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Old Oct 31, 2006 | 07:41 PM
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Default tunning

how hard is it to learn how to tune i like working on cars and making them go fast i really want to learn how to tune my camaro whats the best way to start and how do you get to be a respectable tuner... all input is weclome thanks....
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Old Oct 31, 2006 | 08:59 PM
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1)desire
2)some sort of capital
3)half a brain
4)ability to visualize concepts/ stick to things you can't always touch, taste, or feel but instead rely on knowledge, and command of instrumentation
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Old Oct 31, 2006 | 10:08 PM
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Default good points doc

well i really want to tune for myself i have cash half a brain is good...
doc do you know how to tune and how did you learn should i just get the software and start moving things in my car... thanks...
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Old Oct 31, 2006 | 10:57 PM
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personally i had no tuning experience when I first started tuning LS1's...its just a matter of reading and asking questions.
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 10:51 AM
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Default ok

thats what i wanted to know i mean you got to start from the basics and then improve...
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 11:54 AM
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Originally Posted by bad intentions
thats what i wanted to know i mean you got to start from the basics and then improve...
That's how I got started. I was tired of being limited by the hand helds. Got my copy of EFI Live almost 2 years ago and now I'm tuning/tweaking my H/C '01 SS and working out the bugs on my friends' cam'd cars. There's a lot you can learn here. Is it enough to put down the best numbers all of the time? No. That comes with experience and knowing what to do in certain situations. This forum and EFI's forum is probably where I learned 60% of what I know. 35% I figured out on my own (with my half a brain) and the last 5% is from talking to local tuners who do this for a living. You'd be surprised at what you can find out just by starting a 'tuning' conversation with them.
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 12:06 PM
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Yes I tune vehicles. I would encourage you to become a member of both EFI Live's Forum and HpTuners Forum and read up, hang out, ask questions and ask more questions. They are the baddest software suites out there. To me, it comes down to which community you feel most comfortable with. Tuning is a constant learning process, if you like to learn new things it can be a exciting thing. If you just want to go fast, get hot chicks and look cool then you should probably hunt down a tuner. Should you buy the software and just start tweeking stuff? That's a personal thing. I don't know your life's experience, aptitude... I do feel it is a safe bet that you have a fair amount of dough wrapped up in your ride already and that being the case I would caution anybody without the proper experience doing things to their automobiles.
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 12:20 PM
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Default your right

thats another thing that worries me i have a new engine with a new cam all this new and expensive parts and i just dont want go out there and mess it all up i have been reading alot of fourms from hp tuners and asking questions like stayed on pm i sent a friend who tunes i dont want to become a local tuner and tune for everyone i just want to be able to tune my car and know that if something wrong i can try to fix and adjust its performance....
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 01:13 PM
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You can hurt yourself or your car with any power
tool. Being methodical, starting from a safe position
and never believing you know it all should keep you
on the right side of it. You can tune to find
the raggedy edge or to dress it all smooth, or one
after the other. The car wants to tell you when it
hurts. Just listen.

As to respectable, fuggedaboudit. Keep your work
clean and learn from something other than mistakes.
At any given time any busy tuner is a hero to some
and a clown to others, and half the people talking
their name haven't even worked with them. That
kind of respect, you can do without. Self respect.

Read everything, trust nothing and when in doubt,
remember it's still just a carb and distributor with so
many moving parts it's not funny anymore and made so
you have to tune it by remote control while looking in
the mirror. But soon the bassackwardness starts to
make sense. Mostly.
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 02:57 PM
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Default hp

i just want to thank everyone for the advice and i think will just keep on reading and finding out how things work till i do my own tunning and i will get there just need some more knowledge about the craft thanks to all
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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 03:22 PM
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The stickies at the top of the various forum subsections will give you a lot of information.

DIY tuning involves climbing up the [steep at first] learning curve, but the reward is the knowledge learnt and shared with others, and being able to say "I did it".

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Old Nov 1, 2006 | 04:17 PM
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Default true

its all about being able to take matters into your own hands...
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 09:05 AM
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ive got HPtuners and man am i confused!! im trying to learn how to do it but i have no clue what to mess with. Im trying to get ZmnyPit on here to kinda help me out with learning what to mess with when you do certain mods.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 09:11 AM
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its really not that difficult...make sure you read the stickies here as they provide a ton of newbie info as well as read through the help file...start small with things like rev/speed limiters, gear/tire size changes, then onto tq management, fan temp turn ons, and then into the more in depth stuff, spark timing, pe fueling, maf fueling, ve fueling & such...then fine tune everything. If you take your time and are methodical with your approach theres very little chance you can seriously f anything up and your experience would be much better then just jumping in and haphazardly changing tables.
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Old Nov 3, 2006 | 07:21 PM
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Default hp

yeah i understand if you take it easy and dont fool around with stuff your not sure about things cant go wrong and the stickes do help
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