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Thread: First Gen Volt Tune (Volterado)

  1. #41
    Hi Redbow.

    Sorry, the attached tune may have some redeeming features, but mileage isn't as great as we thought.

    Our current tune probably has too much timing to use on anything but 91+ octane and has some issues. We were using VE from the Volt, but cam timing has changed from that a LOT so adapting it from the Encore will be much closer. I'm a week or two away from finishing up cam timing. Since we still don't have a 2nd gen Volt tune to compare to, we're having to do trial and error for cam timing. I have probably burned through 5 or 6 tanks of premium gas just for cam tuning. (I have a 10 minute daily commute so rarely would be burning any gas.)

    PM me your email and we can visit.

  2. #42
    We could still use a 2nd gen Volt tune. We won't publish it. We'd just like to compare cam, spark, knock with our settings.

    Thanks.

  3. #43
    Potential Tuner
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Posts
    9
    https://ve.simonandre.ca/module20/

    Have you guys ever thought about teaming up with some electronics guys like those offering the +20 battery upgrade?

    I know the EV side runs off on its lonesome so some interface help might benefit both groups

  4. #44
    That would be a sweet upgrade. If it was Winnipeg, I'd consider it, but then I only have a '12.

  5. #45
    Tuner in Training
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    15
    Love to see these types of mods making their way into the mass market. Wouldn't work for my location and 2013 but still cool to see. Also not sure I'd spend $500 for this mod. Will wear down the battery quicker and is about 1/3-1/4 the cost of a new battery. If this was closer to a $200 price point, then I'd be all over it.

  6. #46
    I wouldn't recommend it for a warm climate like CA, TX, FL

  7. #47
    Potential Tuner
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Posts
    9
    Quote Originally Posted by TownDrunk View Post
    I wouldn't recommend it for a warm climate like CA, TX, FL
    I don't think it would matter, the capacity window is the same as the Gen II Volt.

    Also in the diyEV hobby market they use 100% of the volts battery capacity with minimal degradation.

  8. #48
    Potential Tuner
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Trois-Rivieres, Quebec
    Posts
    1
    I work for Simon Andre and there will be no problem with the new battery usage.

    stock battery have a 38% buffer... with the +20 module the buffer is 24%...... the same 24% as in the Gen 2 Volt

  9. #49
    I'm about to put pen to paper on a 2013 Volt with about 60k on it.

    Looking forward to joining the club!
    Level 3 Master Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram technician
    20 years experience

  10. #50
    Hi Monzsta,

    Sounds like fun. I really wish I had waited until I found a loaded '13 Volt. I wanted minimum 2012 with leather, heated seats and factory nav and grabbed the first Volt I found (2012), then later found out that I really wanted "hold" mode.

    Reality Check:
    I'm sorry to say previous claims of 45+ mpg were due to Laz's hypermiling techniques and I was never able to reproduce them. Our current 2017 Buick Encore-based tune (I4 turbo) is capable of 41 mpg at 70 mph with premium fuel. It also has been tested with regular gas and E50. It should be capable of running E85 as-is (although that hasn't been tested). We should be able to glean a couple more mpg once we get our hands on a 2nd gen Volt.

    We are close to releasing a version to the forum in the next couple weeks.

  11. #51
    Any way I can help, I'll be glad to! I was prowling stupid cheap Caddy ELR ecu's on ebay but I suspect the magic is in one of the hybrid controllers. I think there's 6 different modules for the entire powertrain.
    Level 3 Master Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram technician
    20 years experience

  12. #52
    Jessie Bubb was one of the first people trying to hack the Volt and did a lot of comparing ELR tables to the Volt. He maps out all of the GM ECU's for Efilive, but wasn't able to unlock the EV torque limit for our Volts. He was able to drop the 0 to 60 time a bit by running the engine at the same time, which most of us don't find worth the trouble. From my understanding, Efilive has access to a LOT more tables than HPT, but if your vehicle isn't supported, that doesn't help us much. Still, it makes me wonder if John Brackett (Fuelverine), one of our members, still has his Efilive read-off or if it's still on his 2013 Volt. He had one of Jessie's early tunes that increased torque, but nothing on the ICE side.

  13. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by TownDrunk View Post
    Jessie Bubb was one of the first people trying to hack the Volt and did a lot of comparing ELR tables to the Volt. He maps out all of the GM ECU's for Efilive, but wasn't able to unlock the EV torque limit for our Volts. He was able to drop the 0 to 60 time a bit by running the engine at the same time, which most of us don't find worth the trouble. From my understanding, Efilive has access to a LOT more tables than HPT, but if your vehicle isn't supported, that doesn't help us much. Still, it makes me wonder if John Brackett (Fuelverine), one of our members, still has his Efilive read-off or if it's still on his 2013 Volt. He had one of Jessie's early tunes that increased torque, but nothing on the ICE side.
    Running the engine does indeed help the 0-60 time. The battery is only allowed 110kv. I was keen to notice on my car in mountain mode with 0 battery the engine has a bit of flare, and with any a/c generator, voltage is rpm dependent, and adds to the pull noticeably. You can see the kv scale on the dash catch a bump that follows rpm. Getting more speed may be as simple as raising the rpm of the engine while it's assisting. Remember the zip cars that had the flywheel and the pull cord? I'd bet you can achieve a similar effect electrically, on a limited basis.

