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I'm teaching myself to tune GM Gen 4 V8 engines w/ HP Tuners

BIG-O said:
This is great I will be following along. I've got a gen 3 6.0 LQ4 going into my 63 Nova. I had $150 tunes do a basic can tune and delete Vats 2nd O2's etc, but since then I bought a SS2 cam for it. I wonder if they have a tune for that cam? It is very popular.
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There is one in the sloppy tune cabinet
 
LR Max said:
I did a Megasquirt on my shitty old truck. Its been a learning experience.

I have 6 things to say:

1. SAVE SAVE SAVE. SAVE EVERY FAWKING FILE.
2. ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. Increments FTW.
3. Get a notebook and detail your changes and which files its saved under. I'll data log on a trip and then I'll make a new tune. Then I'll forget to upload it. Or I'll wonder when I've made changes, etc. Having a log in a notebook is crucial.
4. Dedicated laptop. I use my laptop for everything so its kinda a hassle to unplug it from the dock and take it out to the garage. So then I do less tuning.
5. Tune the main maps during the summer. Winter tuning is all kinds of fuckery and warm up tuning can throw you off.
6. Live tuning. Have someone drive your shit while you sit in the passenger seat and make adjustments on the fly. You can get more done in a 30 minute drive vs data logging and then changing the tune back at the garage.

Overall do it. If you can tune and know how EFI works, you'll become a wizard. And wizards are cool.
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All good advice. The main thing I am doing wrong is tuning this thing in winter temperatures, but I can always do it again when the temps are higher this spring. For right now I'm just learning how this all works, but I have seen some weird data due to the warm up cycle.

I'm hungover as hell today, so I doubt I'll be doing any tuning, but there will be more to come later this week.
 
I'll add that looking at known good tunes for similar type engines may be a good thing to give you an idea of where you're / should be going.
 
Bebop said:
I'll add that looking at known good tunes for similar type engines may be a good thing to give you an idea of where you're / should be going.
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That's a good idea when you are strating from scratch. So far, I'm just improving an already decent tune.
 
Bebop said:
I'll add that looking at known good tunes for similar type engines may be a good thing to give you an idea of where you're / should be going.
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HP Tuners has a repository of files you can use. I went from a 5.3 to 6.0 engine with a Truck Norris cam and used the 6.0 file as my baseline. Still my VVE tables and maf had to be reworked on my e67 ecm.
 
Anyone proficient with EFI Live ?

I have a friend that has the box and he needs a tune for a 6.6L Duramax.
 
Malone or other good diesel tuners
 
LR Max said:
I did a Megasquirt on my shitty old truck. Its been a learning experience.

I have 6 things to say:

1. SAVE SAVE SAVE. SAVE EVERY FAWKING FILE.
2. ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. Increments FTW.
3. Get a notebook and detail your changes and which files its saved under. I'll data log on a trip and then I'll make a new tune. Then I'll forget to upload it. Or I'll wonder when I've made changes, etc. Having a log in a notebook is crucial.
4. Dedicated laptop. I use my laptop for everything so its kinda a hassle to unplug it from the dock and take it out to the garage. So then I do less tuning.
5. Tune the main maps during the summer. Winter tuning is all kinds of fuckery and warm up tuning can throw you off.
6. Live tuning. Have someone drive your shit while you sit in the passenger seat and make adjustments on the fly. You can get more done in a 30 minute drive vs data logging and then changing the tune back at the garage.

Overall do it. If you can tune and know how EFI works, you'll become a wizard. And wizards are cool.
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Yes to the above. I save all my file with a specific file format, for example 2022.11.23 #1, etc so all the tunes will self sort.
I still am probably doing it wrong but I setup a file log that would output the points I wanted to an excel, then set a program to show the differences between previous values and current and where to the fuel trim.
I'd like to learn the map view a bit more as I'm sure there is an easier way to do it
Live tuning is nice but I didn't really have anyone that so it was a much longer process.
What values you want to shoot for took awhile to figure out and still don't know if I have it right or not.
 
Weasel said:
I still am probably doing it wrong but I setup a file log that would output the points I wanted to an excel, then set a program to show the differences between previous values and current and where to the fuel trim.
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The histographs will do exactly what you are doing with the excel file if you set them up right. I grabbed some screenshots from when I was MAF tuning to show the process.

You set the parameter of the histograph to show the difference between commanded AFR and actual AFR, as reported by the wideband (in lambda). Set the graph up the same as the graph in the HP editor and then you can just copy and paste values over.

