Looking for a tuner

[nsb29]

I’m looking for a good place to send my ECM current performance removed the vats and the other stuff no problem, now I have been trying to contact the tuner for a week to get one simple answer, you have to send a message on their help page and tell them what you want to have don. They said they did not get it so they gave me his direct email and he will Email me back we’ll that didn’t work either so if anybody has a suggestion I would appreciate it. O and Brandon no response?

[prodjay10]

I went with an eBay tuner. Both I worked with were great. Palmetto paddles and Bauer performance. Quick turnaround and they were responsive to emails. Palmetto paddles sells pcms already programmed.

[MDPotter]

I sent mine to EFI Performance (AKA Tuned by Frost) for the typical LS swap changes as well as changes to account for my cam and it runs great, no codes either. You'll have about $250 for their service and shipping. I know some guys absolutely hate mail order tuning though.

[First c10]

No tuner recommendations BUT....
FWIW I paid to have my first ECM tuned twice ($400)after that I bought my own HP tuners its really that the best way. All the info to tune in on the web and on this great forum.
My second ECM cost me 0 since I had the Tuner and 2 credits left.
Hope this helps

[mongocanfly]

In the end, nothing beats putting it on a chassis dyno for fine tuning...

[First c10]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

In the end, nothing beats putting in on a chassis dyno for fine tuning...

In the end you are correct!!! I plan to do that when my project is complete!!!

[nsb29]

I had current performance do it don’t remember the cost, but when I wanted to know if they could turn on pin 57 no one gets back to me. the guy on the phone is nice and helpful but you can’t talk to a tech and he don’t email me back so it’s time to try sum one else.
And yes it will go on the Dyno but I’m not there yet
Thanks for the leads
PS look it up cost me $175.

[prodjay10]

What is pin 57?

[nsb29]

Pin 57 it were you can get a signal for your speedometer, mine is out of a Pontiac G8 and used the body control module and shows pin 57 not used, sum things can be turned on and that’s my question

[Gregski]

not to be a knucklehead but I do not understand how anybody can tune an engine for you via a mail order, LOL... yes your truck will start and run, that's because these PCMs can pull you in from being as high as +25% or -25% off, but that's not efficient by any means

from what I have seen with folks asking for help with their post mail order tunes and the black magic that went into them by some stranger miles away, they would have saved more money by buying HP Tuners ($300) for themselves plus paying ($100) additional to license / tune one vehicle ~ buy once, cry once!

there is an abundance of YouTube videos, articles, and forum posts on how to get started, not to mention an excellent HP Tuners Tutorial on here, ha ha

not being rude, just saying you can do it!

[nsb29]

Originally Posted by Gregski

not to be a knucklehead but I do not understand how anybody can tune an engine for you via a mail order, LOL... yes your truck will start and run, that's because these PCMs can pull you in from being as high as +25% or -25% off, but that's not efficient by any means

from what I have seen with folks asking for help with their post mail order tunes and the black magic that went into them by some stranger miles away, they would have saved more money by buying HP Tuners ($300) for themselves plus paying ($100) additional to license / tune one vehicle ~ buy once, cry once!

there is an abundance of YouTube videos, articles, and forum posts on how to get started, not to mention an excellent HP Tuners Tutorial on here, ha ha


not being rude, just saying you can do it!

As for me I have problem with my smart phone, I sent mine out and had vats removed etc, even if I spent the time and money and got my head around it I would be in the same place you’re in no Dyno! Not being a smart ass Just saying. I’m with shorty there are a lot of shops that have enough data that on less your racing and one sec. counts why spend the bucks for a Dyno? Do you know if pin 57 can be activated 2009 Pontiac G8 6.0 / 6l80e?? If it can or can’t depends on how I do my wiring. Now it can be driven when it’s dun it will go to a dyno

[MDPotter]

I am really impressed with Gregski's writeup on HPTuners, he's basically taken the non-user friendly terminology and software and put it in layman's terms. I like to think I have average intelligence, but sometimes I need something to be explained to me like I'm 5. The mail order tune that I got was a good starting point for me. I have a mild cam and a trans segment swap so I knew it wouldn't run right without some kind of tuning (not just the usual LS swap changes). The bonus was the VATS delete, rear O2 sensors delete, cats delete, and a couple other items that every swap requires. I would have liked to buy the HPTuners suite and learn, but the timing just wasn't right for my project.

I would like to buy HPTuners and get into the PCM to see what all Frost did and to see how it's running though and make adjustments if needed. It is strange to send your PCM off to someone and get it back and trust that they did what they were supposed to do. My profession involves a lot of "trust but verify", but mostly "no trust, so definitely verify", so not being able to verify the changes bothers me a little bit.

I've read through Gregski's writeup and I understand the basics for an LS swap, but understanding how to make changes to account for a cam is a whole other level to me. I've seen a few Goat Rope Garage videos on YouTube and it amazes me how many videos he can make about tuning. It seems like every video is on yet another topic and I just can't seem to understand much of it. I need to watch the videos from the link Gregski posted.

What about wideband tuning though? I put in an extra O2 bung on my exhaust for it, but it's another $500 for the hardware to use a wideband in HPTuners. Is tuning with a wideband a way to take the tune from 90% efficient to 99% efficient?

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

What about wideband tuning though? I put in an extra O2 bung on my exhaust for it, but it's another $500 for the hardware to use a wideband in HPTuners. Is tuning with a wideband a way to take the tune from 90% efficient to 99% efficient?

