I have been building an 87 IROC with a 383 stroker and HSR. I am down to tuning and am just stumped. What is the easiest way to go about it and what would someone expect to spend. Also can i start and break in my engine without tuning it first. I have done a lot of work on older cars but none that were EFI. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

 

Theres a handful of threads at the top of this forum that say "sticky".

Please read those and /then/ ask questions. This has been covered over and over and over again...

 

You will need a base tune thats close enough to do break in, as in few soft miles on the motor with a few heat cycles. But to truly break the motor in, after a few soft miles you need to start ramping into the throttle and doing some loaded pulls. Letting off in gear, let the engine coast itself back down...engine breaking. This puts vacuum in the crankcase and helps set the rings better. The loaded pulls increase in rpm and load til you eventually are doing fuel throttle runs. To do that you need to work on the tune while you break in the motor. Dont run it too rich or it will wash the cylinders down and hurt the ring seal. Too lean is not safe either if you have too much timing. It can detonate.

So its a process that goes hand in hand. Since not alot of people locally tune these cars anymore, it really does require the owner to take up tuning on their own. Building the motor is the easy part, getting it running and tuned up is the hard part but also most important.