a learning more as I go so I can eventually feel confident to start fiddling with other things in the tune.

 

I always thought the rule of thumb for torque management was to leave at least some small amount there for a stock trans? And do I need to start with VE tuning first after I get the trans set up how I want it? I just wasnt sure about messing with timing and fuel until I had some guidance or more knowledge on the subject. This whole tuning thing is a huuuuge learning curve for me so I dont mind taking it slow and simple and having people tell me Im stupid because honestly when it comes to tuning I am quite stupid lol.

Thanks

 

well with changing the power enrichment to what I said it will pick up a lot of hp over stock. I always remove tq management but u can leave some in if u want. The timing is something u can go later when u get a better understanding of tuning. Burst knock like I said is nothing to worry with. so I just disable it completely.

I would change all of these things I said and thin start tuning your VE table first thin MAF. There are a few good write ups on tuning fuel trims. U will need a wideband for WOT tuning. All the write ups that are older are still used the same today. Only thing changed up on hptuners is usually the scanner config etc. The main tuning portion is still used the same as before.

 

I messed around with it a bit more tonight. I had an old tune file saved from my old truck so I copied most of the trans tuning from that file into this one and the shifts seem much better now. 1-2 is still a bit sluggish but it's better than before and 2-3 is a whole lot better. I also upped the power enrichment but wasn't able to take another log after that because my laptop died after writing the tune in. I've got it on the charger now and will log it again in the morning on the way to work to see how it does.

Thanks!

 

I've been putzing around with a few tunes this year and find the shifting on 4l60's gets mushy when taking TQ mgmt out. I havent read all the stickies on this but theres a vid from Denmah on utube that is excellent for truck tuning. Getting PE working properly etc. Made a massive difference on my buddies DD 4.8

I'm trying to tune a cam'd auto cable tb truck right now that is giving me a hell of a time. It just keeps dying, ufff.

 

Could you link the video or PM it to me? I looked around on youtube but he has so many videos I was having a hard time finding the right one.

Thanks!

 

 

Pretty good video - he said be careful about licensing the tune you read. Did he have to license it to flash the modded tune? If not, when do you need to license it? You can tell I'm on the front end of this learning curve also. -Bob

 

you can read whatever tune file you want from the various repositories and whatnot but you cant edit or flash them without licensing them at cost. You can copy and paste various tables to the bin you have licensed if you like but thats not really the best way to approach. Each set up is unique therefore requires unique tuning to optimize the outcome. The way to approach is to log/compare/modify/flash and repeat. Sounds easy, but with so many parameters involved becoming familiar enough to simply function on memory alone takes a lot of seat time. One things for sure, a solid A-Z tune how-to in such a manner as Matts vid above with a cam, injectors, LS7 maf swap, and an auto would be highly viewed and very appreciated by many of us

Id do it if I had the time

 

I watched the video while starting over with my stock tune file and making adjustments from scratch again. I didnt mess with the timing tables though as I guess I didnt have my scanner set up to read those parameters. Anyone have a good config file that I can use to log with? Im just using what opens up stock on HPT. Im still wondering if I am adjusting the engine and trans TM correctly or if I am doing something stupid, but I think I did it correctly. I did not however mess with shift points or times since the last time I did that I ended up banging off the rev limiter.

 

here's my layout and config file that I use for my NA 5.3/4l80e swapped truck

my current method for tuning fueling is to disable all fuel trims except IAT and ECT. disable all torque management. fail the MAF and tune in OLSD. use the afr error % histogram to tune the VE.
put it back on the MAF, disable the VE and run it just on the MAF and tune the MAF curve using the MAF err % histogram.

turn all trims back on and adjust as needed. I smooth by hand mostly. it helps to look at the 3d and 2d charts.

IME, the truck motors like around 25 or 26* total timing on out **** water pump 92 octane.

if you haven't started using histograms here's a link to how they work. that link also has a bunch of other great stuff. the scanner is an incredibly powerful tool, i doubt i use a quarter of its functions.

https://www.hptuners.com/help/index...._histogram.htm

 

I'd like to add a question to the question,, assuming I grabbed a LQ4 with all the harness and stuff from a van as the starting point, so I have the right starting point computer an engine..

How many HPT credits should I plan on to get a stock package tuned (Normally aspirated tuning for good power and trans control.) For my purpose it is going to be a stock LQ4/LQ9 depending on what I find. Its going in a jeep so I will not be doing power adders, will be running full emissions to make it legal in Oregon or wherever I might travel.

 

just the initial 2 credits to license the computer

however, check its hardware number and service number to be sure it's capable of running the OS you'd like. not all are created equal as far as features.