im defintly a newbie when it comes to all this stuff so i would really apprecite some help. Here is what i want to do.
1 hook up my lap top to my car
2 be able to tune my car
3 be able to pull codes out wiht my lap top
what all do i need to get how do i get it and how much am i looking at spending thanks all help is greatly apprecited

 

There are a couple of outfits that specialize in cables for PCM programming and diagnostics. One of the popular ones here is AKM Electronics.

http://www.akmcables.com/

First, you need to be able to scan your car. That will allow you to access the trouble codes, and view and log the data from the various engine sensors and from the calulated parameters in the PCM. There are quite a few PC-based dataloggers, but the most popular one for OBD-II cars is AutoTap. There is also a setup called the Virtual Dashboard.

http://www.autotap.com/

http://www.obd-2.com/

If you read my online scanner guide, it may help you understand the kind of data you can log, and what it means.

http://members.aol.com/InjuneerZZ/ScanMast.htm

Now that you've got data, you need to "tune". The most popular setup is LT1_Edit. Sort of expensive. I believe TunerCat may have an OBD-II version by now, but not sure.

http://carputing.com

There are other software packages for tuning and scanning. Maybe someone else can point out a few. This is a link to a writeup on scanners that I started to work on, but it was a problem since the models and links were changing so often. But it might offer some ideas.

http://members.aol.com/FWForsythePE/HowTo/Scanner.htm

 

Very few people should do #2 ... no jokes please Having said that, it is something that I'd like to try eventually.

You might want to consider a programmed OBDI conversion PCM from http://www.pcmforless.com/ or http://www.madz28.com/ first. The money you'd spend on the OBDI conversion could easily be recovered when you see the prices of some of the OBDII software. That's just my opinion - I'm currently awaiting delivery of an OBDI conversion + laptop interface cable + software.

I bought my cable and datalogging software from AKM cables.

Many OBDI people seem to be using TTS Datamaster for datalogging, and TunerCat for programming. Those aren't the only choices, though, and there are many free apps (for OBDI).

There's a wealth of info on the web (and in this forum) on this topic. Just keep looking. It's harder to get advice/opinion on the Computer forum of this site then, say, getting advice on a set of headers in the LT1 forum... be patient and hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will reply.

EDIT: I see Injuneer replied, so you're well on your way.

EDIT #2: for speeling

 

I don't think Andrew (AKM) has any cables designed for OBDII. He makes cables for cars with OBDII connectors and OBDI PCMs ('95s and '96-'97 conversions), but AFAIK, he doesn't have anything for true OBDII.

Yes, there is a TunerCat for OBDII now. It's not shown on their website, but it exists. I think it's close to $400, though, compared to the OBDI version ($90 including the necessary $EE definition file).