HP Tuners: what it is, what it does, what you need

If a customer asks your shop to tune their truck, or you want to know what the TSS RTD Link does, here's what HP Tuners is, what it's for, what you need to use it, what the interface and credits cost, what the RTD and TDN app are, and which vehicles and transmissions it covers, all from HP Tuners' own information.

What is HP Tuners?

HP Tuners is a company based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, founded in 2003. It makes tools to diagnose and tune, that is, reprogram, the engine computer (ECM or PCM) and the transmission computer (TCM). It's an international brand: it has dealers outside the United States, part of its website is in Spanish, and it has run training with Spanish-language materials in Latin America. HP Tuners doesn't sell ready-made tunes: it sells the software and interfaces a tuner uses to modify the programming.

What is HP Tuners used for?

Its software, VCM Suite, is a free download with two parts:

• VCM Scanner: a scan tool. It reads and clears trouble codes, shows and records live data, and runs special functions such as viewing and resetting transmission adaptives or a throttle relearn. Scanning doesn't need a license.
• VCM Editor: reads the computer's calibration, modifies it and writes it back. Writing requires licensing the vehicle.

On the transmission side, a shop uses VCM Editor to adjust things like these, per what HP Tuners publishes for Ford's 10R80 and Ram's 68RFE: when and how quickly it shifts, the pressure for each shift, RPM limits and torque converter lockup. It also corrects the speedometer after a tire size or axle ratio change: on most GM vehicles through 2018 with its gear and tire wizard, and on Ford and Stellantis from VCM Scanner, at no credit cost.

What a tune won't do is fix the transmission: if it slips, shifts hard from wear or sets solenoid or pressure codes, repair it first (see our guide to a slipping or harsh-shifting transmission), then tune it.

What do you need to use HP Tuners?

• A laptop with VCM Suite, which is free.
• An MPVI interface, which connects the laptop to the vehicle's OBD-II port. The current one is the MPVI4.
• Credits to license each vehicle. The license is tied to the vehicle's VIN and your interface's serial number: it can't move to another vehicle or interface, and credits aren't refundable.
• A battery charger: HP Tuners says to keep the battery above 11.5 volts while writing.
• Experience, or a tuner who has it, because HP Tuners doesn't give you the tune: you build it.

MPVI3 or MPVI4?

The MPVI4 came out in October 2025 and is the one HP Tuners sells today; the MPVI3 no longer appears in its store, but the MPVI2, MPVI3 and MPVI4 are all still supported. The MPVI4 comes standard with the Pro Feature Set (laptop-free data logging, among other features), Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi promised in a future update, and since March 2026 it supports Ford EEC-V computers, which the MPVI3 never did. It doesn't yet support Mopar JTEC, JTEC+, JTEC+B and NGC3 computers. If you already own an MPVI, HP Tuners upgrades it to an MPVI4 for $249.99 and carries over your licenses and credits.

How much does HP Tuners cost?

List prices on hptuners.com, in US dollars, as of October 28, 2026 (they may change):

Some models have year/model licenses, which work on an unlimited number of vehicles of that year and model. In Mexico, Transmisiones Veinte 07 sells the MPVI4 and universal credits in pesos.

Which vehicles and transmissions does it cover?

HP Tuners publishes its official vehicle list, with the interface and credits each one needs. It includes the GM brands, Ford and Lincoln, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, Nissan and Infiniti, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Hyundai, the Volkswagen Group, Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rover, plus powersports such as Can-Am, Polaris, Harley-Davidson and Sea-Doo. The transmission modules (TCMs) on the list include these:

On many vehicles the engine computer controls the transmission (we explain it in our transmission control module guide). And the RTD with the TDN app covers fewer controllers than VCM Suite. Before you buy, check your make, model, year and engine on the official list.

What are the RTD and the TDN app?

The RTD (Remote Tuning Device) is HP Tuners' device for the vehicle owner: a connector that plugs into the OBD-II port and pairs with their phone. TDN (Tune Delivery Network) is HP Tuners' network linking tuners with their customers: a web portal for the tuner and the free “Tune Delivery Network (TDN)” app for iOS and Android. Access is limited to HP Tuners authorized tuners and shops and their customers.

