RaymondT

i did some research and didnt really unstand how hptuners work. i know you can make your own tunes and so on and must know alot in ablt to do so, but i also read that u can buy tunes and tweak them yourself? and overall how difficult is it to tune, i know abit but i was also planning to buy a beater to practice on before i tune my own. but if one can buy a tune and edit it that would be sweet.
im just looking for tuning options for the future right now. just looking for some insight.
thanks in advance guys

prevsrt4owner

Bump. Would it be a worthy investment to purchase the Suite, so I can tune myself? I plan on keeping the car stock except for a tune (have the muffler delete, haha). I basically just want to raise boost via WG Duty cycle, timing tables, etc. I'm extremely new to the LNF, and I'm willing to take pointers from the other vets on here.
Which website would you recommend for basic tuning for the LNF? Using HPT? That's the program I plan on using. If I don't feel comfortable tuning, I'll just get a tune from another member, lol. I'm used to the DSP for the SRT-4.

09CobaltSS1

You can't buy a sort of "canned tuned" directly from hptuners, but you can have someone write a tune for you and work remotely (or locally obviously) with them to dial things in. It's not something like the BullyDog, Hypertech, Superchips, ect ect programers where you just plug/play and go. HPTuners is a full custom tuning suite which you dial in specific to your car and needs for what you want, but it requires an end user with the ability to set up the tune properly via many logging sessions and revisions. You can pull a tune from the repository but you're quite honestly playing with fire in doing that, so I would strongly recommend against you doing this. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

09CobaltSS1

There's actually quit a bit more to raising boost levels than just tweaking the wgdc table my man. I'm sure you were just simplifying your question just for the sake of asking the question, but I just wanted to at least put that out there so anyone who was curious can know.

Purchasing HPTuners can definitely be worth it, but there's definitely alot to learn before I would go about just plugging in and tweaking tables all ***** nilly.

user 72239

iTrader: (4)

HPTuners.com forums is a awesome learning tool. With that said, even after watching youtube video's and doing research it is pretty in depth process to tune your car, and if you mess up you can seriously damage your motor.

prevsrt4owner

I know. I was hoping you'd respond, haha. Yes, I was shooting for simplicity's sake. I agree.
I want to at least learn the basics before I even attempt to tune the LNF. I'm also hoping a mod will move this to the appropriate section: Tuning.

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iTrader: (9)

my advice is read read read

I've been reading up on the HPforums in the LNF section for roughly 6 months now. I have a good feel for how some of the tables work together from many of the helpful members on there like Term and Gmtech. I just recently got HPtuned from a friend whose had 1 year of tweaking on his k04 and an additional year of tweaking on his 5558 and he showed me around a bit in the software and much of what the how-to's show is helpful, but troubleshooting on what to adjust can still be tricky. I'll be buying the software soon to be able to manage this myself, even though my current tune is next to flawless. Its definately not as daunting if you put the time into reading first

prevsrt4owner

Yeah, I figured that. I just wish we had more support as far as a decent "canned" tune: SC, Hahn PPC tuner, etc. I've read the reviews on the Superchips tuner. Even if I keep my car stock, I don't think the Superchips would be a bad idea, as long as I monitor knock, AFRs, etc. I heard it's relatively "safe." It's pretty simple, and it has made decent power: 280 hp/300 ft.-lbs. tq. (don't know if that is whp--probably not). The SRT-4 has the DSP, and it is definitely a decent "canned" tune for pump gas/e85, etc.

prevsrt4owner

Good information. It's my DD, and I definitely don't want to start dicking around with tables that could potentially melt some pistons. I guess I will consult Cobe for my tuning needs, though.
:straight face:

09CobaltSS1

Yep there's definitely quite a bit of reading and research involved, along with having a good understanding of how modern cars (and even some old car tech) work in general. If you know the fundimentals of how things like ignition, injection, and cam timing works, and how it's all relative to crank position, cylinder volumes and (in the LNF's case) load values, you will have a much easier time understanding what you're looking at in the tables.

09CobaltSS1

Holy crap I almost spit out my water.. lol

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iTrader: (9)

as my buddy who tuned me put it.. probably the two hardest things to control on the LNF are idle control and boost levels. get those two things down and you're on the right track as timing/fueling/cam tables seem rather straightforward

I got lucky, first flash on the cat warmup cycle delete and the car is idling great on cold start with my catless downpipe. If you find an experienced LNF HP guy to work with and learn from (that of which I'd consider 09CobaltSS1^^ one of the CSS members as one) there is alot of trail/error that can be alleviated almost instantly from listening to their advice. I was dialed into my tune in less than 2 hours of total logging/revising. LTFT are +/- 4% (actually was reading 0% after 1.5 hours of hwy driving). Reading up on Hpforums prior to this really helped me understand what he was doing much better (it all made sense as to why he would tweak given readings based on the logs). There are tricks I'm sure each tuner uses though to get results. I know there was a few my tuner used that I only saw vague posts on the forums about

RaymondT

my only concern is that i want to be able to modify my tune myself just incase i do further mods and so on, and in my case i do not beleive any tuners are near me so im kinda sol, any insight?

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iTrader: (9)

my advice to that is to just do all your bolt-on's first. If you're an LNF its definately not expensive to do so.. I did full bolt-on's minus FMIC for $300 (used parts FTW), then just tune after so you dont need to tweak to additional mods..

but to get back to your concern of tweaking. Get HPT and just start exploring and reading. I find it hard to believe that if you read enough and understand how the tables work that you will grenade a motor.. I mean sure its probably been done, but just dont do anything extreme.. Worst comes to worse ask questions and flash back to stock. The people on HPT are very helpful as long as you give detailed info on what you are having trouble with and dont come off as "hey fix my tune"

prevsrt4owner

All good information! Thanks, guys.

heeter_33

So is HPT really only beneficial then if you have a local tuner? Cause I haven't come across anyone even remotely close to me that tunes.

RaymondT

yeah i dont have anyone near me either which is my concern. that is why i was wondering if you can buy a tune and just change it yourself. if someone can completely describe the whole hptuners process to me i would greatly appreciate it. i have done research i just would like to understand it abit more

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iTrader: (9)

no need for them to really be local, having a local is a bit quicker in terms of getting answers at times BUT much of the help I've had has been from online sources. logs can be emailed and sent and I've found alot of HPT members prove to be very helpful

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iTrader: (9)

i dont wanna be that guy to say this.. but you just need to read more and be patient with learning

first off you dont really buy a tune.. you tweak your stock one, and that tweaking (aka tuning) involves reading up on the 12309039234 threads to get a decent basis of knowledge upon how the tables function together. Once you understand some of that, then it gets easier and more straightforward. There isnt a "general how-to tune an LNF" instruction manual sadly. There are helpful how-to's on individual tables and what to look for.. combine all those individual how to's together and you get a good solid foundation to start practicing yourself.. thats really all you can do

prevsrt4owner

I did find this link: https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/tuni...tuners-183251/

Kind of nails the basics I guess. It's sooooooooooooooooo '09, though.

sLAsh

iTrader: (2)

All i can say is dont bother if arent willing to invest a lot of time in learning how to use hptuners. The info is there but you are unlikely to have things spoonfed to you if people don't think you are making an effort to learn on your own.
Here's some info to get you started for the lsj's.
LSJ Guides - HP Tuners Bulletin Board