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**Gregski** · 08-22-2019, 02:59 AM

So I'm gonna do an LS Engine swap and then send my computer to some gal somewhere to have her do something to it for $50 or $75 bucks... um no... do it yourself, you can do it, and after about five changes your HP Tuners is paid for.

I realize there is an entire HP Tuners forum out there, but I want to bring things down a notch, ok like a 1,000 notches down to the very basics, and share what I have observed so far with HP Tuners

First, seems like HP Tuners was developed by brilliant programmers/engineers [pronounced: "folks with zero people skills" ha ha] then six months before they were done, in typical fashion, their marketing department yanked the unfinished product from them and put it on the market, very common for the way all software is made.

[rant] So is HP Tuners intuitive (easy to use) um no, the excuse is/was that it was designed for "professional tuners" guys that know what they are doing. I call BS on that, because these days I bet more amateurs with $400 dollar charges on their credit cards own the darn thing than Pros do. [/rant] this is not intended for me to be a smart Aleck I am just saying that you should not feel bad or intimidated by it, we all go through a learning curve, we all have to "Google it" or "YouTube it" in order to figure it out.

A bit about me I have a strong computer background but I am a minimalist by nature. I also know my way around a carburetor but my OBDII computerized engine experience is summed up by going to AutoZone to have an AutoZoner read the codes on my wife's Honda Pilot for me in the parking lot, ha ha. Can you relate, sound familiar?

First think of HP Tuners as two software programs not just one.

1. there is the Scanner (I think of this as read only mode, it's the one with all the gauges and the EKG looking graphs)

2. then there is the Editor (this is the write mode, we will actually start with this one)

So you just shoved that LS Engine and gear box into your square and now what, you are dying to start it. Assuming you are keeping things fairly stock, and you took the plunge and bought HP Tuners hardware ($300), plus bought 2 "credits" (2 x $50) the minimum needed to program one GM vehicle, and then downloaded their software for "free" it's a simple four step process:

0. get in your truck, sit in the seat and get comfortable, hook up your HP Tuner to the OBDII port and then your USB cable to your laptop, turn the key to the ON position, launch the Editor program, and read the information / configuration from the PCM into your laptop. You pull the data to your laptop, massage it on your laptop, then write it back to the PCM, (yes there is real time mode but lets not get ahead of ourselves).

1. make a backup of the current configuration that is stored in the computer, they call this saving the file, call it something like "00 - Original Configuration" or "00 - Default Configuration" there is no reset on the PCM to put it back to default settings if you hose something, so if you screw things up you will need this file to put things back to the way they were.

2. make changes in the Editor, we will make one simple change, we need to disable VATS - Vehicle Anti Theft System, this is one of the things the gal would do for you if you sent it in to her, with a check for $75 bucks!

3. save the changes you made to a new file and call it something like "01 - VATS Disabled"

4. write the new config to the PCM from your laptop

sip a celebratory beer, and start your truck, now I realize we went kinda fast, but that's ok, we will back fill all the holes in our Swiss cheese knowledge one thing at a time, this is just meant to be a quick primer.

more words with each pic

08-22-2019, 02:59 AM	#2
Gregski Post Whore Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 10,807	Re: HP Tuners Tutorials - Don't Be Skierd Segment Part I - VATS Delete So I'm gonna do an LS Engine swap and then send my computer to some gal somewhere to have her do something to it for $50 or $75 bucks... um no... do it yourself, you can do it, and after about five changes your HP Tuners is paid for. I realize there is an entire HP Tuners forum out there, but I want to bring things down a notch, ok like a 1,000 notches down to the very basics, and share what I have observed so far with HP Tuners First, seems like HP Tuners was developed by brilliant programmers/engineers [pronounced: "folks with zero people skills" ha ha] then six months before they were done, in typical fashion, their marketing department yanked the unfinished product from them and put it on the market, very common for the way all software is made. [rant] So is HP Tuners intuitive (easy to use) um no, the excuse is/was that it was designed for "professional tuners" guys that know what they are doing. I call BS on that, because these days I bet more amateurs with $400 dollar charges on their credit cards own the darn thing than Pros do. [/rant] this is not intended for me to be a smart Aleck I am just saying that you should not feel bad or intimidated by it, we all go through a learning curve, we all have to "Google it" or "YouTube it" in order to figure it out. A bit about me I have a strong computer background but I am a minimalist by nature. I also know my way around a carburetor but my OBDII computerized engine experience is summed up by going to AutoZone to have an AutoZoner read the codes on my wife's Honda Pilot for me in the parking lot, ha ha. Can you relate, sound familiar? First think of HP Tuners as two software programs not just one. 1. there is the Scanner (I think of this as read only mode, it's the one with all the gauges and the EKG looking graphs) 2. then there is the Editor (this is the write mode, we will actually start with this one) So you just shoved that LS Engine and gear box into your square and now what, you are dying to start it. Assuming you are keeping things fairly stock, and you took the plunge and bought HP Tuners hardware ($300), plus bought 2 "credits" (2 x $50) the minimum needed to program one GM vehicle, and then downloaded their software for "free" it's a simple four step process: 0. get in your truck, sit in the seat and get comfortable, hook up your HP Tuner to the OBDII port and then your USB cable to your laptop, turn the key to the ON position, launch the Editor program, and read the information / configuration from the PCM into your laptop. You pull the data to your laptop, massage it on your laptop, then write it back to the PCM, (yes there is real time mode but lets not get ahead of ourselves). 1. make a backup of the current configuration that is stored in the computer, they call this saving the file, call it something like "00 - Original Configuration" or "00 - Default Configuration" there is no reset on the PCM to put it back to default settings if you hose something, so if you screw things up you will need this file to put things back to the way they were. 2. make changes in the Editor, we will make one simple change, we need to disable VATS - Vehicle Anti Theft System, this is one of the things the gal would do for you if you sent it in to her, with a check for $75 bucks! 3. save the changes you made to a new file and call it something like "01 - VATS Disabled" 4. write the new config to the PCM from your laptop sip a celebratory beer, and start your truck, now I realize we went kinda fast, but that's ok, we will back fill all the holes in our Swiss cheese knowledge one thing at a time, this is just meant to be a quick primer. more words with each pic Last edited by Gregski; 11-10-2019 at 05:45 AM.