hi there guys,
i wrang this guy here in australia local to me!
any way i asked him how much to do a custom chip for my 1991 L98 vette!
wait for it,the price will be about $1,200 aus dollars!,thats $900 u.s dollars!
i said to my self you have to be kidding!
he said he does real time chip programing on the engine /car dyno while the engine running!,
not static custom chips like thet do in the u.s.a he said!
mind you,he did say he used to work/live in the u.s.a!
ok so whats the go guys please!

how much is it going to cost me for a fully worked custom chip program please?

who does/sell these custom chips and who do you reccomend please?

is it neccesary do do the custom programing in real time running engine progrsaming please?

with a custom chip done will they take into account and program in
cam specs,head specs,160 degree thermo stat,intake type,all other mods like what exhaust it has running and othe rmods?

can you please give me any other info/help please r.e this!
i dont want to have to pay that much!

do you this guy is ripping me off or what?

he said to me corvettes tuning/custom chips are different to other cars!,
as in thats why it is so expensive to do!

will i have to send over my chip from australia or do some tuners sell a second hand one with the package?

ok guys thanks once again for your help,info,time!
cheers
glen
Australia

 

IMO, he is ripping you off. First off, the corvette, camaro, firebird, etc. are all the same. Now the 91 is somewhat like my 93 in the respect it has speed density. This makes tuning more difficult but if you find someone who understands them and knows what they are doing, it can be done. That was my first mistake, I used a tuner who didnt know crap about them, and I was ripped off for about $400.00 and a lot of time sending data back and forth etc. By the way, still waiting on a refund. Told me he would do it, I ask clarity on what refund would be and he has yet to respond. That was about 2 years ago.
But, you never said what your mods are. That can affect your ability to get a good mail order tune. If its not a real radical motor, then I believe you will have good luck with a mail order tune from someone such as www.pcmforless.com The way a real professional co. such as pcmforless works is, they have an extensive libary of many different tunes with many different combos. that have been dyno and street tested. From this, they will match what is close to your setup and then make small adjustments as needed to customize it to your car.
I can tell you from experience, see my signature, they nailed my combo first time. Idles great, and passes emissions. Latter, I did take it to them for a dyno tune, you know, always trying to get a little more, and they got me an additional 6 hp. But idle, part throttle, drivability issues etc, stayed the same.
You can do a search on them, and you will find they have one of the highest satisfaction rates out there. And I believe you will find them to be the most reasonable on pricing. It has been awhile since I got mine, but the adapter, and custom chip was less then $200.00 You do not have to send your old chip to them, they will mail you the adapter and new custom chip.
Good luck

 

Whoever he is Glen, he is fulla s##t mate.

Id give Ed Wright @ FastChip a go. Email me and ill give you the link mate.

 

I do real time tuning for chip cars also. moates autoprom. I charge 350-400 that includes the chip, adapter if needed, and the dyno time. Using the autoprom SAVES TIME! Which means you can tune them FASTER.
Get with Alvin at pcmforless.com He's probably the best around for the mail order tunes.
PS. As 93ragtop stated yours is SD. But that shouldnt be an issue if the tuner has a clue. It damn sure shouldnt make it any more expensive.

 

I contacted Craig Moates on Dyno tuning and dataloging my 86. He quoted me $400-$500. This is to datalog and tune the chip on a Dyno.

A mail order tune cost around $200. Enter your information/mods on the website build sheet and pay the fee. You will recieve a piggyback adapter.

This is US currency.

 

FASTCHIP did a good job for my Vette. You just list all your mods and they do the rest.

 

There are quite a few good tuners here on the forum. I bought a chip for my '85 from a guy who claims to really know Corvettes, it almost cost me an engine! I decided to go with ski_dwn_it here on the forum. I sent him the info about my car and he burnt the chip according to that and I couldn't believe the difference it made in my car not to mention that it wasn't going cause my engine to self-destruct.

 

I used a chip for a stock setup with a 160 t-stat from Ed Wright. It worked well. But there are 2 reasons I recommend pcmforless.

1. pcmforless has a better price.
2. pcmforless is a supporting vender of this forum.

By the way, pm me, if you want, on who I would not use and why.

 

For everyone that says they have a good run with one tuner, im sure there will be just as many that dont. Simply cause they are a supporting vendor is not a reason id use them. Tuning a car via email is never going to be an easy task and im sure they all do a good job. Im not going to say dont use or trust your recomendation, but since i know a few people that had excellent service and experience from Ed Wright, im recomending that service

 

hi there there,
thank you guys for your advice/help!
i had a feeling as soon as i mentioned "corvette" that the guy was thinking he must have money!
yeah rite i wish i had money!
iv got a good mind to ring him up say what a rip off!
so im glad i asked you guys first,thanks!
cheers
glen

 

On your car, I can't see the dyno tune being over $600US. Mail order is typically cheaper, from $250-$350US, from a good tuner.

No point in calling to bash him from a quote you don't like, just move on.

 

Its a waste of a phone call. It didnt suprize me when i saw the quoted figure though, a guy i work with paid a simular amount for a chip to go in his 300ZX.

 

Because few down here do it and because it is a "black art" they can charge what they like.

Basic price is A$500 for VATS delete, fans, mild perf mods on a MAF setup which can be done straight off the top of the head by someone who knows their stuff.
Real time also incurs cost of running dyno.

Ask a LS1 owner or ricer what it costs for a custom chip

 

I know what it costs. And i know that people are stupid enough to pay it too. (youd need rocks in your head to pay $500 for a VATS delete wouldnt ya)

Ill do VATS delete and fan temp changes free if people want to email me their .bin files or bring the car here to me. (if they have the definition file)

In fact if they have a 94 or 95 LT1 car ill tune it here for a bottle of Chivas Regal.

 

DO you ever think about just doing it yourself. All the gear that you need to burn a chip and datalog the car is easily available from Craig Moates. Just rent the dyno or do it on the open road and it would save you a bunch of cash.

 

sxyvet, if your willing to learn, you could greatly benifit from doing your own tuning. Change what you want...when you want.

 

Yep, youll figure it all out pretty quick if you get a few people to point you in the right direction.