Which Tuner To Buy

Hello Everyone this is my first post, I have recently built a Ls1 Engine for a 2001 Trans Am and i need some information as to which HP tuner to buy. The engine is heavly moddified with Cam, Heads, LongTube Headers (No Cats) And Changed From 28# injectors to 42# injectors i will be learning to tune this engine by myself. I was reading that the HP VCM Suite is good for slightly Moddified engines and that the HP VCM Suite Pro is better for highly moddified engines. Which should i be buying. Thank You for any and all information on this topic.:)

I'd go for the pro, a few more features is worth the money.

I would much rather be able to plug a wideband straight into the MPVI than have to wire it into the egr or ac pins on the computer.

The major selling point in your case for a pro would be standalone datalogging. You can also run a wideband output right through the hardware.

ok thanks everyone i will be going with the Pro how easy is it to use for a novice who has never tuned an engine before.

Its a pretty steep learing curve, quite honestly. If youve played around with distributors and carburetors and have a basic understanding of how engines work, you should be OK. Buy some books/videos and READ READ READ. Then READ again. Watch a lot of YouTube videos. Frequest the HPT forums and the LS forums. Search, search, search. And then search some more.

Thats how I got started. I tuned my G8 and a few buddies cars...

Stock vehicles are always the best to start with.

So if you have another car or truck with a similar LS motor, that's the best place to get your feet wet.

Starting with a already pretty modded car that's not going to run right out of the gate will be a tougher challenge.

With serial output datalogging support for several popular widebands the only advantage to Pro now is standalone logging right?

You cannot log any other external sensors with the standard version, so that is a concern for some people. I have a fuel pressure sensor and a methanol pressure sensor hooked to mine that I wouldn't be able to log without the pro version.

If the only thing you want to log (now or later) is a wideband, then yes, the pro is not needed. The only advantage left on it is the standalone logging.

Also, CAN based logging is available on one of AEM's widebands now too.. which is faster than serial and works fine with the standard interface.