Not sure if this is the place to ask but here goes. Just wondering how you guys got into tuning (fuel/timing curves etc.) and where to go to learn about it.
I am not looking for a school to do this, just some books on engine theory. I have an assoc deg in mech engineering and I am an ASE master tech but I never
really got into the tuning end of things.
Eager to learn-what do you think!

 

I've had friends who have tuned before help me. I guess there's also a class you can take.

 

Do you know how they learned? What classes are available?

 

Trial and error and error and error heh

Most here have never had any formal training... just reading through the software, asking questions (that's why we're here), etc... (stickies are a great place to start)

so long as you have a basic understanding of what all the sensors in the engine do (MAP, MAF, IAT, ETC, etc...) it's not that bad really

Just takes patience and lots of reading and asking questions.

 

Thanks horist, patience is def. a big part of tuning. When I installed the Gen 7 on my SBC motor I got it to fire up on the first shot-it was all downhill from there. I think learning to navigate the software while learning to tune was a little
overwhelming. Not to mention the garage I was renting had electrical issues, so I was w/out power+old lap top=dead battery in 15 min
Got my own garage now, nice extension cord and an LQ4-ready to start fresh!

 

patience and time is the key. beyond that, there is a lot of good (and bad) info available on the internet.

 

Yeah, to bad its a lot easier to find the bad then the good

 

I learned a lot of mine by reading here and that got me far enough to get the car running pretty darn good. I had a few issues I couldn't figure out though, mainly because most writeups are now for HPT and I still use edit. To fix these few issues, some local guys helped me out and now I'd say the car is about 90-95% completely tuned.

Just read through all the tables, search on here for the tables and learn what they do. Make small changes, log and go by trial and error. It'll get you pretty far.

I'm sure someone will chime in and say you can't beat a professional tune but you can get darn close.

 

I know I will need a prof tune at some point. Just want to get it as close as possible myself to save some $$$

 

Learning tuning is difficult because there aren't any really good books on the subject. Do some searches in this forum and on websites of sponsors who make tuning software.

I've tried to make a number of posts to teach others some of the basics as have a number of other good folks. Here's an example of one on speed density tuning https://ls1tech.com/forums/showpost....07&postcount=4.

Fundamentally, think about the fire triangle. You need a source of oxygen/air and fuel in the right ratio plus a source of ignition. Everything about improving an engine mechanically (heads, cam, induction (including forced induction) and exhaust system, changing displacement, nitrous oxide, etc) have to do with improving the engine as an air pump and thus expanding the oxygen side of the equation. If you have improve the air pump enough, you'll have to also make mechanical provisions to add sufficient fuel. Tuning just optimizes the air to fuel ratio for various conditions. Mostly, you want to tune for stoichiometric 14.68:1 (plus or minus a couple of tenths) for normal driving and enrichen the mixture as required for acceleration (not only wide open throttle (WOT) but moderate acceleration too). Ideally, I think that both speed density and mass air flow mixture optimization need to be addressed in a street driven vehicle.

Then work on timing. I believe you should shoot for maximum timing without knock retard, and then back the whole high octane table off by two or three degrees for safety. Then copy the high octane table on to the low octane table and subtract about 5 degrees in every cell.

These are just some basics to get you thinking about some of the issues. Tuning is both fun and frustrating and extremely satisfying once you get things into the ball park. Expect this learning experience to take at least six months. You can get your vehicle to run pretty well much quicker than that, but it takes a long time to really start putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and to refine the way you set up your tune.

One thing I cannot emphasize enough and that is to buy and log and tune using a wide band air fuel ratio meter (WBAFR). It is essential to proper tuning. Another thing, when in doubt, err on the rich and retarded side.

All my best,

Steve

 

Thanks steve, I got the wide band and the gen 7 can data log-just need to spend more time figuring out all of the functions.

 

I learned most of what I use to tune through trial and error, with a splash of internet thrown in for good measure. However, I recently ran across a book that I wish I had read beforehand. It is called "how to tune and modify engine management systems" by Jeff Hartman. It had a ton of useful info that could have saved me a lot of the error in "trial and error". It doesn't specifically cover ls-1's, but it has a lot of fundamentals, as well as some specifics for a variety of engines.

 

I disagree that you cant beat a pro tune. Its just like painters and mechanics etc there are good and bad ones. A 24x7 live and breathe pro who has a brain is very hard to beat. But your 9-5 beer swilling retards can be beaten with a 5min tune.
I have seen some shocking professional tunes that have left the customers car hard to start, worse economy and fail emissions. Thats all on a stock engine!

So dont hesitate for a minute, you will love the whole process and be tuning better than many pro's before too long.

 

Read, think, test, observe, repeat.

 

+1, Like I said I learned 90% of what I know by reading and asking on here and a few of the tuning specific sites. Plus by comparing other files to my own to see what changes they made.

 

Wow! you should be a motivational speaker.
If you can't tune this car you'll be livin in a van down by the river! (chris farley)

 

Learning to tune is a little difficult at first but if you take a little time to do some reading and then think about what your reading and why it works like that based on what you know about how engines and efi systems work you will find that it isnt as difficult as it appears. You can find just about any thing you need on this site or hpt forum.