I'm a newbie at this chip burning stuff! Heck, I don't even have the equipment...YET! However, I'm going to start my 383 Stroker TPI engine soon and I've faced the fact that I'm going to have to use a custom EPROM!! My question I guess is this.....once I start reading and learning how to burn a chip, how long will it take before a "newbie" like me will be able to burn my first chip??

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1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear
Completely Stock
Soon to upgrade to a 383 stroker w/TPI, Hedman Shorty Headers, 64cc Pocket Ported Worlds Product Sportsman-II heads, ported intake, comp cam, TPI air foil, Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator, possibly bigger injectors!
Current project: Keeping my car running until I get the money for the above mentioned project! :-)

 

Isn't that a question you should ask yourself ? That's like asking how long before I learn how to fly a plane. It depends on how much time you're gonna devote to it, how smart you are and how capable you are of learning new things. For me it took about a week or two.

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92 Z28 L98 350
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Ported stock heads, XR270HR-10 cam, TES headers, Crane AFPR, Flowmaster catback, MSD ignition components, #24 SVO injectors.
Best ET 13.3@107 mph
"Take that auto, drop it in first, hold the brakes, stomp the gas and grin from ear to ear! :-)
Click here to see my car at Truspeed.org

Check out TruSpeed at http://www.truspeed.org
Check out the Bin Archive at http://www.truspeed.org/bins.html

 

I just finished burning my first chip for my 383 TPI. Total time from initial research(Thanks, Traxion!) to buying the hardware, software, getting it all running and installing the new chip in the ecm took me about 4 weeks. That includes modifying the VE tables, spark tables, idle speed, etc. First pass looks real good, BLMs are very close and my timing is alot better. I had part throttle pinging because I eliminated the EGR system

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Dave Zelinka

 

Elapse time is irrelevant, as it depends how much time you can spend researching each day.

I would say that I spent about 10-20 hours researching...starting with Traxion's article, reading all the old posts on this board from the oldest to the most recent, going to EVERY LINK offered, and then downloading TunerCat and playing with my BIN while I waited for my UV eraser and burner to be sent.

And then, beyond the initial 10-20 hours, I would say I have spent an additional 40 hours "testing and playing" with revisions...trying not to specifically accomplish anything, but to test things to see their effect. Found some very interesting things in the process that I would have never known until I tested it and reviewed the effectc/results.

I am still learning (and will be learning for the rest of my life on all aspects of cars), but I am now at a state where I can share information on what I have discovered about eprom burning ... along with continue to learn.

But, it is the best investment you can ever make...and the only investment that NO ONE can ever take away from you....KNOWLEGDE!

 

Blade's reply about it taking 'a week or two' is very misleading. You can burn a chip in a day. You can learn how to make small changes in a week or two. But, to really know what you are doing is a consistent ongoing process. Experimentation is the key. Make changes, burn a new chip, test it and record info via Diacom or some other scan tool. Then, review the data and review your changes to the bin. Lather and repeat as necessary

NOTHING is better than research. Spend the time reading every single website in my article. Then, when you are done ... read them again. Then read them again. Then go to GMECM's website and download the archives. Read as much as you can handle. There's enough reading there to keep you busy for months on end. Research is where it is at. Experimentation follows on its heels. Depending on others without giving it your best effort sux the big one.

I've been doing this for awhile and there is no way that I would even come close to calling myself an expert.

Tim

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TRAXION's 1990 IROC-Z
Best Time = 12.244 @ 112.51mph (1.778 60' / 7.819@88.32mph in the 1/8)
All Natural. No Force. No Drugs. Stock Bottom End. Stock Body Panels.
Gunning for NA 11's with bigger cam, bigger stall, and bigger exhaust.
-=ICON Motorsports=-
Moderator: PROM board at thirdgen.org
Program your own PROMs. Read my article on how to do it!

 

Ditto.