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Thread: Need unbiased opinions about Tuning School "Advanced course"....

  1. #1
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    Need unbiased opinions about Tuning School "Advanced course"....

    Wondering if this at-home advanced tuning course is worth the money? I'd consider myself at an intermediate skill level, definitely not pro but I'm no rookie either. Would this course be beneficial to an intermediate skill level tuner who already has a good foundation of the basics?

    Would just like some opinions before spending the money. I bought the Banish CD a couple yrs ago and while the injector info was nice, the DVD was completely useless.

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Never took either of any of their courses, but I had Bob Morreale personally tune my car back in February at TTS and he sort of gave me an overview of his tuning methodology while I watched him. I just received the Banish DVD1 a few days ago, and I was highly disappointed, undecided if DVD2 would also be a waste of money.
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  3. #3
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    If you fully understand what the two books teach you i think the level you can reach is quite good (as fundamental). Then each car has its different adjustments

  4. #4
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    Knowledge is knowledge. Get it where ever you can. I bought the books, along with just about every other tuning book available. All have their pro's and con's. None of them tell you little things about the different ECU's/ECM's that you stumble onto and have to work through / figure out. Then you have this site, where sometimes, someone will take pity on you and tell you the straight answer on what you are asking. Sometimes anyway....

    Are they worth their asking price??? No, I do not think so, but this is a "niche" that does not really have much competition is the "how to" world.

    I would get LaSota's "ultimate Tuning Guide" and Maslic's book first. Flip through both and if you still think you'd benefit from The Tuning School books, try and find a used set. Hell, I may even sell mine. But I do tend to refer to them from time to time. Beware that LaSota's book had a couple print errors, like he tells you to use the paste special, "add" in one of the steps, when it should be "multiply". I've got an email in draft I need to shoot off to him...

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael_D View Post
    . Beware that LaSota's book had a couple print errors, like he tells you to use the paste special, "add" in one of the steps, when it should be "multiply". I've got an email in draft I need to shoot off to him...
    I noticed that also in the using fuel trims section. One of them (LaSota or Maslic) I felt were very redundant...for example, going through pages of the entire tuning process again when using fuel trims where the whole process was just described using a wideband. Organization left a bit to be desired. One of them claimed that at WOT the PCM used closed loop also. I also feel that any of the LaSota, Maslic or Banish book#2 are more valuable than the Banish Basic DVD unless you absolutely have no other way of getting the correct injector data included on that DVD.
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  6. #6
    Advanced Tuner yonson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimMueller View Post
    Never took either of any of their courses, but I had Bob Morreale personally tune my car back in February at TTS and he sort of gave me an overview of his tuning methodology while I watched him. I just received the Banish DVD1 a few days ago, and I was highly disappointed, undecided if DVD2 would also be a waste of money.
    Why were you highly disappointed with it?

  7. #7
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    It just didn't cover as much detail as I was hoping it would based upon Greg's reputation, it's possible I set my expectations too high for the DVD. Practically everything he covers can be found on this site, with the exception of the injector calibration data. If you prefer to watch instead of read, or if you want to attend his Advanced course (where being familiar with the material covered on both DVDs are a prerequisite), or if you need the injector data, I'd say go for it. Else search here with a combination of the books from Greg, Dan Maslic & Don LaSota.
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  8. #8
    Tuner Joe6pt0's Avatar
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    IMO the second Greg Banish DVD is a bit better but I learned more theory reading his book than the DVD. The DVD didn't show many important key steps to tuning and instead just shows a basic MAF only tune on a Gen4 ecu using a bolt on car. The book doesn't really show how to tune, just a lot of great theory about how things work. I"m not sure if he meant to come out with a third DVD showing big cammed cars and FI setups but IMO I learned more doing my own than watching his 2nd DVD. The first DVD was for people who have never seen HP Tuners IMO.

    From things I've seen about the tuning school, I don't believe it will help me in any way.

  9. #9
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    Besides the theory, the injector data you get with the dvd is worth it's weight in gold for beginners.

    As for the tuning school learn at home stuff. A local shop owner has it. I read through it and laughed. No theory, just a few basic walk through on basic tunes.

  10. #10
    Advanced Tuner yonson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimMueller View Post
    It just didn't cover as much detail as I was hoping it would based upon Greg's reputation, it's possible I set my expectations too high for the DVD. Practically everything he covers can be found on this site, with the exception of the injector calibration data. If you prefer to watch instead of read, or if you want to attend his Advanced course (where being familiar with the material covered on both DVDs are a prerequisite), or if you need the injector data, I'd say go for it. Else search here with a combination of the books from Greg, Dan Maslic & Don LaSota.
    Gotcha, it is a "Beginners Guide", and a lot of the info in it wasn't as readily available when the DVD came out some 5 years ago... For someone just learning it's a great starting point. The books you listed are all good resources as well.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe6pt0 View Post
    IMO the second Greg Banish DVD is a bit better but I learned more theory reading his book than the DVD. The DVD didn't show many important key steps to tuning and instead just shows a basic MAF only tune on a Gen4 ecu using a bolt on car.
    Thanks, you just saved me ~$300
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  12. #12
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    I have to retract my statements regarding the "Advanced" course. I just realized the books I have are the "Beginner" books.

    I should also give the books I have some credit. They do help a person who is unfamiliar with the HPT tables navigate through them and get you used to making changes. I can recall being deathly afraid of making any changes when I first starting tweaking the tables. The books gave me confidence to do that.
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  13. #13
    Tuner Joe6pt0's Avatar
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    My issue is that there isn't a course for guys that have already tuned 100 cars or more. It seems once you get to that level, you either know all the basic and intermediate tricks and more advanced scaling tricks etc or you don't. You either tune correctly using the proper techniques or you're so stuck on doing it the wrong way that you won't change to the correct way (some tuners local in this state). Then there comes the advanced tricks that come from learning how to deal with mismatched paring of components or working around mechanical issues. It seems those tricks aren't frequently shared so those are all learned over and over again. For guys like us, its tough answering forum posts when its obvious that a real solid VE tune was never the 1st thing done before posting. That should be a given. Even after only tuning a handful of cars the beginner books and courses I've read were a complete waste of time (other than getting the correct injector data). Then after 20 or 30 cars the advanced stuff wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know from doing it or from reading on here. At this point I still learn new things all the time but those new tricks aren't mentioned by anyone anywhere. I laugh when I hear someone say they want to start tuning cars when they don't even have the full basic understandings of a 4 cycle engine. I think everyone should start there, then read the theory books by Greg Banish or others, then advance theory, then play with bolt on cars and slowly move up to cam cars etc. Jumping into a how to is only following someone else's sometimes WRONG instructions. I'm not even getting into the misleadings I've read in some writeups. At least they took the time to do it. That's the only true way to learn IMO. That's how I did it.
    Last edited by Joe6pt0; 09-19-2014 at 11:53 AM.