r8rs4lf Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I was just wondering if it would be worth it for me to go and purchase one of these tuning softwares even though I don't have any power adders? I currently have a Nelson mail order tune which is great, but I just think it could be better if it was done "hands on." I'm always on the computer so I figure I should be able to learn rather quickly. I know if I ever decide to add a SC or Turbo, this software would do wonders for me, especially if I already know how to use it by the time I get a power adder. If I do decide to get one of them, any pros or cons of each? They both do just about the same thing right? What about accessories, are there any that I need to buy besides the tuning software itself to help me with the tunung or is it all included in the tuning software? TIA Late- Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwalls54 Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I have efi live and its great. I have only used it a very small amout of time though. I used to use edit and its 10 times better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.justin. Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I've had efi for about 2 months now, and love it. I've tuned/re-tuned three cars, and am really getting the hang of it. It's a steep learning curve, trying to grasp how everything works together, but if you just read, read, and read some more about tuning on efilive.com/forum, HPTuners forum, PerformanceTrucks.net, here, etc, you should be able to pick it up pretty quick. I bought it because after the blower install I just wasn't making the power I should with my mail order tune... After ruling out all other sources, I went to the PCM and discovered it was nowhere near where it should be. Fixed it up, and the truck runs MUCH MUCH better. As for differences... efi comes with integrated wideband O2 support, HPT has it as an $$$ add on. HPT allows you to tune any vehicle within the two combos you choose, efi allows you to tune 2 PCMs. This is a tossup. If all you want to do is tune a bunch of 03 and 04 Silverados, then HPT is much cheaper option, however if you have 4 or 5 different year/vehicles you want to tune, then HPT can get very expensive very fast, as adding another vehicle type is much more expensive than EFIs PCM license. I personally have spent $50 less by tuning 3 diff vehicle types with efi than I would have to do the same thing with HPT. efi has black box logging... you don't need the laptop in the truck with you to log, HPT does not. Download EFILive software from their website. You can view some sample logs, the dashboard and other itesm with it, as well as have a demo of the tuning software. If you know someone that has HPT, see if you can play around with it a bit and compare it to EFI Live. Good luck with your choice and hopefully you won't get addicted to it like I have. I've logged just about every drive into work since I bought the thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted September 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I've had efi for about 2 months now, and love it. I've tuned/re-tuned three cars, and am really getting the hang of it.It's a steep learning curve, trying to grasp how everything works together, but if you just read, read, and read some more about tuning on efilive.com/forum, HPTuners forum, PerformanceTrucks.net, here, etc, you should be able to pick it up pretty quick. I bought it because after the blower install I just wasn't making the power I should with my mail order tune... After ruling out all other sources, I went to the PCM and discovered it was nowhere near where it should be. Fixed it up, and the truck runs MUCH MUCH better. As for differences... efi comes with integrated wideband O2 support, HPT has it as an $$$ add on. HPT allows you to tune any vehicle within the two combos you choose, efi allows you to tune 2 PCMs. This is a tossup. If all you want to do is tune a bunch of 03 and 04 Silverados, then HPT is much cheaper option, however if you have 4 or 5 different year/vehicles you want to tune, then HPT can get very expensive very fast, as adding another vehicle type is much more expensive than EFIs PCM license. I personally have spent $50 less by tuning 3 diff vehicle types with efi than I would have to do the same thing with HPT. efi has black box logging... you don't need the laptop in the truck with you to log, HPT does not. Download EFILive software from their website. You can view some sample logs, the dashboard and other itesm with it, as well as have a demo of the tuning software. If you know someone that has HPT, see if you can play around with it a bit and compare it to EFI Live. Good luck with your choice and hopefully you won't get addicted to it like I have. I've logged just about every drive into work since I bought the thing <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Man that is a boatload of usefull information!!! Thanks for that reply! Keep it coming guys! Late- Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I'd say so - PCMForLess, Wait4Me, Westers, et al make a living doing exactly that. Mr. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted September 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I was looking at the EFI Live site and was wondering what exactly do I need to purchase? I saw that there are 3 different types of EFI Live, personal, commercial, and workshop. Are most of you running the personal and is it worth it to purchase the commercial? Also, I see that EFI Live comes with a thermocouple and WO2 and A/D connectors. Are these some of the things I need to purchase seperately? What exactly does each do and how much for them? TIA Late- Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I have the personal and it's enough for me right now. If you ever want to upgrade to commercial, it's not that much and you only get charged the diff in price. The A/D connectors should come with your software pkg. Click on the one you want and it should show you a pic of everything you'll receive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted September 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I have the personal and it's enough for me right now. If you ever want to upgrade to commercial, it's not that much and you only get charged the diff in price. The A/D connectors should come with your software pkg. Click on the one you want and it should show you a pic of everything you'll receive. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just the person I wanted to chime in! The connectors do come with the package, I guess I wasn't clear. I wanted to know if I had to purchase this thermocouple or A/D or WO2? What exactly are these things and what do they do? Do I need them? Late- Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted September 28, 2005 Report Share Posted September 28, 2005 I have the personal and it's enough for me right now. If you ever want to upgrade to commercial, it's not that much and you only get charged the diff in price. The A/D connectors should come with your software pkg. Click on the one you want and it should show you a pic of everything you'll receive. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just the person I wanted to chime in! The connectors do come with the package, I guess I wasn't clear. I wanted to know if I had to purchase this thermocouple or A/D or WO2? What exactly are these things and what do they do? Do I need them? Late- Alex <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A thermocouple setup would mostly only be used if you had a turbo. The wideband O2 can be used at anytime. Use of a wideband would be to monitor and adjust your air-to-fuel ratio to dial in your tune better as you start to tweak out every last hp in your tune. There is a setup procedure to set it up using the WB with EFIlive. You would however, need to buy a wideband. They are not too expensive, but not cheap either. I have yet to use mine with EFIlive, but will soon. It can also be used to autotune where you use the scanning part of the software, with the wideband, to help fill the tables with a more accurate number on the tuning part of the software. I have a LM-1 wideband. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to use. I'll post a link to one in just a minute. **edit** LM-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r8rs4lf Posted September 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Thanks for the info Ben! I'm leaning towards EFI Live right now. I'll be ordering it pretty soon. Do you have any links to some good reading regarding EFI Live so I can get started early? Late- Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenKey Posted September 29, 2005 Report Share Posted September 29, 2005 Just go to their website, or go to the forum. Plenty to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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