wreckwriter
07-01-2009, 08:36 AM
Brand: The Tuning School Learn at Home Course- Beginners
Price: $449
Purchased From: http://thetuningschool.com/
Quality: Excellent
Product Performance: Excellent
Would you Recommend to Others: Definitely yes
Any Other Comments:
So, a couple weeks ago I got laid off. Almost a relief really, I was over the job and most of the people. It was time to do something new. A fortunate side effect was that this gave me time to focus on something I've wanted to do for a long time- learn to tune my own car.
My car has been tuned by some of the best tuners in the country. I've always marveled at the way these guys knew just what to change to make the car do something different. Both of them have tons of what I considered to be arcane knowledge and experience and I could have been satisfied several times but I just wanted, even needed, to be able to adjust things myself. I like to race my car occasionally and conditions at the track change so fast and make such a huge difference that I felt this was something I just had to be able to do.
Some of you already know I bought HPTuners VCM Suite software a while back with this goal in mind. My original plan had been to read books and use the HPTuners forums to figure out how to do trans tweaks and other little stuff. When I started looking at it though I was a bit overwhelmed by the complexity. Most of the few tuning books focused on theory rather than how-to and were not software or vehicle manufacturer specific. I found one decent book, but even that left me shaking my head more than a bit. While the purpose of some things was fairly obvious, I just didn't have the confidence to start actually making changes. I just didn't feel like I understood how everything fit together to make a real performance tune. A phone call with a friend one evening at the track convinced me that what I really needed was someone to teach me how to do this. Enter The Tuning School ( http://www.thetuningschool.com/ ).
I first became aware of the Tuning School a few months ago when I was shopping for the HPTuners stuff. They're run by PM-FL's chief tuner Bob Morreale. I considered signing up for it when I bought my HPTuners but wanted to give the book and forum route a shot first. Once I tried, and failed, at that I decided the time was right to give the school a try.
The Tuning School offers beginners and advanced courses. Courses are offered in either a learn at home format or in live seminars conducted around the country. The live courses are a bit more expensive than the learn at home and you might have to travel to attend one. I chose the learn at home version. Of course I also chose the beginners version.
Ordering was easy, I called PM-FL, an authorized reseller, and talked to Rich but you can also order online at the web site. There are lots of package deals available. If you don't already have HPTuners (you'll want the Pro version) and a wideband I suggest you look into a package and save some money; none of this stuff is cheap. If none of the packages fit your needs and budget, give them a shout and let them know your needs, bet they work something out for you.
My stuff arrived within days. Material was nicely boxed and included a 14 page Quick Start guide (basically how to set up HPTuners), the main 218 page book, a 42 page MAF and VE Tuning supplement, a CD, and a stack of laminated quick reference charts.
The meat of the course is the book. It's spiral bound (which is the way a "working book" should be so you can lay it down without losing your page), printed on nice paper and chock full of color charts and screenshots from the tables you'll be working with in HPTuners VCM Editor. The book is based on the current version (VCM Suite 2.22). The actual tuning info is broken down in 3 main sections: Bolt-ons and Minor Mods, Heads, Cam and Supporting Mods, and Forced Induction (incl Supercharged, Turbocharged, and Nitrous) and Supporting Mods. Each section walks you through a full tune of that type of car, engine and transmission. There is some redundancy because of this but that's good, you don't have to jump back to another section, just ride the one you're working on and all the tables needed are explained!
You'll also find a section on how to set up and use VCM Scanner, HPTuners' logging software. Again, full of color screenshots from the actual software you'll be using. On the CD you'll find a ready-made scanner configuration file (and lots of other stuff too) which you can use as a starting point to build your own custom configuration file.
The format of the learn at home version is more like a guide than what you might think of as a "class". There are no assignments to turn in or grades given. You work at your own pace and can skip around as you see fit. Obviously the live seminars are in more of a classroom format. The thing that makes this an actual course rather than just a book is the support. You have phone and email access to Bob Morreale and Ian Thomson, both experienced and excellent tuners. These guys know their stuff and are willing to spend time explaining things until you know it too! I've spent time talking with both of them and their knowledge and willingness to share it really shines through. The phone support is nothing short of fantastic! There is also a private support forum but it's not as fast as the direct support. I'm told they are working to get the forum more active.
So far none of this has been G8 specific. It applies to pretty much all modern GM vehicles although the focus is on LS motors. I've already done a transmission tune on my wife's Acadia (not an LS) so much of the info crosses over to non-LS GM vehicles. There is some specificity though; about a week after I started they released an A-6 Trans Tuning Supplement. I was privileged to get a sneak peak at a draft version and I can tell you that it's the absolute cat's ass! In about a half hour I was able to get my trans tune extremely close to perfect, and understand how I was doing it! It's a complete step-by-step how-to on tuning our transmissions. As I understand it the A-6 Supplement is also going to be released as a stand-alone product for an extremely reasonable price. This thing goes way into detail and gives you real-world numbers which will definitely make your car shift better. Even if you've been tuning for years you'll want this supplement.
So, will this course teach you to tune like the Masters? Nope, only experience can do that. What it will do is get you to the point where you can tune cars and start gaining that experience. I'm really just getting started but I feel this has been well worth the money already. I've learned far more in the couple weeks I've had this than in the months of studying books and forums that I put in before I went this route. I heartily recommend The Tuning School!
