pcm tuning software is overpriced
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 77
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From: everywhere
pcm tuning software is overpriced man i know i the guys work hard on the hp tuners software but damn 699 for the program and 8 credits....? wtf. and then its like you have to buy more credits for everything? thats ridiculous.. all i could think when i was readin how the credit sytem worked was "id rather jerk of with barbed wire mittens using rubbing alchohol as lube than contribute to that communism!"...and then i saw the price of ls2 edit...ill be getting hp tuners lol
Nobody likes software pricing but it's a tool that does the job,
and for the buck it's done more for my car than any equivalent
dollar amount of hardware. Which is plenty more in total
and
all the really useful bits (converter, gears, cam) needed tuning
help to run right. I think software is under 10% of my total
"investment" (not including the car itself, just the add-ons).
Thing is without it I would still have 90% of the investment and
the thing would run like ***.
and for the buck it's done more for my car than any equivalent
dollar amount of hardware. Which is plenty more in total
andall the really useful bits (converter, gears, cam) needed tuning
help to run right. I think software is under 10% of my total
"investment" (not including the car itself, just the add-ons).
Thing is without it I would still have 90% of the investment and
the thing would run like ***.
Not a fan of the price but it is worth every penny. Throw in "lifetime" support and upgrades and a very helpful board and its not that hard to swallow. Then compared to a "dyno tune" its pretty much a bargain. 
it is expensive, but if you compare it to the price of repeatedly getting tuned by a shop for every mod, its relatively cheap. also, if you get decent with it you can make some of that money back. while not nearly what i have paid for mine, i have made a decent bit here and there doin gear corrections, code deletions, injector tunes and the like.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: everywhere
lol lots of good points. i was talking to a couple guys at work who said they would pay me to tune there cars..so i guess it would be worth it..does anyone make a tuning program that works on asian and european. thats the big market around here.
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Try doing Vipers. 3500 for the edit software, and then 500 bucks for the handhelds. Thats 500 bucks for EACH car. Makes HPT and efilive look very, very reasonable.
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don't discount your learning curve, you aren't going to jump into tuning 3 or 4 entirely different management systems in a month... unless you already know ALL about the setups you are tuning, and what each setup will like and perform well with.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 77
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From: everywhere
its nothin new. i tune bikes on the side now and i used to do cars when i was in college. they are all the same once your figure them out and that dont take to long. i just want the hp tuners because im gonna put a hho generator on it and that makes the computer think it is running way to lean when in reality its running perfect.
its nothin new. i tune bikes on the side now and i used to do cars when i was in college. they are all the same once your figure them out and that dont take to long. i just want the hp tuners because im gonna put a hho generator on it and that makes the computer think it is running way to lean when in reality its running perfect.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 77
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From: everywhere
bout two years....ive tuned all kinds of stuff. all it comes down to is learning the software. and if there is any extra stuff like dod or tourqe management. other than that, ignition timings and a/f ratios all work the same way.
And I'll ask again, ever tuned an ETC car?
A/F ratios dont "work", YOU have to WORK to ACHIEVE an air fuel ratio. And there are several methods at arriving at the same A/F ratio.
As for all of them working the same way, I take it you've never peaked at an 07 and up VE table huh?
What software were you using before?
At first, I was in sticker shock over the cost... but it didn't take long for me to appreciate the price. I've been tuning my T/A for a while now, and still working at it. I recently got a FAST 90/90 and have been working on my own doing the tune and learning along the way. On top of that, I was able to tune my wife's Saab 9-7x (Trailblazer, Envoy cousin) and actually made a nice difference in the driving manners as well as got another 1-3 mpg.
What's expensive is the tuning for my Saab 9-3. It's the same motor that's in the Solstice and Sky (2.0L turbo) but with a Swedish computer. The handheld, plug-n-play programmers go for well over a grand and there isn't even any options, just factory tune or high performance tune. Granted, it yeilds a nice gain because of the conservative factory tune, but still, over a grand and there aren't even any options.
So by now, I still have 4 credits left, can tune two other cars, and have gotten more than my money's worth out of HPtuners.
What's expensive is the tuning for my Saab 9-3. It's the same motor that's in the Solstice and Sky (2.0L turbo) but with a Swedish computer. The handheld, plug-n-play programmers go for well over a grand and there isn't even any options, just factory tune or high performance tune. Granted, it yeilds a nice gain because of the conservative factory tune, but still, over a grand and there aren't even any options.
So by now, I still have 4 credits left, can tune two other cars, and have gotten more than my money's worth out of HPtuners.
Depends on what Asian. Theres Hondata. I dont know of anything for the other Asian companies. And then theres some VW and Audi stuff out there. Pretty sure theres tuning software for all the Euro cars. But, if you think Domestic stuff is pricey, dont even think about the Euro stuff.
Try doing Vipers. 3500 for the edit software, and then 500 bucks for the handhelds. Thats 500 bucks for EACH car. Makes HPT and efilive look very, very reasonable.
Try doing Vipers. 3500 for the edit software, and then 500 bucks for the handhelds. Thats 500 bucks for EACH car. Makes HPT and efilive look very, very reasonable.
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to the OP: You have to pay for your GM programs but you get support and that support from the manufactuer as well as the user base is SOOO worth it.
The point is that it takes money to hire engineers to make the hardware, software engineers to make the program, money to run the waranty program, money to run the website, money to update, provide a presense at hot rodding/industry shows.........
I know there were a whole bunch of free editing programs out there for Honda and some of them were shut down for some reason or another.
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to the OP: You have to pay for your GM programs but you get support and that support from the manufactuer as well as the user base is SOOO worth it.
The point is that it takes money to hire engineers to make the hardware, software engineers to make the program, money to run the waranty program, money to run the website, money to update, provide a presense at hot rodding/industry shows.........
--------------------------------------------------
to the OP: You have to pay for your GM programs but you get support and that support from the manufactuer as well as the user base is SOOO worth it.
The point is that it takes money to hire engineers to make the hardware, software engineers to make the program, money to run the waranty program, money to run the website, money to update, provide a presense at hot rodding/industry shows.........
Don't look at it as an expense, but rather an investment especially if you're serious about hot rodding an EFI car. Tuning and scanning software should be considered as an intergral part of modifying modern performance vehicles, not an afterthought. The price is well worth the admission.