Anyone using an aftermarket ECM with TPI? Any recommendations on which is better and why? Are the worth it for a moded engine (heads, .575 lift cam, high flow intake, tc.)? Can we get them with a good base program for TPI? Just testing the waters. TIA

 

i have been trying to look for the same thing but the only thing i can locate is MegaSquirt and you have to make ur own harness

the whole setup is do-able for like 600 but i would prefer just and update ECM with technology from 2006 not 1987

 

I think FAST makes a setup. They are part of Comp Cams I believe. Also, Painless Performance makes one for TPI, LT*, and LS*. Check their web sites. I saw the Painless unit at the last streetrod nationals I went to.

 

A properly programmed factory computer will be just fine. Your money would be better spent elsewhere. For the latest, convert to the speed density and a computer from a 90 to 92 car. Also available on other GM cars.

 

Holley makes a plug and play 950 Commander unit for around $950..... That's the route i'll be eventually going...

 

As far as last year the Painless offerings were not tuneable. They were just a harness and ECM to make a stock TPI swap easy. They were working on a tuneable unit but don't know if they released it. I heard about the FAST but also heard it is very expensive. I though the 950 Commander was only for their Commander FI intake and not TPI. I guess I was wrong.
Anyone actualy using one of these (tuneable options)?

 

I mod'ed my '90 5.7L TPI so the factory programming was no longer usable (cam, injectors). Keeping the factory ECM, I went with TunerPro RT and now I have the Prominator (previously used Flash-n-burn). At this time, I think this is the most practical way (cheap & effective) because the free support for this is great.

 

i have a fully modded chip to all the stuff i have done, but its just the technology that i want to up date

i mean seriously that would be like typing on a commadore 64 or a old apple 2E----if you guys remember those

 

Aftermarket doesn't necessarily mean "new technology" in almost every situation (I used to work for an aftermarket EFI company, designing software, calibrating, etc...). A lot of it is just simplifying things so that any idiot can use them, but then your efforts get proven useless at each phone call.

Aftermarket typically means "compromised" but with bells and whistles.

Actually, I plan to make the ECU we designed at this company work on a TPI car when I get back to the states, and when I can get it working well, I might start selling them.

For now, I always recommend doing your own chips/emulating. It's about 1/5the price. The harness is there already. The support is on the DIY PROM board. There's a ton of people that have done it already.

Just have realistic expectations, though. Nothing can make a cam with 3 days of duration and 360 degrees of overlap work as a daily driver, not even magical fuel injection, especially in the hands of a novice. Nothing will scare you away from EFI faster either once you try. Also, a million dollar computer still won't make the wrong components big enough, or work better, or work perfectly out of the box.

If you have a carbed car that will only see strip time, and limited street, and you want people to see why you're broke, sure, put an aftermarket EFI on it, don't bother with the factory stuff in that case.

 

Hearing your comments I can guess that the stock setup should handle most street/strip combos. It is just that I see these other "tuners" on the Jap cars using aftermarket ECMs so I was wondering if they would be of benefit here and if anyone is using them for TPI. Thanks all for the replies