MAF histograph.JPG


Here is what the histograph looks like after data logging. The numbers in the cells represent the difference between what the ECM is commanding for AFR vs. the actual AFR readings from the wideband. The values are in lambda, which is the only way to go, AFAIC.

MAF Log with histograph.JPG


You set the histograph up so that it has the same axis values, etc as the graph in the editor side of HP Tuners. My screen is too small to show the entire graph in the photo above, but you get the point. The picture below is the table in editor that I am making adjustments to.

MAF frequency.JPG
 
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I didn't get any tuning done today, but I installed the factory thermostate back in the car this afternoon. I had a much lower stat in it for racing, then never took it out. I rarely drive the car in the winter, so I just never bothered. Now I won't have such a hard time keeping the ECTs in the normal operating range when I datalog. I should have done this to begin with, but live and learn I guess.
 
Maybe it was covered but are you staying MAF or converting to speed density?
 
mjlogan88 said:
Maybe it was covered but are you staying MAF or converting to speed density?
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If I can get speed density dialed in, I'll be running SD until around 4k RPMs, then switch over to MAF above 4k.
 
I did my learning on a $200 engine in a rusted out shit box, understandably you’ll be more conservative learning with what you’ve got

There’s a few guys on here that have some good tuning experience, granted with different platforms. In the end it’s mostly just VE tables and timing so there is some cross reference

Ummduh has a good thread going in the ford section Tuning EFI

And my shitbox thread has a little tuning info (mostly me fumbling through the learning curve)if you skip towards the end and sift through the bs Modern 4 cylinder swap options
 
I have been on the HP Tuners forum trying to learn. RPM Extreme supplied me with a base tune for my JKU L96 / 6L80 swap. I had to change the MAF tuning since I am not using their cold air intake setup. Installing a honeycomb air straightener just before the card style MAF made a big difference in idle and low RPM stability. I have been mostly tuning on the transmission though.
 
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mjlogan88 said:
I did my learning on a $200 engine in a rusted out shit box, understandably you’ll be more conservative learning with what you’ve got

There’s a few guys on here that have some good tuning experience, granted with different platforms. In the end it’s mostly just VE tables and timing so there is some cross reference

Ummduh has a good thread going in the ford section Tuning EFI

And my shitbox thread has a little tuning info (mostly me fumbling through the learning curve)if you skip towards the end and sift through the bs Modern 4 cylinder swap options
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Thanks man. I'll check out those threads.
 
KenV said:
What are the benefits of running both?
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Lower RPM transitions (think going from light throttle cruise to 50% throttle or more) are not seen as clearly by the MAF, so speed density works a little bit better on the lower end. The MAF is really good at higher RPMs/Airflow, so that's why I intend to switch over at around 4k.
 
Did some more tuning yesterday. I feel like the VVE tables are getting pretty close, but I still have a few problem areas. It snowed last night and there looks to be more on the way, which will seriously inhibit my data logging.

Hopefully we will get some nice days soon so I can continue to refine the tune.
 
Anyone know if there is a good learning aid like on you tube for EFI Live ?
 
I bought a can tune for my 03 sierra 6.0. Seems good but when I floor it I hear pinging. Is that not enough fuel or timing?
 
He said dirty Mass air sensor. Cleaned no help.
 
It should immediately yank a bunch of timing as soon as it senses knock, assuming he didn’t tune out the knock sensors. Stock tune will try real hard to save itself

Kinda hard to diagnose without a log or a wideband. Try some higher quality fuel and see if it changes.
 
I'll try that. The old girl might get spoiled on the top shelf stuff.
 
Following along.

Luckily, I have a good starting point tune for my LS3 crate engine. Had a buddy with the same engine/trans take his jeep to a dyno shop. Later on, he wanted to make a couple changes to the trans tune. So I let him borrow my HPTuner and burn a credit to make his changes. In return I got his engine tune from the dyno shop.

So I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about killing a brand new engine on first startup. But I know having a good starting point is only half of the equation.
 
gt1guy said:
Following along.

Luckily, I have a good starting point tune for my LS3 crate engine. Had a buddy with the same engine/trans take his jeep to a dyno shop. Later on, he wanted to make a couple changes to the trans tune. So I let him borrow my HPTuner and burn a credit to make his changes. In return I got his engine tune from the dyno shop.

So I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about killing a brand new engine on first startup. But I know having a good starting point is only half of the equation.
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Yeah, that's gonna be way better than starting from scratch. I haven't done shit lately because it's been cold and snowy here which makes it impossible to datalog safely. I'll be back at it in the spring.:beer:
 
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