which ECM would you choose, and why?

[dusterbd13]

I'm looking HARD at going multi-port EFI on my 360 mopar. its got a medium sized cam, and with an 850 double pumper and a victor Jr. single plane, it made 390 horse at the rear wheels at 5700.
i since swapped in an edelbrock 750 and dual plane to get some drivability for the car, as well as some more manifold vacuum.
this current combo, though more drivable, is down on power and STILL does not give me the drivability and such that i am looking for.

therefore, I'm looking at going MPFI. i have decided against TBI, even though it would look more correct under the hood. the drivability benefits of multi-port are just so much better.
i have not decided whether I'm going to modify the dual or single plane yet. more research on that one before i spend the money.

where I'm really struggling is the decision for the ECM. I'm looking to do this inexpensively (not exactly free, but not over 1000 for the ecm) in the end i want ultimate drivability and reliability, with no hiccups, gremlins, oddities, etc.

so, with these parameters of motor and injection style in place, Ive got a few options for ecm that i know of, and two that REALLY stand out to me.

1. use a TPI corvette/camaro ECM. reasons being that they are dirt cheap, i have a vague understanding on tuner pro (not good AT ALL), and the injection and displacement are similar to what i want to do. harnesses are easy to make and modify, lots of support, and also the ability to run knock sensors and timing control. don't know if i have the option for auto tune or wide band o2 control with these systems and tuner pro, though. also have no idea where id mount a knock sensor on my motor. have to do data logging and burn many chips to get the combo dialed I'm though.

2. megasquirt 2 or 3. they have a really good auto tune feature, the tuner studio looks pretty straightforward, i know they accept a wide band o2 sensor. can use pretty much anything i want and this ECU will support it. seems to have a bunch of support for them, reasonable price. have to custom fab a whole harness instead of modifying a stocker, and have to figure out a lot more of the engineering for the system than the GM ECM. but more tunability, no chips, etc. lots of pros, lots of cons. can also control pretty much any accessory, and does timing.

so, i know there are others out there as well, it just seems like these are the two that are right up my alley.
so, which system would you use (even if its not either one of these) and why?
Michael

[dave w]

I can think of two options.

1. The Corvette / Camaro TPI ECM (as you mentioned) is a good option for the low cost, abundant information, and people willing to provide technical support.

2. The 93 ~ 95 GM Pickup PCM modified for MPFI I think is a better option. The 93 ~ 95 GM Pickup PCM requires using a Vehicle Speed Sensor. The advantage of the 93 ~ 95 GM is low cost, abundant information, and people willing to provide technical support. The 93 ~ 95 GM Pickup PCM has two timing tables and two fuel tables, Near Idle / Off Idle. For a performance camshaft, having two tables is a dream come true to getting a good idle and having nice driving manners in traffic! The 93 ~ 95 GM Pickup PCM, to my knowledge, is not yet wide band O2 controllable, but the output from a wide band O2 data can be streamed real time with the PCM data stream. Having wide band O2 data information in sync / side by side the narrow band O2 sensor data is a very valuable tool!

dave w

[EagleMark]

Again I agree with dave! :thumbsup:

One of these days I am going to do megasqirt because it has come a long way! But I like GM ECM/PCMs because they are dirt cheap, readily available well documented and supported, for cheap, can be fixed by any mechanic if need be on the road and any auto parts store has every part.

One other thing you could do is build a GM/Mopar hybrid distributor. I designed these about 10 years ago. The original machinist I used for R and D still builds them.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/showthread.php?21-Building-a-GM-EFI-Small-Cap-Distributor-for-TBI-Conversions!


If you talk to Marlo at link above he also machines intake manifolds for MPFI. His price for manifolds and distributors can not be beat unless you are a machinist doing it yourself.

Edlebrock used to make MPFI systems for other makes then Chevy, so look to see if they did your Mopar and if the intake is still available.

With correct equipment burning chip after chip is a thing of the past. TunerPro, for $40. tunes real time with emulator. Best one in my opinion is the AutoProm from Moates. It will emulate, record data and burn a chip when done.
http://www.moates.net/

When looking at Moates look for a NVSRAM. It will tune real time from ALDL port if you end up with a hard to get to ECM or underhood model.

