http://www.tbichips.com

Are these any good???

 

Looked at his site and he seems very knowledgable and forthright. Maybe he would be willing to put you in touch with a few satisfied customers?

 

I will let you know. I am buying a chip from him for my 90 Firebird that I am dropping an LO5 in. I have had very good correspondence with him, and he seems very knowledgable. I should be putting his chip in with my new 350 next weekend, just in time for the Bristol Bash.

 

Do a search with the name brharris on the DIY-PROM board. That's the guy who does those chips. You can draw you're own conclusions.

 

brharris27370 is actually the screen name

Find his mods and what times does he run. That would be a good way to know.

*sits back and waits for automated response about burning your own proms*

 

Well I wasn't going to postt anything in but it looks like I won't be able to avoid it since hectorsn posted my screen name.

1. I don't advertise on this site so I have not pushed any chips on anyone. I have even recommended that people remove their responses about my site in their posts do to the "must burn your own chips" people.

2. Should you burn your own chip. Hell yeah. Provided that you want to pay $400 for the equipment and software. Oh and spend 8-12 months figuring how to use it. I have spent the last year practicing on my car and some of the cars in my area where I could get data and make accurate adjustment.

3. I do this only as a hobby to pay for my Camaro mods. Still have a long way to go just to catch up. I recommend to everyone that has done more than bolt ons to at least setup a WINALDL computer to provide me data to go on so that I am not just guessing out there.

4. From the chips I have sold I have provided a LOT of TBI help. I found that a lot of people jumped in and swapped in a 350 with a big carb cam in it and then couldn't get it to run worth anything with stock 305 injectors. I spend several hours a day answering questions about why their car isn't running right and I try to help them get the car to at least run decent before selling them a chip.

So do I burn chips? yes. Am I the most knowledgeable? Hell no. I would be an idiot if I said I was. Does Aaron know more about chip burning than I? Probably. Do I provide a decent chip for reasonable money? I like to think so. I work with everyone to try to give them the most bang for the buck and to put TBI out there on top. I can provide references if someone desires and I will return anyones money if their car runs worse than it did before.

I am sure I will get flack about this post but I knew it would happen eventually. I am not trying to get rich off of someone elses knowledge. Just trying to be responsible and pay cash for my Camaro mods. If I have offended or pissed someone off, I apologize.

 

Oh and lastly, my Camaro runs 15.2 with just the stuff in signature and my 92 Fullsize Chevy truck 350 5spd ran a 14.5 NA and 13.4 with 8 psi boost. I don't run much at the track anymore after tearing the rear out of the truck TWICE. I traded truck for the 99 Trans Am which will hopefully make the same time as the boosted truck but a little more reliably.

 

i still believe that a custom prom has to be burned from data logging and then adjusted from follow up data. if you have access to a computer with win aldl you have the most important part of what it takes to get a correct chip.
from there it is usually easy to find soemone who has experience and equipment to burn a prom for you on the cheap.
considering how many of the peopel here or their friends have a lap top they can use and that the win aldl software and cable are so cheap, i don't think anyoen really has an excuse not to get a good data based prom.

later
tim

 

WINALDL is the best tool ever for the TBI owners. Although it is provided for free, I recommend a paypal donation to help those guys out that have provided such a wonderful tool.

 

Well I would hope that you weren't expecting not to answer any question about your product ever. You set up a business, you have to take responsibility and shouldn't be secretive about it. Personally, I don't have a problem with what you are doing especially since you aren't charging a whole lot for the product. It's just that because people have been coming around the DIY_EFI community and picking everyones' brains for free and then turning around and making a profit off of it that the community has been degrading to the point where no one wants to help out anymore. That's what bothers me. Notice how Grumpy is gone? So if you want to make money off of your product, you shouldn't expect to get free help. Tell you what, why not send Dirk and the guy in charge of the DIY_EFI list some money to help them out with their costs for their websites. Maybe send JoBy some cash every time you use his product to make some cash. You know what, don't do any of these things because the people who bring you all these things for free aren't doing it for the money so they would probably be insulted when you explain to them why you're sending them money. And you can drop the whole thing of "using chip burning to help out with my hobby" routine. You had a boosted truck and now you have a 99 TA and I've seen your crib on your home page. I'd say you're doing just fine without the chip burning profits.

