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Curious!
I've always been into ECM/PCM tweaking and wonder what others are doing with it, its just interesting to me. I'm old enough to have messed with the original "Mega Squirt" stuff, then progressed & kind of learned some things along the way. Stayed away from the big $$ standalone stuff since I never had the $$ back then.
I started seriously playing with the SCT tuning years ago. It worked but theres just more support for HP Tuners so I went that way. Their forums, crazy tech advice. I have learned enough to be dangerous, lol! In all reality, I do copy "purchased tunes" from reliable places then use them as a map to tinker around & make adjustments as needed for drivability. You can download a stock tune, but its nice to have a pro's tune to see what they are really targeting.
Its to the point where I find it worth the $$ to unlock most OBD2 vehicles to tinker around a little bit. Some are crazy, some had a purpose. Messed with a 2011 Dodge Journey (not much there but still), a Charger Police car, much work on a 2010 Mustang GT and of course my 2008 Ranger. Newer than that & the O2 sensors go to wideband from the factory, that makes things a lot easier but I do use a "clip on" O2 sensor when needed. Oddly, a 2010 4.6 GT Mustang uses the same basic setup as a 2008 4.0 Ranger.
I've also used the ForScan stuff for Fords. Its MUCH more in depth than HP Tuners & basically uses code to access the modules, which HP Tuners does not. Its worth looking into, fyi.
Generic code scanners, tried most of them and the Torque Pro app with a Elm 327 OBD2 adapter is miles above all others (IMO). My Torque Pro app was like .99 plus the Elm 327 dongle for maybe $10, so $11 and you have more info than most people will ever need for general maintenance. You cant change anything, but you see where to go.
Also played with some OBD1 stuff, but not much. I was playing with Moats software on a 1988 Vette & went to where I was burning my own "chips" but in the end, its OBD1 and just not worth the $$ to tweak. That vette is now carb swapped but I'm going back in using the "Carb Cheater" from a Youtuber (Thunderhead 289) that is basically a computer controlled vacuum leak, sort of along the lines of early TBI units in theory but with a real carb. Lots of possibilities there also.
Just curious if anyone else nerds out on tuning stuff like I do!
I've always been into ECM/PCM tweaking and wonder what others are doing with it, its just interesting to me. I'm old enough to have messed with the original "Mega Squirt" stuff, then progressed & kind of learned some things along the way. Stayed away from the big $$ standalone stuff since I never had the $$ back then.
I started seriously playing with the SCT tuning years ago. It worked but theres just more support for HP Tuners so I went that way. Their forums, crazy tech advice. I have learned enough to be dangerous, lol! In all reality, I do copy "purchased tunes" from reliable places then use them as a map to tinker around & make adjustments as needed for drivability. You can download a stock tune, but its nice to have a pro's tune to see what they are really targeting.
Its to the point where I find it worth the $$ to unlock most OBD2 vehicles to tinker around a little bit. Some are crazy, some had a purpose. Messed with a 2011 Dodge Journey (not much there but still), a Charger Police car, much work on a 2010 Mustang GT and of course my 2008 Ranger. Newer than that & the O2 sensors go to wideband from the factory, that makes things a lot easier but I do use a "clip on" O2 sensor when needed. Oddly, a 2010 4.6 GT Mustang uses the same basic setup as a 2008 4.0 Ranger.
I've also used the ForScan stuff for Fords. Its MUCH more in depth than HP Tuners & basically uses code to access the modules, which HP Tuners does not. Its worth looking into, fyi.
Generic code scanners, tried most of them and the Torque Pro app with a Elm 327 OBD2 adapter is miles above all others (IMO). My Torque Pro app was like .99 plus the Elm 327 dongle for maybe $10, so $11 and you have more info than most people will ever need for general maintenance. You cant change anything, but you see where to go.
Also played with some OBD1 stuff, but not much. I was playing with Moats software on a 1988 Vette & went to where I was burning my own "chips" but in the end, its OBD1 and just not worth the $$ to tweak. That vette is now carb swapped but I'm going back in using the "Carb Cheater" from a Youtuber (Thunderhead 289) that is basically a computer controlled vacuum leak, sort of along the lines of early TBI units in theory but with a real carb. Lots of possibilities there also.
Just curious if anyone else nerds out on tuning stuff like I do!
