I'm currently in the process of yanking the L98 out of my 1990 GTA to do a basic rebuild and, if funds allow, stroke it to 383. I have a StealthRam ready and plan to add a moderate cam, headers, etc. etc.

Because I will be using Speed Density, the car is obviously going to need alot of tuning from what I have read so far. Since, I have absolutely zero experience and do not currently own any chip burning hardware, is the Ostrich the best way to go? I'm anticipating alot of trial and error, and from what I have read about the Ostrich, it allows "change on the fly" without having to burn chip after chip. So, is the Ostrich right for me or would it be like handing a chainsaw to a wild monkey?

 

I'm using the APU1 from Moates along with the TunerPro RT software. I've heard of issues with the ostrich losing its memory and the car then won't start, like it has no chip at all.

I am using the APU1 because I can emulate just like the ostrich, I can datalog, and when I'm done, I burn a chip and remove all my tuning equipment from the car. I felt this was the most reliable way to do things. I'll never have to worry about the ostrich going on the fritz. I can return my car to "stock" when I'm done tuning and don't have to worry about the chip forgetting it's tune.

Plus I can use my equipment on other cars which I plan on doing.

I also recommend getting a wideband O2 sensor, for me it made all the difference in the world...

 

I have the Ostrich 2.0 and am very satisfied with it. From what I've heard the "loosing memory" problem was associated with the first version of the Ostrich. I haven't had mine for very long but so far it's been working perfectly.

If you already have an ALDL cable I would recommend getting the Ostrich 2.0, since it's cheaper, and then later on buy an EPROM burner if you really want to make your own chips instead of having the Ostrich plugged in. If you do not have the ALDL cable the APU1 might be a better buy (although I have no personal experience). The Ostrich easily fits on top of your ECM behind the panel. I attached mine with velcro.
Don't make the same mistake I did and buy a cheap ALDL cable, get one that works.

Both the APU1 and Ostrich allow you to tune on the fly so there is really no difference there. It's only a matter of what equipment you need and how much you want to spend up front.

 

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

Any more thoughts on the Ostrich I'am thinking
about buying one also

 

i have an early style one, works great and hasnt lost its memory yet.

 

I have a 1227727 ECM, so it's under the hood, anyone know
about the bluetooth where you have no cabling to the ecm

 

Mine sometimes sits 3 months between race meetings ; no loss.

 

The Bluetooth is so you do not need a cable to your computer. You still need a cable from the Ostrich to the ECM.

 

true
----------
true

however i have the 2.0 ver and it will loose memory... but i know how! and why it does this...

its software related.


for instance, if you make changes to the .bin, and save the table/constant... yes it just saved that table change, but it did not save/update the .bin. (note the * in the window titles) {tunerproRT}

thus you must save the .bin again as well...

thus making you save (2) twice...
then you may proceed to upload the saved .bin

Ive NOTICED>

when you only save (1) once and upload the .bin.... (errors) the pcm will think its no chip... (thus the people saying they lost memory)

it must be saved (2) to update the checksum.

other than that, my ostrich works just fine!

note:
switching between emulating and just storing the bin files, always make sure you save twice (2) and upload the current.bin when emulating is finished.

also a batt reset is necessary at times of mem loss...

trust me i was pissed when i couldnt get my chips/ostrich working.. or when it lost memory out of the blue! now it never does.


but i am going to get a chip burner and throw the chip in when i get the tune perfect.

ill post pics of my install later.

 

Thanks Tbi-Max, thats good info to have

 

no prob man, its been the best $ ive spent on the truck. its fun tuning, but i still need help to get it perfect, trust me its easy to get going and moving... but fine tuning it is what is tougher. each combo is diff... so far my tune now is way better than my last dyno tune. but its the small stuff you have to keep tweaking.

this is my pass glovebox, where my 7427 pcm is mounted, my ostrich sits on top of the box, and tucked into the corner. i close the glove box, and you dont know anything.

 

How can I use it without the cable on the outside of the car