Learning to Tune Need HELP

[chevreligionz28]

Hi everyone!
In advance, thanks for your help.

I have a 1994 Z28 that is in dire need of a tune. I have on my laptop Scan9495 and Tunerpro RT as well as winflash. I have a 94 auto .bin file but when I load it and conne t to the car its like tunerpro doesn't recognize what's going on. I have the Moated ALDL and Cabl1. I setup the tunerpro to recognize the cable and it tests as running. Can I get some guidance from you guys?

[f85gtron]

Assuming you haven't already, You'll need to install and setup the proper .adx file for your ecm in tuner pro.
Adx=tells tuner pro how to connect to ecm
Bin=software that runs ecm
Xdf=tells tuner pro how to interpret bin

Hope this helps. Its confusing at first, but one day it will make sense.

[chevreligionz28]

Thatnk you f85gtron, I have a bin and ADX but no XDF file. do you know where I could source an .xdf file for my car? Im going to start looking so I may have one found before you reply, I don't ant to seem like a total lazy person.

[f85gtron]

Try here http://www.gearhead-efi.com/gearhead-efi/def/

[steveo]

reccommend you use this definition for tunerpro: http://fbodytech.com/eex-tunerpro-definition/

and this datalogger: http://fbodytech.com/eehack-2/download-eehack/

i probably wouldn't bother with tunerpro for datalogging that lt1 unless data tracing is something that you need. my tool is built specifically for your lt1 and does waaay more

[chevreligionz28]

Thanks Steevo, I'm downloading it now

[russk1981]

You are in the right place. I have been lurking on here for quite some time trying to learn how to do things to my tbi truck. The LT1s are a bit tricky, because they flash like a newer vehicle rather than swapping chips. Let us know how you do, I have an LT1 I want to swap into a truck someday. Learning Tunerpro well takes some time, try not to change too much at first until you're comfortable with the program, and always save the clean bin that's not changed from factory settings. You will need it at some point. Best of luck!

[chevreligionz28]

Russk1981 that's the plan, I need to be able to tune simple stuff first like removing the Egr, AIR, EVAP, tune my fans to come on sooner, and tune for the gear swap in my car. Then I can earn how to tune fuel etc when I do my cam swap

[chevreligionz28]

Ok guys, I've got my stock .bin from my ECM downloaded and saved. Now the question is how do I modify the .bin save file to remove the above listed solenoids and tune for my gear swap?

[steveo]

step 1. download tunerpro (non-rt normal version is fine)
step 2. download the EEX xdf from my site
step 3. load the eex xdf into tunerpro (xdf menu, select xdf)
step 4. under where it says 'parameter tree' change 'view by' to 'category'
step 5. file-> open bin (load your bin)

if you want to start out easy, you can use the autotune form on my site to generate a bin for your gears and whatever and start with that one.

if not, the eex xdf includes a spreadsheet that helps you calculate the necessary values for your new gears.

i'd work on a COPY of your bin and make a folder for each revision of the bin, with each one containing any logs you've taken for that bin. with eehack saving your original bin is important since it modifies the program slightly while flashing to improve the datastream (and your datalogging capabilities) a bit.

[chevreligionz28]

Thanks Steevo, I'll copy my .bin so that way I still have the stock one. I have Tunerpro RT already installed is this q bad thing or will it function in the same way?

[steveo]

reason i say use tunerpro non-rt is the 'rt' version has some extra stuff in it that you won't need (datalogging that eehack does a better job of, and emulation that doesn't work with an lt1), and a nag screen that tells you to register. tunerpro rt and tunerpro have exactly the same bin editing stuff in them. doesn't really matter much.

[chevreligionz28]

Cool deal, I grabbed one of your generated tunes but your 3.73 gears was coming soon :-( .
Anyways, I copied the .bin file your site supplied and would like to go ahead and tune for the gears myself. Do you know which table I need to modify? I have the calculator pulled up with the table it generates for my gear/tire size/ etc.
Again, thanks for your help. Once i get some extra money freed up I will make a nice donation to your site :-)

[steveo]

the spreadsheet is labeled kind of differently than my xdf, but just follow the red lines in this picture.

i should update the spreadsheet some time...

[chevreligionz28]

is it bad when it loses connection in the middle of a tune? it wont find the ecm even after removing the pcm batt fuse for 15 minutes and then when I try to turn it over it wont hardly run and the high speed fans come on. did I just brick my ECM?

[steveo]

yeah that sounds like bad news :/

[steveo]

how did it lose the connection, anyway?

[chevreligionz28]

Well we this morning and swapped in my other ecm and had to Jump start it. I guess low battery voltage. Also realized that the pcm was likely messed up already because when I swapped them out my voltmeter started working correctly on ths dash. I was uploading a slightly modified tune and it was almost finished on one said then just said lost connection and kept trying to restart

[steveo]

yeah a fully charged battery is important. it's actually not supposed to let you flash with a low battery, but if it starts flashing and your battery drains too far while flashing, you're done for.

i always make sure my climate control is off, headlights/foglights off, stereo, subwoofer, etc.

the ecm by itself doesn't draw much power at all, so it's all the other stuff that drains the battery.

[chevreligionz28]

wow I feel like an idiot... I was using 6E.xdf instead of your definition. no wonder my files looked so goofy

[chevreligionz28]

Steveo, thanks for your help! I installed the good ECM and pulled the stock tune from it, uploaded a tune I created from your generator and with a little tweaking holy cow! This car runs 100% better than it ever did! I can,t wait to see what numbers I put down on the dyno, especially after i do the cam swap and re tune. I grew up learning to tune the old way with screwdrivers and a box of holley carb parts and a vacuum gauge I never figured it could be this easy on a computer controlled EFI unit!

[steveo]

that's great it's working out for you even after your flash disaster.

really nice to know my tools are working alright for really new tuners. i've always tried to keep myself in the head space of how i was before i learned to tune.

compared to oldschool tuning, imagine being able to turn a distributor around and try different base timings while driving?

the biggest gain at WOT on an LT1 is in air fuel ratio. stock timing isn't so bad, you can modify the low rpm timing and gain a bit there, but the stock tune is really really rich, and also takes trims into account, which can be inconsistent.

install the blm locker patch in EEX so closed loop doesn't screw with your WOT AFR, then get it on a dyno and adjust down to about 13.0:1 AFR (or even as lean as 13.5:1) and it'll gain huge, huge power

aiming for a 13.3:1 AFR i went from barely barking the tires between gears to smoking them right through 4th. the stock tune after a mild cam swap was like 11.8:1 at high RPM.

need a wideband to get that right, though.. but dropping about 8-10% of fuel from the WOT tables usually doesn't blow anything up.

[chevreligionz28]

I used the BLM locker tool and used your hottest timing curve since I only run 93 anyways (91 is hard to find here but I can go up the road and get E85 or 101 if I ever bump the compression any more) . The guys I was with said my car was a totally different beast and the butt dyno said power gains! Turned my huge 325 drag radials into a smokey mess.

[steveo]

I used the BLM locker tool and used your hottest timing curve

that really only adds a couple degrees across the board. there's more fine tuning you can do. you need to log with eehack now and run the analyzer to check for knock.

[chevreligionz28]

I ran a log tonight, I think my right bank o2 sensor is malfunctioning so I'll leave of as is until I get my longtunes and new o2s installed