ECU upgrade options for K1500 with 350 TBI.

[livestrongroadie]

Hey everyone, I am in the process of getting ready to do some of the ultimate TBI mods since I am going to rebuild my throttle body soon, which got me thinking about my ECU. I know that newer vehicles often have alot of options as far as plug and play tuners(for OBD2), aftermarket and piggyback ecus, and even those "chips" you always see on ebay. I was poking around here on the forum and couldn't seem to find anything concrete on the matter, so here is my thread on the matter.

My truck is an 88 K1500 with the 350 TBI and I am just wondering what options I have as far as ECU tuning. Are there plug and play options or replacement ECU options available for these? I do have a MAPECU piggyback ECU that I bought for a different vehicle and ended up never using, but am not sure if this is even an viable option. I am new to this, so please, any guidance is appreciated as always!

 

[Chewy1576]

This generation of ECM uses EPROM chips to store the program, instead of flash-based memory in the newer ECM's. There are a lot of online companies that will do mail order tunes, you send them the specs of your vehicle and they will send you a chip with an updated program you switch with the stock chip. There are DIY tuning resources out there also. You have to buy some additional hardware to be able to burn your own chips or a chip emulator to tune on the fly. The later ECM from the 94-95 TBI trucks are better for tuning than the earlier models. They have faster components, faster communication, and more tuneability. Check out www.gearhead-efi.com for a lot of info about tuning GM OBD1 TBI systems.


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[TylerZ281500]

TBIs are easy to tune if you understand the dynamics of how an engine interfaces with everything.

as far as aftermarket theres options such as MS1/2, AEM controllers and so forth. as far as better TBI stuff, there is a Tune on the fly OBD2 system for TBI created by a gearheadefi member called RBob, theres also the factory 7427 computer that can control mpfi, $0 electric fan mask, fuel saver mode etc.

 

[giaguaro]

Is there any ECU base which let chips interchange without soldering?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

Depending on your ECM, here's a way to convert your EPROM to accept EEPROM flash chip. There is soldering involved to install the ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) socket.
www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/showthread.php?172-7747-Flash-Chip-Conversion-(27SF512)&highlight=7747+Conversion

Or go with the EBL Flash-II
www.dynamicefi.com/EBL_Flash.php

 

[GrimsterGMC]

I highly recommend the EBL Flash-II, it has extra features that the factory ECU didn't have.

 

[SNCTMPL]

X3 for the EBL Flash. It is the best option for an OBD1 ecm upgrade.
You would have some base tunes to start with, and the learning curve isn’t too bad. There’s also plenty of resources for help.