Shop tuned WOT but nothing else should I get HP tuners?

[radkon]

I've been pouring over the forum for days and haven't found the answers I've needed so here it goes.

I have an 04 GTO (ls1, 6 speed) with a TR224 cam. My local shop has tuned WOT (to 12.8 AFR) and idle but nothing else. It runs fine no surging or stalling (puts down 12 sec runs and 375 HP) but the mileage isn't where I'd like it (avg about 18mpg).

Is it worth it for me to buy HPtuners to tune the rest of the tables? From everything I've read once the car goes into closed loop it should stay around 14.7 AFR. Is there anything for me to gain with HP tuners?

If I do get HP Tuners do I need a WB or can I tune the rest of the car with the stock O2's. Between HP tuners and a WB I'm looking at close to $1000 so I'd like to know what to expect. Thanks guys!

[EC_Tune]

Definitely get the HPT Pro (EIO version) and a wideband. You'll thank yourself later when your MPG goes up.

Why would they tune WOT only though?

[MMGT1]

Get the system w/ WB.

Best investment you'll make to date.

[radkon]

Definitely get the HPT Pro (EIO version) and a wideband. You'll thank yourself later when your MPG goes up.

Why would they tune WOT only though?

Guess I should have specified. It was a "full dyno tune" but no time on the road in real world conditions. As I said the car runs fine but the mileage is pretty low and the exhaust pipes are always sooty (as in too rich).

[12secSS]

That is not a "Full Dyno Tune" then. Reputable Dyno Tuners will use a load bearing dyno to tune most of the VE table and MAF table, not just WOT. These kind of places are out (IMHO) to just make money. The more WOT tunes they can do, the more money they make. As mentioned, go with the Pro version of HPTuners, you won't regret it.

[S2H]

also if they tuned WOT on the dyno...then its also most likely lean on the street at WOT as real world conditions are very different than dyno conditions...
even a load bearing dyno cannot simulate real world load and airflows as accurate as actually being on the street can

[radkon]

Figured I'd update this post just in case anyone else is in my shoes.

Got HPT Pro about 3 weeks ago and found a few things.

1. The shop never touched my VE table, it was still exactly the same as the stock table.

2. I tried LTFT tuning while waiting for the wideband to get here and got improved mileage (about 3 MPG), throttle response and once the VE table got close the low speed (parking lot) driving improved as well.

3. Hooked up the wideband last week and found LTFT can get you very close to ideal, most of my cells were 14.6 +/- about 2%

Now for MAF scaling and WOT tuning! Wish me luck! and thanks for convincing me to purchase!

[rushhour]

Good job.

I am waiting for mine to show up in a few days. Buying it for basically the same reason as you did. I have the Areoforce gauges on the car and the LTFT's have been @ +5 to +11 since the day I got the car back - so it definitely needed some fine tunning after the heads & cam went in.

At WOT the car works fine - even looking at the O2's on narrow band basis - she is hitting .890 - .895. I know from past dynos with WB readout that is close to 12.8-12.9 on my car.

[jahorgos]

I learned the hard way, if you are going to do performance mods always allow yourself the ability to monitor and change all important values or you could, in the worst case, end up with critical engine failure. As for AFR thats something you will need to read about in some GTO forums as to what is a safe AFR to run on your vehicle.