[Boost or bust]

I would like to learn how to tune my ZL1 Camaro and will be purchasing the HP Tuners software from one of our forum sponsors very soon. I am very good with computers and Excel. Can one of you make a suggestion on the best procedure to get started?

Thx!

[parish8]

get a wideband and wire it in permanently if you plan on adding mods to your car.

start small. stuff like shift points, turn off codes, small fueling changes. leave as much stock as you can, fix one issue at a time.

there is some good info on the hptuners forum but many of those guys are pretty advanced and are not a great deal of help for those just starting out. it is still a good place to get a feel for things.

there are no how to step by step resources out there that i know of. there are for older cars like an 02 Camaro. things were much more simple back then. i have been doing this on my own cars for 10+ years. with this car minor changes were not too difficult but once i added boost, cam, converter things got much harder than cars of the past and i am still struggling with my tune.

locally we have at least 6 dyno shops that work on various brands. only one of them that i know of could handle a car like mine and even that guy is still learning how it all works. there are very few people that have a handle on all this tq based tuning stuff.

[Baddawg53]

I just started down this same path, spent too much of yesterday installing the wideband AEM, but it works. I am going with Ted Jennety to do the tune, which I’m happy about because looking through hp tuners and all the info, it’s way over my head. Literally don’t know where to start and can’t find the tuning for idiots book.

[parish8]

to add to the tq based stuff.

in the past you would adjust the maf table, adjust the ve table, work the timing table, adjust shift points, lock up points, some idle airflow tables, kill some codes. pretty soon the car would be running and driving great. i have done all of that and my car still drives poorly. for the most part it is great(and safe) at wot.

now there is another whole level of tuning. tq based. when you step on the pedal you are requesting a set amount of tq from the rear axle. the computer then tries to give you that tq.

[parish8]

Originally Posted by Baddawg53

I just started down this same path, spent too much of yesterday installing the wideband AEM, but it works. I am going with Ted Jennety to do the tune, which I’m happy about because looking through hp tuners and all the info, it’s way over my head. Literally don’t know where to start and can’t find the tuning for idiots book.

i really think this is the best advice for most people. i think most average car guys could figure it out but the amount of time required for the average person is excessive. for me i really enjoy the tuning part of the project and making constant incremental improvements is fun but damn it is not easy and i consider myself kind of the higher end of the diy crowd.

i help a couple of friends with stand alones on their cars. cable driven throttle bodies and basic ve tables and timing tables. oh the good old days. that is where people should start out.