Has anyone purchased the performance chip for a 3.1 from fastchip.com??? Im curious to know what the results were and if it was worth the $159.

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92 Rallysport V6 Red with black stripes.

 

Well it kicks *** no GOV and a little more pep... Best of all min ewas 40 bucks =)

 

or 10 dollars a week for 4 weeks

 

Or you can consider burning your own eprom. The 3.1 uses the same SD ecm that I use in my L98, and the SD ecm is one of the easier eproms to modify.

Hell, I just started using "flash" eproms so I can now electrically erase and reprogram the prom in less than a minute.

Go to Traxion's link on the top of the DIY PROM board to learn more about eprom burning.

Remember, the AT29C256 Flash Proms don't even need a UV eraser, so you can save yourself a further $40-$50.

And no matter who burns your eprom for you, they will never be as good as the one you can burn for yourself once you get into it.

Lastly, you can take advantage of the "Highway Mode" feature in the 8D eprom (which we use) that can save enough gas to pay for the cost of the prom burning equipment very quickly.

I currently am getting US 30 mpgs with my L98 350, yet, when I stomp on it, it pollutes good like a car should. I can even beat emissions, if I still had to deal with that.

 

I have purchased the Fastchip Stage 2. I am really happy with it.

Once just for fun, I put the old one back in, and noticed a small dead spot around 35-40, I dont feal it w/ the Fastchip in.

Also (along w/ a 160), my car now never goes about 200. It used to go over 220! Well worth the money, in my own opinion.

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91 RS Camaro
3.1L
Cat Back System, K&N filter,modified air box, Fastchip Stage 2, 160 thermo, Rapidfires and Bosch Wires 5 Air Horns
Stereo: Clarion Deck, 2 12' Kicker CompVR's, IX702

ICQ: 65384740

My Car ( Now w/ Stereo)

 

Yes, but if you had spent the money on the eprom burning equipment, you'd be even further ahead once you spent a little time at it. Also, if you ever "modify" your motor or get another Camaro/Firebird with a different engine, you can still use the equipment.

I personally don't agree with a 160* t-stat. I had one and found a lot of problems with "consistency" with too cool of a t-stat. I much prefer a 180* t-stat, and I have tweaked my electric fans to engage by 190*F and turn back off at 184*F. My engine is now very consistent and gets max performance whatever the temperature.

I think the most difficult part of "tuning" for WOT is controlling knock retard. I found there are hidden knock retard routines (Octane retard) that "mysteriously" pulls away 4* of spark advance without most people knowing it happened. A real killer on performance. By disabling this routine in the eprom, I have gotten my performance much more consistent and easier to control.

When you start watching this stuff with a scan tool, you quickly find that the GM spark advance is very conservative and only gives you about 30* total spark advance. Now subtract 4* when you encounter some knock by the Octane retard routine, plus subtract another 10-12* that the "known" knock retard pulls away and you are left with a measley 14-16* of spark advance. No wonder a lot of these cars are so slow.

And it amazing how much knock retard people REALLY get when they first start using a scan tool. A very common problem. And bumping your base timing often does more harm than good. You increase your base timing from 6* to 10*, but now you increase your knock retard from 10 to 18* (and don't forget that other 4* from the Octane routine) and you are actually getting less effective spark advance.

This is why I am such an advocate of burning your own eprom. Once you get all the equipment and start to monitor and tweak these things, you start to realize all the little "bits and pieces" that need to tested and modified; over and over and over again.

I have probably burnt 20-30 different eproms, all trying to get the optimum amount of spark advance without triggering "audible" knock. You will probably find a fair amount of "inaudible" knock occurring (especially with an automatic), but by properly controlling the knock retard you can maximize your effective spark advance without detonating your motot.

 

I should add,those 20-30 different eeproms (I use a flash prom) were all done in a couple of weeks. I probably have burnt a few hundred in total.

That's another great thing about SD 3.1s, you too can use the AT29C256 Flash prom. This is a prom that can be erased and re-written electrically hundreds (if not thousands) of times. A typical eprom like the 27C256 that our cars use can only be erased and re-burnt 25-35 times. Also, each time you erase them, they require a little more time each time to erase, until one day they no longer work.

The cool thing is that the AT29C256 Flash proms are only a buck more than the 27C256 eprom. You guys with 3.1s don't know how lucky you really are when it comes to eprom burning.