Whatever!!!!!!!!! Gearhead-EFI Edition

**dave w** · 04-22-2013

I've been down this road before...1227730 for the pics below. Seemed to work great for a Classic 2WD 1971 GMC upgrade.

dave w

**Six_Shooter** · 04-25-2013

So last year I acquired a 2000 Yukon SLT. It needed a trans so I had the original rebuilt for cheap, and put it in last fall. It sat at my buddies place over the winter. Well he live next to an Indian reservation and around here if a vehicle is stolen 98% of the time it ends up on the reserve, no exaggeration. Well they tend to like full size Chevy and GMC trucks. Normally they don't shit in their own back yard, but over the last month 3 trailers and 2 trucks had been stolen from the area. Over the last couple weeks there have been a few occurrences that involved people snooping where they shouldn't and at times that are more than suspicious.

Anyway, so my friend texts me yesterday telling me this to let me know and if I wanted to do something about the Yukon. So I decide to bring it home and park it in the driveway. The plan all along has been to sell it. But after driving it it drives so nice, and the ONLY thing I don't like about it is that it is an SUV, and not an actual pick up. It has 4WD, cruise that works perfect, rebuilt trans, decent tires, leather, factory sub, etc, etc.

So now I'm in a dilemma, do I sell the Yukon or my 2005 V6 2WD Dakota?

I'm seriously leaning towards selling the Dakota. I will need to put a new front bumper and U-joints in the Dakota before selling it along with some interior work.

Used parts are hard to come by for the Dakota and are EASY to find for the Yukon, which is another reason I'm leaning towards keeping the Yukon.

I can also get tuning software for the Yukon that I can't for the Dakota, at least not guaranteed to work without spending a few grand on the software. :facepalm:

I still haven't decided which tuning software I want to grab for OBD2 tuning, HP Tuners or EFI Live. This would give me a reason to buy the stuff though and I can use it for my own vehicles then.

What would you do?

**EagleMark** · 04-25-2013

Sell the Dodge to fund EFI Live... unless it had a Vortec then EFI Live is worthless until you do 0411 swap.

**dave w** · 04-25-2013

Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

So last year I acquired a 2000 Yukon SLT. It needed a trans so I had the original rebuilt for cheap, and put it in last fall. It sat at my buddies place over the winter. Well he live next to an Indian reservation and around here if a vehicle is stolen 98% of the time it ends up on the reserve, no exaggeration. Well they tend to like full size Chevy and GMC trucks. Normally they don't shit in their own back yard, but over the last month 3 trailers and 2 trucks had been stolen from the area. Over the last couple weeks there have been a few occurrences that involved people snooping where they shouldn't and at times that are more than suspicious.

Anyway, so my friend texts me yesterday telling me this to let me know and if I wanted to do something about the Yukon. So I decide to bring it home and park it in the driveway. The plan all along has been to sell it. But after driving it it drives so nice, and the ONLY thing I don't like about it is that it is an SUV, and not an actual pick up. It has 4WD, cruise that works perfect, rebuilt trans, decent tires, leather, factory sub, etc, etc.

So now I'm in a dilemma, do I sell the Yukon or my 2005 V6 2WD Dakota?

I'm seriously leaning towards selling the Dakota. I will need to put a new front bumper and U-joints in the Dakota before selling it along with some interior work.

Used parts are hard to come by for the Dakota and are EASY to find for the Yukon, which is another reason I'm leaning towards keeping the Yukon.

I can also get tuning software for the Yukon that I can't for the Dakota, at least not guaranteed to work without spending a few grand on the software. :facepalm:

I still haven't decided which tuning software I want to grab for OBD2 tuning, HP Tuners or EFI Live. This would give me a reason to buy the stuff though and I can use it for my own vehicles then.

What would you do?

Sell the Dakota, and buy EFI Live. I actually have EFI Live V2 system.

dave w

**Six_Shooter** · 04-25-2013

Originally Posted by EagleMark

Sell the Dodge to fund EFI Live... unless it had a Vortec then EFI Live is worthless until you do 0411 swap.

Unfortunately it's an LS, a 5.3L. Does EFI live not have def files for the Vortec PCMs? How do you guys tune them?

The OBD2 software won't be just for my own use, but to be able to tune other people's vehicles, and don't, and possible won't have the option to swap these vehicles to a different PCM, at least not in every case.

Originally Posted by dave w

Sell the Dakota, and buy EFI Live. I actually have EFI Live V2 system.

dave w

I'm leaning towards selling the Dakota. I'm going to have to look at the options for the systems again.

I hate the credit system these companies have going.

**EagleMark** · 04-25-2013

EFI Live does 98-00 Vortec but is really lacking parameters...

TunerCat is the only one to cover 96-97 Vortec.

**dave w** · 04-25-2013

Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

I hate the credit system these companies have going.

I also hate the credit / license system used by the leading OBDII software / hardware companies. On the flip side, these companies are well known and if you are planning to "Tune for Hire" OBDII customers expect Tuners to be using the leading OBDII software / hardware. It's very likely other Tuners in your area are using the same software / hardware. In a business sense, it's the price of admission to get into the OBDII market. For me it was a basic business decision, either step up to OBDII or step away from the expanding OBDII tuning business. IMHO, OBDI is not as popular as it once was.

A simple business fact that is not that hard to believe ... more aftermarket parts are being sold for the LSx engine than the older SBC. Times are changing!

dave w

**RobertISaar** · 04-25-2013

call me cheap, but when a widespread non license-per-vehicle OBD2 package exists again for GM OBD2, that's when i'll make the jump.

the 3100/3400/3800 powered cars/vans had an option for it once(DHP), but that disappeared a few years ago....

**JeepsAndGuns** · 04-26-2013

Originally Posted by RobertISaar

call me cheap, but when a widespread non license-per-vehicle OBD2 package exists again for GM OBD2, that's when i'll make the jump.

I'm with you on this. I have never understood or liked the per vehicle licence thing. Highway robbery if you ask me.

**Six_Shooter** · 04-28-2013

Well, last night I wrote a sketch for my Arduino, that is the basic foundation for a gauge project I want to make for my Datsun. About 24 hours after my school year ended where I struggled with C and C++.

Currently, I have two potentiometers feeding into the Arduino on analog read pins, and then printing the input to an LCD screen. 75 lines of code in a few hours. I changed teh way some of the math was being done, and can eliminate some of the lines, along with the debug function I added to use the serial monitor, since I don't really need it now.

I plan to replace the LCD screen with a couple stepper motors and place them in the original gauge housing, for a more original look, but giving me more accurate and quicker responding gauges, than the originals.

**gregs78cam** · 04-28-2013

Very nice, I like that idea of gauges driven by microcontrollers. Sweet.

**RobertISaar** · 04-28-2013

any reason you chose steppers over something like an air-core magnetic guage? i would think control would be a bit simpler since all it would need is a variable duty cycle rather than going through the stepping process.

EDIT: oh, and are you using 2D arrays for the coolant temp lookup, or just a simple linear conversion for now?