HP Tuners difficulty? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Nate2SS · 07-02-2022, 02:09 PM

Hey all,

I am interested in learning HP Tuners as tuning around here has not been very cooperative around me. I have been researching as much as I can but I wanted to ask everyone how difficult they find HP tuners to use in the beginning?

I’m NA with my mods in the sig, what are the chances I cause catastrophic damage if I go slow and double check my work? I’m looking to clean up my WOT as well as check over and hopefully raise fuel efficiency in the cruising. Any advice would be amazing

bsn · 07-02-2022, 07:37 PM

Like anything there is a learning curve but HP tuners isn't too bad + there is a forum for support. There are plenty of reputable remote tuners that can dial you in quicker and safer and probably get you a little more due to experience. If your not in a rush and willing to go slow then tuning yourself can be very rewarding and puts you in control.

redrum_maro · 07-03-2022, 01:22 AM

I'd recommend looking at one of HP Academy's courses for tuning. I believe HP tuners may also have a course on tuning LS engines specifically. Most of the time as an NA engine you're changing air and fuel, occasionally adding more timing.

For air/fuel you will need to know the stoichiometric ratio of air-fuel which is 14.7:1, this means that for every 14.7 parts of air you will need 1 part of fuel. Most tuners love to add a little extra fuel to make sure all the oxygen is used up, and helps cool your cylinder a little too. You will want to use a wide band o2 sensors to get a better reading as to what is happening post-combustion and this will be your main source of information.

Once you have gotten the right amount of air and fuel into your cylinder you can begin to add timing. The way my tuner has done it is he'll add timing until the car begins to pick up knock and takes away timing on its own. Then he'll go into HP tuners and take away a few degrees till it no longer knocks and a little more to prevent any engine knock with bad batches of fuel.

I am no tuner this is just what I understand from all the many questions I ask during the times I have had my car tuned.

morepowerjoe · 07-03-2022, 04:23 AM

I would definitely recommend someone like dynosteve to get you dialed in. As far as tuning on your own I'm not saying that it can't be done but if you get it wrong then you can definitely hurt your engine. If your serious about tuning then I would recommend taking a tuning class. The guys over on the hp tuners forum are a bunch of asses to say the least so I would stay away from there if it was me. I went on there asking some questions and no one on there wanted to really help me. As far as the difficulty of hp tuners it's not really that hard but the air fuel deal is kinda complicated. But I have dabbled in there quite a bit on things like transmission, traction control, fan settings, and idle so far. You will need a A/F ratio gauge to do anything related to air/fuel.

Nate2SS · 07-03-2022, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morepowerjoe

I would definitely recommend someone like dynosteve to get you dialed in. As far as tuning on your own I'm not saying that it can't be done but if you get it wrong then you can definitely hurt your engine. If your serious about tuning then I would recommend taking a tuning class. The guys over on the hp tuners forum are a bunch of asses to say the least so I would stay away from there if it was me. I went on there asking some questions and no one on there wanted to really help me. As far as the difficulty of hp tuners it's not really that hard but the air fuel deal is kinda complicated. But I have dabbled in there quite a bit on things like transmission, traction control, fan settings, and idle so far. You will need a A/F ratio gauge to do anything related to air/fuel.

I have the AFR gauge and someone willing to send me a mpvi 2. The problem is trying to get dyno Steve to do it I need a tuner already and at that point I’m paying each time I want something changed as opposed to just taking a lot of time to learn it in the beginning and I can just change what I need when I need them.

