[Plums]

You can force a VATS re-link with a tuner-locked PCM. When the PCM is put back into the car, the first time the bcm sends the code to the PCM, the PCM will store that sequence and continue to use it from then on. It uses the first BCM code that it sees, so it only happens once.


Philm hit the nail on the head with this: "In our business the Intellectual property issue is a concern, allowing mediocre companies to grow on the backs of those who spend the time and money to developed new ideas and designs.
Like with the Tunes they are then out in the market place for all to see and unfortunately copy."
People may think this "hiding tuning secrets" thing is BS but Phil's statement here is 100% spot on. ANY person with the tuning software, can simply download your tune, compare the differences to a stock program (the latest software up date has an excellent compare function) and use these differences to tunes his own OR CUSTOMERS cars.

I'll tell everyone here the reason I am so passionate about this subject. Back in 2004 in Adelaide, the LS1 tuning game was at it's peak. The software was still relatively expensive and there were only a few places (in Adelaide) that could tune an LS1. From the very start, I had been putting a small "security function" into every tune that I did (this was simply changing one of the unused table values to something that was not realistic). I could easily tell my tune apart from another (aside from other variables) by going straight to this table. One day in late 2004, I got a phone call from a guy saying that his car was running badly but that he'd had it tuned by someone else and asked if I'd take a look. I told him to go back to the person that did it but he said he had had a "falling out" with that workshop and was desperate. I told him to bring it around and I'd take a look at it. The car was running badly so I got into the tune to take a look. As soon as I opened the editor I thought it looked familiar, it was MY PROGRAM... After doing a quick scan with the engine running, I realised that the O2 sensors were buggered, (one was lazy and the other stuffed). It was nothing to do with the tune at all, which was mine anyway and after the O2 sensors were replaced it was running well again. The worst thing about this story, is that this car was tuned by a big name workshop, charging big name dollars!!!!
After that day I always lock my "good tunes"....

Who knows, I could be keeping "secrets" that are known to every tuner, but I'll continue to live in my own little world and think that I'm the only person that knows my "secrets".....

Sorry for the big rant....