I am looking to have my prom reprogrammed for the 383 TPI that I am currently building. Where have you guys had yours done and how were the results?

 

I used PCM for Less for a base tune on my 383 build. It was only 75 bucks for a bin file to be emailed to me. Knowing what I know now I would have started from scratch but at the time I was still alittle new to the tuning game.

PCM did an ok job. It would start up on cold starts but wasnt so good on hot restarts. It drove just fine but WOT was way off as expected. Needed tons of fuel. idle was very choppy and erratic but expected based on my combination. I was just looking for a base starter bin and thats what I got.

You should look into getting the stuff or having someone personally come and tune it. Mail orders can only do so much.

 

I would like to be able to burn my own proms but I don't unsderstand how to do it. I just wanted to get a mail order tune to get by on. I would like to have it dyno tuned locally, but I don't know anybody around here that does it.

 

Not to be rude, but there is a specific forum section labeled DIY Prom. There's a BUNCH of guides and tutorials to read and follow, each more helpful than the last. Between that and reading through posts, it's easy to get the hang of.

As for tuning places, there's several around your area. I don't know the names off the top of my head, however, there are a few in Philly, 1 or 2 in North Jersey, I believe there were a couple in Southern NY State. Several in South Jersey as well.

Hell, maybe you could even give Jeff Evans a call and he could do you a custom job. He's more focused towards Imports, but settings are settings.

 

I have read through those forums, I just thought that with it being posted here, somebody who has had a prom burned for their tpi could tell me where they had it done and what the results were.

 

this is probably the best part of the boards to ask that question.
asking it in DIY PROM would be seen as prom "begging".

dyno tuning only does WOT.
to get a decent part throttle tune, it takes drive time at different throttle opening under different conditions.

no one understood how to tune a chip when they first started.
like most things, it takes time to learn.
but once you get the hang of it, it can be quite fun and rewarding, and somewhat addictive,....

 

This is one of the few things I am not too sure about for my build either. I did find somebody local that burns proms just by talking to people about getting my car painted. Would be easier to have somebody do it but if you change a part in the future, you have no clue how to properly tune your car. I'm leaning towards doing it myself just so I can take car of any future problems.

Have you checked out this site? Will take some money and time to learn but looks like a great product. Can be updated on the fly and has ability to switch between 4 different tunes.

http://www.dynamicefi.com/

 

We tune chips. You have to be careful with tunes, they are only as good as the feedback we can get from the owner. Some companies will throw you a chip, others will work with you.

Chips range from about $200-800 in the market. The primary difference is experience and how much time the tuner will spend with you. We charge $450 but we work with you until it's done.

 

Do you guys specialize in tuning TPI applications? How exactly would I work with you guys on the tuning, just get the chip back, drive the car, and tell you how it worked out?

 

Verbal communication is kinda useless IMO. You'd have to have datalogs to really understand what the motor is doing and where to make changes. Sure you can describe that it feels lazy or sounds lean, etc, but you will be going back and forth alot more making changes that may or may not have effect.

Datalog will show actual values. Car may feel like its running ok but may still be off with air fuel. Wont know until you log it.

Tuned one car that was running pig rich at WOT...10.3 ish air fuel ratio. Took out over 30% of fuel in PE mode vs Rpm to get it in the lower mid 12's to 1. Still needs fine tuned but so far at the track its picked up a good 4mph in the 1/8 mile and around 4 tenths so far.

 

What would I need to purchase to be able to datalog my car?

 

ALDL cable from moates.net for 80 bucks and tunerpro RT for 30. Then access to a laptop if you have one. else try to find an old one for cheap, you dont need/want a brand new one for tuning purposes.

 

So with these two pieces of equipment I can datalog and burn my own chips?
http://www.moates.net/tunerpro-rt-ve....html?cPath=33
http://www.moates.net/aldu1-and-cabl....html?cPath=97

 

those 2 with a laptop will let you data log. you also need the correct definition files to load into TunerPro for your system.
to burn a chip, you need a chip burner and some chips. you also need a way to safely install and remove the chips from your ECM.
for someone who wants to learn how to tune but doesn't have any of the hardware, i feel the AutoProm is the way to go.
add a chip adapter and a ZIF, and the AutoProm can do it all, data log, burn, real time emulation, and it comes with a license for TunerPro 4.


i noticed you have an 85 TPI Camaro. from the factory they used the 870 ECM. the 870 systems were almost ok back in 85, they were very trouble prone. also the data from that ECM is very slow, less than 1 frame per second. its not really that useful for tuning.
the 86 and newer thirdgens used the 165 ECM. they are much better computer systems and have better support in both parts availability and in the tuning community.
the data stream is also more than 10 times faster.
i would recommend upgrading to a later system.
with the mods you have listed, i don't think it would be too hard for you to make the change.
this site shows what needs to be done to upgrade to the newer 165 ECM,
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/%7Edavis/z28/ecm_swap/

 

Good point to bring up. I'd also upgrade to an 86-89 MAF and ecm and work with that for the 383 build. SHouldnt be a difficult swap and is a much better system to start with.

