Once you’ve installed the Comma wiring harness and windshield mount (which needs to set for 48 hours), it’s easiest if you take the Comma unit inside and connect it to a USB-C power source for connecting to wifi and installing the software.

Avoid installing software or rebooting the Comma while it’s connected to your car and the car is on. Doing so will trigger temporary errors on your car’s dash.

2. Install the “Torque Tune” FrogPilot branch

Enter http://firestar.link/torque as the custom software URL.

FrogPilot is a popular fork of Openpilot with more customization options. This link specifically is a community-developed branch of FrogPilot often referred to as the “GM ACC Torque Tune”. It dramatically improves accelerating, braking, and following distance for Bolts and other GM ACC vehicles.

3. Configure Toggles

Enable “openpilot Longitudinal Control (alpha)”. This will use the smoother, tuned experience vs. the Bolt’s stock ACC. It does not disable automatic emergency braking (AEB).

The rest of the toggles are up to you.

4. Configure FrogPilot settings

Go to the FrogPilot settings tab. Change your tuning level to Advanced.

FYI: To learn more about a setting, tap the title to see a description.

Vehicle Controls

Start here.

Select your car model.
Disable Automatic Fingerprint Detection.
Under General Motors Toggles, DON’T enable FrogsGoMoo’s experimental longitudinal tune or the Stop and Go hack. DO enable Smoothen Pedal Response While Going Downhill/Uphill.

Go back to the top of FrogPilot settings tab.

Alerts and Sounds

These are all optional changes.

For Alert Volume Controller, I like to mute the disengage and engage sounds and change the prompt volume to 25%. This makes it a quieter experience for other people in the car. I DON’T recommend changing the volume of any important alerts.
For Custom Alerts, I enable the Green Light Alert and Lead Departing Alert. These are gentle nudges to let you know a traffic light has turned green or the car in front of you has started moving.

Driving Controls

For Driving Model, these are the top choices:

Vikander: new, ratings TBD but good feedback so far
Vegan Filet o Fish: new, ratings TBD but good feedback so far
North Dakota v2 is a newer model with 9/10 lateral and 5/10 long performance. This model is sometimes preferred by those who do a lot of Always On Lateral driving (where Comma controls the steering but you control the accel/brake) or who don’t experience much traffic.
WD-40 is a classic model with 7/10 lateral and 8/10 long performance. Before NTS, it was a favorite of many for its reliable nature, and the default model in FrogPilot.
Duck Amigo is another classic model with 7/10 lateral and 7/10 long performance.

Turn OFF “Automatically download and update models” as this can result in quirks like incomplete model downloads.

For Gas / Brake:

Conditional Experimental Mode: aka CEM. Enable it and tap Manage.

Enable Lead Detected Ahead and tap Slower Lead (optional) and Stopped Lead.
Change “openpilot Wants to Stop In” to 8 seconds.
The other settings are optional — I would suggest leaving them disabled for now.

Curve Speed Control: Optional.

Some people find it slows too much on curves, but this setting does make your Comma experience smarter. If you’re often setting your cruise speed above the speed limit, consider enabling this so it doesn’t take turns too fast.

Customize Driving Personalities: Optional.

Adjust following distances to suit your comfort as needed. Try the default values first.
Note: cars that are camera-only with no radar, like the Bolt, are less precise about following distance, so putting longer time values here may actually result in less consistent performance, as it can be harder to track a car that’s further away.

Experimental Mode Activation: Recommend leaving disabled. Driving in Experimental Mode outside of CEM is not recommended.
Longitudinal Tuning: Enable.

Set it to “Sport” acceleration. The dev of this branch has specifically tuned that profile for Bolt driver to give less jerky behavior at the low end, and more speed at the top end. It's not really "Sport" in anything but name.

Sports+ got a similar treatment, but it’s only recommended for folks that want their passengers to smell their tires more off the line.

Optionally set it to “Eco” deceleration.
Human-Like settings are optional. You can try them out once you get a feel for the regular performance.

Quality of Life Improvements: Enable.

I recommend changing the Cruise Increase to 5mph and Long Press to 1mph. This will make it easier to rapidly change your cruise speed.
Enable “Force Stop for Stop Lights/Signs” which will help prevent (but not eliminate!) the Comma from running red lights or stop signs. You should always be extremely alert and ready to take manual control at stop lights and stop signs. I usually do not let the Comma stop for me in these situations and switch to Always On Lateral (this also maximizes regen).
Increase Stopped Distance: set to 3-10 feet depending on your preference. This only applies when coming to a complete stop.

Speed Limit Controller: Optional. Enable if you want the Comma to change your set speed based on changing speed limits.

For Steering:

Always on Lateral: aka AoL. Enable. This is a key feature of FrogPilot over the stock openpilot, where the Comma controls your steering but you control the accel/brake. This is especially useful in Bolts when you want to maximize regen (like city driving, descending a mountain, or exiting the highway), as cruise control is otherwise capped at 11kW of regen.

I recommend setting it to enable with the Cruise Control button. This means AoL will turn on when you turn on cruise control but haven’t yet set a speed.

Lane Change settings: Enable.

