I have a stock 85 tpi trans am and would like to start getting into prom tuning. I thought about getting a hypertech chip but then i realized that they're almost as expensive as tuning equipment is and are very plain jane, not to mention only for use on one vehicle and i plan on doing upgrades in the future anyway. So i am wondering what is everything i need to come from where i am now with nothing, to being able to start programing proms. i know i probably sound stupid lol

i saw willem prom programmers for 40 bucks. i would like to spend as little money as possible but i would like whichever program is the most user friendly... also the fact that i have an 85 makes a difference i guess? im confused with it all , so if someone could give me a clearcut path you would be a hero to me.

 

1985 is kind of an odd ball year.

You might want to consider an upgrade to the '165 ECM or '730 as they are much better supported and have a faster baud speed for better data collection which means easier tuning

Check this site for more info:
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/ecm_swap/

 

odd ball year? i get that the newer ecm's are faster, but id just like to do things like timing advance to run on 92 octane, turn off the speed limiter and some emissions things and try to coax a little more out of it. and be able to change it around and stuff. does the speed of the ecm really account for how well it can be tuned? Because an ecm sway is a lot for to do when the economy has left little to work with.

 

85 is one year only ECM for TPI F-bodies.

Did you read the website I linked you to?

If your car is stock, don't bother with trying to program the ECM. You shouldn't have a speed limiter, as far as I am aware that was only TBI and V-6 cars. You are complaining about not having a lot of money, why do you want to spent 20 cents more a gallon on gas for basically no gains?

 

i read the whole article and it seems like a lot of work. and i just took a look at my ecm and it doesnt have a burn off module attatched to it like the one in the article you sent me. its just a plain module. and i am sure its an 85.

But you dont think tuning it is worth it? i just dont get how tuning the faster prom would be worth it but tuning the slower prom isnt. The 86 tpi trans am didnt make any more power than the 85, did it?

 

For a stock car, tuning isn't worth it with either ECM.

For tuning an 85 you will get a "point" of data every ~1 second. With the new ECMs you will get a point of data every .1 second. When you are trying to tune something that only gives you data every 1 second but is adjusting things every tenth of a second you run into problems.

The 86 TPI actually made less power, but that was due to the "peanut" cam, not the ECM.

There is also the issue that support for the 165 ECM is HUGE, not so much for the 85 ECM.

 

Ahh, i get what you mean. yeah. But that's weird the third gen firebird tech data says the tpi in the 86 makes less horsepower than the 85. But that is what i planned on doing is putting in a better cam and removing the A.I.R. and cat. (michigan has no emissions testing) and i wanted to advance the timing to make a little more power. what would you suggest i do for this? leave the stock chip alone? go with a hypertech chip? try and tune my chip? or would i have to go and swap the ecm's out like in that article?

 

Doh, the 86 made less power, typo there that I will correct.

Depends on the cam... with the MAF system you can get away with some mods without tuning. That is the only thing you listed that might need tuning.

Removing the emissions is against Federal Law, so it is illegal if you state has testing or not.

I would never suggest the hypertech.

If you are going to get into the tuning, imho, the swap in the article will save you a lot of headaches in the long run.