How easy can it be to really damage an engine? I’m not trying to break any records here. The car just runs like crap compared to how I imagined all this to go

morepowerjoe · 07-04-2022, 11:39 PM

As far as the fueling or timing goes, if you get that wrong you can cause detonation which will ruin your engine and the problem with someone sending you their tuner hardware is that it's linked to their account with their cars on there and I'm sure you would want to create your own account to purchase the credits needed to do your own tuning. What I'm getting at is I'm not sure if you can use someone else's mpvi 2 or not that's another question. Then there's the airflow which can give you trouble too if you don't know what you're doing. BUT if the car is running fine right now then you can pull the current tune from the ecu and work from there but you said it runs like crap so that's probably not a good place to start that's why I think it would be beneficial for you to start out with a good tune first and maybe compare it to your current tune and see what changes were made to get a good idea on what it takes to make it run better. So, if I was you, I would buy a new mpvi 2, and get the vcm editor, pull your current tune, and then pay someone to get you like I said dialed in. Anyways that's just what I did. But I first got a email tune didn't like it and then got a dyno tune which was like night and day and picked up almost 30 hp. Then I worked from that tune where now I've got my car running exactly the way I want it. I paid $500 for the dyno tune and another $500 on the mpvi 2 and two credits from hp tuners. So my point is you can get a dyno tune for the same price as the hp tuners stuff or do both like I did. Sorry for the long post just trying to help you out.

Nate2SS · 07-05-2022, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morepowerjoe

As far as the fueling or timing goes, if you get that wrong you can cause detonation which will ruin your engine and the problem with someone sending you their tuner hardware is that it's linked to their account with their cars on there and I'm sure you would want to create your own account to purchase the credits needed to do your own tuning. What I'm getting at is I'm not sure if you can use someone else's mpvi 2 or not that's another question. Then there's the airflow which can give you trouble too if you don't know what you're doing. BUT if the car is running fine right now then you can pull the current tune from the ecu and work from there but you said it runs like crap so that's probably not a good place to start that's why I think it would be beneficial for you to start out with a good tune first and maybe compare it to your current tune and see what changes were made to get a good idea on what it takes to make it run better. So, if I was you, I would buy a new mpvi 2, and get the vcm editor, pull your current tune, and then pay someone to get you like I said dialed in. Anyways that's just what I did. But I first got a email tune didn't like it and then got a dyno tune which was like night and day and picked up almost 30 hp. Then I worked from that tune where now I've got my car running exactly the way I want it. I paid $500 for the dyno tune and another $500 on the mpvi 2 and two credits from hp tuners. So my point is you can get a dyno tune for the same price as the hp tuners stuff or do both like I did. Sorry for the long post just trying to help you out.

The car has been tuned twice, once on the street by LT/STFT. The other by a exhaust sniffer wideband on the dyno. Under light load/crusing I can feel the car buck until the RPMs are well above 2k. The AFRs sweep significantly at WOT as well as seem to be a little rich compared to what I believe it would be. I've been daily driving on the tune for the last month or two and just now got time to work on this.

You mention you dialed in your tune after having an adequate dyno tune. Where/how long did you work towards learning the program? The guy I am getting the tuner from mentions that the tuner should work I just need the credits I believe.

morepowerjoe · 07-05-2022, 12:13 PM

I did not learn the timing, fueling or airflow parameters but can look and see what changes were made. As far as everything else it wasn't too hard like the transmission stuff. It probably took me around 3 months to get really good at it. Things like the idle, fan control, traction control, and torque reduction are pretty easy. As far as bucking goes it might be your lock up converter engaging to soon. My car did that to so I learned how to control it and now only have it lock up in 5th and 6th gear to get rid of that darn bucking at low speeds.

TheFlyingBananaSS · 07-06-2022, 05:44 AM

Knowledge is power. Fortunately there is a wealth of information out there to learn from. Educate yourself.