With the RTD and the app, the owner can, without a laptop:

• Read the computer's stock file and send it to their tuner.
• Receive the tune the tuner builds and flash it to the vehicle.
• Log driving data, which goes to their tuner.
• Read and clear trouble codes.

What it needs: an HP Tuners authorized tuner who invites the owner to their TDN network (without one, the app is useless) and credits to license the vehicle, which the tuner often covers. The RTD doesn't edit the tune: the tuner does that in VCM Editor.

RTD or MPVI? The MPVI belongs to the tuner: it connects their laptop running VCM Suite to edit and write any vehicle they license. The RTD is for their customer: it flashes from a phone what the tuner sends. HP Tuners sells the RTD to high-volume tuners and has a program for selling it under their own brand.

The TSS RTD Link

The TSS RTD Link is an HP Tuners RTD under the TSS brand: it plugs into the OBD-II port and pairs over Bluetooth with the TDN app. It does everything described above and needs no MPVI, laptop or VCM Suite. It's sold by Transmisiones Veinte 07 in Mexico and by Sun Transmissions in the United States, on its Spanish-language store. Transmisiones Veinte 07 explains how a shop uses it with its customers in its article on TDN and RTD (in Spanish).

On the TSS RTD Link page (in Spanish), Transmisiones Veinte 07 publishes the list of computers and vehicles compatible with the TDN app and the credits each one needs: usually 2 or 4, and up to 8. Credits are bought separately; Transmisiones Veinte 07 sells HP Tuners universal credits. Some examples from that list:

For the transmission, the list includes GM 6-speed modules (2015 to 2019) and 8- and 10-speed modules (2017 on), at 4 credits: the 8- and 10-speed ones first need HP Tuners' unlock, and with the T93 (2019 on) the app doesn't log data. It also covers the 5R110 and 6R140 modules in Power Stroke F-Series trucks (2 credits), the Shelby GT500's, and the ZF 8HP in Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles (2013 to 2024, 4 credits).

Notes from the same page: Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles from 2015 need the PCM unlock service before tuning, and from 2018 the Smart Bypass cable. The RTD is made for vehicles with their factory calibration: a hybrid, or one with a computer other than the original, may not be compatible. Powersports vehicles need an adapter cable, and Honda powersports vehicles aren't compatible yet.

See the TSS RTD Link

Precautions before you flash

• Connect a charger: the battery must stay above 11.5 volts while writing, and HP Tuners' RTD guide warns that more than 15.5 volts can damage it.
• Read and save the stock file before changing anything.
• Don't interrupt the write. If it fails, don't power down the computer: try again with the same file.
• Emissions: HP Tuners prohibits using its tools to defeat emissions controls and requires special training to modify those parameters.
• Under its terms of use, repairs that result from a tune are on you, and its hardware warranty is one year, valid in the country or region where you bought it.

Is there HP Tuners training in Spanish?

Sometimes. HP Tuners runs in-person seminars with training partners, such as one in Argentina in July 2026 with Spanish-language materials and a certificate; you need to own an MPVI interface to attend. Check its website for dates in Mexico. Online schools offer courses in Spanish, but they aren't HP Tuners.

A healthy transmission first: TSS parts

Before tuning, the transmission has to be in good shape. TSS has parts for the transmissions in GM, Ford and Ram trucks:

See TSS parts for the 6L80

TSS products

Buy in

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• Filtro 6.3" Altura Total, 1.30" Altura del Espaciador GM 6L50 6L80 6L90
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• Kit de Pistones Vulcanizados [5] 6L80 6L90 MYC MYD LY6
• Diafragmas [5] Plastico Reparacion Modulo 6L45, 6L50, 6L80, 6L90 y 6T70, 6T75 GEN1
• KIT SOLENOIDE DE CAMBIOS A-B 4L60E
• PISTON VULCANIZADO 3RA-4TA TH700-R4, 4L60E, 4L65E, 4L70E
• Filtro Toma de 1.5" 2007/UP 6R60 6R75 6R80
• Filtro Externo 45RFE 5-45RFE 68RFE

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