# self tuning after cam



## muddobberz (Jul 7, 2011)

Well.. today I was supposed to get my 288r 114lsa cam installed and get my car dynotuned directly after but I was just informed the shop is closing on financial notices.. so the guy wouldn't work on my car. 

I have found someone local that may install my cam, springs and pushrods, but the nearest tuner is 1 hour away. I am now looking into the option of self tuning. 

Anyone have any advice for self tuning after a camswap?? Not too savy on the tuning side of cars but am very interested in learning. which tuner should I buy (If I decide to go that route)?


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## RJ_05GTO (Jul 6, 2008)

muddobberz said:


> Well.. today I was supposed to get my 288r 114lsa cam installed and get my car dynotuned directly after but I was just informed the shop is closing on financial notices.. so the guy wouldn't work on my car.
> 
> I have found someone local that may install my cam, springs and pushrods, but the nearest tuner is 1 hour away. I am now looking into the option of self tuning.
> 
> Anyone have any advice for self tuning after a camswap?? Not too savy on the tuning side of cars but am very interested in learning. which tuner should I buy (If I decide to go that route)?


I drove my car 1.5 hours to my tuner after I installed my 224r cam. I bumped the idle up 100 rpm so it would idle properly. And I probably drove the car 150 miles altogether untuned. You just need to stay out of wide open throttle and you will be fine. If you have a way to bump the idle up your car should be very drivable. If not it will still be drivable but will probably try to cut off every now and then when you come to a stop. 
installing a cam in this car yourself is very doable if you have a little mechanical know how and can follow simple instructions. I have never installed a cam in anything before and I had no problem with the install. There is a lot of info on cam swaps on these engines. You will have to buy a couple of tools but it will feel good to say that you installed it yourself.


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## muddobberz (Jul 7, 2011)

I would do it myself but all my tools are back at home and I go to college like 6 hours away.. and its a 228r cam i messed up on my first post


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

I like self tuning. I think with time and patience you can get a better tune than what the vast majority of "tuner shops" will do. Besides time you need to get a tuning suite and wideband O2 controller to do it correctly and that's about a $800-$850 investment. You'll be able to tune the cam with no bucking at any RPM and have it start cold correctly. A lot of people settle on sub-standard tunes and accept the bucking and cold start issues as "something you have to live with having a cam". EFILive and HP Tuners are the two best tuning suites and there are a variety of wideband O2 controllers with the Innovate LC-1 being one of the cheapest with good performance.


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