Need A Tune

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

I don't have a lot of money and I don't want a tune-by-mail. Who does good tuning on a 95 LT1 with your basic bolt-ons?

[Slow-V6]

Yes you do need a tune. Hopefully thats it. Did you unplug your battery cable when you did the install? Maybe the PCM needs to relearn with the headers.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

It was unplugged the whole time during the install. Think doing it again would help? lol

[Slow-V6]

It was unplugged the whole time during the install. Think doing it again would help? lol

Probably not. Maybe there is another loose spark plug or wire?

When I did my headers on my T/A I gained 10 hp without a tune. After using my Maft translater I was able to get a total of 16hp. This is with Mac mids and through a catted y-pipe and full emissions.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

One thing I have noticed is that when I start the car it idles high around 1600 for about 10-15 seconds and every once in a while while idling it will drop to about 6-700. Any ideas other than need of a tune?

[Slow-V6]

One thing I have noticed is that when I start the car it idles high around 1600 for about 10-15 seconds and every once in a while while idling it will drop to about 6-700. Any ideas other than need of a tune?


Vacume leak, exhaust leak, Cold air intake not on properly. Could just be the way the car reacts to the headers and not having any egr.

If you are going to do heads and cam on the car then why waste the 300-500 for a tune now and spend the money when you get the heads and cam done? If not you will have to shell out another 300-500 when you get the heads and cam. I am sure if I would have spent the 400 to get my T/A tuned I could probably pull out another 5-10hp but I dont want to spend the 400.00 for a tune with bolt ons and then have to spend 400.00 again for a H/C/I tune.

[RamAir95TA]

If you go through PCMforless.com, a reflash is only $50 (after your first flash).

[Slow-V6]

If you go through PCMforless.com, a reflash is only $50 (after your first flash).


Yeah but he doesnt want a tune by mail.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

I wouldn't mind a tune by mail if it wasn't for the down time of my car. If I had a spare PCM to send them then it wouldn't be so bad it's not like the tune would be that complicated like different cam, tires, gears etc.

[deadtrend1]

I wouldn't mind a tune by mail if it wasn't for the down time of my car. If I had a spare PCM to send them then it wouldn't be so bad it's not like the tune would be that complicated like different cam, tires, gears etc.

PCM4Less will give mail you a computer, and when you send yours back you get the core deposit returned.

[sweetbmxrider]

it would be wise to invest in an aldl cable and do some datalogging for the tuner you choose.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Well I just popped my hood this morning to do some inspecting. Found 2 loose spark plugs... wtf. The 2 back ones on the driver side wiggle pretty badly. I don't know why they keep coming loose. The one is gonna be pretty hard to get to but hopefully they won't come loose again. Im gonna go in to tighten them after it cools off. There is a slight exhaust leak coming from the driverside y pipe so im gonna try and tighten up that clamp. Any other suggestions of things I should look for. Ill be ordering O2s from RockAuto.com hopefully by the weekend.

Adam you and Matt were telling me I should get a new coil. Did mine look bad or was it just a suggestion lol.

Basically I'm trying to get everything straight before I get a tune. I'm gonna give jsperformance a call because josh gave me quote before on a tune. IIRC it wasnt much more than pcm4less.

Thanks for the help.

[sweetbmxrider]

if you grab the coil, its loose in the mount. vibrations will kill that thing. also, don't forget that opti harness.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

So do I need the coil, the mount, or both lol. Opti harness will be gotten this weekend. Same with the coolant temp sensor.

[Pampered-Z]

Just a couple comments, a custom tune will always help, LT1s run a bit rich from the factory so a tune will help throttle responce and top end. Add that you deleted the EGR and the car will need to be leaned out during cruising RPMs even a bit more.

Idle issues is more likey related to caruum or in your case the exhaust leak. Very often a leak will actually result in air being sucked in when the other cyclinders on that side pulse, that added 02 results in the ECM making the car run even richer. So the first thing to address is an exhaust leak. If you can scan the car you'll see the DS is slightly richer then the passenger side due to the leak.

Loose spark plugs, I have a offset wrench, that or the SLP short sucket is a good investment for working around Long tubes.

My opinion! go with a stock or Accel coil, the MSD is too hot for a stock Opti and shortens its life span.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Just a couple comments, a custom tune will always help, LT1s run a bit rich from the factory so a tune will help throttle responce and top end. Add that you deleted the EGR and the car will need to be leaned out during cruising RPMs even a bit more.

Idle issues is more likey related to caruum or in your case the exhaust leak. Very often a leak will actually result in air being sucked in when the other cyclinders on that side pulse, that added 02 results in the ECM making the car run even richer. So the first thing to address is an exhaust leak. If you can scan the car you'll see the DS is slightly richer then the passenger side due to the leak.