    I've got a pretty diverse background in electronics, tuning, hot rodding, rooting, hacking, and just meddling in general. It's as if this car was made for the culmination of my skills.
    Level 3 Master Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram technician
    20 years experience

  14. #54
    You can already do this by turning on mountain mode to get the engine running, then turn it off. The ICE will continue to run until it gets warm. Given a choice I'd rather the ICE stayed off while accelerating. Who wants a cold engine racing?

  15. #55
    Potential Tuner
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Posts
    2
    Is there any work on gen 2 that can be done?

  16. #56
    We haven't seen a gen 2 tune, but feel some of the changes we implemented with gen 1 can be applied to gen two. Obviously gen 2 is optimized more than gen 1 so the gains will be less, but we've also turned the first gen into a flex-fuel vehicle and safer to run on regular gas.

  17. #57
    Tuner in Training
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Cleveland Ohio
    Posts
    16
    Quote Originally Posted by TownDrunk View Post
    We haven't seen a gen 2 tune, but feel some of the changes we implemented with gen 1 can be applied to gen two. Obviously gen 2 is optimized more than gen 1 so the gains will be less, but we've also turned the first gen into a flex-fuel vehicle and safer to run on regular gas.
    Just joined this thread. Thanks to all parties working on this tune. I'm looking to buy a 2015 first-gen Volt. Assume the tune, when released, will work with that model? Pleased to hear that E85 can be supported as I have a station just 1/2 mile away. Even though consumption goes up, the lower price per gallon keeps me money ahead as long as the mpg result doesn't drop more than 30% (E85 is running about 30% cheaper than regular 87 unleaded in my area).

    Ray

  18. #58
    Hi Ray,

    Usually a spread greater than 20% will be worthwhile, provided you can get to where you're going on one tank.

    So far all the development on this tune was done with MY 2015 and 2012. We found the 2012 didn't like some settings that worked fine on the '15 so you should be fine.

    Our primary developer lives in Florida so that put us back a few weeks. (He lives on the east coast so came out OK.)

  19. #59
    Tuner in Training
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Cleveland Ohio
    Posts
    16
    Quote Originally Posted by TownDrunk View Post
    Hi Ray,

    Usually a spread greater than 20% will be worthwhile, provided you can get to where you're going on one tank.

    So far all the development on this tune was done with MY 2015 and 2012. We found the 2012 didn't like some settings that worked fine on the '15 so you should be fine.

    Our primary developer lives in Florida so that put us back a few weeks. (He lives on the east coast so came out OK.)
    Thanks for the quick response. Hope our Florida friend(s) come out all right. Since I've never used tuning software before, I'd prefer to pay some much more knowledgable soul to apply the tune to my Volt once the tune is deemed ready for primetime. I'm near Cleveland, Ohio but a long road trip not a big hurdle. Is it realistic to think once the tune was onboard I wouldn't need to mess with it? Or is this the kind of mod that requires intermittent tweaking so it's not a "one and done" sort of thing?

    Ray

  20. #60
    In theory, you should be able to flash it locally and just pay a $100 licensing fee + whatever the user deems 5 minutes of his time is worth - probably $100. It only takes 2 minutes to hook a laptop up, flash the tune, then unplug. And this would be good like forever (in theory). Ideally you'd have a neighbor who's a gear head and owns HPT and you could give him a sixpack and a pizza in trade. = )

    You'd probably want to install the sensor, unless you can always find E70+ wherever you go. In the upper Midwest where I live, it's everywhere. I have a choice of 4 or 5 stations in town in areas I frequent, one less than a block from where I live. The sensor is about $40, but with fuel line connections and wire could be closer to $100 in parts. The sensor does nothing unless turned on in the tune, so could be installed anytime. You'd probably need to run a wire to the ECU, which is just in front of the driver side tire, which could require a special pin to connect to the harness. If you're handy with soldering wires and fuel lines, you could do it yourself. I could have done it myself, but chose to have a tuner shop do it.

    So to answer your question, you could flash it and let it go, but in theory, the tune could improve slightly over time. Would it be worth driving 300 miles to get updated after the initial tune? Probably not. But what happens if you want to trade it in? Do you leave it and the dealer might flash back to stock? What if you have some service work done under warranty? Will you want to flash it back to stock first? Questions that you might want to think about.

    My experience? I'm having an error come up approximately two thirds of the time when I back up (from the rear proximity sensor). I flashed back to stock to make sure it wasn't my tune. (It didn't help.) When I have it fixed, I may decide to return to stock, but since they don't have a Volt tech (Buick dealership), I might just leave it stock.