PCM Programming for Dummies?

[ezobens]

I'm VERY new to EFI tuning and I have a ton of questions on tuning, what all the terms mean and how the different parameters affect one another.
I'd also like to find some sort of guide that covers "best practices" on this type of tuning as well as the "do's and don'ts" of tuning.

I recently purchased an EFI Live Scan and Tune set and have been poking around existing tun files to get familiar with the software and what it can do.
I'd like to learn what all this stuff does and how it can be manipulated before I start hacking on anything and would love to find a document that I could just read and learn from before I do any hands-on tuning.
Do such publications exist?
Thanks!
Elm

[pmkls1]

Look around in the fuel injection articles and write-ups section as there are several threads that can be very helpful. The most important thing to know before starting would be the basics of how engines operate and how factors such as temperature, air to fuel ratio, and ignition timing all affect engine performance. If you don't know these things then it's pointless to attempt tuning. The next step would be familiarizing yourself with how the fuel injection system operates in your particular vehicle. After browsing through the write-ups any unanswered questions can be posted up in here.

[ezobens]

Look around in the fuel injection articles and write-ups section as there are several threads that can be very helpful. The most important thing to know before starting would be the basics of how engines operate and how factors such as temperature, air to fuel ratio, and ignition timing all affect engine performance. If you don't know these things then it's pointless to attempt tuning. The next step would be familiarizing yourself with how the fuel injection system operates in your particular vehicle. After browsing through the write-ups any unanswered questions can be posted up in here.

The engine basics I have down- It's all the terminology and various tables in the software I'm trying to learn. Since there is no 'edit check' on these files and tables, I'm trying to understand what modifications are 'legal' and what are the best practices to obtain the results you are trying to achieve.
I'll do some more sifting through the write-ups and go from there.
Thanks!
Elm

[Buzz]

If you have downloaded EFILive - then lots of resources download with the software.

Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\EFILive\V7.5\Doc ... you will find the Scan Tool Manual (195 pages) and the Tune Tool Manual (107 pages) there. The is also a Tutorials folder there - take a look at the AutoVE Tuning Tutorial.

If you are using WindowsXP - there is no (x86) in the above chain.

I highly recommend reading ALL of it ... I did when I first started out.

[pmkls1]

I was thinking that there was info in one of the write-ups that explained most of the commonly used terms. If after you read through some of the articles you still haven't found a "glossary" then let me know. There is definitely some good advice in there on the proper methods to tune. I'm not familiar with EFI-Live, but some tuning programs have a compare function so that you can compare different calibrations and see the differences. That always helps when you are finished editing just to double check for errors and whatnot.

[ezobens]

Awesome- Looks like i have a bit of reading to do.
I'll post any additional questions I may after I've gone through it all.
Thanks everyone!
Elm