I want to be able to use Tunercat and some sort of wideband to tune with. I have a suitable PC to work from but I dont have a laptop.

1. How much is tunercat?
2. Can I scan with tunercat?
3. I need a wideband O2 sensor I'm told which one? How much?
4. Whats a used laptop that will just be used for tuning worth? It doesnt need to be pretty or fancy.


Pretty much, I'm asking for someone to put together a complete shopping list for me to get, including the software, the hardware, the wiring, sensors. I'm pretty computer illiterate so I'm sorry. But I know the principles of tuning well and understand EFI systems quite well. I want to be able tune for everything on my truck. I race quite a bit, and I want to be able to adjust for conditions and injectors and fuel pressures and trims. Its a 97 GMC Sierra with 350 2wd NA for now.

Any and all advice is welcome, I'm new too the tuning game and want to be independent of the GM tech centers. Thanks a bunch everyone. Time to take the L31 to new heights.

Peace
Hog

My wideband is for sale that I originally bought through Ken. Never even used it; still in the box and I don't think I will be tuning on my own. Let me know if interested.

00z71sierra

Here's a thought. Can you get your PC within 10ft of your truck's data port? That's about the max length for cables before you start getting errors.

Dave'02LT wrote:

Here's a thought. Can you get your PC within 10ft of your truck's data port? That's about the max length for cables before you start getting errors.

Unfortunatley no. The PC is in the house.

Hog

1. How much is tunercat?

$379 out the door to you....includes one DF file your choice.

2. Can I scan with tunercat?

No, all it does is copy, modify and program your pcm files...some or the readings you need to look at could be viewed on the wideband aux box or you would need somekind of scanner, several will work on a laptop....Autotap, and several I've seen on ebay.

3. I need a wideband O2 sensor I'm told which one? How much?

If you want to be able to also read five other sensors then you would want to get the one I use and sell LM1+LMA-3 $520 plus shipping. http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products.php

4. Whats a used laptop that will just be used for tuning worth? It doesnt need to be pretty or fancy. I got one from a fellow online trucker for about $200....I've seen brand new ones going for $500-600

Ken

Can one tune a 96 Tahoe and, say, a 99 LS1 engine from an F-body and maybe a 2001 4.8L truck engine with the same Tunercat program? I realize it would be different files for each vehicle, wondering if the same base program will speak to all three.

Speeder wrote:

Can one tune a 96 Tahoe and, say, a 99 LS1 engine from an F-body and maybe a 2001 4.8L truck engine with the same Tunercat program? I realize it would be different files for each vehicle, wondering if the same base program will speak to all three.

Yes it will! You just need to get the correct DF file...DF files are $79.95 each

I personally have 96 to 2005 truck DF's on my laptop for Tunercat

Ken

Blown383 (Ken) wrote:

Speeder wrote:

Can one tune a 96 Tahoe and, say, a 99 LS1 engine from an F-body and maybe a 2001 4.8L truck engine with the same Tunercat program? I realize it would be different files for each vehicle, wondering if the same base program will speak to all three.

Yes it will! You just need to get the correct DF file...DF files are $79.95 each

I personally have 96 to 2005 truck DF's on my laptop for Tunercat

Ken

Cool thanks. Don't need one at the moment, but eventually...

with the wideband O2 is it neccesary to place it before the cat. conv.?
I deleted my rear O2 so I am hoping I can just place it there.

tahoe99 wrote:

with the wideband O2 is it neccesary to place it before the cat. conv.?
I deleted my rear O2 so I am hoping I can just place it there.

OK...you need to weld in another bung...which comes with the wideband...before the cat...I welded mine just where the left side starts to turn to go under the oil pan.

Ken



Last edited by Blown383 (Ken) on Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:58 am; edited 1 time in total

Blown383 (Ken) wrote:

tahoe99 wrote:

with the wideband O2 is it neccesary to place it before the cat. conv.?
I deleted my rear O2 so I am hoping I can just place it there.

Yes...all you would need to do it take out the O2 plug and install it there...nice no welding for you

Ken

How does the engine get a O2 input if its not there? Or does the PCM use the wideband inputs?

Hog

I had my rear O2 deleted by Westers(there are 2 sets). Along with the AIR and torque managment.

I live in Iowa so they dont have smog testing.
There may be a way to delete them with tunercat but I will let Ken fill you in on that as I dont have mine yet.

tahoe99 wrote:

I had my rear O2 deleted by Westers. Along with the AIR and torque managment.

I live in Iowa so they dont have smog testing.
There may be a way to delete them with tunercat but I will let Ken fill you in on that as I dont have mine yet.

I am sorry tahoe 99, I should have read more carefully. You guys were referring to the rear O2 sensors. Not the front 02 sensors.

Is everone SURE that the wideband CAN go after the cat converters?

I would have thought that the cats. chemical reaction would skew the results. Doesnt the catalytic reactions "burn" off undesirables thus using the oxygen content to do so? The AIR (when equipped)system injects air into the exhaust to help this process, so this would conclude that oxygen is used during the catalytic process

I also am not running rear O2's, deleted by Ed Wright, but am running cats. Emissions here in Ontario. Looks like I have to weld in a bung. I also run no torque management and will be discarding the EVAP purge system and charcoal canister today.

If I am tuning with a wideband, does it matter if the bung is on the driv. or pass. side exhaust pipe? There are 2 factory pre cat. converter sensors. Does the PCM average the 2 inputs or directly tune cylinders 1-7 and 2-8 independently. On a vehicle with 1 cat. I see no problem, but using only 1 cylinder bank for wideband O2 input, isnt the tuner blind as to what the other 4 cylinders are doing? Or would the tune be pretty close? Maybe tune on one side then check again using the other banks exhaust?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge.

thanks a bunch for everyones help
Hog

Hog wrote:

tahoe99 wrote:

I had my rear O2 deleted by Westers. Along with the AIR and torque managment.

I live in Iowa so they dont have smog testing.
There may be a way to delete them with tunercat but I will let Ken fill you in on that as I dont have mine yet.

I am sorry tahoe 99, I should have read more carefully. You guys were referring to the rear O2 sensors. Not the front 02 sensors.

Is everone SURE that the wideband CAN go after the cat converters?

I would have thought that the cats. chemical reaction would skew the results. Doesnt the catalytic reactions "burn" off undesirables thus using the oxygen content to do so? The AIR (when equipped)system injects air into the exhaust to help this process, so this would conclude that oxygen is used during the catalytic process

I also am not running rear O2's, deleted by Ed Wright, but am running cats. Emissions here in Ontario. Looks like I have to weld in a bung. I also run no torque management and will be discarding the EVAP purge system and charcoal canister today.

If I am tuning with a wideband, does it matter if the bung is on the driv. or pass. side exhaust pipe? There are 2 factory pre cat. converter sensors. Does the PCM average the 2 inputs or directly tune cylinders 1-7 and 2-8 independently. On a vehicle with 1 cat. I see no problem, but using only 1 cylinder bank for wideband O2 input, isnt the tuner blind as to what the other 4 cylinders are doing? Or would the tune be pretty close? Maybe tune on one side then check again using the other banks exhaust?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge.

thanks a bunch for everyones help
Hog

O2 for wide band has to be ahead of any cats! Bung that comes with kit can be welded on either side of the header pipe (and comes with a plug)...you only need one bank or side...since the gases are mixed you get a average of that side....no need to do any swaping as both sides should be about the same on AFR.

Ken