I wanted to post on a number of things, all of which are associated with what it is involved in doing your own tuning as well as what it can do for you.
Where to start, well, I set out with the SCT Pro Racer package to be able to do minimal things here and there as I made modifications to my car without having to send my chip back and forth. A process which is necessary when you have someone else do your tune. I also did not want to follow Jerry W. to one of his dyno tunes only to be stuck for up to a year at a time to catch him on the next circle back for updates. So, I bought the package, got it in and thought, good grief maybe this wasn't such a good idea!
Well, I tell you what, Jerry and his crew are masters at going all out to help you get your base tune established so that you can tweak it from there. You can read in another post about how he invited me to a one-on-one dyno tune to get it right over Thanksgiving weekend no less! We spent a little over 4 hours on my car and netted some great RWHP numbers. Well, that is another story for another thread, but needless to say, they will help you get a working tune, then you can go off and experiment on your own, which is almost a description of what I did.
As is my nature, when I enter into something, it is all out. I had an O2 bung installed in my exhaust (80.00), bought a Wideband O2 (500.00), bought the OBD-II scanning software (189.00), bought a laser based temperature gun, then I set out to perform some modifications on my Trilogy package that would help be tune it better, wired up additional inputs into the Wideband (RPM and MAFV), and permanently installed all of these systems in my car to make it a rolling test bed. With all of this equipment, I can perform my own "real world dyno pulls" on any open stretch of road! I get nice RPM, MAF V, and A/F graphs and in conjunction with OBD-II, more information than any dyno would ever give you for tuning purposes.
I then cut the cord so to speak with SCT so to speak and set out to completely customize my tune. At the same time I was also working to correct a few minor issues with my base tune that I received, but I figured it was close enough and what better way to learn than to just jump in.
Well, I have to say, this software is not for absolutely everyone. While these guys have gone a long way to describe everything and what it does, there are two things to consider. The first is their target market, which might be a bit mushy right now as the explanations seem to be geared towards someone with "some" tuning experience versus an interested "novice", this may change and will surely get much better as the product matures. Secondly, they are still the engineer type and sometimes what they see as a straight forward explanation goes "Whooooosh" right over your head! Well anyway, the product is phenomenal and you do have access to help on the Modular Depot site and directly from the "Big Three" as well, but still, even though they try to not allow you to do anything to dangerous, you could end up fubar'ing your motor in a heartbeat. You just have to use a ton of common sense, perform a ton of research, concentrate on the various tuning theories, thought processes, philosophies, read, read, read, and ask, ask, ask. You also need to be prepared and/or in the position to suffer the consequences if you screw something up. Do not get into this if you are completely strapped for cash and you could not live without your car until you replace something like say, the motor!
Well it started out slow as some of the items involved were just plain intimidating, but I tell you what, I wouldn't trade my new found experience for anything. Once you really get into this stuff you have a number of epiphanies. First, there is no "magic" to tuning, PERIOD. It is all common sense, numbers, patience, experience, and basic physics. Second, you truly appreciate the level of intimacy that the PCM has with your car, you might think it is computer controlled, but OMG, most people truly have no idea. Third, and this isn't as much as an epiphany as it is a revelation, but you truly reach a new level of intimacy with what is going on with your vehicle that most others simply cannot appreciate until they do the same.
Basically, once you reach a level of understanding of all the options at your fingertips and you fully explore the various tuning philosophies and decided which one is for you, it is time to set out to chase down the elusive "perfect tune". This is important to understand as a perfect tune is not just about the max RWHP, it is about performance, drivability, safety, longevity, and aggressiveness; all of which are subjective to say the least.
The latter is why I would recommend this product to anyone that is truly serious about their MM and performance. I just don't think you can truly appreciate what is happening and why until you take it to this "next level". No tuner in the world can fully appreciate what it is that you like and dislike and if you knew everything that went on in the background and how many "different" ways there were to tune your car, who is to say that regardless of the man's reputation, that you might not end up doing things a little differently based on your individual circumstances? In addition, just like the knowledge transfer that takes place on this board about various other items, we are poised on the tip of a tuning revolution for the MM. As more and more people begin to pick up this package, we will begin trading endlessly variable tuning files and tips that will help this community as a whole! Remember, two heads are always better than one, and I can tell you now, a hundred heads are better than two!!!!
Where am I now? Well, after 3 full tanks of gas and countless, I do mean countless "Real World Dyno Pulls" (the only way to go), I feel like I have one Hell of a Tune! It is exactly the way I want it. I have the flattest A/F I have ever seen, my shift points are perfect (for me), I have exactly the amount of spark that I want at every load and RPM, and most importantly I have my own custom safety net.
I'll touch on the latter real quick. You can create your own personalized safety net based on a number of things; ECT, ACT, A/F, etc. Again, some of these values are subjective and you can go as "safe" or as "careless" as you want. But all of this is much too much for this post, the main point is like in real life, there is always more than one way to skin a cat, and no one else's way is exactly the "best" way, it is just their personal philosophy.
Personally, I have calibrated my tune completely without the aid of a knock sensor and have maxed out my spark tables at a particular temperature and then built modifier tables based on changes to that base temperature. Sort of the Max under known circumstances, take away or add later under varying conditions strategy. I feel this is much more responsive than relying on the knock sensor to listen and slowly add timing as needed. All I can say is
DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNNN!!!!!!!
Last but not least, it is ultimately gratifying to "feel" the fruits of your labor. That is to have all the many, many hours of pouring over your spark tables, shift tables, fuel tables, modifier tables, and the dozens and dozens of chip burns and test runs "pay off"!!!!!!
If you ever want to talk about what is involved, as always, feel free to give me a call 952.334.5096.
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