 

Hey, I thought people wrote that he was very responsive to emails.


Personally, I don't have a problem with what you are doing especially since you aren't charging a whole lot for the product.

Ok, then.


It's just that because people have been coming around the DIY_EFI community and picking everyones' brains for free and then turning around and making a profit off of it that the community has been degrading to the point where no one wants to help out anymore.

Well, I am not sure that there is a real problem here.

Some people will share information freely without reserve, some with reserve, some not at all.

Many people that share on boards simply get burned out. I see people here with 5000-6000 posts over a two to three year span. That is a major investment in time. Also, having followed many lists myself, there is a tendency for many of the same questions to come up again and again and again and ...


That's what bothers me. Notice how Grumpy is gone? So if you want to make money off of your product, you shouldn't expect to get free help.

Damn.

You know, I got about 460 hits with brharris27370 as a search parameter and I read a bunch of them. He helps a lot of people out for free.

Are you looking for something like pure communism or what?


Tell you what, why not send Dirk and the guy in charge of the DIY_EFI list some money to help them out with their costs for their websites. Maybe send JoBy some cash every time you use his product to make some cash. You know what, don't do any of these things because the people who bring you all these things for free aren't doing it for the money so they would probably be insulted when you explain to them why you're sending them money.

Well, you can say they would be insulted but I think that's a real stretch. I am on a number of lists (privately run) and the owners solicit funds periodically. I know that they spend a lot more than they would ever receive (a lot of dot coms failed for just that reason). I used to run a BBS and it was the same story but I didn't ask for money (but would have been thrilled to get it).


And you can drop the whole thing of "using chip burning to help out with my hobby" routine. You had a boosted truck and now you have a 99 TA and I've seen your crib on your home page. I'd say you're doing just fine without the chip burning profits.


Hmmmm...

Not that I know his finances, but I know that I have a rather hefty mortgage on my nice "crib."

Before I went back to school, I made rather large payments on several cars, too.

And health insurance

And taxes

And utilities

And...

Well, I hope you get the picture.

You know, a lot of people are more than happy to pay people to do work they already know how and are quite able to do. A large slice of the economy, in fact. Maybe an economics course is in order?

 

Every bit of info about tuning eproms for TBI has roots from the www.diy-efi.org website. For those of you that arn't good with acronyms, www. stands for world wide web, efi. stands for electronic fuel injection, .org stands for organization, and least but most importantly, DIY stands for DO IT YOURSELF.
You can talk about it costing $400 or you can do it for less than $140 using Winbin, winaldl, and the pocketprogrammer. It will cost you over $400 if you go with the 8 in 1 eeprom from Craig, use TunerCat (because you like the interface better), and then get convinced that you need a fast laptop when in reality all it takes is a machine that'll run win95. Winaldl runs on a 486 66mhz Toshiba so take it or leave it now you know the truth.
Yes winbin still doesn't have an ecu file for the 8746 (f-body tbi ecm) but the hack is out there and I'm about to upload my version to the www.DIY-efi.org ftp site soon.
If you're car needs tuning and you want it to run good then go with a mail order (Brian, etc.), not off the shelf brands. If you need tuning and you want the best, spend the time and program your own eproms hence the whole DIY.
The point of thirdgen is to help people for free, if you've got a product and are ready to back up the price then do it, no problems.
I like the idea of guys NOT using fastchip and rather somebody on this board but I don't like it when there are members making a profit after only posting 200 some replies within 3 years while absorbing info that was free. This is a hobby, it's not a buisness. The more people start trying to make profit off of it and not having a legit company the harder it is going to be to trust anybody, probably why Grumpy left.

 

Jon, long time no see! not on AIM anymore dude?

