TGP Chip tuning

[Chris A]

"I think you should incorporate a TGP performance chip area as well!! That way everyone can learn along the way without it costing an arm and a leg!! I am more than willing to erase and burn chips for folks if they want to try it. No cost except shipping to them... "

 

 

I posted this new from another thread.

 

I am kinda concerned about the "arm and leg" statement. It seems that everyone is thinking that chip tuning can be "free" and "easy". From first hand experience, its not, no matter how you slice it there will be money spent, especially if you screw up. This doesn't mean don't do it, just know what you are getting into and there are reasons for one way or the other (do it yourself, buy it already done).

 

Lets say that you are starting fresh. You have a nice TGP with all the proper maintence and repairs and its time to TUNE! What will you need. First off, you will need a logging scanner to find out how its running and where you can make changes and to monitor knock and boost. Oh, and speaking of boost lets not rely on the factory boost guage. So we will need one of them.

 

So we have found where we can make some changes. Since Mick is so very nice to have provided us with a nearly free program that has all the locations for changes and maps it out very nicely (a lucky break here folks, the TGP code is a tough one to break it took him and some collegues over a year of work to finish it). We can go in and make some changes. Now of course we all understand exacltly what we are changing and know how to adjust all the spark and fuel tables accordingly. Since the TGP $8f code is on the internet, no equipment neccesary until we are ready to make our own new chip.

 

Now that we have made and logged all of our changes so we know where to go back if its wrong, (remember, there will need to be alot of changes made since the original chip does have some errors in it, don't forget those), we can burn a chip. Need a pocket programmer for that. And some extra proms. We can also get a flash prom to make this quicker and put it on the Memcal and use the Memcal adapter with the pocket programmer.

 

GREAT! Made some changes, getting good now! But we need to go back and tweak some settings. No problem. Just like the movie contact, "small changes" .

 

You could mail out your chip to have some changes made, but with the large number of changes it will take to get it right (this is the fun of tuning, making small changes and seeing how it affects your car) that will be quite tedious (ok I'm just impaitent).

 

OH NO! We changed something we didn't understand and hit some hard spark knock and blew a gasket or piston...oh no. (ok its out there, but it can happen).

 

 

Scanner software $200-$500. There are some free ones but I'm not too familliar. Or since we are all about free we can pirate it.

Laptop for scanner software and in the field programming: $60-$200 off ebay

Pocket Programmer: Kit free?, assembled $100 or so

Adapter: ?? its out there though, minimal cost

Boost guage, $30 off ebay

 

SO if you steal the software and put your own programmer together, then the cost is just a laptop to go in the car. On the other end you could spend a few hundered dollars. Not free, but not super expensive either. It just depends on how you want to go and how paitent you are. I for one like tinkering and its exciting to see guys at the track or in the parking lot making changes and seeing their results!

 

Happy Tuning

 

Chris

 

(now where did my other arm run off too....)