PCM Diagnostics & Tuning HP Tuners | Holley | Diablo

EFIlive w/Flashscan over HPTuners - Which One to Buy?????

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 05:17 PM
  #1  
1QUIKWS6's Avatar
Thread Starter
TECH Addict
20 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Active Streak: 30 Days
iTrader: (64)
 
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 2,382
Likes: 19
From: USA
Question EFIlive w/Flashscan over HPTuners - Which One to Buy?????

OK, I stil can't quite make the final decision:

I'm either going with EFIlive-Tuner/Flashscan or HPTuners with EIO. I've read tons of material about both -they both seem to be the best products out there, they're both about the same price.

Well, I just got my new laptop and need to fill it with one or the other tuning software.

From the members that have used both: is one easier to understand from a novice tuner point of view than the other?

I really like the idea of NOT having to have my new laptop setting on the seat logging data while driving; which is why I'm leaning towards EFIlive. But at the same time, the ease of programming/understanding and the features are also very important.

There are a lot of .bin files out there available to look at as examples to aid in tuning for HPTuners but EFIlive has an awesome website with actual step-by-step tuning procedures.

I know this question has been posed probably 1000x - but please bear with me - here goes 1001!

Which do younz recommend?

TIA,
-Jay-
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 06:26 PM
  #2  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by 1QUIKWS6
I'm either going with EFIlive-Tuner/Flashscan or HPTuners with EIO. I've read tons of material about both -they both seem to be the best products out there, they're both about the same price.
HPtuners-$649 for EIO
EFI live-$699 starting price


Originally Posted by 1QUIKWS6
From the members that have used both: is one easier to understand from a novice tuner point of view than the other?
IMO no I think they are both very user friendly programs


Originally Posted by 1QUIKWS6
I really like the idea of NOT having to have my new laptop setting on the seat logging data while driving; which is why I'm leaning towards EFIlive. But at the same time, the ease of programming/understanding and the features are also very important.
A great selling point but I've never had a problem with me having my laptop in the car...not sure if/when hptuners will decide to match that aspect...but with the partnership with superchips it is a possibility that they will offer something like this in the future...near or far i couldnt tell ya.


Originally Posted by 1QUIKWS6
There are a lot of .bin files out there available to look at as examples to aid in tuning for HPTuners but EFIlive has an awesome website with actual step-by-step tuning procedures.
This will at least partially change with the new how-to section inside the help files...user submitted how-to's on how to tune.


Originally Posted by 1QUIKWS6
Which do younz recommend?
HPtuners initially priced cheaper & not vin locked were the selling points that I would look at right now if I were buying again
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 06:36 PM
  #3  
SS2win's Avatar
TECH Enthusiast
20 Year Member
Liked
iTrader: (11)
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 562
Likes: 2
From: Halfway to Hell
Default

efilive custom os is unique and unlimited use once you buy the workshop upgrade. BB logging is very nice when you dont want to bother hooking up a laptop.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 06:46 PM
  #4  
HumpinSS's Avatar
FormerVendor
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 3,059
Likes: 0
From: Waldorf, MD
Default

Not to mention their new interface comming soon http://efilive.com/flashscan.html


Both products are good but i choose efilive for the features, customer support and scalability of the product.

Features include and released to date

Custom histograms
Filters for data scrubbing
Custom OS's for any and every vehicle easily flashed by the user.
Free 97-98 support.
BB logging keeps my eyes on the road/track instead of the passenger seat.
and many more. Just dload the program and play with the log files they provide you and the tunes provided with the demo software and that should hopefully make up your mind.

Also EFILive can read *.bin files HPT's (availble on horists site) new format files wont be readable though....
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 07:38 PM
  #5  
TAQuickness's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (28)
 
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,250
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Default

Originally Posted by HumpinSS
Both products are good but i choose efilive for the features, customer support and scalability of the product.

Everything else is as good if not better than the support
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 07:50 PM
  #6  
kbracing96's Avatar
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (25)
 
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8,929
Likes: 2
From: Sutherlin OR
Default

One more vote for EFILive. They also don't charge for SD tunning.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 07:52 PM
  #7  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by kbracing96
One more vote for EFILive. They also don't charge for SD tunning.
depends how you look at it...you have to buy the $849 pkg or get someone with it to write your OS.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 07:52 PM
  #8  
TAQuickness's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (28)
 
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,250
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Default

Originally Posted by kbracing96
One more vote for EFILive. They also don't charge for SD tunning.
it's sweet ain't it?
LS1 Tech Stories

The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time

story-0

6 Gifts Neither Your Dad Nor Grad Will Shove Into the 'Trinket Drawer'

 Brett Foote
story-1

Topdon ONE vs. Artidiag 800 BT2: Which is the Diagnostic Tablet For You?

