When to tune yourself?...
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
Originally Posted by LS1Silverado05
With something like efilive I notice they give you two vin licenses to start...can the vehicle be of any year/make?...Or does the other vehicle need to be the same year/make?...That is to say....I own a 01 SS and my brother owns a 99 WS6 ..could we go half on the software and both be tuning at the same time?...
My buddy and I went in together on a EFILive/LM-1 wideband package from Chad at Greenlight Motorsports. Great deal and he's super helpful with support.
The first thing to do is go on EFILive's website and download the demo software. That will get you familiar with it and you'll learn as you go.
But the most basic consideration is, "What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to tune? What are your goals?" I wouldn't buy a full tuning suite just because I wanted to turn off CAGS, for example. But I wouldn't do a cam, or even LT headers for that matter, without having tuning capability.
Well I plan on at leasting having heads and cam. Where does a guy begin though?...Are there places where you can find tried and true baseline settings for different setups?...In short, how do you know what to adjust and how far each way?...Does the software make it easy or is it as hard as it seems..
If I were to do it over again I would've bought tuning software before any mod.
You'll learn as you go and unlike other mods your unlikely to outgrow tuning software anytime soon.
And its an ongoing "mod" that you really don't need to get your hands dirty doing and much of the tuning process can go on from the comfort of your home/office/front seat of your car
Add in the near necessity of having a good scan tool with todays obd2 vehicles adding the tuning portion of it is just the next step.
You'll learn as you go and unlike other mods your unlikely to outgrow tuning software anytime soon.
And its an ongoing "mod" that you really don't need to get your hands dirty doing and much of the tuning process can go on from the comfort of your home/office/front seat of your car
Add in the near necessity of having a good scan tool with todays obd2 vehicles adding the tuning portion of it is just the next step.
TECH Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 6,080
Likes: 17
From: So.Cal.
EFILive licenses...
Originally Posted by LS1Silverado05
With something like efilive I notice they give you two vin licenses to start...can the vehicle be of any year/make?...Or does the other vehicle need to be the same year/make?...That is to say....I own a 01 SS and my brother owns a 99 WS6 ..could we go half on the software and both be tuning at the same time?...
Yes, you can do that, you can tune your car and your bro's car... each car takes 1 license.
(BTW: 97/98 LS1 Y/F-bodies are free and don't consume any licenses)
Originally Posted by joecar
Each license links itself to a PCM serial number, so the vehicles can be of different makes/years;
Yes, you can do that, you can tune your car and your bro's car... each car takes 1 license.
(BTW: 97/98 LS1 Y/F-bodies are free and don't consume any licenses)
Yes, you can do that, you can tune your car and your bro's car... each car takes 1 license.
(BTW: 97/98 LS1 Y/F-bodies are free and don't consume any licenses)
to a PCM or to a VIN???
because i only have one car, but i have two PCMs that i swap back and forth.... they have the same image on them... well, one is a slightly diffrent tune, but its the same car/OS/etc..... i only need one license for that, right?
Getting your feet wet in using the Scan/Tune tool of your choice BEFORE you start to mod your car would be a wise investment. You would not have the pressure of getting the tune right as you are learning to use the sofware/tools as you would if you did a H/C swap before you were comfortable.
Threads abound on the boards with folks who have thrown down on a devil car setup and have no idea what they have just gotten into.
Ask yourself, "Do I want to learn a new language?" or "Do I just want to drive a fast car and get hot chicks?"
If the answer is the latter, find a good tuner with references and save yourself a lot of trouble.
Not everyone should consider tuning their vehicle but for those who do this is a good place to start.
Threads abound on the boards with folks who have thrown down on a devil car setup and have no idea what they have just gotten into.
Ask yourself, "Do I want to learn a new language?" or "Do I just want to drive a fast car and get hot chicks?"
If the answer is the latter, find a good tuner with references and save yourself a lot of trouble.
Not everyone should consider tuning their vehicle but for those who do this is a good place to start.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
Originally Posted by Doc
...or "Do I just want to drive a fast car and get hot chicks?"
LOL.
But I agree. It is work, just like your 40 hour per week job. But the payoff is worth it.
Originally Posted by koolaid_kid
It is work, just like your 40 hour per week job.
Good point. 2 jobs ago if I mucked up, planes ended up in the drink or on the floor of the desert. Saw one go down (not my fault) and it is not fun.
Still looking for the exit "Chicks here".
Still looking for the exit "Chicks here".
Originally Posted by Doc
Depends on where you work. If I screw up at work the bombs hit hospitals instead of the bad guys and it all ends up on CNN.
if i screw up at my work...... uhh....
i suppose some day i'll have to screw up to see what will happen...
Originally Posted by MrDude_1
thats another thing.. people worry "oh if i dont get the fuel just right, im going to blow my motor.." or "if i dont get the timing right, im going to blow it"
Personally, I'm gearing up for a cam swap that I'm planning on my current car and the build up of another LS1 I'm dropping in another vehicle. I've been interested for a while and finally decided to take the plunge. I've been reading this section for about 6 months in addition to reading a few EFI theory books. The basics are the same for tuning EFI as they are for tuning a carb, it's simply a different "toolbox." If you have an interest, get into it. As long as you're meticulous in your work, there's not going to be a big detriment to performance. The cool thing you'll find with EFI, if you mess up a tune and have an older copy, you can always revert to a backup to get it running better again.
Your best bets are to begin reading the stickies at the top of the screen and pick up a few books. My favorite book I've seen so far is "How to Tune and Modify Engine Management Systems" published by Motorworks books. I found it at the local borders, although you can get it on Amazon as well. I'm just now getting to the point where I feel that I know enough to begin playing with it. Keep reading all you find interesting, the more you read, the more it seems to "click."
Last edited by Rhino; Aug 28, 2007 at 03:18 PM.