Another high tech option is the Moates RoadRunner, it will tune real time and has options to run an LS1 motor like duel O2 sensors, duel knock sensors, sequential fueling and DIS ignition.. but pricey than all above options. benefit of buying it is it's the only way to buy TunerCats software for OBDII

There's also the EBL option for the 1227727 ECM
http://www.dynamicefi.com/

And Welcome to the site! :welcome:

[JeepsAndGuns]

I will also give another vote for the truck pcm (16197427, 16168625, etc...)
I just swapped on in place of a old 1227747 and I am really happy with it! I am just starting to scratch the surface on it. I am also in the parts collecting phase of converting my engine to MPFI with this pcm.

The pros I see of using a system like this is:
Most all the parts are common off the shelf stuff you could get replacements for at any parts store. If something uber freak happenes and the pcm gets fried, stop by a junkyard or parts store and you will most likely walk out with a replacement one.
If your out and about and have a problem, the scan tools most parts stores and auto shops have can scan and tell you the problem.
Parts and pcm are for the most part cheap and easy to afford.
I will also second the recomendation for the moates autoprom. I have one and LOVE it. Emulation is sweet!

I dont have anything aganst megasquirt, I'm sure its a awesome system/ecm. But they are kinda expensive. And your stuck with a custom setup. If something freak happens and the ecm gets fried, your screwed untill you can order a new one. Also if your out and about, and something happens, your not gonna be able to get it scaned by anyone but you. I'm not sure about you, but I dont keep my laptop with me at all times.

Edelbrock makes a efi intake for the mopar engines. But they list it as a high rpm intake?
http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new ... sler.shtml (http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/efi/efi_chrysler.shtml)

[Nasty-Z]

Another vote here for the '7427 style PCM , it is the only PCM I use anymore .

TOM

[jameslleary]

I would recommend the Edelbrock Chrysler universal EFI manifold, and a 4 barrel throttle body, along with the 7427 ecm with the mpfi jumper in the memcal....lots of very happy hotrodders around here with that setup.

[Six_Shooter]

I vote for the '7727/'7730/'7749 style ECM. The reason I say this, is because you don't need to set-up a switching system to tell the PCM that you're in nuetral or park. (To use the '7427 PCM style correctly, you would need to use two relays to switch certain inputs to ground for proper "gear select" operation). I had some park and nuetral/low RPM issues when I was using the '7427 PCM with a non E-trans, and it seems that it would be because the PCM had no idea if the vehicle was in gear or not.
There are other benefits of the '7730 style ECM, in that they are very abundant, heavily supported, there is code that has been expanded and has added WBO2 datalogging, and that is S_AUJP, a modification of $8D's AUJP, that was used in the F-bodies.

The '7427 PCM is a great PCM, I just think it would be a bit overwhelming for a first time swapper to use one in an application like this.

If you decide on Megasquirt, I would suggest MS3. MS2 just doesn't have half the features I like of the Delco ECMs. MS3 has added almost all of the features I like of the Delco ECMs, and more, it's still missing Limp Home Mode, which I feel is important. They are also very sensitive to voltage spikes, that has caused people to be stranded, though there are ways to ensure that doesn't happen. MS3 does have the ability to run full sequential, both fuel and spark, and is easily adaptable to many different kinds of sensors.

[woody80z28]

I will need to choose an ECM for my eventual MPFI swap in my carb'd Camaro. Same problem...can't get big power and driveability with a carb.

My current Beretta is 7730 MPFI and my truck is 7427 TBI...I've never heard of 7427 MPFI? What mask is the 7427 in MPFI mode? If it's based on $0D, that might be a nice plus since both my 350s are similar in some ways and I'm already somewhat familiar with $0D.

[EagleMark]

It's a hac, $OD was also used in CPI systems. Here's a link to where MPFI Zip file is.
http://www.gearhead-efi.com/Fuel-Injection/showthread.php?303-16197427-PCM-Information-OD

[RobertISaar]

i seem to have a fetish for modded 16149396s...

but maybe it's just me. :happy:

[gregs78cam]

I really like the '7427 as well.