I dont watch all his videos. A couple weeks ago I saw one where he talking about keeping the stock ecm . I guess he did not make everything work . I expected him do the dash too.

 

Name does not inspire confidence

 

I have been enjoying my sloppy LS conversion , I really don't care about the fuel mileage indicator or what ever else that dropped off my digi dash. No sure why this has to be such a big issue, not everyone has to be on the same page. Heck you could put a hemi under the hood and it would work.

If you really wanted all the new car stuff but in an old car, its going to be alot more complex and $$$ costly. I prefer the big smile on my face each time I drive my car now. I rather put all that extra money into the engine, myself and keep the smiles coming.

 

That is exactly what I found out. I don't like non functional stuff so I'm running out the clock and get my smiles with something newer and more capable.

 

One thing I have found... Newer a d more capable doesn't mean more smiles. My mini and c4 are way more fun than my c6gs. Way more fun than the c7z I drove too. Not as fast, no, but more engaging and feels fun around town. The c6 just laughs at you on the street, and on the track, even good drivers can't really use most of what they can do.

 

No, it doesn't. I don't want a "sloppy" conversion, I want one that looks good and maintains the functionality of everything in the car. And I don't want to have to buy a later model Corvette with an LS engine already installed in it either. I don't like the C5 body style which means I would have to get a C6 and a decent one of those costs a lot more money than I want to spend. A C7 is completely out of the question because that costs way more money than I can afford. I really like the body style of the '91 to '96 C4 (mine is a '96) and I'm willing to spend a few grand (not including the cost of the engine of course) to do the conversion correctly.

 

I suspect that the cost to do the conversion right and engine would get you into a c6. Barely, with high miles, but still done. An LS3 is like 7k minimum, then the t56, the adaptors, electronics, labor.... It would add up. You could build a Really nice LT for that money, and run it on a newer pcm for tuning.

 

I have pre-ordered my new Samsung Galaxy for the last few years and changed them ASAP. That seems to bring way more smiles than the predecessor until it too becomes the predecessor. Sure, I can't use everything but I do enjoy the new tech. Pretty much seems that way with new guns, electronics and my house, etc, etc. IOW, I like my new toy until it becomes the old toy. "Out with the old, in with the new. You get old, we replace you too.". Only exceptions have been the wife and the dogs.

 

If you don't want a sloppy seconds conversion, you have to either go with a new one or pay dearly for it. As one of the shops asked me "Are you in love with the C4? If not, get something newer.".

For me, it's the newer toys and the ability to upgrade and buy stuff for it. Tired of hearing "Obsolete". Since I honestly don't care about how the body looks, I would take a C7 with a C4 body kit for all I would notice.

Not sure how much that "few grand" is but none of the shops I talked to would give me a hard limit and I don't want to be halfway done and they ask for more money because now I am behind the proverbial 8 ball.

 

A high mileage worn out C6 that will need another shitpile of money put into it to replace or rebuild everything that will be worn out on it isn't what I want. My 96 C4's (I have two of them, an LT1 car and an LT4 car) need nothing, they're in execllent mechanical condition. And I don't really need an expensive​ LS3, a nice LQ4 with a few mods will make lots of power while still remaining totally streetable. To make the gen 2 small block in the C4's make the kind of power that a mildly modified LQ4 will make will leave me with a rough idle race engine that won't be very streetable.

 

I do my own work which will save me thousands of dollars over having a shop do it. The only cost to me will be the cost of the engine and the parts needed to do the conversion. As to whether or not I'm in love with my C4 the answer is yes, I love my C4's which is why I would like to put an LS in one rather than buy a later model Vette with an LS.

 

A lot has changed in the last couple of years. He builds less cars, makes less videos, and spends more money on them.
All started around the time he was getting sponsored parts.

There are several people piggybacking the stock gen 4 ECU with the Holley Terminator X and keeping factory functionality on everything else, gauges and all.
I've seen the guys at Horsepower Factory in Houston doing it a lot lately as well.