Here's some links to sample pages:
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page9.pdf
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page37.pdf
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page187.pdf
Price: $449
Purchased From: http://thetuningschool.com/
Quality: Excellent
Product Performance: Excellent
Would you Recommend to Others: Definitely yes
Any Other Comments:
So, a couple weeks ago I got laid off. Almost a relief really, I was over the job and most of the people. It was time to do something new. A fortunate side effect was that this gave me time to focus on something I've wanted to do for a long time- learn to tune my own car.
My car has been tuned by some of the best tuners in the country. I've always marveled at the way these guys knew just what to change to make the car do something different. Both of them have tons of what I considered to be arcane knowledge and experience and I could have been satisfied several times but I just wanted, even needed, to be able to adjust things myself. I like to race my car occasionally and conditions at the track change so fast and make such a huge difference that I felt this was something I just had to be able to do.
Some of you already know I bought HPTuners VCM Suite software a while back with this goal in mind. My original plan had been to read books and use the HPTuners forums to figure out how to do trans tweaks and other little stuff. When I started looking at it though I was a bit overwhelmed by the complexity. Most of the few tuning books focused on theory rather than how-to and were not software or vehicle manufacturer specific. I found one decent book, but even that left me shaking my head more than a bit. While the purpose of some things was fairly obvious, I just didn't have the confidence to start actually making changes. I just didn't feel like I understood how everything fit together to make a real performance tune. A phone call with a friend one evening at the track convinced me that what I really needed was someone to teach me how to do this. Enter The Tuning School ( http://www.thetuningschool.com/ ).
I first became aware of the Tuning School a few months ago when I was shopping for the HPTuners stuff. They're run by PM-FL's chief tuner Bob Morreale. I considered signing up for it when I bought my HPTuners but wanted to give the book and forum route a shot first. Once I tried, and failed, at that I decided the time was right to give the school a try.
The Tuning School offers beginners and advanced courses. Courses are offered in either a learn at home format or in live seminars conducted around the country. The live courses are a bit more expensive than the learn at home and you might have to travel to attend one. I chose the learn at home version. Of course I also chose the beginners version.
Ordering was easy, I called PM-FL, an authorized reseller, and talked to Rich but you can also order online at the web site. There are lots of package deals available. If you don't already have HPTuners (you'll want the Pro version) and a wideband I suggest you look into a package and save some money; none of this stuff is cheap. If none of the packages fit your needs and budget, give them a shout and let them know your needs, bet they work something out for you.
My stuff arrived within days. Material was nicely boxed and included a 14 page Quick Start guide (basically how to set up HPTuners), the main 218 page book, a 42 page MAF and VE Tuning supplement, a CD, and a stack of laminated quick reference charts.
The meat of the course is the book. It's spiral bound (which is the way a "working book" should be so you can lay it down without losing your page), printed on nice paper and chock full of color charts and screenshots from the tables you'll be working with in HPTuners VCM Editor. The book is based on the current version (VCM Suite 2.22). The actual tuning info is broken down in 3 main sections: Bolt-ons and Minor Mods, Heads, Cam and Supporting Mods, and Forced Induction (incl Supercharged, Turbocharged, and Nitrous) and Supporting Mods. Each section walks you through a full tune of that type of car, engine and transmission. There is some redundancy because of this but that's good, you don't have to jump back to another section, just ride the one you're working on and all the tables needed are explained!
You'll also find a section on how to set up and use VCM Scanner, HPTuners' logging software. Again, full of color screenshots from the actual software you'll be using. On the CD you'll find a ready-made scanner configuration file (and lots of other stuff too) which you can use as a starting point to build your own custom configuration file.
The format of the learn at home version is more like a guide than what you might think of as a "class". There are no assignments to turn in or grades given. You work at your own pace and can skip around as you see fit. Obviously the live seminars are in more of a classroom format. The thing that makes this an actual course rather than just a book is the support. You have phone and email access to Bob Morreale and Ian Thomson, both experienced and excellent tuners. These guys know their stuff and are willing to spend time explaining things until you know it too! I've spent time talking with both of them and their knowledge and willingness to share it really shines through. The phone support is nothing short of fantastic! There is also a private support forum but it's not as fast as the direct support. I'm told they are working to get the forum more active.
So far none of this has been G8 specific. It applies to pretty much all modern GM vehicles although the focus is on LS motors. I've already done a transmission tune on my wife's Acadia (not an LS) so much of the info crosses over to non-LS GM vehicles. There is some specificity though; about a week after I started they released an A-6 Trans Tuning Supplement. I was privileged to get a sneak peak at a draft version and I can tell you that it's the absolute cat's ass! In about a half hour I was able to get my trans tune extremely close to perfect, and understand how I was doing it! It's a complete step-by-step how-to on tuning our transmissions. As I understand it the A-6 Supplement is also going to be released as a stand-alone product for an extremely reasonable price. This thing goes way into detail and gives you real-world numbers which will definitely make your car shift better. Even if you've been tuning for years you'll want this supplement.
So, will this course teach you to tune like the Masters? Nope, only experience can do that. What it will do is get you to the point where you can tune cars and start gaining that experience. I'm really just getting started but I feel this has been well worth the money already. I've learned far more in the couple weeks I've had this than in the months of studying books and forums that I put in before I went this route. I heartily recommend The Tuning School!
Here's some links to sample pages:
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page9.pdf
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page37.pdf
http://www.thetuningschool.com/page187.pdf