87 Corvette ECM tuning
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1st Gear
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 1
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87 Corvette ECM tuning
Hey guys I'm not super intelligent in the motor aspects of cars and had my 87 corvette motor bored out to a 383 stroker and was also informed I need to get my ecm tuned. The problem is I can't find anywhere around me in Iowa that does it. I'm looking for somewhere I can mail it into to have it tuned any advice/help would be much appreciated.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,432
Likes: 3,285
From: Hartford WI
Hey guys I'm not super intelligent in the motor aspects of cars and had my 87 corvette motor bored out to a 383 stroker and was also informed I need to get my ecm tuned. The problem is I can't find anywhere around me in Iowa that does it. I'm looking for somewhere I can mail it into to have it tuned any advice/help would be much appreciated.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 321
Likes: 2
From: Auburndale FL
PCM of NC
Hi,
I have an 87 Ragtop which I did a 383 with a lot of work and had a custom chip burned by PCM of NC.
http://www.pcmofnc.com/
I did end up sending it back a couple of times to get everything the way I wanted it. But if you don't have the access to a local tuner they seemed to work for me.
I have an 87 Ragtop which I did a 383 with a lot of work and had a custom chip burned by PCM of NC.
http://www.pcmofnc.com/
I did end up sending it back a couple of times to get everything the way I wanted it. But if you don't have the access to a local tuner they seemed to work for me.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,432
Likes: 3,285
From: Hartford WI
Hi,
I have an 87 Ragtop which I did a 383 with a lot of work and had a custom chip burned by PCM of NC.
http://www.pcmofnc.com/
I did end up sending it back a couple of times to get everything the way I wanted it. But if you don't have the access to a local tuner they seemed to work for me.
I have an 87 Ragtop which I did a 383 with a lot of work and had a custom chip burned by PCM of NC.
http://www.pcmofnc.com/
I did end up sending it back a couple of times to get everything the way I wanted it. But if you don't have the access to a local tuner they seemed to work for me.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 62,146
Likes: 1,730
From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
My thoughts are to find someone as close as you can, even if you have to go all over the state or near Chicago or another state, because you will want to let them actually have the car to do it right. It needs to go on a Dyno to get the WOT tune right, then they actually have to drive it around some to get everything else right.
But if that is absolutely not feasible, go with an experienced tuner for a mail order, like Ed Wright, and you will need to get some tuning software like DataMaster or something that will let you record engine data and send back to him to get it right.
But if that is absolutely not feasible, go with an experienced tuner for a mail order, like Ed Wright, and you will need to get some tuning software like DataMaster or something that will let you record engine data and send back to him to get it right.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,432
Likes: 3,285
From: Hartford WI
My thoughts are to find someone as close as you can, even if you have to go all over the state or near Chicago or another state, because you will want to let them actually have the car to do it right. It needs to go on a Dyno to get the WOT tune right, then they actually have to drive it around some to get everything else right.
But if that is absolutely not feasible, go with an experienced tuner for a mail order, like Ed Wright, and you will need to get some tuning software like DataMaster or something that will let you record engine data and send back to him to get it right.
But if that is absolutely not feasible, go with an experienced tuner for a mail order, like Ed Wright, and you will need to get some tuning software like DataMaster or something that will let you record engine data and send back to him to get it right.
Eons ago, Jim Formato was an option. IIRC, after his death, it became something Eileen and Jeremy ran. Jim would send me to a Accel EMIC facility that they worked with before to do the datalogging or lend me Diacom. In the old days, it was us sending him the chip or getting the center to burn it, etc. IMO, if you do it without data logging, you are guessing based on the customer's SOTP feeling which is highly dubious. As said before, I'd be leaving something on the table since I don't want to push the limits without having the car in front of me, so to speak.
Last edited by aklim; Dec 30, 2016 at 01:35 PM.
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 321
Likes: 2
From: Auburndale FL
But ultimately after the last iteration (total of 3) the car seemed to run pretty good, that was a couple years ago now.
I think the key for me though, I was very specific about everything I did to my car. From cam specs, to wheel size, to rear end gearing. I didn't leave anything out, I also stressed to them I had an extreme port on my TPI base and ASM runners with 58 MM TB.
Anyway I finally put my car in the shop for some head work and potentially a new ECU, so will get a professional tune now, will see how that goes.
But generally speaking the mail order tune was enough to get the car running, then a couple of mild updates seems to work for me.
Last edited by beerme; Dec 31, 2016 at 09:08 AM.
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Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,432
Likes: 3,285
From: Hartford WI
Great question, no I didn't data log, I have cable issues. I was doing little things over a period of time, (eg. change rear end gears, change injectors, etc.) So what I did was to buy two chips with different configurations, I would drive the car decide if I liked something or not.
But ultimately after the last iteration (total of 3) the car seemed to run pretty good, that was a couple years ago now.
I think the key for me though, I was very specific about everything I did to my car. From cam specs, to wheel size, to rear end gearing. I didn't leave anything out, I also stressed to them I had an extreme port on my TPI base and ASM runners with 58 MM TB.
Anyway I finally put my car in the shop for some head work and potentially a new ECU, so will get a professional tune now, will see how that goes.
But generally speaking the mail order tune was enough to get the car running, then a couple of mild updates seems to work for me.
But ultimately after the last iteration (total of 3) the car seemed to run pretty good, that was a couple years ago now.
I think the key for me though, I was very specific about everything I did to my car. From cam specs, to wheel size, to rear end gearing. I didn't leave anything out, I also stressed to them I had an extreme port on my TPI base and ASM runners with 58 MM TB.
Anyway I finally put my car in the shop for some head work and potentially a new ECU, so will get a professional tune now, will see how that goes.
But generally speaking the mail order tune was enough to get the car running, then a couple of mild updates seems to work for me.
Mail order tunes will usually be good enough to get things going. I, OTOH, tend to be more **** about getting it spot on and less tolerant of "per the SOTP dyno, it is ok" which is why I would never recommend mail order tunes unless they datalog and fine tune it. While it runs, my standard is that it is optimized. Kinda another reason why I will never have a carb when EFI is affordable. IMO, 3 choices exist. They either will strike gold and get it right the first time (highly improbable), push it hard enough that it creates an unnecessary risk at some points or more commonly, leave stuff on the table for safety sake.