PA94Z

Whats up guys..

I have a 383 solid roller that will finally be finished in a few weeks and still don't have a base tune for it. Noone in my area is familiar with LT1's. I emailed Ion and Jeff Creech with no replys back from them. I just need a conservative tune to get me running, and the engine broke in. I am planning to travel/find a dyno tuner or buy tuning software and learn to do it myself - maybe both.

Here is some specs..

11.85:1 383
LE 258/266 @ .050 107 LSA
.673/.673 - w/ 1.6 T&D's
LE 23* Trickflow heads 2.08/1.6 valves
LE ported LT1 intake
58mm TPIS TB -- LS1 lid
42 lb Bosch 3's
Built 4l60e -- SS4000

Any advice for who can set me up with a base tune? Pretty much what I need is no detonation, no over fueling washing down the cylinder walls, and the trans tables spot on..

Injuneer

I wouldn't trust a mail order tune with a cam like that. It needs hands-on work.

joelster

I got a mail-order tune from pcmforless for my 350 when we swapped heads and put a big cam in it. The tune was good to get the car up and running and gave us a solid base to work with. We didn't tweak it much. I wouldn't even think of firing an engine like that on a stock tune. The stock tune is setup for a car that makes peak torque WAY lower than what your engine will, so the VE table will be way off. I honestly think you blew it on a few things for your combo. You have a very large camshaft on a 107 and very good cylinder heads. That motor is going to want to scream up to 7500rpm and the factory pcm can't do that. Regardless, it will pull like a frieght train until it tags 7k. There are a few guys I know that can tune LT1 cars really well, but they don't advertise since they don't own shops. I will shoot them each a message and see if they can help you out through email tunes.

slick1hunting

I have the same issue with no local tuners in fact i probably have to jump states and get fully to the west side to find one but im pretty mild so not near as big of deal. This is a route I will be going and perhaps some of the guys that know some stuff can build upon this for you and get you a plan that might work out. I do have to go with mail-order tune and to do so a few options are there get all the hardware and software so I can learn to do it and also others could tweek it and all that(thats my route). Solomon rents out that software and hardware and offers three fine tunes based upon examinations of the datalogging for a good price (this may be something very worthwhile to try to work realtime with him analyizing your parameters and everything or another tuner familiar with what that cam might like as well as your other combination. From my perspective getting someone to moniter it prevents what can be preventable outside a skilled tuner being on site. now I have no experience tuning and thus dont know the ins and outs so hopefully a couple guys will tell you if any of this would be helpful or that its still too risky for you with the investment you have and trailer it to the tuner. I also worry about the needed tuning for my setup after break-in and then tuning for the n2o(for me). So its possible you may need a few trips to the tuners, again im fully ignorant about how to tune but pretty dang creative and learn quick and am about eliminating as much danger as possible. just dont forget a few hundred extra dollars sometimes saves several thousand and impatience often gives undesireable results and its best to learn from others mistakes than repeating them your self.

joelster

If you own your own software to tune your LT1 car, any competent LS1 tuner in your area should be able to navigate the software and tune your car. Most shops that "can't tune LT1's" simply don't have the software to do so.

PA94Z

Thanks for the input guys.. I'm not looking for the most power, just conservative and safe to run. I do all the other work on my car I just have no experience with tuning.

Joelster the cam was specced by Lloyd for my combo. It's in on a 107 icl aswell. I figured with the cubes it would peak more around 6900. The funds ran out and I couldn't do what I wanted to.. LSX pcm, single plane, direct port nitrous.. those plans are on the back burner until next year. The motor was built with the nitrous in mind.. JE 2618 flat tops, TS AP steel top ring gapped @ .030, napier second. Forged Compstar rotator with their "HD" I-beams (similar to Callies Ultra I-beams), splayed Pro-Gram centers etc.

So if I buy the HP Tuners package I should be able to find a tuner for it? I am going to buy the tuning package anyway so I can dial everything in. I still need a base for break in :/

PA94Z

I don't know why I was thinking HP Tuners, it would be Tunercat.

joelster

Just about all of the tuning software will have the same tables. The difference is in how you navigate through them to make changes. All of them will have spark advance/rpm tables, VE tables, areas to change gear ratio, injector constant, etc, etc. For someone not familiar with tunercat it might take them a little extra time to find the tables they are looking for and to be able to make the changes. Also, re-flashing an LT1 pcm takes much longer than an LS1.

RamAir95TA

I have to agree with Joel here. My motor uses milder heads and a MUCH milder HR grind (237/242) and it peaks around 7100 RPM. Your motor with that cam is going to want to see 7500+ easy, which leads me to believe your usable RPM band is going to be quite small.

PA94Z

I am going to agree to disagree with you guys. You both have exceptionally well running LT1's, and I respect your opinions. The cam was selected by Lloyd, and he had smaller lobes he could have selected. I would think there is a reason he set me up with what he did. It makes no sense to overcam it. I made it very clear I was working with the stock PCM RPM limit.

As far as tuning I am going to check out Rapid Motorsports. Anyone have any feedback on these guys?

undecidedfbody

i have a awesome tuner here on long island. He specializes in ls1 tunes,but also does lt1's.

for my hr 383 ai h/c/i he was going to charge me 575

its about a 8 hour drive from you to him but well worth it

kaltech tuning and performance

Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Injuneer

There's always Second Street Speed in Perkasie, PA, but that's still a long haul from Pittsburgh.

PA94Z

I mapped how far Rapid Motorsports was and it is a 5 hour drive.. Looks like Perkasie, PA is a bit further.

I did get in touch with Edwin from Hitech tuning though. We are gonna email tune it.. datalog and wide band assisted. He didn't even hesitate to get back to me and say he could tune it no problem. He makes trips to Pittsburgh to tune and I will get it dialed in when he gets back up this way. Now I've got to finish up the details and put the motor back in the car!

Orr89rocz

I see your from pittsburgh area...i could maybe find someone who could tune that. I play with mostly older TPI based electronics and my friends tune LS1 cars.... Someone could get you close. I use Tunerpro RT alot for my car and others I've played with but not sure if the LT1 is run through that or not. Never seen it.

Ed has done a few cars around here that I know. Some are running good, some not so much but since I dont know what the tune looked like, I dont wanna comment. I just know a few guys complained....

Bersaglieri

Bryan Herter of PCM4LESS makes his way to Big Shot dyno just north of Akron, OH several times a year, might want to contact him and see the next time he's in the area. Akron isn't too far from the Burgh.

-Dustin-