Hp tuner...
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 207
Likes: 0
You can do this at home with the guides available online. It just depends how much time you want to spend on the tune. I will say you can get overwhelmed very quickly if you intend to do the full tune. Do you already own HP Tuners? If not and someone in your area can do a full tune, not just WOT tune, I'd let them do it. Did I mention it is very time consuming? 
Check out ls1tech.com in their PCM forum for some great stickied posts.
Check out ls1tech.com in their PCM forum for some great stickied posts.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 7,121
Likes: 0
From: Vilano Beach FL
Howdy!
I use HPTuners - I'm can turn a decent wrench, but pretty much a novice at tuning. I just read as much as I can - go to all the tuning forums on the various LSx sites, plus HPT has an excellent forums as well. There's a number of "foreign" concepts I still havent' completely grasped, but I'm still working at it!
They've been excellent about releasing new revisions, listening to the owners and integrating new features (such as wideband). The interface is good, simple to use - however, the tuning itself can be pretty complex - It's a got an excellent data logger I've used to based my tune on, but for that _fine_ level of tune, you should really get a wideband (like a WB Commander) setup.
The nice thing about doing it yourself:
You learn about the car, which I find pretty interesting, and DIY is much more satisfying (though as mentioned...time consuming
)
You own the tune, you can have dozens of tune files (and a backup of your stock cals as well) - so no ECM lockout, or unknowns.
If you're doing incremental upgrades, the cost of HPT will be cheaper vs. multiple trips back to the tuner (which could also be a PITA depending on their location, my closest is 2 hours away).
You can also have your tuner USE your HPT which is nice, then you get your .bin files and see what was done and learn even more!
FYI, with a GX3, FAST, LT's you're probably leaving TONS of power on the table, plus I would suspect the car isn't running nearly as smooth as it could (surprised it's running at all!)
I use HPTuners - I'm can turn a decent wrench, but pretty much a novice at tuning. I just read as much as I can - go to all the tuning forums on the various LSx sites, plus HPT has an excellent forums as well. There's a number of "foreign" concepts I still havent' completely grasped, but I'm still working at it!
They've been excellent about releasing new revisions, listening to the owners and integrating new features (such as wideband). The interface is good, simple to use - however, the tuning itself can be pretty complex - It's a got an excellent data logger I've used to based my tune on, but for that _fine_ level of tune, you should really get a wideband (like a WB Commander) setup.
The nice thing about doing it yourself:
You learn about the car, which I find pretty interesting, and DIY is much more satisfying (though as mentioned...time consuming
)You own the tune, you can have dozens of tune files (and a backup of your stock cals as well) - so no ECM lockout, or unknowns.
If you're doing incremental upgrades, the cost of HPT will be cheaper vs. multiple trips back to the tuner (which could also be a PITA depending on their location, my closest is 2 hours away).
You can also have your tuner USE your HPT which is nice, then you get your .bin files and see what was done and learn even more!
FYI, with a GX3, FAST, LT's you're probably leaving TONS of power on the table, plus I would suspect the car isn't running nearly as smooth as it could (surprised it's running at all!)
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski