I was e-mailing a performance shop in my area looking to get my Trans Am tuned. The following is one of the questions the tunner presented, followed by his second e-mail;

"What do you have (software, some interface device, etc.) to tune your
engine? Please let me know. We have tuned with the Holley software
for their TBI EFI just two weeks ago. Is that what you have to tune
with?

Dyno-Tuning is $175/hour, which includes our tuner, the Dyno,
and our precision wide-band for A/F.'

Followed by this email;

"We have to have some method to tune with. There is no universal interface. If the Holley TBI is an aftermarket EFI, then there is software available from Holley.
MAC OWNS the Holley 950 system software, and we have tuned that system. So, what we need to confirm is if what you have is the Holley 950 system. Please let me know"

I feel kind of stupid because maybe I don't understand what he is trying to say or I just been out of the game for a while. But my understanding is that the software is installed on the laptop and is used to change the data in an excel style spreadsheet then re-upload through the OBDII. What it looks like their talking about is an aftermarket FMU that must be installed. I have to say that I am not familiar with the product.

I was speaking with another shop (I am not using them because they forgot about my previous appointment and left me hanging) and they did not mention any thing like that. To be honest a lot of cars I worked with were older and required a standalone or aftermarket tuning device, but I was pretty sure that the big perk with OBDII was that you don't necessarily need all that. What is coming to mind is software like JET, where no aftermarket product is necessary.


Please let me know if im wrong and thanks for the help,

 

Somehow, they got the impression you were using a Holley throttle body injection system. If you had such a system, they would need you to supply the device required to program the Holley system.

Obviously, you aren't using a Holley TBI aftermarket injector system. You have a Holley throttle body, and they saw that, and somehow assumed it was not simply a larger 58mm TB in place of the stock TB, but a complete Holley fuel injection system.

It would appear this shop is totally unfamiliar with the LT1 engine, and lacks the software required to tune the PCM. I would avoid the shop. They did correctly state that there is no "universal" tuning system. Just because your PCM is OBD-II does not mean that it can be tuned with some sort of generic tuner. You still need a tuning system that is capable of interfacing with the LT1 PCM, and that pretty much limits you to the JET (OBD-II TunerCat) or the OBD-II version of LT1_Edit.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I needed a second opinion to ensure I wasn't losing my mind. I was under the impression that the shop was slightly inexperienced to begin with.

I appreciate your help.

 

Check the internet for lt1 or corvette/camaro shops on line theres bound to be a shop in your state that specifically work on f-body lt-1's and ls1's ni know there are three good ones in oklahoma just do a little searching also try this website and see what you think they have many different ways of going about this -www.lt1pcmtuning.com/tips

 

Where are you located?

 

Denver Colorado. I was recommended to Dragon Racing because they work with a lot of f body vehicles. They seem to be very knowledgeable. I was looking elsewhere because they missed my appointment and it is a very long drive. In order to get the job done right, I'm probably just going to go back there.

 

Did you get a little ahead of yourself in your sig?

 

http://www.theboostcreepltd.com/

Harvey is the tuner there and is a friend of mine. He'll tune anything with wheels and has done everything from high end exotics to his bread and butter Subarus and Evos. He's off of I-25 a little north of Denver.