07-02-2022, 02:09 PM	#1
Nate2SS Drives: 2011 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Clemson, SC Posts: 68	HP Tuners difficulty? Hey all, I am interested in learning HP Tuners as tuning around here has not been very cooperative around me. I have been researching as much as I can but I wanted to ask everyone how difficult they find HP tuners to use in the beginning? I’m NA with my mods in the sig, what are the chances I cause catastrophic damage if I go slow and double check my work? I’m looking to clean up my WOT as well as check over and hopefully raise fuel efficiency in the cruising. Any advice would be amazing __________________ 2011 2SS/RS 6M: Hurst Short Throw Equipment, Speed Engineering Headers, Spectre CAI, BTR Stage 3 Camshaft 229/244 .630"/.615" 113+4, Chromoly Pushrods, .660" Springs with steel retainers.

07-03-2022, 04:23 AM	#4
morepowerjoe Drives: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro l99 Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,128	I would definitely recommend someone like dynosteve to get you dialed in. As far as tuning on your own I'm not saying that it can't be done but if you get it wrong then you can definitely hurt your engine. If your serious about tuning then I would recommend taking a tuning class. The guys over on the hp tuners forum are a bunch of asses to say the least so I would stay away from there if it was me. I went on there asking some questions and no one on there wanted to really help me. As far as the difficulty of hp tuners it's not really that hard but the air fuel deal is kinda complicated. But I have dabbled in there quite a bit on things like transmission, traction control, fan settings, and idle so far. You will need a A/F ratio gauge to do anything related to air/fuel. __________________ DSS FX Forged Pistons, Eagle ESP L19 Forged Rods, ARP Head and Main Studs, TSP PRC 260 CNC Ported Heads milled .030, Cometic .040 Head Gaskets, GPI SS3 VVT Camshaft, GM Performance Racing Lifters, CHE Trunnions , Molly Pushrods, Melling 10355HV Oil Pump, Cold Air Inductions CAI, Fast LSXR Intake Manifold, Nick Williams 103 TB, TSP 1 7/8" Longtubes with 3" TSP Exhaust, ZL1 Fuel Pump, Mishimoto Radiator, Mishimoto Oil Cooler, Tru Cool 40k Tranny Cooler, 3600 Circle D Converter, Fluid Dynamics Balancer Build Thread https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609817

07-04-2022, 11:39 PM	#6
morepowerjoe Drives: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro l99 Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,128	As far as the fueling or timing goes, if you get that wrong you can cause detonation which will ruin your engine and the problem with someone sending you their tuner hardware is that it's linked to their account with their cars on there and I'm sure you would want to create your own account to purchase the credits needed to do your own tuning. What I'm getting at is I'm not sure if you can use someone else's mpvi 2 or not that's another question. Then there's the airflow which can give you trouble too if you don't know what you're doing. BUT if the car is running fine right now then you can pull the current tune from the ecu and work from there but you said it runs like crap so that's probably not a good place to start that's why I think it would be beneficial for you to start out with a good tune first and maybe compare it to your current tune and see what changes were made to get a good idea on what it takes to make it run better. So, if I was you, I would buy a new mpvi 2, and get the vcm editor, pull your current tune, and then pay someone to get you like I said dialed in. Anyways that's just what I did. But I first got a email tune didn't like it and then got a dyno tune which was like night and day and picked up almost 30 hp. Then I worked from that tune where now I've got my car running exactly the way I want it. I paid $500 for the dyno tune and another $500 on the mpvi 2 and two credits from hp tuners. So my point is you can get a dyno tune for the same price as the hp tuners stuff or do both like I did. Sorry for the long post just trying to help you out. __________________ DSS FX Forged Pistons, Eagle ESP L19 Forged Rods, ARP Head and Main Studs, TSP PRC 260 CNC Ported Heads milled .030, Cometic .040 Head Gaskets, GPI SS3 VVT Camshaft, GM Performance Racing Lifters, CHE Trunnions , Molly Pushrods, Melling 10355HV Oil Pump, Cold Air Inductions CAI, Fast LSXR Intake Manifold, Nick Williams 103 TB, TSP 1 7/8" Longtubes with 3" TSP Exhaust, ZL1 Fuel Pump, Mishimoto Radiator, Mishimoto Oil Cooler, Tru Cool 40k Tranny Cooler, 3600 Circle D Converter, Fluid Dynamics Balancer Build Thread https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609817

