Tuning a car

[BStowers023]

So I'm looking for something new to learn how to do. Yes, I know this will take a lot of time and patience but I have time now that I am finished with school so I want to pick up on a cool new hobby and this came to mind. I could practice with my own car but I want to know how difficult it truly is for someone who is starting from scratch. What is the learning curve? I was looking at the HP Tuners VCM Suite. Would I just need that and a laptop to get started? Tuning cars is always something that has kind of interested me, but just never got around to learning how to do it. Where do people gain knowledge on how to tune? Have a buddy who knows how help them? Take a class? Watch lots of videos?

[Franchi]

A good way to start is read Greg Banish tuning book. It's def not a step by step guide or anything like that but gives a good idea of different things that goes into tuning and a solid knowledge basis to start to build from. Plus it's cheap. :-)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Management-Advanced-Greg-Banish/dp/1932494421

[Geeto67]

The question I have is how much knowledge do you have already? Do you understand how air fuel mixture works? flame front? intake and exhaust gas velocity? Do you understand how things like plug indexing, porting, blueprinting, Cam degreeing etc...work to add to a well built engine? Anybody can look at a spreadsheet of a fuel map and make adjustments to bring fuel to 14:1 but knowing what you can do to modify and make reliable power, and what parts you can select to build great combinations and then tune the computer to work with those parts is the whole package.

 

To that end I recommend you get a single cylinder engine (or in the absence of a good viable candidate a twin cyl), like a motorcycle or an ATV, preferably two stroke to start since it is stone simple. Take that running engine and try to increase the HP by 50% without the use of computers and by doing it all yourself. This will teach you how to read the signs of fueling without the aid of o2 sensors, how to adjust fuel curves by tuning a carb, what porting really means to an engine and how to do it on your own, etc....Because it is a simple engine you should be able to master the basics fairly easily. Because it is a two stroke you will learn the value of exhaust gas velocity and how to tune for resonance. Try to pick a street bike so you can use it to make drag strip passes and learn how to tune for various conditions at the track.

 

Once you have mastered that, anything you do with a computer will seem both easy and amazing in the adjustability and control you have. For example: if you need the flow of fuel to increase in a certain throttle position, you can just change electronically how long the injector stays open at that throttle position, rather than having to reshape a carb needle by hand.

 

One of the reasons I recommend a small simple engine, is that larger multicylinders can be really forgiving to sloppy tuning. Small engines are really sensitive to the slightest changes, where as look at how a 4bbl works on a big american v8 - outer cylinders (1&2, &&*) run slightly lean, inner cylinders run slightly rich (3&4, 5&6) and we just put up with it because the whole thing is making so much hp and torque that we don't "feel" it when we drive the thing.

[2highpsi]

https://www.efi101.com/

[Cordell]

Seeing as how I've been a technician and grew up racing so I already had a lot of basic knowledge, that being said I read a few books and Greg Banish's are the best to get and read. Once you can wrap your head around how the computer calculates things and what the difference of a base table and a modifier, and things will start to make sense. Having tuned various GMs and even a Chrysler, the early LS1 computers are easiest to learn.

[BStowers023]

The question I have is how much knowledge do you have already?

 

Not a ton of knowledge but I know the basics and I am definitely willing to learn. Everyone starts somewhere.

 

 

Seeing as how I've been a technician and grew up racing so I already had a lot of basic knowledge, that being said I read a few books and Greg Banish's are the best to get and read. Once you can wrap your head around how the computer calculates things and what the difference of a base table and a modifier, and things will start to make sense. Having tuned various GMs and even a Chrysler, the early LS1 computers are easiest to learn.

 

Yeah it would be on a '99 LS1

[BStowers023]

A good way to start is read Greg Banish tuning book. It's def not a step by step guide or anything like that but gives a good idea of different things that goes into tuning and a solid knowledge basis to start to build from. Plus it's cheap. :-)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Engine-Management-Advanced-Greg-Banish/dp/1932494421

 

https://www.efi101.com/

 

Thanks guys, looks like pretty good sources to start.

[xlr8tn]

I learned to tune my car.....and I'm a dumbass

 

 

Between the books and the info on the forums it's definitely something you can learn if you have the desire. To add with what has already been said I would also recommend to spend a ton of time learning the logging side of things and making your own PID's and what not. It really helps if you have a good grasp on setting up PIDS, what the data is telling you, and how to apply it.