Loose spark plugs, I have a offset wrench, that or the SLP short sucket is a good investment for working around Long tubes.

I tightened the clamp on the driverside and the leak went away.

After tightening all the spark plugs it started up and ran much much better. I went with a suggestion from a friend and unplugged the wires from the same two plugs that were originally loose to see how it would react and it ran the exact same as it was running last night and before the tightening.

Idle has now smoothed out and seems to be running a lot better.

On another note. Does anyone around here have an LT1 edit?

[LTb1ow]

You need new spark plug wires

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

You need new spark plug wires

Lol.

[Blackbirdws6]

I know TTP will do a tune if you bring them the software on a laptop. Will get pricey pretty quick that way and I think you will be best off if you do the PCM swap with a mail order for now. No down time, tune will be close, and price will be the cheapest.

[LTb1ow]

Spark plug wires and fuel filter

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Spark plug wires and fuel filter

Fuel filter I know. Spark plug wires arent that old and haven't been burning at all.

Theyre only 10k old so i don't understand the dire need to change them.

[sweetbmxrider]

when you buy an ac delco coil, it will come mounted in the bracket. if you look at yours, you will see a metal square around the perimeter and touching the coil you will also notice it is no longer mounted to said square :)

[Slow-V6]

My opinion! go with a stock or Accel coil, the MSD is too hot for a stock Opti and shortens its life span.

Just a question why would a MSD shorten the life of a Opti?

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

I was gonna go with acdelco coil anyway. Can't afford the msd nor the msd wires lol.

[Slow-V6]

I was gonna go with acdelco coil anyway. Can't afford the msd nor the msd wires lol.

MSD coil is like 40.00 at advance/autozone after Military discount. AC delco is 67.99 at advance.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Coil-Ignition-Performance/_/N-a0466?filterByKeyWord=8226&fromString=search&isSearchByPartNumber=true

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Just left advance auto. Got the msd coil and my replacement coolant temp sensor and a pepsi for 66.89 w00t.

[deadtrend1]

Just left advance auto. Got the msd coil and my replacement coolant temp sensor and a pepsi for 66.89 w00t.

CTS broke during the header install?

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Yes it did lol. Its just the one for the gauge so it wasn't a dire need but they had it in stock so i grabbed it. As well as the MSD ign coil.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

I didn't get the Blaster coil(Part#8226) It is the Street Fire model(Part # 5526). I dont know if that will make a difference but I would like to do a little more research on it before I install. Anyone have anything to say about this coil? Good or Bad?

[Slow-V6]

I didn't get the Blaster coil(Part#8226) It is the Street Fire model(Part # 5526). I dont know if that will make a difference but I would like to do a little more research on it before I install. Anyone have anything to say about this coil? Good or Bad?

Actually I think I have a steet fire on my car. So far it is great. Much better throttle response off the start. Thats about the only difference I have noticed.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Actually I think I have a steet fire on my car. So far it is great. Much better throttle response off the start. Thats about the only difference I have noticed.

Hmmm. I want to install it tomorrow but I have read that the MSD Blaster burns up the cap and rotor pretty quick. I am hoping that the Street Fire doesnt do the same. How long have you been running that one Jeff?

I can't find much of anything about this one. Only horror stories of the blaster coil.

[Slow-V6]

Hmmm. I want to install it tomorrow but I have read that the MSD Blaster burns up the cap and rotor pretty quick. I am hoping that the Street Fire doesnt do the same. How long have you been running that one Jeff?

I can't find much of anything about this one. Only horror stories of the blaster coil.

About 4 months now. I think its the street fire. I have to check the package to make sure.

There are horror stories about everything especially about the opti spark. Seems like no matter what you do or use the opti is a POS according to most. I havent had any issues(knock on wood) and its still the original one from 1995 with 72,000 miles on it.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

My previous one was the original(145k). Only reason why it was changed was with the new motor, I think I probably could of kept the old one on without a hitch. This one is a little less than 10k old.

[Slow-V6]

Some info I have found.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-modifications/1233179-need-coil-one.html


Its like this about everything you do to your car. There is going to be positive things and negative things said no matter what. My coil came with a 1 yr warrenty and all the threads I read about them breaking usually happend within a year. I see probably 80 percent of the people who have these MSD coils have had them for over 5 yrs and alot of them are heads and cam cars that rev pretty high.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Yeah that was mostly on the Blaster Coil. I need to find info on the Street Fire if possible. I PMed Pampered Z to see what he thinks. Ill be installing a new one by noon. Be it this one or an ACDelco lol. Although One of those posts said the stock wires werent so good with it and Im still running stock plug wires.....

[Slow-V6]

Yeah that was mostly on the Blaster Coil. I need to find info on the Street Fire if possible. I PMed Pampered Z to see what he thinks. Ill be installing a new one by noon. Be it this one or an ACDelco lol. Although One of those posts said the stock wires werent so good with it and Im still running stock plug wires.....

