I was thinking about putting a programmable distributorless ECM (such as the TEC3) in my 86 383 stroker. I was wondering if anybody has made the switch and if so what kind of inceased performance did you notice.
I have been told that you can get three or four tenths of a second in the quarter and increase you gas milage by 15% to 20% on the road.
Also, it appears as though the parts will be somwhere around $2500.00. is that correct? What are your thoughts

 

you might see an improvement, a lot depends on what you already have.

If you are running a modified 86 computer, you will see an improvement, if only because of increased computing power and the ability to tune for the track and for the street independantly.

Useability? be ready to buy a laptop - you don't need a fancy new one, but something nice, Win 98 or so. You can pick up a clean used one like that from local government auctions or ebay. Pentium 2 or so...

After you buy the laptop, get ready to make mistakes... it ain't gonna happen in 15 minutes. you will need dyno time to make both programs. And if you do auto crosses, a 3rd program might be needed.

 

That seems like the fun part, seeing how each adjustment changes the performance.

 

You might consider e-mailing "Ken" on the Corvette Action Center. He had installed an Electromotive TEC3 system in his 1987. Not sure about his gains, but after moving from the GM ECU to the FAST, I gained almost 30RWHP. FAST also makes a distributorless setup called the e-Dist. I'm not sure if that fits in with your application, but it might be something to look into.

Ron

 

I checked out the Tec3 , FAST and Gen VII. The Gen VII appears to be much less expensive. Do the other two ECM offer more features. They all sound like they do the same thing.
I am totally dissatisfied with the stock ECM with a custom chip. It just doesn't seem to handle the cam and 24# injectors.
I have plenty of computers and the programming shouldn't be a problem once I figure out which ECM and what the parameters are I need.
I couildn't find the FAST distributorless ignition system

 

Check the following URL for the FAST e-dist system, http://www.fuelairspark.com/Technical/CurrentCatalog/

The "newcomer" to the game of aftermarket EFI is John Meaney's Big Stuff 3. Here's a link to a distributor for that product. I can't actually find offical information from BigStuff. This system looks VERY impressive. Cost at this point is unknown, but call the shop in the link and see. I would be interested in knowing myself. In case you're not familiar with Meaney, he's basically "god of EFI" and owns a daily driven 1200HP 89 C4 Turbo. Here's the site, http://www.injection-connection.com/

Now, my opinion is that you can go with either FAST, DFI or BigStuff. These things generally get better as newer models come out. BigStuff3 is the latest and greatest. Accel was out with Gen7 about 2 years ago, and the FAST system is older than that. The other thing to look for is who can tune the car for you if you need help. You're going to find the most FAST and DFI tuners out there. If you plan to do it all yourself and don't mind the learning curve, then shop based on features and price. Don't forget to factor in the wiring harness that you'll need to interface or piggyback your aftermarket ECU into the GM one (you'll need to do this to keep all of your guages working). A good source for the harness is Mac McKenzie at Fast Track Performance, http://www.fasttrackperformance/ He can do the harness for Accel and FAST. Ask him about the BigStuff, he may be doing those now too.

I'm really not sure of your overall combo, but don't kid yourself. This is an expensive proposition, but can allow you to have a really radical setup that is VERY street driveable and docile in traffic.

If you decide to go with Accel, look up forum member tjwong. He's able to provide some good pricing for the system.

Good luck,

Ron

 

I will talk to Tjwong today and I will also call about the Big stuff3. I will let you know what I find out about the pricing on the BigStuff

 

If you want to just be able to easily program your stock ECM on the fly go to http://www.moates.net and look at his Autoprom. its great stuff for about $325.

 

Who has tuned your custom chip thus far? You might consider talking to Jim Smith who is in the Daytona area about doing some further dyno tuning on your setup before you make this large investment. Jim was an ex-GM calibration engineer and is now doing the tuning work for MORE Performance and SGC, among other high end tuners.

Ron

 

Haltech makes (made?) an ECU you could piggy back onto the stock one.

Looks like they're coming out with a direct replacement!

http://www.haltech.com/e6gmx.htm

 

any idea how I would get in touch with Jim Smith

 

Also try tjwong@qwest.net he is on the forum and quoted me an Accel DFI setup for my car at a great price.

 

Yea, at this point in time I am leaning towards the Gen 7, custom harness and new distribtor for tjwong. I spoke with him today and was very impressed

:flag

 

I don't have Jim's contact information, but if you IM forum member "luvmy92", he will be able to provide it.

Ron

 

Tom is a great asset to this forum and a good guy in general. Glad you guys were able to work something out.

Which distributor are you getting?

Ron

 

I think he recommended a dual with remoe coil but I can't remember the model

 

I spoke with the guys near Philly about the big stuff3, the price for the pro series which is for sequentil firing, with one wide band O2 sesor and harness was $2900. TJ Wong's prices on the Gen VII was best.
One advantage of the Big Stuff3 is they will be able handle two wide band O2 sensors shorly.
I am still leaning toward TJ. Thee Gen VII seems to do everytrhing I need.

 

Get it to Sarasota and we'll get you happy with the stock computer. What cam, heads, intake, exhaust?