I know this is a stupid question but I'm going to ask anyway.

Why is software such as EFI Live and HPTuners so much better than a hand held? If all I'm wanting to do is adjust timing and A/F ratio, can't I do this with a handheld?

What else can EFI Live and HPTuners do for me to give me more horsepower than a good handheld can do other than allow use of a wideband?

Make me smart please...

 

Handhelds
Pro's
Price
Very few things you can screw up/change

Con's
Very few things you can change
are stuck with 1 car with your initial purchase
scanner very limited in functionality

Tuning software
Pro's
Hundreds of editable parameters
Tune 2 or more vehicles with your initial purchase
Scanning ability far superior with bi-directional controls, histograms, etc.
Custom Operating systems
Partial writes supported(little to no chance of frying computer)

Con's
Price
If you don't take the time to read & ask questions to find out what you're doing there are things you can damage.

 

Thanks, I appreciate that..

 

What he said! I got HP Tuners myself and it is awesome! A bit scary starting out because there is so much you can change.

 

yeah it can be scary looking dead into 500+ parameters when first starting out...thats why hpt also has a beginner setting which cuts the parameters to about 33% of the total which makes it somewhat easier to figure out what needs to be changed