Tuning a minivan vs a sports car

[coreen873]

Hello, I am college student writing a paper on tuning software. More specifically I am writing a paper on the benefits or draw backs to tuning the every day car. It has been mentioned to me on several occasions that the manufactures deliberately detune vehicles. I have a few questions that I would like to get answered by those that use tuning software on high performance cars.

What brands of software are available for tunes?
What type of Operating system and specs are needed to install?
What type of training is involved to tune a car?

Is it really a benefit to tune the average day driver?
Will that give you better gas mileage and better performance out of the vehicle?
Are there certain vehicles that just can not be tuned?

Any answers are appreciated and welcomed. Thank you for helping me in advance.

[1998ws6]

What brands of software are available for tunes?

There are several, efilive of course, hptuners (i saw your post over there as well) jet, tunercat, ls1edit, sct, diablosport to name a few for GM applications

What type of Operating system and specs are needed to install?

Most are varied, but windows based systems, with XP being a normal reccomendation.

What type of training is involved to tune a car?

There is lots of training required, but most people do not get training.

Is it really a benefit to tune the average day driver?

Yes, you can increase performance fuel economy, and possibly emissions as well.

Will that give you better gas mileage and better performance out of the vehicle?

If you know what your doing, you typically can.

Are there certain vehicles that just can not be tuned?

There are certain vehicles that nobody has developed tuning software for, any vehicle can be tuned, it is just how much work is worth it, (RSA encryption, encrypted communication bus, ect....)

Any answers are appreciated and welcomed. Thank you for helping me in advance.

[joecar]

coreen,

Welcome to the forum...

What degree course are you enrolled in...?
What class are you writing the paper for...?
What books are on your references list...?
Where are you generally located...?

Can you give us more information about yourself...?
What do you drive and what are your impressions of it.

There are other considerations besides engine tuning...

e.g. changing tire size and/or axle ratio requires an edit for speedo correction.
e.g. changing fuel tank/pump (as on a classic car retro upgrade to EFI) requires fuel system segment swap.
e.g. factory transmission shift feel is usually too soft, requires edit to firm up.

[coreen873]

coreen,

Welcome to the forum...

What degree course are you enrolled in...? I am enrolled in an Information Technology Degree
What class are you writing the paper for...? Basic Information Technology
What books are on your references list...? I have not used books as a reference but websites.
Where are you generally located...?I am in the St. Charles, MO area.

Can you give us more information about yourself...? I am female trying to break into a new career and find tuning cars interesting.
What do you drive and what are your impressions of it. I drive an 06 Trailblazer and an 06 GTO. I have the GTO tuned by Keith McCord and absolutely love it but wonder if tuning my Blazer will give me better gas mileage and more longevity in my vehicles for that matter any other average car that people drive. Mt coworkers know that I show my GTO and have made to it and wonder if tuning their suv's and minvans and saturns will help them in anyway or if tuning if limited to those cars that are high performance.

There are other considerations besides engine tuning...

e.g. changing tire size and/or axle ratio requires an edit for speedo correction.
e.g. changing fuel tank/pump (as on a classic car retro upgrade to EFI) requires fuel system segment swap.
e.g. factory transmission shift feel is usually too soft, requires edit to firm up.

While all of these suggestions are valid but each of them still requires a tune to adjust the computers on the vehicle. Wouldn't it be easier to tune a vehicle to optimize the fuel and air ratio and call it good for the average person? I am thinking of the soccer mom that does not have a lot of money to spend on the vehicles like I have on my GTO.

So are there any other suggestions or words of wisdom that you can offer to help with the paper??

[mr.prick]

You can limit the speed of the vehicle for safety, RPM for engine life,
and shift points for fuel economy and trans. life.

[joecar]

While all of these suggestions are valid but each of them still requires a tune to adjust the computers on the vehicle. Wouldn't it be easier to tune a vehicle to optimize the fuel and air ratio and call it good for the average person? I am thinking of the soccer mom that does not have a lot of money to spend on the vehicles like I have on my GTO.

So are there any other suggestions or words of wisdom that you can offer to help with the paper??

Have you had the chance to play with the EFILive software at all... see the V7.5 software on the downloads page at www.efilive.com for the actual software (without a cable it still lets you view log files and edit calibration files... some actual sample files are provided in the install).

However, note the one big caveat: the software tools are powerful, letting the user edit any table at will... this is good if the user has a good motor/trans working knowledge (and in particular his/her own vehicle's), but can be disasterous if the user has no knowledge.

I don't know your level of "car-ness", but if you have it or believe you can acquire it, then buy the tool and go for it... ...we all had to learn somewhere... typically most tuner DIY'rs will also be able to diagnose and pull their car apart to repair/replace anything that breaks... again, like tuning this can all be learnt over time.

If you want to see some more detail, look at the tutorials further down on the downloads page, and browse the forum (see the tutorials section).

If you own a late model GTO then I am sure you have discovered LS1tech.com already.