Tuning vortec to run on as little sensors as possible

[slow_c1500]

Or, I might some day catch a STD so before I do I'll just chop off my.... NO!!!!!!!!

Nowadays that’s a fairly common body mod. You can physically remove it, but it’s impossible to tune it out of the pcm.

 

[Caman96]

Nowadays that’s a fairly common body mod.

It’s nothing new.

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[Scooterwrench]

Just call Dr. Morana Bobbitt,she'll fix you right up!!!

 

[Pinger]

Just call Dr. Morana Bobbitt,she'll fix you right up!!!

I remember Emo Philips giving her a hard time. Decrying her for the danger she posed. ''Throwing that thing out of the window onto the street - someone could have slipped and fell on it.''

 

[Caman96]

You can’t make this sh*t up…

 

[GMTMark]

You can program to never come out pf open loop then tune the af mixture and timing to your preference. It’s a little bit like speed-density and more like a carburetor. I’ve done it trying to tune for the drag strip. It can make for more consistent e.t.’s if done right. Just look for closed loop and run the temperature up to oblivion. Your mileage will suffer. There will be no adjustments unless you enter them.

 

[Dime Eats Dollars]

Heys guys, this may be a newb question as I don’t know a whole lot about tuning. But has anyone ever tuned a vortec engine to run on as little sensors/electronics as possible? I know egr and rear o2 can be tuned out, anything else? I may have heard somewhere that you can tune the pcm to use MAP for air/fuel ratio, and other sensors can be deleted, not sure is that’s true.

I am guessing something like this would require a 411 swap. And we can disregard emissions legality for now, this is purely hypothetical. I just want to know if its possible to dumb down a vortec to be as simple as a TBI, or even simpler.

I don't think mine could possibly be any dumber than it is. I achieved this level of dumb in my '96 4.3l by first removing the TBI, and tossing it straight into the trash, along with it's distributor cohort. Next, I removed the intake. Rather than tossing the intake, I kept it, and used it for a boat anchor. The intake was replaced by an aluminum Edelbrock, and the TBI with a 500cfm 4 bbl Edelbrock Performer. The distributor was replaced by a 16,000V HEI. Timing that was all kinds of fun and interesting!! EGR was deleted, MAF didn't prove necessary, the PCM was unplugged and joined it's friends in the trash can. Next came the removal of about 9 miles of wires, and the alternator was replaced by a one wire GM. Instrument cluster was removed from dash and replaced with a modified digital LED from Intellitronix, and another mile or two of wire removal followed from behind the dash. I also replaced the steering wheel with an NRG quick release, so there wasn't a whole lot of need for air bags, or the connecting wires and sensors. Speed sensor and digital dash didn't com well, so I swapped it with a gps speedometer. Entire exhaust was replaced with 3" true dual from the headers all the way back, and all of the O2 sensors went with it, but I did put one back in and ran it to the AFM gauge that was added to the A support, along with vacuum and fuel pressure guages. High pressure fuel pump was removed and replaced with the primary pump from an '88 Ford Ranger. All of these upgrades along with a few others allowed me to travel across the desert at a brisk 160mph with literally a ton or better of cargo weight. Only downside that I really noticed is that you have to pay much closer attention to ALL of your gauges and have an understanding of how the systems interact together. No more "dummy" lights to rely on.

 

[Gmule]

If MAF is more accurate than MAP for fuel/air anyway, then is MAP technically necessary? Also would there be any cons to tuning out the cam and crank sensors, since those weren’t listed as an absolutely necessary sensor to make the car run?

I understand these are dumb questions but I’m trying to learn more about tuning and efi systems

Because if the PCM sees no vacuum it thinks the engine is under a full load and will start dumping in fuel and advance timing.

 

[Jeepwalker]

If GM could effectively run the engine fine w/o a sensor or two, they would have done it. So would Toyota and others. In the early CCC ECM days, the first year or two, they didn't have knock sensors. A few sensors were added for more power, economy & longevity. A buddy of mine used to do EGR & computer deletes on his vehicles for years. They'd run like crap and get terrible mileage. He was always fiddling with tuning the carbs or choke issues. For the last 15-20 years now he leaves his DD vehicles' computers as-is, LOL.

But for overlanding, I can see how it would be good to know how to bypass certain systems.

 

[slow_c1500]

I don't think mine could possibly be any dumber than it is. I achieved this level of dumb in my '96 4.3l by first removing the TBI, and tossing it straight into the trash, along with it's distributor cohort. Next, I removed the intake. Rather than tossing the intake, I kept it, and used it for a boat anchor. The intake was replaced by an aluminum Edelbrock, and the TBI with a 500cfm 4 bbl Edelbrock Performer. The distributor was replaced by a 16,000V HEI. Timing that was all kinds of fun and interesting!! EGR was deleted, MAF didn't prove necessary, the PCM was unplugged and joined it's friends in the trash can. Next came the removal of about 9 miles of wires, and the alternator was replaced by a one wire GM. Instrument cluster was removed from dash and replaced with a modified digital LED from Intellitronix, and another mile or two of wire removal followed from behind the dash. I also replaced the steering wheel with an NRG quick release, so there wasn't a whole lot of need for air bags, or the connecting wires and sensors. Speed sensor and digital dash didn't com well, so I swapped it with a gps speedometer. Entire exhaust was replaced with 3" true dual from the headers all the way back, and all of the O2 sensors went with it, but I did put one back in and ran it to the AFM gauge that was added to the A support, along with vacuum and fuel pressure guages. High pressure fuel pump was removed and replaced with the primary pump from an '88 Ford Ranger. All of these upgrades along with a few others allowed me to travel across the desert at a brisk 160mph with literally a ton or better of cargo weight. Only downside that I really noticed is that you have to pay much closer attention to ALL of your gauges and have an understanding of how the systems interact together. No more "dummy" lights to rely on.

If you want simplicity then yeah carburetor is the way to go lol