Simple TBI build

[chris989]

Originally Posted by picklito

Thanks for the follow-up! Sounds great. What's your initial timing? I'm wondering if there's a little more vacuum to be found with a little more idle advance?

the initial timing is set at zero, ( wire unhooked). I have not experimented with the tune. I just ran it 50+ miles on the highway this morning and it runs so nice i might not fool with it.

[chris989]

I thought i would share a update after 500 miles.



I couldn't be happier with the setup. Next tank i will check the millage and report back. The truck runs through the gears fast and gets up to speed so easy i forgot what the old tired motor felt like. The gears and OD possibly make a bigger improvement than the motor.

I do get a soft code ( i think it is the EGR) once in a while if i am driving real light throttle at cruise speed. It resets when the key is turned off and does not reappear for days. Next time it happens i will try to grab the reading before it resets. If it is the EGR, i got the same code before the new motor so i do not think it is cam related.

As for the cam (flat vs roller). I do not think i will be upgrading the heads or to a roller. The motor has nice instant throttle and for 90% of my driving it has more than enough power. I also do not think the worries about the oil is justified on a stock valve train at .450 lift. If it were a .650 lift with huge spring pressure i could see the need maybe.


I hope this thread helped someone.

[Jake Wade]

Thanks for the report. Nice to hear about a project that turned out as planned.

Good job!

[kalbert]

Ditto, thanks for the update!

See a lot of these threads get started and then never have any resolution. Always cool to hear it get finished and how it turned out. Chalk this one up as a known good formula!

[Oberon67]

Originally Posted by chris989

I hope this thread helped someone.

I'm surprised you didn't add a turbo. I'm told by guys here that adding a turbo is the way to get low-end torque.

[kalbert]

Turbo is one of the ways, yea. There are a lot of ways to skin the low end cat. Depends on what you're starting with and what you're wanting to end with. From the get go Chris989 had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted the end goal to be, got some good input on his choices, and ended up with what he found to be acceptable results it sounds like. I suppose he could have looked at turbo, finding the right size turbo and placing it in the best place would probably have given him quite a large increase in low end too.

[chris989]

I have put a few miles on the truck and there are a few things i will share.

today i finally had a road trip in the mountains towing ~4000. There are a few steep grades from Boise to McCall and i ran in 3rd at ~50 mph on them. The rest of the trip has some winding road and some flat open runs, A good mix of everything.

I have two MPG averages for you,

True MPG was 12.0
As per odometer it was 13.4 mpg

I am running 456 gears with 33 tire so my speedometer is off by ~10%. I am not sure if the extra gear is hurting or help the mileage, I think the SB like the RPMs but not sure if someone went 411s or if I went to 35 tires i would get better MPG. But it gives an idea of what you might expect.


I do have two problems/disappointments;

The TCI ez tcu SUCKS. I would not use one if it were free. I get a TPS signal of 34% and the truck shifts at the same rpm no matter if i am idling across a parking lot or WOT. It reads correct and then when i start the motor it locks up. Their tech support knows no answer and defers me to engineering who never calls back.

Today, the last 10 miles of my trip, it began working again like normal. No one at FAST can tell me if it is a harness pin issue or the brain unit.

Summit is great and they are sending another unit without charge to swap out. My only advise is if going 4l80 or 60, pick a different controller. the TCI interface is something from the 80s at best.

The other issue is my oil cooler still has a drip. Everything is 100% new and it is as if GM designed it to leak with those silly O-rings. I think i am going to toss it in the trash and buy a after market and just use good hose with brass barbs.


Chris

[redneckwheelman2]

what o rings are leaking on the oil cooler?
and that sucks to hear the tci controller is taking a crap.

[chris989]

Originally Posted by redneckwheelman2

what o rings are leaking on the oil cooler?
and that sucks to hear the tci controller is taking a crap.

The 90* angle into the cooler seems to want to drip. The seats in my old cooler were bad so i replaced the cooler and bought new lines. I might try larger o rings than the chinese ones that come with the new lines.


I hate the trans controller. After my trip the other day it is now working again. TCI says it has to be my TPS or my connection. Next time it does it i am going to get a reading from the wire where it enters the TCI controller.


For now it is working again, and summit sent a replacement. I guess i will install the new one and wait and see.

[chris989]

Update after 8 years.

the GM crate motor ate the rear main bearing at 30k miles, not sure why GM installed .001 over bearings. all of them were too tight. tossed in a 10/10 builder crank for 100$ and now have ~250k miles on the motor.

the flat tappet cam is still perfectly fine after 250k miles.. drove coast to coast last summer towing 5k and averaged ~11-12.

still running the 456 gears but with 37" falkens.


Cheers