 

Sure but there's not fundamental changes in those products, nor are there caps to how you can use them. If there was a cap that your battery could only last so long, or the screen could only be so big, or apps could only load so fast, things would be different. With cars, there are legal limitations to important performance metrics for the product. You can't use those crazy fast 0 to 60 times or top speeds legally except on a track. It'd be like if your phone would let you call, but you could only text in certain places that charge you hundreds of dollars per day to be there. Moreover, phones are a MUCH shorter lifecycle by design. They've got stuff built in to slow them down, roll out OS updates to slow them down, etc to encourage you to buy a new phone every year or two. That is already failing them as a business model, as consumers are rejecting that and keeping phones longer.

Obviously some people just like the feeling of "new", there's a gratification in getting something new. but I and several others have found the new cars aren't as fun to drive. If you just like to brag about them, gun it once in a while for a rush, they'll appeal to you. But if you like to take corners and get a rush, they're not that great.

 

Funny how that works isn't it? Guy gets some money and stops doing stuff as cheaply as before. Probably some hidden insight there...

Yeah, there's definitely options to do it, just a matter of having the knowledge and skills to do it. If you want to buy something plug & play to do it, that costs money. If you're willing to do development on your own, then you're just spending time, and if its a hobby it's "getting to enjoy time".

 

I mean, an LQ4 makes 300-330hp crank, so within what the LT1/4 make. Yes, there are plenty of options to upgrade that, but the same can be said for an LT. It all depends on what your power goals are. You can be at 400whp with bolt ons and an LE1 heads/cam package on an LT1, without a rough idle race cam (it will have some chop though). You can make 350rwhp with a totally stock sounding idle with a smaller cam and LE1 heads. That's a $1200 upgrade for a huge amount of horsepower.

Unless you're aiming for some 600+whp boosted nightmare, the LT is just as capable as the LS, and way cheaper. And it's not like the LT can't be boosted either, you can DEFINITELY put boost into an LT and make crazy power. Plus, the LT is a little lighter, and so if you want to maintain that corvette handling, that's a good thing. Sure, there's a displacement advantage, but that's not offset IMO by the huge expense of swapping the motor.

If w were talking L98 cars, things would be a little different. But the LT1 has a ton of potential and so there's really no need to swap it.

 

Problem is, most of the people I have checked with a few years back all tell me it is possible. They just don't know how much it will cost, hence the problem when you try to budget. I know how to budget for known costs. Black hole projects are much more difficult. Everyone says the dirty 3 letter word "can". Nobody wants to commit to a number so I can clearly make a decision to do or not.

 

Other than the aftermarket ECU, there should be very very very little additional cost associated with piggybacking.
Its been done for almost 30 years now. I'm not sure why so many people suddenly think its some uncharted territory.

I piggybacked my Neon SRT-4 with Megasquirt-II back in 2007 and daily drove it for years. Just bought a generic unterminated harness and tapped into the stock harness with it. No extra costs.

 

Did you have full functionality of everything? I asked for piggyback but they were NOT able to commit to a price other than to get it running. That was what broke my back on the estimate. They got a labor price to install the ECM and trans and motor to the point of running. ABS, FX3, DIC, etc, "time and materials" basis,assuming it is possible. Something about analog VS digital output? Not totally sure but once you come to unknowns, I get very skittish.

 

Yes, absolutely 100% functionality. I couldn't even tell the difference.

As far as gen 3 stuff:
Whats needed for the LS swap in the later LT corvettes would depend on what they need from the factory ECU to function.
The LS ECU (factory or aftermarket) will control all 8 coils and injectors, and will need MAP, Coolant, IAT, cam, crank, TPS.
MAF, O2 sensors, IAC are all optional.

You can get a 3 wire LS1 coolant temp sensor and splice it to where it needs to go for the factory C4 stuff to work.
You can use the factory LS oil pressure sensor, the ECU doesn't need it on the Gen 3 stuff. You can use your old oil temp sensor with an adapter
If you use your factory trans, nothing needs changed for the speedo to work.
Nothing needs to be changed for the fuel gauge. That leaves you with the tach, but there are a few ways to handle that one.

 

If that is the case for L98 I wonder why you make it sound simple but they are not willing to give me a firm number for the cost of the conversation other than saying it is cheaper to go with an LS car as opposed to making it a full functioning C4 with an LS engine