With the program. does the professional just use the program and the tuning is done.


What exactly does the pro do when he tunes the cobalt SS?

i want to know cause i dont like other people touching my cars insides lol.

 

You can have a shop do it or you can use it yourself. You have to have some kind of idea what you want done however. You can't really just say to the guy "Make it faster dude!"

 

well i went to the guy and i said make my car faster with hptuners and he said, alright.

and im nto lying... i really said that.
its a friend of mine btw so he knew what i meant =)

i want to learn how they do it tho. im curious. do they just tweak the ECU or what?

 

Spend alot of time on the hptuners forums. The pro version will let you hook up a wideband afr gauge and it will make it easier to tune your car.

 

It's not a program for a novice user. Its is fairly advanced stuff. You would at least need some training in the basic operation of a engine to know what to do with it.

 

Ya this is true. I have spent a couple hours with people learning and it still takes time. Have your friend teach you.

 

hmmm put when tuning it, do you actually have to play with your engine or does the program do all the work for you?

 

Its seriously a difficult program to learn in the beginning. But after you start to learn the basics it gets easier. If you dont do the correct stuff you run the risk of seriously hurting your motor. Its not a plug in program where you can say put it on High Hp mode and it tunes it for you.

 

Well the program can't be THAT hard. I'm going to school for Computer Engineering and well my minor is Computer Programming so it shouldn't take me more than a week to really know how to work with the program basics.

Anyone here tuned their car them self?

I want to know exactly what they did, if not a nice little start on what they did.

 

Damn it, it should be!!!

 

lol, not really, there are handhelds and then there's the next level, HP Tuners

 

Okay, let me make this simple for you. You are not listening. You are a computer guy. Great. That means you will know how to install and run the program. But once it's running, you won't have a clue what to do with it. It does not contain any canned information that you simply upload into your car. It is an editor, like MS Word. It doesn't write the term paper for you so you can get an A+. You still have to actually do the writing.

Let me ask you these simple questions. If you can't answer every single one of them, don't even try to use HPT.

What are the 4 parts of the 4 stroke cycle?
What is ignition timing relative to? What is retard and advance?
What is a MAF? What does it do?
What kind of a signal does an O2 sensor actually send to the ECM?
What is injector pulse width?

See, it has more to do with knowing engines, and really nothing to do with knowing computers.

Oh, and just to beat the dead horse....

Foff67, when are we getting our 2005-06 L61 support? Huh!? WHEN!!!! Okay, I'll settle down now.

 

Good questions! I just learned the answers to those questions about 3 days ago lol. HPT coming my way very soon, so I'm learning quick!

 

Hmm, someone is very sensitive today...I think someone needs to take a chill pill Mr. Mod there =P

Relax dude...It's obvious I don't know the program (because I don't have it) and its also obvious that I'm a computer guy.

And asking those question is probably the dumbest thing ever. I could either Tell you what it means or i can look up definitions here on the internet and bullshit my way to it. =P

But I was just asking simple questions, no need to get all Mr Grumpy Smirf on me :P

 

Why insult a mod of all things? He is just trying to look out for you. You could google the answers, but the point still is that if you don't truly understand those things then you need to learn the basics before possibly hurting your car by jumping into it playing with numbers.

 

I'll put it nicely then having a background in computers helps you launch the program and thats about it.....well, it might help you make a histogram....then again, maybe not.

 

Maybe you forgot to read that part right there. Nothing I said was insulting, and if it was I'm sure he knows that by all the ":P" I put in there that I wasn't trying to insult. But maybe with the way you were raised, you might see it as an insult. TBH I wouldnt know what some people would take offense.

Someone is probably taking offense to the fact that i just typed this post out..


All in all, if it seemed as though I was insulting him/her, I apologize. =)

 

No offence taken.

But I think you get my point. If you would have to look the answers up, it means you just are not trained to a level where you would be able to use HPT effectively by yourself. No worries, take to a shop that can do it for you.

So next question, what do you want? HPT is something you can use to change the way the engine will run. And in stock form, the stock program is going to give you the best running engine. Do you have some modifications that you want done? For instance, if you put on a smaller pulley and bigger injectors, you would NEED to retune it. Just like a GMPP stage kit.

 

having a background in tuning other cars, and knowing what does what and how it affects the car over all is a good place to start. if you get this. start slow. spend a lot of time on hpt forums. scroll through some threads on here. having decent math skills. or a good calculator works too. because there is math involved.

when you open it up. you will look at it with a deer in the headlights look on your face. the more you tinker and log, the more you learn. do small changes. no big leaps unless you know exactly what you're doing

 

let me try:
1. intake.compression.combustion.exhaust. close enough ...i learned in class(suck squeeze bang blow)
2. spark. limit spark and increase spark
3. mass airflow sensor. determine amount of air coming into the engine.
4. i believe how much fuel is in the air
5. im thinkin how long the injector is open

do i pass?

 

You're a little foggy on #2, but the rest is pretty good!

 

im also considering buying hpt...how do you go about increasing timing and spark and such...thats the main thing i dont understandprobably because ive never really tried to find out...can you enlighten me?

 

Ignition timing is when the spark plugs fire relative to the position of the crankshaft on the compression stroke, usually referred to as degree before or after TDC. Original distributor ignition systems during normal operation would always fire at the same time. Modern computer controlled systems have the ability to vary the timing based on the current operation of the engine. This timing is controlled by a table of values that one can edit using HPT.

If you wanted the spark to occur sooner then normal, that would be called advance. Later is called retard. When a typical modern engine starts, the spark is greatly retarded to help make an easy start, and then once the engine is running returns to normal.

 

like the guy who started this thread i went to school for computers and i have been trying to learn as much as i can over the past 6 months( when i bought my balt) or so about engines and their operation. this thread...aside from the mild banter is really very useful... thanks to everyone who has put info into it.

 

so stock fires at TDC?....i dont fully understand this....but increasing timing would allow the engine to im guessing fire faster in return allowing more power to be made on the over the same period of time as the stock timing would?...i think thats what i want to say...what im saying is you have a certain amount of fires ina given period of time with timing set at TDC i guess....if you advance timing you would be causing more fires in the same period of time...am i right or close to being right?...lol or just way off...which i think i am