 

can I send a datalog file to somenone so they can see it using the same tuning program that I have, what format?

 

Ed wright at Fast Chip is a great tuner and very well know for his custom work. Was one of the first to do TPI custom chips.

http://www.fastchip.com/

TPI Specialites has done a lot of chips for 383's but they are pricey and not always that friendly.

 

I have switched over to the 86-89 '165 ecm already. I bought a 350 tpi prom for the new engine. How difficult should it be to get a good tune?
It's a 383 with AFR 195cc heads, 11.0:1compression ratio, 224/230 .566"/.569 lift, 112 LSA XFI cam. TPIS runners and Bigmouth intake and a 52mm TB. Would that be something I would be able to handle?

 

Yeah you should beable to handle that. Take an ARAP bin to start but change the timing table to somethin abit less aggressive...maybe borrow one from another fbody L98 code like AUJL or something.

Try that for now. You have a medium sized cam with 11 to 1 compression so its gonna be rather high on dynamic compression and cranking pressure, so it will probably want less timing than your typical 34-36 deg and definately 93 octane gas.

I think if you set it up to idle around 850 rpm, change the timing table, change the max airflow vs rpm table alittle, it should run pretty good out the box. Good enough to break in the motor with.

WOT is what may or may not be off. On stock motors after 5K rpm, most GM tunes go very rich atleast it did on my car and I tried both ARAP and AUJL. So with a bigger cam/heads setup that wants more fuel anyway, it tends to come out close sometimes. However on a heads/cam setup i'm helping tune I actually had to pull some fuel out.. about 16% at peak torque in PE vs RPM table and 7-8% at peak hp. There is a chance tho that the combo will be close with stock ARAP tune.
I have to compare those bins again but I think the upper MAF tables and open loop fueling tables allow for more enrichment compared to the other 350 bins.


For what its worth, my 383 stealth ram motor with a mildly cleaned up AUJL bin started and drove around just fine but WOT was way off as expected. It just had idle speed changed, base timing set and timin table modded as a starter bin and it was pretty close.

The only things you should need to really work on is idle rpm and maf table 1 to dial in idle fueling. The cruise rpms should be fairly close with the ARAP but just have to try it to see.



Are you keeping it a stick shift car or is this an auto now? If stick, you may want to search for the manual version of the ARAP bin. I helped tune a guy's 383 TPI setup for a vette. He had a starter bin with suggested changes I gave him as well as another tuner gave him, and it turned out ok at first but required a alittle bit of MAF table tweaking and PE mode tuning to get it 100% right. He sent the datalogs, and I made suggestions and we went back and forth a few times. Car seems to be running good, BLM's all in line. Similar setup to yours, I can see if he could share his BIN file for your setup

 

The car is staying a stick shift (TKO-600). That would be great if you could share that with me.

 

So this would work for what I need (datalog, and burn chips)? Where could I find a chip adapter and a zif if I need them?
http://www.moates.net/apu1-autoprom-....html?cPath=97

 

you can get everything you need from Craig Moates.
the AutoProm comes with a couple of chips, but i feel its best to have a few extras.

the chip adapter i got was this one,
http://www.moates.net/gp3-switcher-a....html?cPath=64
it comes with a chip and a ZIF and allows you to save multiple files to the larger chips and switch between the files. you can have up to 16 different bins on the 29F040 chip.
or you can burn just 1 file to the chip and set the adapter to pass through mode with no switching.
with multiple files, you can have 1 known good bin on it in case the one your tuning doesn't work very well.

with the remote switcher, you don't need to reach the ECM to switch between bin files.
http://www.moates.net/ex-remote-swit....html?cPath=31

if your not interested or have no need to quickly switch from 1 bin to another, he also has this adapter,
http://www.moates.net/g1-memory-adap....html?cPath=64

 

We do all kinds of tuning, from fast to LSX to TPI.

Our programmers are the original programmers of Hypertec chips. They know these ECUs well, have been tuning them from the beginning of time.

We provide a form for you to fill out, we get information about your engine, and write the chip work with you until it runs the way you want it.

 

If you are going to do a mail order go with Ed wright..350 for the custom chip he will work with you until its done if needed..He is one of the first guys doing these..My local race shop with a dyno i may add still does tpi stuff through him...

 

im in need of a tune, or some sort of software. can u send me some kind of contact info. im very new to the tpi scene. thx

 

hey injector plus. i have a 89 gta with a ed wright chip in it. i had the car on the dyno and it ran real lean after 4k 15.1 afr. i was wondering if u can send some sort of support or contact info. thx