Disable Automatic Lane Changes. With this off, you have to nudge the steering wheel before it changes lanes. This is ideal, since it lets you signal to other cars your intention to change lanes without actually starting the lane change.

Due to a quirk with steering torque, human-initiated lane changes will also be smoother and more natural.
FYI: the Comma won’t change lanes if it detects a car in your blind spot, but you should ALWAYS check first. Neither your Bolt nor Comma have 360º awareness.

Enable Only One Lane Change per Signal to be on the safe side.
The rest of the values can be left at the default setting.

Lateral Tuning: Enable.

Force Turn Desires — [unsure, I leave it off.]
Disable NNFF if it is enabled.
Enable Smooth Curve Handling.

Quality of Life Improvements: Optional. I don’t change anything here.

Navigation

Ignore. Not supported very well by Comma and it’s a pain to set up every drive. Just use Google Maps (with your engine type set to Electric to get EV-optimized efficient routes).

System Management

Optional. I decrease the screen brightness a bit as I find the Auto value too bright at night.

Theme and Appearance

For Appearance:

Accessibility: Enable.

I set the Camera View to Auto (optional).
Enable the On-Screen Personality Button — this is helpful if the driving personality ever gets out of sync with your steering wheel’s following distance button.
Other settings are optional.

Advanced UI Controls: Optionally enable.

I choose to Hide Current Speed and Hide Lead Marker for a cleaner look.
Hide Map Icon if you aren’t using navigation.

Model UI: Optionally enable.

I disable dynamic path width and enable Unlimited Road UI.

Navigation Widgets: Optionally enable.

I enable Road Name and Show Speed Limits.

Onroad screen widgets: Optionally enable.

I enable Acceleration Path, Blind Spot Path, and rotating steering wheel.

For Theme:

I disable all as I prefer a utilitarian look.
For Startup Alert, I choose Custom and write something bland like “Welcome [name]” and “Drive safe!”. I find this inspires more confidence with passengers who are seeing the Comma for the first time.

5. Have the right expectations and be safe

The Comma is best used as a hands-free lane centering and adaptive cruise control device on the highway. It is not capable of safely doing Full Self-Driving (despite Comma’s promotional “Taco Bell run” video) in most scenarios. Using it in complex driving environments is a recipe for a bad time.

In normal chill highway driving, the Comma is quite reliable, but like any driver assistance system, always pay full attention to what’s going on and be ready to take over.

To learn more about FrogPilot, check out the wiki.

Bolts without ACC

1. Install the Comma harness & mount

The installation process is the same as Bolts with ACC with the addition of the pin box that allows you to connect an ethernet cable for pedal interceptor installation.

2. Redneck CC vs. Pedal Interceptor

The Comma defaults to "Redneck Cruise Control," which rapidly spams the +/- buttons to adjust speed. It may work decently well for highway adaptive cruise, but it's more of a convenience factor than anything else. Do not expect it to stop behind cars or react quickly to changing driving scenarios.

If your Bolt does not have ACC, your experience will differ slightly from ACC-enabled models. It is highly recommended to purchase a pedal interceptor from TinyBear for smoother longitudinal performance, enabling stop-and-go, and full speed control.

To install a pedal interceptor, you will need:

A pedal interceptor with a 2x9 pin box
A 10ft flat Cat5e or Cat6 ethernet cable
Optional: A DFU key for firmware updates (cheaper when purchased together with the interceptor)

Pedal Interceptor Installation Notes

The pedal interceptor requires L mode (one-pedal driving) to function properly, as it only uses regen braking.
If installing, follow the provided installation pictures for routing the cable.
The Comma will detect an installed pedal interceptor automatically, and no further configuration is required for its use.

If not using a pedal interceptor, your car will use "Redneck Cruise Control," which is functional but not ideal for long-term use.

Cable Routing Recommendations:

You do not need to remove any panels. Simply use your fingers/a rubber pry tool to insert the flat ethernet cable underneath the trim.
Ensure access to the pedals is unobstructed

3. Install the recommended software

Each branch is based on FrogPilot, our primary fork of choice. Each branch contains special improvements for each model year of Bolt, like improvements to following distance, remote start functionality, and special tuning considerations for your car.

Bolts 2022 and later: Install firestar.link/torque
Bolts 2018-2021: Install firestar.link/starpilot
2017 Bolts: Install firestar.link/2017 (this is still a work in progress—leave feedback in the Starpilot channel)

4. Configure FrogPilot settings

All general settings recommendations remain the same as Bolts with ACC (above) with two exceptions. 1. 2017-2021 Bolts cannot use the distance button to adjust driving personality. 2. Slower & Stopped Lead CEM is highly recommended as we have limited access to braking force due to regen-only restrictions.

(Recommended) Enable Slower and Stopped Lead activation under Conditional Experimental Mode (FrogPilot>Gas/Brake)
Enable the on-screen distance button widget under Accessibility settings.
Optional: A macropad accessory is available to adjust driving personality without touching the screen. It costs around $25 and requires minor tinkering. Reach out in the FrogPilot Discord for details.

5. Have the right expectations and be safe

In normal chill highway driving, the Comma is quite reliable, but like any driver assistance system, always pay full attention to what’s going on and be ready to take over.

To learn more about FrogPilot, check out the wiki.