07-05-2022, 12:13 PM	#8
morepowerjoe Drives: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro l99 Join Date: Aug 2020 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,128	I did not learn the timing, fueling or airflow parameters but can look and see what changes were made. As far as everything else it wasn't too hard like the transmission stuff. It probably took me around 3 months to get really good at it. Things like the idle, fan control, traction control, and torque reduction are pretty easy. As far as bucking goes it might be your lock up converter engaging to soon. My car did that to so I learned how to control it and now only have it lock up in 5th and 6th gear to get rid of that darn bucking at low speeds. __________________ DSS FX Forged Pistons, Eagle ESP L19 Forged Rods, ARP Head and Main Studs, TSP PRC 260 CNC Ported Heads milled .030, Cometic .040 Head Gaskets, GPI SS3 VVT Camshaft, GM Performance Racing Lifters, CHE Trunnions , Molly Pushrods, Melling 10355HV Oil Pump, Cold Air Inductions CAI, Fast LSXR Intake Manifold, Nick Williams 103 TB, TSP 1 7/8" Longtubes with 3" TSP Exhaust, ZL1 Fuel Pump, Mishimoto Radiator, Mishimoto Oil Cooler, Tru Cool 40k Tranny Cooler, 3600 Circle D Converter, Fluid Dynamics Balancer Build Thread https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=609817

07-06-2022, 05:44 AM	#9
TheFlyingBananaSS Evil Genius of Chevrolet Drives: 2017 Z06, 2019 XTS, 2013 SS Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: New York Posts: 3,260	Knowledge is power. Fortunately there is a wealth of information out there to learn from. Educate yourself. __________________ GPI SS2 VVT cam, ECS Novi 1500 supercharger, Corsa Extreme, Detroit Speed and BMR suspension, Circle D triple disc, Melling oil pump, LS2 chain tensioner, ATI 10% UD, DSX E85 kit, High Energy coils, BTR springs, LS2 Lifter trays, Titanium retainers, hardened push rods, FIC 1000 injectors, ZL1 pump, Mighty Mouse catch can, AEM gauges, Tial BOV, Richmond 3.91 gears, Custom gauge bezels, Speed Engineering headers, Stainless Works HF cats, DSX Aux pump, 710rwhp on E85.

07-02-2022, 07:37 PM	#2
bsn Drives: 2013 ZL1 Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Virginia Posts: 318	Like anything there is a learning curve but HP tuners isn't too bad + there is a forum for support. There are plenty of reputable remote tuners that can dial you in quicker and safer and probably get you a little more due to experience. If your not in a rush and willing to go slow then tuning yourself can be very rewarding and puts you in control.

07-03-2022, 01:22 AM	#3
redrum_maro Runs on caffeine Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Somewhere driving fast Posts: 120	I'd recommend looking at one of HP Academy's courses for tuning. I believe HP tuners may also have a course on tuning LS engines specifically. Most of the time as an NA engine you're changing air and fuel, occasionally adding more timing. For air/fuel you will need to know the stoichiometric ratio of air-fuel which is 14.7:1, this means that for every 14.7 parts of air you will need 1 part of fuel. Most tuners love to add a little extra fuel to make sure all the oxygen is used up, and helps cool your cylinder a little too. You will want to use a wide band o2 sensors to get a better reading as to what is happening post-combustion and this will be your main source of information. Once you have gotten the right amount of air and fuel into your cylinder you can begin to add timing. The way my tuner has done it is he'll add timing until the car begins to pick up knock and takes away timing on its own. Then he'll go into HP tuners and take away a few degrees till it no longer knocks and a little more to prevent any engine knock with bad batches of fuel. I am no tuner this is just what I understand from all the many questions I ask during the times I have had my car tuned.