I know it's been covered so I tried the search, typed it in a few ways, but no luck. It wasn't too long ago I saw it, either. But I'll take a risk and ask again. I've been reading up on the GM OBD II and I understand that these ECUs don't take chipping or socketing mods, and that they have to be reflashed. I don't have $600.00 to blow on something that may or may not work. I've looked under the hood of a '95, and compared it to my '97. The engines look the same, but I read on here that the '95 is still OBD I, which can be tuned with different chip, etc. What do I need to do to make that ECU work in my car? I have a '97 with 5-speed and it's the LN2. It's stock now, only have a cone filter and a cat-back exhaust. I plan on doing some engine work just to wake the motor up a bit, but no turbo or anything. Maybe NO2 if that.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

yea, its doable. There is a post right here on the top page, about someone who just did the swap on a 5 speed 2.4......




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

I saw that, I think. The guy with the idle problems, right? I want to make sure this can be done without a ton of problems. I'm not totally new to engines but I'm no mechanic, either. I have friends who know how to do this stuff, but they're all into Mitsubishis and Hondas and stuff. I'm the only one with a Cavalier.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

It's useless for the 2.2. you will NOT gain anything.

The 2.3 can be chip with gain cause we have cams to go with the chip. Fuel curves and timming need to be change with the rev limiter. on the 2.2, Gm didn't offer any aftermarket so any chip for the OBDI 2.2 is plain useless. you'll get 1-2hp more out of the chip and it WILL cost you around 200$ for the chip plus the wiring.

It has been dynoed on a 2.3. 5 different chip on the same Ho engine. there was a difference of a few hp between the chip. only 1 had 1 more Hp and it was the Bilmar Racing chip. Hypertech and Jet had less power than stock and superchip was pretty much the same. It will only help up with the cams swap. Or when you want to rev up to 7500rpm with a 2.3(let it scream in otehr words)



Gilles
2.3 Ho

OK, what if it's not a stock LN2? Say it had a full build? Maybe a lightened flywheel, rockers, cam, intake, p/p, fuel, full exhaust, internals, all that? I know most of you aren't big fans of the LN2, but I don't have the ability to swap an H.O. I have to work with what I have.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

won't do anything still. The chip we have for the 2.3 we made FOR the upgrade that Gm was selling. The chip you'll find for the 2.2 are generic and won't do anything except maybe advance the timming 1 degree or 2.



Gilles
2.3 Ho

Okeee, so what are my options? I want to be able to tune the fuel/timing so I can actually USE the mods I do. How about an SAFC? e Manage? I've heard people with J-bodies use those. Do they work? I already know the Venom400 is a POS scam, so is the JetChip PCM. I want something that I can actually use.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

You can have someone burn you a chip with whatever you want on it. You aren't going to find a chip worth buying.

not if your state has emissions laws like here in PA its illegal its considered bypassing emissions control devices, some states you might be able to get away with it in



1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85

I'm in Iowa. There are no emissions inspections as of yet in this state. The only problem around here is if you remove certain components and get caught, such as removing the cat or gutting it. EGR I think you could get away with and some other stuff that isn't obvious to the average person. Not that I'm saying it's okay, just that there's more that one can get away with here.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

You would essentially be running a stock chip, but it has different programming. There is no possible way you could get caught, unless the state wanted to pull the chip out and check it, which I doubt would ever happen.

Its against federal law to modify/remove any emissions equipment (including EGR valves) within the first 50k miles of the vehicles life. After that, you can replace it with an OE style replacement, but you still have to have it. It may not ever get tested depending on where you live, but the federal govt requires it.

True. But I'm just saying that Iowa doesn't have testing like other states. Pretty much anything is legal here unless it violates federal law. We don't have CARB type restrictions here.

But back to the tuning. If changing to OBD I and chipping is pointless for the LN2, then it seems that using a tuning unit like an eManage or SAFC is the next logical option, provided they work. I've seen where sevral people here have used these on Ecos and LD9s but I can't find anything about using on an LN2.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

You could use obd1, and just get a custom chip burnt. SAFC and EMANAGE are good options too, probably about the same amount of work to do any of the above.

I'm not worrying so much about the labor involved, I just want some flexibility in tuning. It seems pointless to me to do a ton of mods just to have the stock ECU compensate with fuel and timing tables that are meant to keep the engine running in stock parameters. I'm planning on doing a bunch of engine mods, and I want to make the most use of everything. Maybe I'm wrong in this line of thinking, but to be honest, I've grown accustomed to ECU tuning. I normally work on Hondas and though the coding Honda uses is complex, it's still relatively easy to modify the stock tables, and it's not uncommon to gain 15 or 20hp just from ECU tuning. GM, on the other hand, wants to make our lives difficult.


Be kind to dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

slowolej has a custom 2.2 EPROM. Hes been working on it for some time now to get the correct tuning. You should PM him about it.