I just installed a thermomaster chip and 160 degree powerstat in my 87 Trans am 5.0 TPI auto, the car is running fine but its idleing at a lower rpm than it was was before. Just wondering what would be the cause of that?

 

hey man i dont mean to rain on your parade or anything but throw that chip in the trash! put the factory one back in! i had a hypertech thermomaster chip in my car for the longest time not relizing it (it was there when i bought it), and when it came to day i got it dyno tuned, i opened up the ecm and showed the tuner this chip and he said he coudnt tune over it (its access is blocked on bringing up the chip burner). then he said lets go ahead and make a pull and see how well the chip performs. i did it, and it wasnt that great. he told me to go get a stock chip, then he could tune over it. well i got one from my buddies iroc and let me use it. the next day i went with the stock chip in, it pulled 20 hp MORE than when i had the hypertech in it. and yes i had the mods (listed in sig). so the hypertech UNDER performed the FACTORY chip. (then i made 20 or so more after tuning over the stock chip)

 

YES THE HYPERCRAP CHIP SUCKS!!!

I had it for awhile caused ALL KINDS of problems with idle, temps, etc... Although I went back to the stock chip I got it custom burned to accomodate the mods on my car (no egr, no 9th injector, no AIR, rpm limiter, no speed limiter, etc.)

Like everyone on here says, learn how to tune yourself or get someone to custom tune it... Either way comes out almost the same but when you tune it yourself (tough to learn that) then you can really squeeze the most out of the TPI..

l8tr

 

What is it idling at?

 

I also had the Hypertech chip, and I never had any issues. The biggest issue is that quite frankly, it's just not much different. Certainly not worth the money. ...but SOOO many of us have them from a previous owner etc. etc. Most all of us would say it ran a touch better, or maybe it felt a little fast at WOT.

Not saying you should go out and buy one, but if it's causing anyone problems, or running WORSE, then something else is wrong. NOT the "chip".

 

Is ADS any better ? Thats what I always used. Never had any issues. I used it after installing TFS heads, Lingenfelter 219 cam, and a super ram on my 87 GTA. Never got it dyno'd. I outran a 89 vette on top speed with it. So I assumed it helped. Anyone know for sure ?

 

yeah i agree, its only because i didnt even know i had a hypertech in my car when i baught it. i drove it around for 3 and half years with it and no it didnt cause any problems at all. its just when i did find out i had it, and couldnt tune over it, the stock chip out performed the hypertech by a mile!! so ignorance of having the chip made it seem like nothing was wrong, when in fact there WAS--(less performance) lol

 

Regardless of anyone's individual experience, "most" of us won't see any problems with off the shelf chips, and we won't see a DROP in performance.

With regards to the benefit of an off the shelf chip, think of it this way: Not only does the chip have to stay warranty friendly, economy friendly, and gawd forbid, SAFE for the engine, it also has to accomodate EVERYONE that may buy it. Two different people may want two different things, so there's a compromise. THEN.... keep in mind that on top of all that, it CAN'T be specifically tuned for an individual. Two mechanically identical cars can use the same tune, but one IS gonna run better than the other. No two are EXACT.

Years ago, back before we all had message boards and internet access, most of us didn't even KNOW about tuning our EFI cars, let alone where to get it done. The idea of an off the shelf tune that would yield a few HP was a GREAT thing!!!!!! Looking at these chips in todays world, it's easy to rip on 'em for not being worth it, but it was just a mod from a different time, that's just no longer worthwhile. Keep in mind, just a few years ago, home tuners had to physically tune, program and burn, then install EACH chip. Now it's all done real time AS you drive the car. It's just technology moving forward.

 

I started my project back in 2000. First, I researched alot the internet made that very easy. When it came to tuning I realized that I could depend on others who do it for a living, or do it myself again with the internet at hand and taking the time to find what I needed I decided on just three pieces of equipment and a LapTop.
I bought a Moates Gen1 Memory Adapter, Moates OBD1 ALDL interface, and Transtronics' Pocket Romulator and piggybacked it to the ECM, purchased a copy of TunerCat and a 6E definition and later up dated it to realtime. Downloaded an ARAP.bin file. I changed the basic stuff I needed to get the motor running like VATS, Injectors Size, etc.
Since then I have never bought a chip, or paid to have one burned. This allowed me to make changes and immediately see the results. Saved the mods to bin files for the ones I thought I might want to use again. Now I use TunerProRT realtime. Chip burning just seemed too much wasted time when emulating is so much easier, at least for me it is.

 

The only thing Hypertech I like is the air charger. I have a custom chip for my car but it took along time to get it just right for my ride so that it didn't interfere with anything else, like the temp for example.

 

just wondering.. i have a 305 tpi 87 camaro with a mild exhaust upgrade, and k & n air filters.. wondering if a hypertech chip would help with a near stock car? just want a little more hp.. or if someone can burn a chip for me for my application..

 

Can you recommend any web sites or books that would help me learn to do all this on my 91?