Quote:
Originally Posted by CC Performance
Suites like EFIlive and HPTuners allow the ability to tune just about every parameter on the car... handhelds are very limited in what they can do.
If you want something to read codes and make minor changes you get a handheld. If you actually want the ability to really tune the car you go with a software suite. The handhelds are a lot cheaper.. by far than the suites are....
EFI and HP have their owns boards ( forums) with plenty of help in there from real tuners ..
SO really it all comes down to how involved you want to be in tuning your car.
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One point to make clear.... There are handhelds...and there there is
AutoCal.
While AutoCal is considered a handheld, it is internally (virtually) identical to the much more expensive
Master Tuner V2 Commercial Scan and Tune cable most of us use.
Quote:
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handhelds are very limited in what they can do.
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This is
NOT true for AutoCal. AutoCal is is hardly limited. It has the ability to deploy (flash) or read ABSOLUTELY ANY EFI LIVE (and some others)
custom tune or operating system and/or custom parameters.
Other brand "handhelds" are only capable of flashing a finite list of calibrations, usually NO CUSTOM OS/CAL
files, and it's never easy to get custom parameters added to it's feature list.
Additionally, nearly 50% of the GM VEHICLES out there leave the factory with
what we call "EARLY" operating systems or "first gen" versions of the cars data and operating code.
As time goes on, GM issues updates for the software in your vehicle which are critical to proper performance and
not different than Microsoft Windows, software updates are MANDATORY and times change...
"OTHER" handhelds are not capable of flashing updated operating systems into engine and transmission controllers.
AutoCal does this with ease.
In other words, if your early version/first year camaro had a bug in the software (bad fuel level sensor calibration for instance....)
and your tuner tunes the car with his handheld....
Guess what....????
You vehicle is
STUCK WITH THAT DEFECT FOR EVER AND EVER...
Or until someone with an AutoCal comes along and can read the old OS and migrates your old tune
to the new OS along with some updates.
While there are many reasons to use AutoCal, this is just one MAJOR ONE to consider.
Stay TUNED!
Chuck CoW