 

If you don't see the problem now, then you won't see the problem when all of the people that have strived to make the DIY-EFI field get to where it is, leave. You want proof? Ask the Mustang boys how much they have to pay for their ecm tuners or MAF translators. Ask them if they have any free editors and such. Better yet, ask around and see how much a wide band o2 sensor is and then find out how much a DIY one would cost. Then think what would it be like if all those people responsible for the free things end up not sharing. Problem? No problem as long as you like spending money and contributing to the economy, like you say.


Hmm, do one for Traxion or Glenn91L98. Then ask them how much they've made of the DIY lists.

Quote:

Are you looking for something like pure communism or what?

It's not your fault because there's no way you could know but I'm Cuban. The word communism doesn't sit very well with me. And sharing info without profit is communism to you? In a real commi system (not the theoretical one) the only one that gains anything is the state. In the theoretical DIY community (not the real one, sadly), everyone gains info and no one profits economically.


That's why they have lists with subscriptions. Either you do it for free or you do it for profit, you can't have both.

No, I don't get the picture. You think you and harris are the only ones making monthly payments? And this entitles you to make money off of other peoples' help? You spend what you want to spend and don't lecture me about how you need to make enough to maintain it.

Well, let's see. I am an automobile mechanic. People come to the shop I work at all the time and get their cars fixed and pay for the service. You know who taught me how to work on cars? That's right, the people I worked for. And I paid them for their knowledge by sticking around so they could make money off me. I didn't get something for nothing.

And if you look back at my original post, I didn't say anything negative about his chips. The thread starter wanted to know more about his chips and asked the TBI board. I simply let him know who the guy is which I think he is most entitled to know and I am most entitled to tell.

 

Kevin:
Well, I am not sure that there is a real problem here.

Hectorsn:
If you don't see the problem now, then you won't see the problem when all of the people that have strived to make the DIY-EFI field get to where it is, leave. You want proof? Ask the Mustang boys how much they have to pay for their ecm tuners or MAF translators. Ask them if they have any free editors and such. Better yet, ask around and see how much a wide band o2 sensor is and then find out how much a DIY one would cost. Then think what would it be like if all those people responsible for the free things end up not sharing. Problem? No problem as long as you like spending money and contributing to the economy, like you say.

Kevin:
Oh. Your argument is that the, say, “Mustang boys” *used to have* an active DIY-EFI field and now they don’t *because* of people not freely sharing information (?).

I just want to make sure that I have your position correctly stated.

Kevin:
You know, I got about 460 hits with brharris27370 as a search parameter and I read a bunch of them. He helps a lot of people out for free.

Hectorsn:
Hmm, do one for Traxion or Glenn91L98. Then ask them how much they've made of the DIY lists.

Kevin:
Oh. So now you’re backpedaling after trying to dump the woes of the DIY world directly upon poor Brian.

*Other* people do this, but I don’t owe Brian an apology or anything. Right?

Kevin:
Are you looking for something like pure communism or what?

Hectorsn:
It's not your fault because there's no way you could know but I'm Cuban. The word communism doesn't sit very well with me. And sharing info without profit is communism to you? In a real commi system (not the theoretical one) the only one that gains anything is the state. In the theoretical DIY community (not the real one, sadly), everyone gains info and no one profits economically.

Kevin:
I apologize for using a personal or cultural trigger but that’s how I see it.

You want Brian NOT to make chips for other people but insist that they do it for themselves.

If Brian DOES make chips for other people, it should be for no-charge because he received the basic information and some of the tools at no charge. Brian’s time has no monetary value.

Oh. But YOU don’t mind your boss charging customers for a service that consumes your time, i.e. repairing their cars, and paying you for that time. Couldn’t you rather INSIST that he tell them to go to the Thirdgen board and learn how to repair their cars themselves? After all, the info here is freely offered and they could probably do it if they only bought the correct tools. A basic set would do for most things. Probably not more than $400 worth.

Hectorsn:
That's why they have lists with subscriptions. Either you do it for free or you do it for profit, you can't have both.

