Ok, my car runs great, no CEL, no sputtering, and no funny quirks. I do have a few issues that can only be resolved by programming. It is a 96 OBDII PCM from an F-body.

I had the 96 PCM programmed to remove the usual stuff like VATS, EGR, rear O2's, EVAP, M6 stuff, etc. I also asked for a performance tune and gave the stuff I had done or removed from the motor. They adjusted the fans for the 160 stat. They also adjusted the speedo output.

Here is what I got now:

-The fans (high and low) come on too soon and dont shut off even when the temp is at the 160 line.
-The car runs super rich once it warms up, but it is less rich when cold (smells like at least). I think it is causing a drop in fuel economy as I am only getting 17.5 in the city.
-The PCM is programmed for 3.23 gears since that is what I had when I put it together, but I now have 4.10 gears and want to get it right before I decide on a speedo.

I am not sure what course of action I need to take. Do I need to convert to OBDI and learn to tune, keep OBDII and get the super expensive program, pay to mail it off again, or wait until I move to NC and get it tuned up there (expensive as well).

Oh, I am waaayyy past my budget, so which would be the most economical?

 

Do you plan on tweaking it ever again after this next tune?

 

Yes, the car will need a tune in the future. I plan on doing a LE or AI head/cam swap, 1.6RR's, and a 58mm TB with a ported intake. I am sure that is quite far in the future (like a year or two).

I want to learn how to tune, but this is my DD, I have nothing else to drive, so if I screw it up, I am screwed.

I did read somewhere that I had to swap out my O2's for a different PN to go OBDI, is that true? I just bought two new ones for my OBDII PCM.

I got the fans running solely off of the PCM now and the low speed kicks on at like 130 ish. The high speed fans kicked on when the upper rad hose hit 160 and it never got cool enough to go back to low speed. The temp gauge was reading half way between 160 and 0 and the high speed was on. Is that going to cause any issues?

 

Ok, I havent gotten much feedback on this. Do I need to post it somewhere else?

Either way here is some more information:

I spoke to the place I sent my PCM to and they said that they only deleted the emissions stuff and VATS. They didnt touch the programming.

I hooked up a scan tool to it to look at the data stream and found several things of concern.

1st, The coolant temp gauge reads about 160* or less when warmed up and both fans running all the time. This seems to go along with my manual hose temp readings when warm which are about 155ish. The PCM however is seeing temps 180* plus. So there is over a 20* disparity between the gauge and the PCM. Where is the fault in this? Is this a PCM coolant temp sensor or a gauge problem?

2nd, The car runs fat as stated. It has new o2's and they seem kinda lazy compared to o2's I have graphed in the past. They are also staying on the high side and bouncing from about .300v to .850v even when revving to 2000 rpm for about 30 seconds (plenty enough time for them to warm up, speed up, and switch from one extreme to another).

3rd, The car is subtracting fuel on both the long term fuel trim and the short term fuel trim. (Still smells really fat when warm)

4th, The PCM is still commanding both fans to be on at 180* and the car will not get any cooler since the T-stat is closing up. I am running a 160* stat in it and when I replaced it I pulled a 160* stat out.

Is there a chance that the previous owner of this drivetrain and PCM had this thing mail order tuned or something?

Should I get another PCM and have it tuned?

Or should I save up and get the software to tune my OBDII PCM?

Should I ditch the 96 PCM and get a 95 PCM?