rojizostang

After our trip to the track, it frustrated me a little that I wasn't able to make any adjustments to how the truck was running, regarding the transmission shift patterns. If I were to purchase the HPTuners Ngauge, would the tune currently loaded on the pcm download as the "stock tune", and would there by any of the parameters open to being adjusted? Or is/would the tune locked by the tuner and only he can make any adjustments? Should I attempt to make any changes at all without seeing the dyno? It seems that changing the transmission shift points would be easy, but I don't want to get into something that I could foul up....I know that HPTuners makes their charges according to software charges or credits or something, so the other question is would there be charges on top of the hardware purchase to adjust the tune.

The current tuner wants me to do some logging before they change anything, but I'm thinking with the info I gave him he should be able to make some at least minor adjustments and make another trip the track and then do the logging for further adjustments. What I'm saying is I don't want to make a trip to the track as is, without at least some adjustments being made before hand.

I know some of you guys are pretty good at this and could probably walk me thru it if necessary, so thanks in advance.

rojizostang

Well, let me see if I can answer my own question.

The mistake here in my thinking was that the ngauge was an hptuners product....apparently it isn't. It's similar to an x4 or something like that, and is merely a vehicle by which the tuning software is made available to edit the pcm functions. Appropriate software (this is where hptuners comes in) is still needed to scan or edit the vehicles pcm?

Hptuners "vehicle" is the MPVI2, which if I had, would mean the ngauge would be unnecessary (at least in the sense of updating the pcm parameters).

The value of the Ngauge then is monitoring and logging, but I would need the VCM editor (If not the VCM scanner also?) in order to affect any changes to the pcm. So, in short, if I purchased the Ngauge, I could log and monitor, but not edit. But, I could transport the data on the sd card to my tuner and he could edit my file with his vcm editor, load to my sd card and then I can reflash the pcm? Would the tuner or I have to buy credits to make any changes?

Did I get that right?

TX-Ripper

the value of the gauge is to log and be able to flash "tune" your vehicle without a laptop.

What tuning device and tuner are you using currently?

rojizostang

That's the rub. I have the x4, and when I took it to my tuner, I assumed he would use sct stuff as that's what his website indicated. Come to find out, they used hptuners to scan the sct tune and then made another tune file with the hptuners software and flashed it with their laptop. Unfortunately, they didn't return the vehicle to stock from the x4 and unlock it before flashing the hp tuners file. So now I have the x4 that's merely a monitor, and potentially a logging device, and still married to the vehicle, however it can't be used to re-flash a tune with new adjustments in it..(I think)

So I don't have a copy anywhere of the hptuners file for my truck. It's on my tuners laptop.

Another question is if there's anyway the hptuners file could be converted to something usable for my x4 and still be able to use it. Say perhaps if I paid sct to unmarry and erase everything on the tuner now, and then use it to modify the hptuners file as if it were a stock file. Perhaps a dumb idea, but I don't know if I don't ask.

thanks for answering

TX-Ripper

Your tuner needs to flash your truck back to the sct file that they "read" with hpt,

Then you can unlock your x4.

Then they can flash back with hptuners.

If you want a device to flash without a laptop you can get a ngauge and they can give you the .enc file (your tune) to use with the ngauge

rojizostang

thanks, but i'm not fully explaining myself. If I buy an ngauge, can it save the existing hp tune file that's on the truck, and then flash back to stock with the x4, and then re-flash the truck with the saved hptune file? and then will that file be accessible to change with the ngauge? If this is possible, then I don't really need to deal with the tuner. Not that he's a bad guy, he's just busy and not always available to help when I need it or rather want it.

also, what parameters are necessary to access the shift points? vehicle speed (output shaft speed) or rpms?

edit: if I have the ngauge, the vcm editor and scanner software aren't necessary?

TX-Ripper

rojizostang

well this I wouldn't know since I don't have the ngauge or any of the hptuners software. Should I buy the vpmI2 and the associated software? would that allow me to access whatever I wanted and just keep the x4 as a logger/monitor? I'm not sure if or why he would lock the file knowing I don't have an ngauge. thanks again for helping out. I see yours is hptuned. did you do it yourself? thanks for being patient. I didn't grow up in the IT age lol.

rojizostang

I can get the ngauge with windshield mount for $435 on amazon

TX-Ripper