I am getting a new car (06 grand prix GXP) and know little to none about tuning cars - but I would like to improve the fuel economy and boost hp. is there software out there that I can use to program my car without having to spend the $700+ for the computer chip programmer?

after doin some research I found that MSD ignition (http://www.msdignition.com/1softdownload.htm) has software, but it looks like you have to attach it to a programmer.

Just looking for a cheaper way to program the chip - and this way I wont have to buy a specific programmer for each car that I want to program. Also, does programming void the warranty?

5/14/2006 12:29:52 PM

you /might/ get lucky since it's a gm, and find something cheap off of moates.net but you have to buy some sort of interface to go between your computer and car. you're going to spend a couple hundred atleast.

5/14/2006 12:53:53 PM

correct me if I'm wrong, but that link you posted controls spark timing at best. That's not going to do you much good by itself.

I would budget a thousand minimum and hope to be pleasantly surprised. You need something that can control fuel maps and spark. You'll probably have to hook it up to a laptop or palm. So you better have one of those too. You could take it to a dyno, but if you also want to tune for gas mileage you will need a system which will accurately measure your air-to-fuel ratio (wideband O2), and then you need to find someone to tune it for you or spend hours trying to figure it out yourself.

[Edited on May 14, 2006 at 7:09 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2006 7:08:09 PM

thanks - ill just forget about it. Soudns like it would be more than i was looking to spend.

5/14/2006 7:35:03 PM

Quote :

"I would like to improve the fuel economy and boost hp"

You should probably start by realigning your goals.

Quote :

"I would like to improve the fuel economy and boost hp"

There, that looks like a good start.

[Edited on May 14, 2006 at 8:07 PM. Reason : .]

5/14/2006 8:07:16 PM

^^ it's a huge commitment... cars are too expensive to be a casual hobby

5/15/2006 1:50:22 AM

yea I thougth that by now some company would develop inexpensive software to do the same thing the $700+ programmers do (all you'd have to do is buy the cable to connect to ur car). You have to buy a diff. programmer for each model, its BS. its 2006, if u spend 28k for a car bare minimum you should be able to see info/diagnose the shit via bluetooth or wifi connection (simple imbeded webserver is all you'd need - your car already collects tons of data). </vent> (onstar does this to an extent already).

5/15/2006 2:34:49 PM

you can get an obd2 datalogger for cheap

5/15/2006 2:41:19 PM