I would like to do my own custom tuning on my car this summer and I would like to know what software out there is the best. (for a 1995). one of my friends uses HP tuners on his LS1 and its really nice, but I dont believe they support OBD1/LT1s. edit: I dont want to spend over $200 if possible.

Also.

Is it possbile to tune a 95 OBD1 car with a USB adapter? I have the serial cable for my car... however my old laptop (that actually had serial) wouldnt connect to it. That laptop died and now i have a new macbook pro (running both windows and OSX). Question is, should I be able to connect to my car with a USB adapter?

TIA

 

As far as if the USB adaptor will work or not i dont know, but the best software is probably LT1 Edit..not sure how much it costs but thats something for you to look into.

 

Tunercat


John

 

You can get a cable that is either usb or serial.

And not vin locked like lt1 edit.

John

 

Agreed. I use TunerCat's stuff, too. I really like it, and the price is right.

 

where can i get a usb cable?

and also where can i purchase Tunercat and/or LT1edit? I read that tunercat got bought out? is this true?

 

For the OBD2 stuff, he is now selling through JET. But, he still sells the OBD1 stuff direct. http://www.tunercat.com

 

so does everyone here use RT tuner? I assume that does logging and everything?

Does anyone know if a USB adapter will work for me, or do i need to buy another cable? Its a matter of $9 vs $90....

 

Yes, a USB to serial adapter will work, BUT a lot of them are notoriously unreliable. I purchased a KeySpan HS-19 and it periodically crashes my computer when I'm using the serial port. Thankfully I am very proficient at repairing EEPROMs that get corrupted by an interrupted flash procedure so its not a big deal, but unless you have an EEPROM burner and a PCM with socketed EEPROMS you do run that risk if you buy a USB to serial adapter that is unreliable.

Alternatively, if you are using a laptop you can purchase a PCMCIA to serial adapter. That is what I use now and I have had absolutely zero problems with it. It was quite a bit more expensive though (~$150 vs ~$30 for a USB to serial adapter).

 

I already have one of those PCMIA adapters, but it wont work on my new laptop (macbook pro). The weird thing is, niether the serial port nor the PCMIA adapter connected to my car with my old laptop. But like i said the old laptop is dead... I verified that i have the correct wire though.

Is it worth it to just the USB cable? Ill spend an extra 80 bucks for a more reliable connection.

 

If you plan on using it a lot, might not be a bad idea.

(darn it, why did they have to get rid of the serial port anyway?!?!) ;-)

 

alright i think thats what im gonna do then. thanks for the help

 

I had lousy luck with serial to USB adapters with my new computer for Tunercat and DataMaster. I got Andrew's USB version through the Trade UP Program and it works flawlessly. That's what I'd recommend (an entire new one if starting from scratch).

Oddly enough, one of the USB adapters works just fine with Logworks so it's nice to have--I can log tunercat and wideband LC-1 simultaneously.

For the first question, I've been very happy with Tunercat (I'm using 94-95 OBDI). It's not perfect, but I'm not aware of anything better; anything that has more capabilities for this PCM. For newer PCMs I do think there's much nicer stuff out there, but for these Tunercat seems to do everything that can be done to them (excepting secret tricks that some of the pros have, of course).

 

wow thanks for the heads up on that, thats definitely what im gonna do! I was just about to put my old cable up for sale!