I been reading about tuning for a few days and from what i read it's pretty hard to do so. My question is to anyone tuning themselves and especialy using HP Tuners or EFI Live, do you regreat buying it , and would just rather take it to a shop for tuning?

 

Learning curve is steep, but you'll learn (there's people here that can help with your questions);
no regrets (you'll wish you had done it sooner);
best money ever spent.

 

I agree with joecar - there is a steep learning curve, but it gives you plenty of excuses to go for a drive. I have not regrets. EFILive isn't terribly intuitive (at least not for me) but I've grown to like it quite a bit.

WW

 

Basically you'll get out of it what you put into it. If you spend lots of time reading the forums and asking questions, and put in lots of seat time tweaking this and that and experimenting, stuff will eventually start to sink in. Some people pick it up pretty easy, and some have a very hard time. The learning curve can be pretty steep. I couldn't even imagine doing any major mods without having some sort of tuning software. I've seen some "professional" tunes, and 90% of the stuff you'll get from 90% of shops out there is trash. I think HPTuner was the best $500 I've spent on my car so far.

 

It is not that difficult. Most tables have explinations and give you a very good idea of what it does or will change. You just have to play with it and get familure with the tables.

Also, if you purchase Efilive thru me, i give you a starter tune for your application to get you started in the correct direction.

 

it's one of the best investment you can make into your car

 

i agree with everything he said 100%.
it is the best mod for my car. not only everything runs HOW i want it to, but also because I learned so much about what i got, and now i know how to put it to good use. statements like 'this exhaust flows better' can be quantified, and verified on your own system under real world load. the internet is filled with 'good' advice, while tuning is the great mythbuster. see it for yourself, why trust other keyboard cowboys?
another great thing is diagnostics: think have a leak? no problem, look at some graphs. eats too much gas? look at some graphs.
dataloggers/tuning programs are not just useful, they're necessary to find the one size fits all philosophy of companies, and take back what's rightfully yours.
it's major pain in the ***, but it's totally worth it, makes other annoyances just that much more bearable

 

^^Very true.
You'll learn as much, or as little, as you put into it.

 

Lot's of reading and lot's of learning but definetly worth it! These forums are the best things to come along since sliced bread for helping you to learn and understand!