Thread: 89 350 TBI computer programming ?

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Any of you guys burning your own chips? I have a 89 TBI and would like to learn how to tune the computer. Any info to get me going in the right direction?

I found this site with all the performance info you ever wanted to know .






Where can I find TBI-engine related performance parts for my truck?

Performance Chips:
Wester’s Garage - http://westers_garage.eidnet.org/Index2.htm
Wait4Me - http://www.wait4meperformance.com/
TBI Chips - http://www.tbichips.com/

Larger Throttle bodies:
CFMTech - http://www.cfm-tech.com/index.htm
XtremeFI - http://www.xtremefi.com/
TurboCity – http://www.turbocity.com/default.php?cPath=16

TBI injectors:
TurboCity – http://www.turbocity.com/default.php?cPath=16


What are performance chips or performance tunes and how do they work?
Performance chips are essentially a memory chip that contains a set of instructions that tells your computer (and your truck engine) how to respond to incoming sensor data. Performance tunes differ in that the set of instructions are contained on flashable memory housed inside the computer. Therefore, there is no chip to replace. Chips are available for both the TBI and Vortec Engines. Jet Performance, for instance, makes performance chips for Vortec engines. Other performance chipmakers are out there as well, including Wester’s Garage, Wait4Me, TBI Chips, (Ed Wright) Fast Chips, etc. They can vary in price from under $100 to over $500. Burning your own chips can save you some money or at least allow you to fine tune your engine as you continue to upgrade your engine.



What is chip burning and is it necessary?
Chip burning is simply making your own custom PROMS. You will find that the biggest gains on these engines will come from burning your own chips. The stock chip is very weak and can barely support the factory set-up. Anytime you mod your truck you should look into burning a new chip to maximize its potential. You can get away with the stock chip with basic bolt-ons, but once you add a major upgrade (i.e. new camshaft) chip burning is a must. Alternatively, you can have a performance tuner make one for you, but it will be difficult to get your engine dialled in properly since the chip is made using info on your engine combination, but it is not YOUR engine without any feedback to see how well the tune is working. The solution: datalogging. There is free software available that you can install on a laptop computer and use a special connector to plug the laptop into your cars diagnostic (ALDL) port. Driving the truck while this software is running will collect performance-related data about your engine. These data will tell you what your engine is doing with respect to timing, air:fuel ratio, etc. at respective engine RPM. You can save this data and send it to a chipmaker that will burn you a chip based on the info you sent them. Retest with the datalogging software and finetune the chip again. This strategy will essentially accomplish the same thing as if you were burning the chip yourself. You can find this program from the following link.
Link to data log software
Link: Good starting post for TBI prom tuning


Is my TBI or Vortec speed limited?
Yes, the ECMs have a fuel shut-off circuit once the vehicle reaches the maximum limited speed. Any chipmaker or aftermarket chip/tuner will remove the governor circuit to allow higher speeds. There is no RPM limiter, but max RPM on Vortec engines seems to be 5800 RPM. This is written into the computer code. Some people are trying to develop ways to get around this.


How can I learn how to burn my own chips for my TBI or Vortec engine?
Lots of good resources here/lots to read and way too much to cover:
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...ad.php?t=45225
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/tb...free-tune.html
http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/di...uide-book.html
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...d.php?t=126937
http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forums/...d.php?t=139132