Which way should I go with my DD. Mods:
373 gears
LT headers
Borla catback
EWP
Ported intake
58mm TB
Small cam
1.6 RRs with supporting push rods and springs

 

How much do you have to spend... and how far are you going to go in the future.

 

Thanks for the reply. This is my daily driver with an A4. I have another '97 M6 that I am dropping a 383 with a small blower in. I would really like to go the same route with both ECMs.

 

Well budget is still going to come into play quite heavily because to do the lsx pcm and ignition swap you have wiring and hardware etc to buy and that will add up really quickly. The tuning software for lsx stuff is expensive in my opinion but it is THE WAY to go with a boosted engine much better logging capability better ignition, much more control and being able to set the pcm up for a 2 bar map sensor is fantastic without using a lot of manipulation. The ls1 pcm will also allow you to change small parts of the tune and upload it instead of a full flash every time so things will come around quickly, also the tools available will speed up the process to. The only downside is its more complicated to get a handle on, and the hardware and wiring changes required. You can do a little bit of manipulation with the lt1 pcm for boost but it is not going to be for the novice it requires a deep understanding of the pcm function, and you can certainly find help with that here and information from those who have done it in the past to help you become informed.

For your na daily driver an obd1 conversion and tunercat will handle anything you want to do and very easily and is overall the cheapest simplest thing to tune imo.

In either case budget for a good wideband otherwise you are just throwing stones in the dark. The wideband will make the lsx pcm very simple with some of the tools available for that application.

 

Thanks for the great resonse. I did a little more research on the LS1 conversion and now realize that I had been misinformed about the complexity of the swap, so here is what I am leaning toward now. Get my feet wet with tuning on my DD with an OBD I PCM. Will probably get a mail order tune for the DD to get me back on the road sooner and give me a good starting point.

I have more time to think about the 383, but I will probably go with the LSX PCM. I already have an LTCC setup for that motor so I am part way there. I should get enough from the engine that is currently in the car to cover at least some of the additional cost. I wanted to be able to sell the PCM with that motor anyway because it has a really good piggy back tune on it.

Thanks again for the response.

 

Getting your dd back up on the road shouldn't be too hard at all. If you care to describe the car in more detail then I may have a file I can send you that will get you up and running that you can tweak from there. Just to spare you a mail order tune. The stock tune will even run fine with a couple of minor tweaks and be perfectly drivable.

You can pm if you don't want to say publicly what cam etc and I will see what I have thats close. Need to know injectors, cam size, tire size (measured not what it says on the sidewall), stall size if any, how high you think it should rev (i can help you here if you need it), desired idle speed and quality. Also need to know about any emissions equipment or other hardware that has been removed.

You can also pm me to ask any questions you may have once you start tuning. I usually try to get back to everyone within a day or two.

Also keep in mind, that if your car is currently obd2 you will need an obd1 cable that looks like obd2 (trapezoid not square) in order to tune it. It will be sold as fitting a 95 camaro and firebird, I like the usb version from moates. There is also the issue of the knock sensors, the obd2 knock sensor is different from the obd1. What I do is open the pcm case and solder a resistor in and that makes the whole thing plug and play, no need to mess with swapping the sensors out. I have hard some people getting around it with software but thats not how I do it. Its no big deal to solder two points if you have any skill at all.

 

The help is greatly appreciated! I have cables, and can solder. Been in the aircraft building business longer than I care to think about. LOL

Should I try to get a '96 PCM so I can retain the MAF?

 

Gotta be a 94-95 pcm if its from an fbody, 93 is the only one without a maf. Doesn't really matter what it comes from as long as it had an lt1 and its obd1 and not a 93 they are all pretty much the same part number its the programming thats different. I've been picking them up for about 50 bucks lately.

On the cables you have to be sure you have the right one, an obd1 converted car is like a 95 camaro as far as that goes. The shape of the plug is like obd2 but its wired differently. So an obd2 cable wont work, nor will a regular obd1 cable due to shape. Luckily due to the 95 year model for those of us with conversions there are molded cables on the shelf ready to go.