I recommend we all start with $300 for the basic new MPVI2 HP Tuners little black box that plugs into the OBDII port, that will allow you to read and look at your current tune, but not to write to it aka make changes or as the cool kids say FLASH your PCM. That's a great starting point, it's safe and it gets you in the game.

Then pay $100 more to tune one GM vehicle ie get two credits ($50/credit) the minimum required to tune one GM car/truck.

Then you regroup and pay an additional $250 for something HP Tuners calls the Pro Feature Set (I think it is a software upgrade to turn your $300 dollar regular basic box to Pro) meaning now you will be able to hook up a wideband to it. The Pro Feature Set includes a little magical cable (called a Pro Link) that plugs into the MPVI2 on one end and connects to your Wideband on the other end. Now to make things confusing they sell the Pro Link cable by itself for only $35 bucks, but if you just buy that it will not work with a wideband without Pro Feature Set upgrade, I think they sell the Pro Link by itself in case you lost yours.

[LS short box]

I had a mail order tune from Steve Frost on a small cammed/headers LS1 and it was spot on. I filled out his tech sheet and sent my computer and the only real question he had for me was the injectors. Steve said it was very important to use injectors with known values. He said rebuilt ones are over the map flow wise depending on the rebuilder.
I asked him directly how he could be sure his tune would work? He said his main business is chassis dyno tuning cars. He said he's tuned dozens of small cammed with headers LS engines so he knows what needs to be done. He also said if you are running big cam, turbos or any radical combos the chassis dyno is the only way to go to get an accurate tune.

[prodjay10]

My setup is stock so a tune really was only removing emissions, removing vats, and fixing speedo and efans.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by LS short box

I had a mail order tune from Steve Frost on a small cammed/headers LS1 and it was spot on. I filled out his tech sheet and sent my computer and the only real question he had for me was the injectors. Steve said it was very important to use injectors with known values. He said rebuilt ones are over the map flow wise depending on the rebuilder.
I asked him directly how he could be sure his tune would work? He said his main business is chassis dyno tuning cars. He said he's tuned dozens of small cammed with headers LS engines so he knows what needs to be done. He also said if you are running big cam, turbos or any radical combos the chassis dyno is the only way to go to get an accurate tune.

I bet you a six pack of 805 that your idle can be improved upon, that your MAF is double digits off calibration, and your VE table needs attention as well, not to mention you are leaving a ton of power on the table because your Torque management needs massaging and don't get me started on Power Enrichment.

again, not being a jerk, just saying every engine is different, every drivers driving habbits are different, every rig weighs different, gasoline formulas differ from one part of the country to the other, hewk we have winter and summer blends.

I am just trying to get you guys to get the absolute most out of your cars ESPECIALLY if you went out and shoved a new cam or bigger injectors or a better intake on it, round the bases, don't stop at third base, ha ha.

[sprint_9]

It is possible to hook a wideband up and read it without purchasing the Pro version. It does take some extra steps to wire things up, some easier than others. For example if you have something newer that has CAN Bus Protocol its for the most part plug and play easy if you buy the right wideband.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by sprint_9

It is possible to hook a wideband up and read it without purchasing the Pro version. It does take some extra steps to wire things up, some easier than others. For example if you have something newer that has CAN Bus Protocol its for the most part plug and play easy if you buy the right wideband.

You are correct, however I think the CAN Bus started in 2008 so after our 3rd Gens. I'm a one track mind so I always think of the 3 Gens first for the LS Swaptalogy.

[LS short box]

I am very happy with the tune from Frost. I gave him my tire diameter, gear ratio and told him at what mph to shift into 4th and lock up. Again is spot on. Under light throttle shifts were firm but smooth. Under full throttle nice and firm. Idle was good. Doesn't hunt or surge. The best fuel we can get around here is 91 octane so that's what he tuned for. No doubt if I put on a chassis dyno we could a few hp. Last summer it did 22 mpg on the highway a number of times.

[nsb29]

This thread is about 4th Gen speedometer Signal, I’m Sure HP tuners is a good program for those who understand Computers, the problem is it don’t help me or anyone else following along with the same question LMAO short box do you have a contact # for the guy that did yours I don’t need a tun just if pin57 can be used and if they can do it.
Thanks Doug

[sprint_9]

Read here, might be a fix for you. Hartrod is a member here as well. Post 44 he has a screenshot with some info that might get you up and running.

Finding someone to work with you on kind of a trial and error setup might be hard, it would be nice to find someone local to you. Have you looked locally for someone reputable.

[nsb29]

Yes I have looked but have not wasn’t comfortable with the answers I was getting. Current performance is right here in Florida and did the vats apparently they don’t want to mess with it as well as a couple other places off the Internet. you have to send them an email but no reply. I contacted one place last week that had a phone number but there tuner never got back to me. I have a couple more I will try this week. Dakota Digital has a unit that plugs into the obd port not the way I wanted to do it but it maybe the way I have to go. I would think that gen 4 has been around for more than 10 years that it wouldn’t be so difficult. I read the thread and it seems like it can be dun I just don’t have the Computer skills to understand it
Thanks for your help
PS I look to contact hartrod but it appears he is no longer on the forum when I look him up on the members list

[nsb29]

Well it appears that some people have been successful in having pain 57 turned on but after contacting a half a dozen tuners or actually even more either I don’t get a return answer or they tell me it can’t be done and go into a bunch of technical that I don’t understand so this morning I broke down and ordered a STA 1000 from Dakota digital for 100 bucks End of story thanks for everyone who tried to help
Ps I previously said I could not find Hart rod on the members list I just entered his server name incorrectly