Kevin:
You missed the part about people that periodically ask for help financially but do not require it. It is not a dichotomy (either or) like you imagine. Oh, and many of the list-members have businesses and advertise and sell spare parts to other people on the list. Fancy that.

Hectorsn:
No, I don't get the picture. You think you and harris are the only ones making monthly payments? And this entitles you to make money off of other peoples' help?

Kevin:
You are correct. You don’t get the picture. Aren’t you still actually making money off the help you received from your initial employers as a mechanic? Isn’t that how you are supporting yourself?

Hectorsn:
…You spend what you want to spend and don't lecture me about how you need to make enough to maintain it.

Kevin:
AHEM!!

YOU were the one lecturing Brian, my friend.

“And you can drop the whole thing of "using chip burning to help out with my hobby" routine. You had a boosted truck and now you have a 99 TA and I've seen your crib on your home page. I'd say you're doing just fine without the chip burning profits.”


Kevin:
You know, a lot of people are more than happy to pay people to do work they already know how and are quite able to do. A large slice of the economy, in fact. Maybe an economics course is in order?

Hectorsn:
Well, let's see. I am an automobile mechanic. People come to the shop I work at all the time and get their cars fixed and pay for the service. You know who taught me how to work on cars? That's right, the people I worked for. And I paid them for their knowledge by sticking around so they could make money off me. I didn't get something for nothing.


Kevin:
Gee. We share having gone through a modern version of the apprenticeship/guild system. How ‘medieval’ for us both.

The whole problem is that you are overlooking your own statement, “People come to the shop I work at all the time and get their cars fixed and *pay for the service*.” (*My emphasis*).


Hectorsn:
…And if you look back at my original post, I didn't say anything negative about his chips. The thread starter wanted to know more about his chips and asked the TBI board. I simply let him know who the guy is which I think he is most entitled to know and I am most entitled to tell.

Kevin:
Entitlement, eh?

Ok, let’s have no more trigger-talk.

Jeesh! Let the guy make a few bucks in his spare time and help some people in the process. Not everyone wants to burn chips (no pun intended).

 

I have no problem ending this discussion as I think more than enough has been said. If people think they can pick others brains end have the right to profit from it, so be it. They won't be getting help from the most knowledgable people for too long before they figure it out.

 

About 10 years back, I was trying to figure out if an early Jag block would fit in my S1 XJ6. I called a Jag shop in Utah (I was there on business) and the owner said that the answer to that question would cost $25. I said I'd be right over.

He waited till I'd actually handed him my AX card and then told me he'd answer for free. He spent about 1/2 hour of his time showing me vintage blocks and why that wouldn't be a particularly good idea. $25 would have been a ***-send to avoid wasting my time and money on a pointless exercise.

I think you had better be willing to pay for at least some of the knowledge out there. It needs to work both ways.

 

A couple of weeks ago there was a person on this site that has spent the last few years trying to educate people on GM ECM's but he is no longer on the list anymore because among other things, people just kept trying to turn a profit from his free labor. Keep up the attitude and more like him will drop out.

And BTW, saying that all you need to do most things on a car is a basic set of $400 tools to do the things I do is insulting and ignorant. Nothing more.

 

Whoooshhh!!!!

Buzz cut, there.

"2. Should you burn your own chip. Hell yeah. Provided that you want to pay $400 for the equipment and software."

Think about it...

 

You really are ignorant. In the post, you were talking about fixing cars and all you would need is a basic set of tools at $400. What he is referring to is chip burning equipment. One has nothing to do with the other.

 

Look up the word 'sarcasm'.

 

I bet I can pee farther than both of you guys....

This got started because of BHarris's chips. I appreciate the fact that he is doing what he is doing. He is providing a service I need at a VERY reasonable price. He has the equipment to do the chip burning, I don't. He allows me to get into a reasonably well matched chip for my setup for at least $100 cheaper than if I did it myself. And hey... $100 buys a lot of beer...

I did not notice anyone else offering this, and got the impression that I should not ask for it either.