I am planning to get LS1 Edit very soon. I downloaded the user guide and was amazed at what it allows you to do. I know there are alot of you using it with some pretty amazing results.

My question is very basic. How do you know what changes to make? Obviously I can experiment, which I plan to do. But I know that others have already been down this road and have some good ideas where I should start. Is there anyone out there willing to share this information? There are so-called pro's that charge anywhere up to $500 to put a program in but this kind of defeats the reason for getting LS1 Edit myself.

Please don't get me wrong though and think I am a freeloader. I know some of you have invested a lot of time and money finding killer setups and you see no reason to share your knowledge with complete strangers. But please keep in mind, the whole point of having a web site like this is to share info so we can all beat-up on the competition. If someone can get me started, I am more than willing to share whatever tricks I come up with.

Do I have any takers? Is anyone willing to put a list of programming mods on this site similar to lists of free-mods that have been posted?

 

Most of the stuff is trial and error since different areas have different elevations which affect your settings. Also you have to know what you wanna do to your car and have someone that has something similar. Do a search by what you have questions on, since most people have posted before. Alot of the info you can find from reading prior posts, which is what i did. Ask specific questions and more than likely you'll get some answers. Check it out and just read....thats the best advice i can give for now.

 

Modifying your computer is really a two-part situation. Using LS1-Edit is great for making changes into your PCM, but you also need another program to read out what is actually happening inside your car's system. A-Tapp, EASE, and other programs are available for this. And then, you just about need a laptop to hookup to your car to run this software while you are driving. It can get expensive if you go it alone; you might see if there are others with the same ambitions as yours who might want to pitch in. Anyway, good luck and let me know if I can be of any help.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Yes I will need to get one of the scanner programs to see what effect my changes are making. Concerning my request for tuning info, I am hoping someone can tell me, for instance, that the first thing I should do is raise my shift points or adjust torque management. Or perhaps add 1 degree of spark across a certain rpm range. Or maybe change some of the knock settings. Someone out there knows these things just like everyone knows that the air intake is the first area to concentrate on with hardware changes. My car is completely stock and I want to get the most from it by just tuning the computer.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I am hoping someone can tell me, for instance, that the first thing I should do is raise my shift points or adjust torque management. Or perhaps add 1 degree of spark across a certain rpm range. Or maybe change some of the knock settings. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm with Motown Blue. I would also like to see some sort of programming mods/guide.

 

Get rid of Tq Management 1st... Rev limiter/shift points..fans, TStat, as far as timing/spark advance I wouldnt try messing w/ stuff like that till u get ATAP etc...

 

First I would knock out all the "black and white" settings - e.g. rev limiter, fan temps, etc. Anything that you can set in an absolute sense.

I would then verify all sensors, etc. are working properly. Especially that the o2's are consistent.

Then I would start with idle. Pick the RPM you would like to idle at, program it, scan the IAC counts, drill a TB hole if you need to, check again (with a/c on, off, drive, part, etc.). Once the IAC is in range and you have the idle rpm at a level you are comfortable with you should evaluate the idle quality subjectively. You can tweak it a little further using the base spark timing tables.

Next I would drive around and log the l-trim values for the o2's. Rescale the MAF table to achieve a -2 to -8 l-trim range.

Now if you have an auto is the time to worry about shift points. You will just need to tweak these to your tastes - make sure you maintain the proper relationship between upshift and downshift, or lock and release with the TCC (just look at the way it is setup stock).

If you want to play with the part throttle timing you can do it now also. Methods vary - I would advance the timing 5 degrees across the board (which should induce knock sensor activity). Log some driving (taking it easy - if you hear audible pinging back off). Set up a pivot summary table and in areas where you got knock retard take the average value and subtract that from your timing tables. Drive around and log again. I would then probably take 2 degrees out across the board if you are not in stressfull (hot) conditions.

Now you can focus on WOT. I would do a quick blast and not the O2's to ensure you are somewhat safe (for starting out, hopefully over 900mv). If the o2's look safe set your WOT shift points. (assuming there is no knock retard, etc.). As long as your o2's look decent (800mv - 980mv or so) I would focus on the timing. You can use the knock sensor as a feedback tool, and then back down 1-2 degrees. Once you have this done you can play with the PE vs RPM for fueling. You needs some sort of feedback mechanism for this - a dyno+wideband work great.

Chris Bennight

 

Thanks T/A Medic and ChrisB. This is the kind of stuff I am looking for. My goal is to write several programs that I can upload at the track and do "back-to-back" runs. For instance, one program may just change transmission functions. Another may just do AF stuff, while another does timing stuff. This way I can sort out the most effective mods. Has anyone else tried this?