Stock wires here as well.

When it comes down to it its a coil. Its not a cam or a set of pistons. Its a simple mod that takes 1/2hr to install that should give your car a little better throttle response and a little better gas miles ( From my experience with the coil on my 95). No reason to overthink it.

Since I am still new to the whole LT1 thing the impression I get is that the whole ignition OPTI system sucks. Thats pretty much what I keep reading online about it. I personally havent had any bad things to say about the LT1 ignition system as of yet. It has not broken down on me or crapped out on me. My car is 15yrs old and gets driven pretty hard by me and I know for a fact it was driven hard by the last owner.

If your stock coil only has 10k miles on it then why replace it anyways? Just wonderring.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

No no no no no no my opti has 10k on it. The coil god only knows. Its definitely not new lol.

[Slow-V6]

No no no no no no my opti has 10k on it. The coil god only knows. Its definitely not new lol.

Werd.

Install it and see if you like it. If not take it back and get a Stock replacement!

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Yeah I probably am going to install it tomorrow morning. I'm more worried about the cap and rotor issues and the plug wire issues that I read about than me not liking the coil.

I also need to figure out how to drain about half of my antifreeze out so i can put that new temp sensor in.

I was told by someone who did it that they just had the new one ready to go tefloned up, unscrewed it, stuck the finger in the hole then quickly put the new one in...

I don't think im gonna go that route but I really have now way of draining the fluid lol.

[Frosty]

PCM4Less will give mail you a computer, and when you send yours back you get the core deposit returned.

This. Plus Bryan knows his stuff...if it's just a bolt-on LT1 he'll nail the tune.

[LTb1ow]

I hear Josh at JSperf can do tuning and what not.

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

I hear Josh at JSperf can do tuning and what not.
Josh actually suggested Bryan at PCMforless as well lol.

[Pampered-Z]

Just a question why would a MSD shorten the life of a Opti?

The blaster is said to be so high volts that it burns the cap/rotor up, as the gap gets bigger the result in more heat and ozone in the cap, which kills the optical side.

[Slow-V6]

The blaster is said to be so high volts that it burns the cap/rotor up, as the gap gets bigger the result in more heat and ozone in the cap, which kills the optical side.

So is there anything that doesnt kill an opti?

[Formula_Ltx]

Just a question why would a MSD shorten the life of a Opti?

msd makes more power then an opti cap like to handle. msd likes to make spark jump across the leads going to the wires= fail

[LTb1ow]

Get a hypertech tuner yo

[Formula_Ltx]

Get a hypertech tuner yo

yes! puts the "POWER" in power programming :rofl:

[LTb1ow]

I gained like 30hp and 4tenthes mann

[Formula_Ltx]

4 tenths ? must of increased trans line pressure an lowered fan temp. man ur reckless!

[Slow-V6]

msd makes more power then an opti cap like to handle. msd likes to make spark jump across the leads going to the wires= fail

So how many opti's have you lost using MSD componants as opposed to stock componants?

[BonzoHansen]

I also need to figure out how to drain about half of my antifreeze out so i can put that new temp sensor in.
Is there no petcock on the bottom of the rad to drain it?

[RamAir95TA]

I've been using the same Blaster coil (8226) and same vented optispark for 6 years now spinning to 7k RPMs.

[Slow-V6]

I've been using the same Blaster coil (8226) and same vented optispark for 6 years now spinning to 7k RPMs.


And you make double the power my LT1 makes!

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Everything seems to be working just fine right now. I have an exhaust leak that i need to take care of and a couple.little things.

One thing i found to be odd was when i started the car after doing the starter i forgot to plug the O2 extension back in and it didn't kick on my SES light... weird.

[sweetbmxrider]

well its in open loop for the first couple minutes which means the o2's aren't used.

[deadtrend1]

Is there no petcock on the bottom of the rad to drain it?

yea, there is. Its nice because it drains on the frame, and you get the pleasure of moving the drain pan to where you think its going to fall.

well its in open loop for the first couple minutes which means the o2's aren't used.

:nod:

[sweetbmxrider]

i usually stick a length of hose on the end and stick that into the pan. its fun when it flys off though :lol:

[Pampered-Z]

There is no truely "best coil". Like almost everything else, it is more personal preference. It's just that over the years people have had problems that all seem to be related to the blaster. Not everyone, but some, which is good enough for me not to recommend it. I've been running the accel 300+ system since 1995 with no issues, but others have had units fails, and sometimes repeatedly.

[Slow-V6]

Dave, Found this thread over on LS1tech. Might be the kind of tune you are looking for.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/eastern-members/1194309-rapid-motorsports-now-tuning-lt1s.html

[Green_Phoenix_LT1]

Thanks I sent him a message.