Hey guys,

I have no tuning experience, and technical, big words can become confusing to me lol.. Thats why I like magazines, and I make a living with my hands, not as an engineer...so should I even consider doing this, or can anyone tune with this program?

I was close to pulling the trigger on a Intense mail order tune because I really want to make the car drive better than it does.. get what I can out of it as it sits etc..I figured for $100 the results would be worthwhile..but wait..I began thinking.. $100-120 to have a mail order tune, plus shipping..AND the cost to ship mine back for a core refund.. thats looking around $150+ for a one time tune. plus I will need a case relearn, which hopefully I can get for free or cheap, but gotta figure its gonna cost something to be safe.

With that said, that $100 mail order tune was beginning to look closer to $200 in the end..

Now I have no idea what I plan in the future with this car such as top swap etc.., so again one time tune might not be the best bet . also if I ever get a different car, and wanted a tune on that I would have to pay it all over again..

If I get HP Tuners however, I can tune my car now, later, whenever (love learning to do things on my own), tune a lot of other GM cars out there that I may own one day, and as I make changes to the car I can make changes to my tune...since a mail order tune is only going to be so close since they don't have a reading from your car, being able to custom tune will be much more beneficial, even for the little mods I have. PLUS the market for used HP tuners is huge and I could resell it if I ever wanted to and get a good chunk of my money back.

So all of that was more me just talking to myself rather than a question lol, but my question is, since I have no tuning experience, would it be worthwhile spending the extra $100 to get the intense binary file with the HP tuners package so I have a good starting point to tune with? or should I save my $100 and just work to figure it out myself.. I just figure, spend the $100 and make adjustments from there, might help me learn quicker as I can see what was changed, and I will know I have a good starting point.

Any comments welcome.. Convince me I need to spend all this money and get HP tuners! lol

The interface for HPTuners it pretty easy to get used to, and the people here and on the HPTuners site are pretty good about helping you get started with tuning, if you wanted an intense tune I am pretty sure you can buy HPTuners from them and have their tune file included in the package.

I'd say go for it and we'll be here to help ya with any questions you have!

Ya if I buy HPTuners from Intesnse it is $499...if I buy it with their tune included as a binary file it is $599..just not sure if I should save the $100, or if it is worth it to get me a good starting point from someone who actually does have experience unlike I will.

on that note..if ANYONE knows of someone wanting to sell their HP Tuners..PM me as if I could pick up a used on and save some $$ I would be very happy!

It'* the best $500 I spent on my car. The learning curve is rather steep, but go slow and you will be fine. The membership here that are using it is growing. All the better for you. There is a ton of info here as well as another site I have used. You can learn everything you need and make your own tune. I say pull the trigger and get HPT.

I've been learning pretty quickly, and there are manuals that walk you through the basics. By the time you get done with them you should be able to figure the rest out. It takes a lot of time to get a tune right, but it will be WAY better compared to an off the shelf generic tune. I also recommend the pro version with the black box. It costs more, but it is really handy to not have to have a laptop on to record, especially since you cannot plug it into an inverter while you are tuning.

Ok so looks like you are all saying this is something I "need"..I will tell my G/F that although it is $500 it isnt something I want, but something I NEED ..unlike things like a silly engagement ring..that obviously is purely a want lol



So what about getting the the intense tune binary file for a starting point...yay or nay? I have heard for an off the shelf tune they have a very good one, so if it is really good and I can simply do some adjustments on it to make it perfect for MY car is it worth it? Or save the $100 and just start from scratch?


That extra hundred is a good chunk of change, so I would really like to avoid it...but will I be able to achieve as good of results on my own without it..that is the question..

I am sure someone could give you a good starting point, I would suggest on skipping intenses tune and get the Pro version.

Anything they give you as far as a tune will be a generalization and chances are you will want to change it anyways. I'd vote to save the money and do it yourself.

Ok guys.. well the best part is..I can get just the HP tuners, and if I decide I want their Binary file later I can just pay the extra $100 and get it.. I think I will get without it for now and see how things go!

Hopefully I will order it in the next few weeks. im getting impatient lol

I don't have a 2002 file, but Bill might.