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-2

Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine

 Verdad Gallardo
story-3

7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin

 Verdad Gallardo
story-5

6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-6

Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-8

Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

 
story-9

Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

 Verdad Gallardo
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:22 PM
  #9  
Black02SS's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (36)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 1
From: Kokomo, IN
Default

Originally Posted by foff667
depends how you look at it...you have to buy the $849 pkg or get someone with it to write your OS.
Another vote here. I had HPT and switched to EFI Live for several reasons. I am glad I switched and if I had to do over, I would have bought Live in the first place. I could go on and on as to why live is a better choice for some, but there isn't enough space on the forum.

Regarding the SD cost. I don't want to turn this into another HPTvsLive bitch fest, but after you pay for 2bar SD tuning one time with HPT, you have surpased the inital cost of live by $100, so which is really cheaper? Its a little more up front, but a savings in the long run. The custom OS's from live are hands down kickass. They pack more features and options then any other tuner on the market.

The license structure for both has its advantages/disadvantages. I prefer live's due to the fact I don't tune 20 Fbody's. It ranges and is more benifical for the person that might just do 1 type. Hands down EFI Live gets my vote!!
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:28 PM
  #10  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by Black02SS
Another vote here. I had HPT and switched to EFI Live for several reasons. I am glad I switched and if I had to do over, I would have bought Live in the first place. I could go on and on as to why live is a better choice for some, but there isn't enough space on the forum.

Regarding the SD cost. I don't want to turn this into another HPTvsLive bitch fest, but after you pay for 2bar SD tuning one time with HPT, you have surpased the inital cost of live by $100 and the same as live if you have done 4 1bar setups, so which is really cheaper? Its a little more up front, but a savings in the long run. The custom OS's from live are hands down kickass. They pack more features and options then any other tuner on the market.

The license structure for both has its advantages/disadvantages. I prefer live's due to the fact I don't tune 20 Fbody's. It ranges and is more benifical for the person that might just do 1 type. Hands down EFI Live gets my vote!!
blah blah blah chad honestly I know what your saying as I've brought this up to the guys at hpt and they are pretty steadfast in what they are doing. I wouldve liked to seen them drop their pricing on the SD stuff or just nix it, but that would **** everyone off that had already bought it.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:32 PM
  #11  
Black02SS's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (36)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 1
From: Kokomo, IN
Default

Originally Posted by foff667
I wouldve liked to seen them drop their pricing on the SD stuff or just nix it, but that would **** everyone off that had already bought it.
They wouldn't want to do that again would they. Learned from their mistakes the first time.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:37 PM
  #12  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by Black02SS
They wouldn't want to do that again would they. Learned from their mistakes the first time.
yeah, they gotta stop coming out with things first damnit! even if they would lower their pricing on the 2 bar to $99 which would make the 2 bar comparible to a new license on efi live I think that would be a more fair deal...maybe they'll see this and take it under consideration that would make the 2 bar 2x as expensive as the 1 bar setup...hmm almost makes sense to me hehe.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:43 PM
  #13  
Black02SS's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (36)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 1
From: Kokomo, IN
Default

Originally Posted by foff667
yeah, they gotta stop coming out with things first damnit! even if they would lower their pricing on the 2 bar to $99 which would make the 2 bar comparible to a new license on efi live I think that would be a more fair deal...maybe they'll see this and take it under consideration that would make the 2 bar 2x as expensive as the 1 bar setup...hmm almost makes sense to me hehe.
This is true but what sense would that make??? That is why sometimes it is best to not be first. Its just like racing, just because a car is first to the line, it doesn't mean it is the faster or better car. Hate those damn missed shifts. Kill ya everytime.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:46 PM
  #14  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by Black02SS
This is true but what sense would that make??? That is why sometimes it is best to not be first. Its just like racing, just because a car is first to the line, it doesn't mean it is the faster or better car. Hate those damn missed shifts. Kill ya everytime.
me & you, watertower 3 o'clock
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 08:55 PM
  #15  
Black02SS's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (36)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 1
From: Kokomo, IN
Default

Thats not fair, I don't have 3rd gear.... Well... That might make it a close race then. j/k
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 09:03 PM
  #16  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by Black02SS
Thats not fair, I don't have 3rd gear.... Well... That might make it a close race then. j/k
race? I was just gonna beat you up and take your lunch money
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 09:19 PM
  #17  
Black02SS's Avatar
TECH Junkie
iTrader: (36)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,291
Likes: 1
From: Kokomo, IN
Default

You can't take my money, I'm only allowed 60$ a week from the wife and its already gone.
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 10:43 PM
  #18  
Super Sport X2's Avatar
FormerVendor
 
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 152
Likes: 0
Default

Originally Posted by foff667


...but with the partnership with superchips it is a possibility that they will offer something like this in the future...near or far i couldnt tell ya.

There were things coming from HPT long before the partnership was even being discussed.
We normally don't say much about these things, but since the partnership was agreed upon a few things have changed.

Here is a link to some things we had in the works.

http://www.hptuners.com/forum/YaBB.p...3287;start=0#0

And yes foff667, you will be pleasantly surprised at what these two companies have coming down the pipe

Ken
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 10:55 PM
  #19  
foff667's Avatar
LS1TECH Sponsor
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 7,986
Likes: 3
From: Clermont, FL
Default

Originally Posted by Super Sport X2
There were things coming from HPT long before the partnership was even being discussed.
We normally don't say much about these things, but since the partnership was agreed upon a few things have changed.

Here is a link to some things we had in the works.

http://www.hptuners.com/forum/YaBB.p...3287;start=0#0

And yes foff667, you will be pleasantly surprised at what these two companies have coming down the pipe

Ken
I figured something like this would make its way to the market from you guys...just had no idea the timeframe was so close
Old Oct 15, 2005 | 11:38 PM
  #20  
soundengineer's Avatar
8 Second Club
20 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Shutterbug
iTrader: (16)
 
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,651
Likes: 17
From: Chicago IL
Default

something else to consider in you choices...
HPTuners....vehicle type liscenses,meaning you can tune more than 1 vin
EFI---individual vehicle liscenses....meaning $99 for every new car....
thats $99 out of your potential proffit if you are just doing it part time for extra cash.
with HP Tuners I buy my initial package ang I have 2 vehicle types that I can tune....as many cars that came off the assembly line that I want...
I'm doing 98/00/01/02 camaros and birds...tuning has paid for the additional liscenses...and now on all those vehicles its 100% proffit.....and I didnt have to spend $3000 to get dam near every F-body car...or almost 7000 if its EFI
now granted...an unlimited liscense would be nice....but I basically earn my tunes from a local F-BODY board so I only need F-Body Liscenses(still need to purchase 99's...but I got the rest)



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:32 AM.

story-0
6 Gifts Neither Your Dad Nor Grad Will Shove Into the 'Trinket Drawer'

Don't get dad new socks or a grill brush this year.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-09 14:55:56


VIEW MORE
story-1
Topdon ONE vs. Artidiag 800 BT2: Which is the Diagnostic Tablet For You?

Slideshow: We take a close look at the ONE and Artidiag 800BT2 diagnostic tools from Topdon and the reasons to buy one over the other.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-28 11:05:11


VIEW MORE
story-2
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine

Slideshow: The controversial Ferrari F6 swaps its original flat-12 for a Corvette Z06-derived LT4 V8 and sends power to four rear wheels through a custom-built drivetrain.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-26 18:23:54


VIEW MORE
story-3
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built

Slideshow:These GM engines didn't just make huge power, they survived abuse, boost, track days, and six-digit mileage with a reputation for refusing to quit.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-21 16:45:27


VIEW MORE
story-4
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin

Slideshow: This heavily modified 1971 Camaro mixes classic muscle car styling with a fifth-generation Camaro interior and modern LS3 power.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-12 18:06:42


VIEW MORE
story-5
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them

Slideshow: From wobbling harmonic balancers to failed EBCMs, these are the issues that define long-term C5 ownership and what repairs typically involve.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-05-07 18:44:57


VIEW MORE
story-6
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph

Slideshow: A modern Camaro transformed into a retro icon, this limited-run "Bandit" build blends nostalgia with brute force in a way few revivals manage.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-04-21 13:57:02


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked

Slideshow: Cadillac didn't just crash the high-performance luxury vehicle party, it showed up loud, supercharged, and occasionally a little unhinged...

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-04-16 10:05:15


VIEW MORE
story-8
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!

Slideshow: Top ten most powerful Chevy trucks ever made

By | 2026-03-25 09:22:26


VIEW MORE
story-9
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP

Slideshow: Hennessey has turned the Silverado ZR2 into a 700-hp off-road monster with supercharged V8 power and a limited production run.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-03-24 18:57:52


VIEW MORE