I have an 86 Corvette with the L98. I need to install a new chip for the car to run properly. I have read many threads on buying a burned chip or buying a setup to do data logging and chip burning. I went to moates.net to look for a tool. Has anyone advice on the APU1 autoprom packagetool for $ 329. My head is spinning on what to do.
I have many mods to the engine now, which I'm guessing puts the HP at around 350 hp. Here is what my car has for modifications: heads: Trick Flow "Twisted Wedge" aluminum 2.02'/1.60", 9.7:1 comp. Cam: Crane .451"/.476", 204/214/110 degrees with 1.6:1 roller rockers. Intake: Edelbrock TPI 3860, SLP runners, port matched plenum and Holley 52mm throttle body, Bosch MAF with no screens or heat sink and smooth coupler, K&N filter with a cut open cover. Accel 30 lbs injectors, adjustable regulator and guage. Lingenfelter headers, hi flo cat, Flowmasters, crossover pipe. Hypertech chip and 160 stat. The tranny has a shift kit and rear gears are 3.73:1.
Thanks for any help. I apreciate it. Chaz.

 

..... I use the autoprom with Tuner Pro RT and I like it ... you WILL need a laptop with an extra capacity battery ... I datalog with Datamaster from Tuner Cat ... The Datamaster seems easier to re-plot the comparison graphs ... a scanner is very helpful ... and a Wide Band O2S is invaluable ...

..... All in all , I have around $1000 invested in tuning aids but the alternatives are : Find a knowledgeable local dyno tuner who can burn chips ... OR ... you can do mail order tuning with two week layups while chips and datalogs are mailed back and forth .....

..... Doing it yourself gives you the opportunity to do quantitative comparisons and trial and error adjustments very quickly ... and it leaves the tuning door open for future mods ......

..... The learning curve is HUGE ... help is intermittent ... and logging and reviewing data are very time consuming

..... Familiarize yourself with the DIY/EFI boards on www.thirdgen.org ... lots of information available , but you have to dig/search for it ...

..... GOOD LUCK .....

 

I respectfully disagree with using a chip at all. go to Moates.net and order an Ostrich, and get some good software. Forget about ever needing to burn chips again. Why use old technology when you can tune on the fly?

 

Hi all, I also need some assistance with my tune. i recently just bought a set of Bosch 3 design injectors for my '85 L98, and am ready to install my TPIS Bigmouth Manifold. I was wondering what recommendations you guys have for me. Anything helps

 

In the end (when you are done tuning) you still need to replace the Ostrich with a chip, so you remove the Ostrich and use it on other cars and clean up the installation.

 

That is probably the question, "Will you ever be done tuning?"

For many people you are just putting in the standard canned set of parts, then get a tune and say your done. Other people just keep changing things... I always used the stock ECM in my 93 with the old fashion PROM. It ran awesome on that too. But there was a lot of time into that tune using the crude tools available. With the old EPROM setup you more or less keep following this repeated loop:
- Drive and data log
- Go through the log, find lean and rich areas of your table.
- Take you best guess at better values based on the samples of data you looked at.
- Wait 20 minutes for the PROM to erase
- Burn new PROM.
- Put in car and try again.

Find out you did good here, could be better there and went the wrong way completely somewhere else. Then repeat and repeat and repeat....

How much you need to repeat depends on what sort of setup you have. Again with a canned set of basic parts, you can dial it in, if you have a pretty wild setup, it can take you a while.

With my LT1 setup I was younger and single, so I had a lot of time to burn many chips as the whether changed or I go the next parts, but when I went to the big block I started out with the stock ECM, but quickly saw that it was going to be back to the drawing board on the chip. But at that point I had the wife and 1st child, so there wasn't going to be the time it takes and I took the step over to an aftermarket controller. It is a different world, even then it was so much easier to get the car dialed in as you could tune as you drove down the road. Now many years later it has gotten a whole lot better yet.
Heck now when I make a change to the car, I fire up the laptop and it tunes it for me in a short drive with a couple blasts.

I still have the stock ECU in there to run the gauges but I can't imagine how many hours I have saved by leaving the engine to an aftermarket systems with really good software.

But as I said, it depends on what you are doing, I am not the norm with a 555 BBC solid roller motor, if you are just putting in the same cam and heads 1000 others have, you may not need the flexibility and technology.
The original poster looks like he is still going for a basic setup, but time will tell