 

The part number for the OBDI PCM is 16188051. IIRC, it was also in B bodies, such as Caprice and Roadmaster.
The resistor mod I found on this site at https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/sho...=OBD1+pcm+swap It was very easy, the resistors I used I picked up at the Shack for $2 or less. The PCM is cheap, as mentioned.
The Moates cable is at http://www.moates.net/product_info.p...roducts_id=128 There are others available, but I liked the finished look of his product.
The OBDI Speed Density 2 bar tune is in the stickies at the top of this section. I strongly suggest you read all the way through it before making a decision. It's a bit lengthy, but a good read.
Most of the work has already been done for you, but you would have to finish the job for your particular application. The mods on this site are very responsive to questions, which really helps for owners of the stepchild 96-97 OBDII LT1s.
I chose this route for my 97 as much less expensive than an LSx conversion, but that's just me. The only thing I don't like about not going LSx is the lack of integrated tuning software. Each piece is separate, TunerCat, DataMaster, VEMaster. But significantly less than anything else. I think I spent ~$250 for the entire conversion, including PCM and licensed copies of all required software with cable. And I did not have to mod one piece of wiring harness of my car, so a conversion back to OBDII is simply plugging the original PCM back in the harness.

 

Thanks y'all. Here is the list of mods. I know you said to measure the tires buy I haven't had a chance to yet.

Cam- CC503, 1800-5800 rpm range, 224/230 duration @ .050”, .536/.544 lift with 1.6 RRs, 120 LSA
MSD Pro-Billet Opti
Rebuilt heads with stock valves, 918 beehive springs
Electric water pump
160 degree thermostat
58mm throttle body
Intake with ported runners and ported for 58mm TB
30# Accel injectors
Holley adjustable fuel regulator
8.5mm plug wires
Throttle body bypass
255 fuel pump
Double roller timing set (crank reluctor ring deleted)
Hardened 7.2 pushrods
1.6 SA RRs
JetHot headers with EGR
JetHot coated Y-pipe
Borla 2 ½” adjustable cat back
373 gears in rear
275/40/17 tires mounted on 2000 SS 10 spoke wheels
No rear O2s but I have sims if I need to use them

That's about it except it has been lowered a couple of inches.

 

Nice list of parts. Looks like you are well on your way.
AFA cables and Datamaster, you might also want to look here:http://www.akmcables.com/dss.htm
He offers a discount on Datamaster, which is nice.
AFA tuning, this is a nice site to start at:
http://www.lt1pcmtuning.com/tips/
He covers the terminology (what the blazes is a BLM, anyway?) and the basics of understanding what it takes to tune an OBDI vehicle.

 

M6 or A4, where do you want it to idle and how high do you want to rev it. Then i'll see what I have that will be close for you.

ps: accel injectors *HISS*

 

It's an A4 all stock. Don't like the Accels, eh? I have 30# SVOs in my other '97 that the 383 is going into this summer. Better to use them I'm guessing. Eash enough.

The TB is a 58mm BBK that has the IAC mod done to it. Supposed to help the idle. Here is a link to what is done to mine. http://www.hashmarks.com/techtips/throttle_body_mod.htm

I want the idle to be as close to stock as possible, but not so low that it complains when I first turn the A/C on, and I run it a lot here in Savannah. Not lately though.

You'll have to help me with the rev like you said. Many thanks.

 

No not a fan of the accels at all. The svo is an ok injector and thats what I would do if you're not spending any money.

The a/c thing wont be a problem theres a table for that. Into and out of gear will be the biggest struggle without a stall as well as getting it to idle smoothly and not pull you through lights. Probably looking at 775rpm in gear and 925-950 in park, thats to keep it from stalling when you go from park into gear and to have a reasonably smooth idle. The 503 is one rough pecker at the stock 600rpm in gear idle. You can of course change it to whatever you desire very easily.

If you haven't done anything with the rod bolts, I would try and keep it under 6200. With a stock head it should not be doing a whole lot up there anyways. Thats how I'll set it up you do whatever suits you after that.

The file I am going to send you has the shift tables that I use for cammed cars instead of just a scaled stock table. Or if you prefer I can just put a stock scaled table in, personally I think the one I use drives and feels much better.

I will leave the wot fuel just a little rich so you can sort that out when you get to it. Better to have a little extra fuel than not enough, I can give you the numbers/help to lean it out once you get the chance to measure where you are with a wideband.

I will be needing an email address to send the file to as well. Pm if you don't want it all over the internet.

 

The idle and RPM #'s sound fine and the shift table you use sounds good also.


Thanks.