Which way to go on 454 TBI build?

[DLV555]

Hello, I've got some noob questions.
I've got a '94 C2500 w/ a 454 that I've made some mild upgrades to. It should be vastly better than stock and will definitely require some tuning to make the most of it, but is still on the mild side. I've had TBI vehicles for years but never got into the tuning. I'm finally going to do it. I was dead set on an EBL as I wanted to go that route on my old Firebird a decade ago but never did, and that car is long gone. I had since forgotten that the EBL is not built to handle an electronically controlled transmission. At first that didn't deter me and I was ready to run both the EBL and PCM in tandem. That, however, leaves out any transmission tuning without also doing some work on the stock PCM in addition to engine tuning with the EBL.|
SO, does anyone have any advice in regards to choosing between the EBL and the '7427 PCM? Pro/Cons? Does either provide superior results? Cost difference? For a truck that will do mostly towing and work truck stuff should I even care about shift points and so on? Is it any easier to buy the equipment and tune the 7427 vs installing an EBL?

[dave w]

One option is to use a Moates.net Ostrich 2.0 (Chip Emulator) https://www.moates.net/ostrich-20-th...eed-p-169.html

The emulator will make the 16197427 "Flash", just like EBL.

dave w

[DLV555]

One option is to use a Moates.net Ostrich 2.0 (Chip Emulator) https://www.moates.net/ostrich-20-th...eed-p-169.html

The emulator will make the 16197427 "Flash", just like EBL.

dave w

Fascinating. How does it stack up against the EBL at that point?

[dave w]

The EBL vs. 16197427 using an Ostrich 2.0 are equivalent (no chips), upload / download a tune with TunerPro RT.

The EBL offers Auto Tuning.

The 16197427 does not Auto Tune.

Tuning the 16197427 with TrimAylzer: http://fbodytech.com/trimalyzer/trimalyzer-download/ is a good (low cost) tuning option.

dave w

[sturgillbd]

Also EBL will not control a 4L60/80E..... Would have to piggyback the EBL along with the 7427 to keep E-trans control. EBL supports boost. Pros and Cons with either choice.

[DLV555]

The EBL vs. 16197427 using an Ostrich 2.0 are equivalent (no chips), upload / download a tune with TunerPro RT.

So is the Ostrich 2.0 a permanent install? Leave it in and flash as you wish? I know nothing of these devices but am intrigued.

Also EBL will not control a 4L60/80E..... Would have to piggyback the EBL along with the 7427 to keep E-trans control.

That's exactly my issue. I like the EBL at face value because of the ease of tuning with the VE learn and HUD, but it has no control for E transmissions. So even with an EBL I need to retain the 7427, which isn't a bad module to begin with.

[steveo]

fueling tables are the easiest thing you'll ever tune, even if you just do it by hand by reading your data logs. auto tuning or VE learn or whatever is pretty cool to have on board if you don't want to learn how to tune at all.

second vote for trimalyzer to tune your VE tables from log data, the guy that wrote that really knows what he's doing .....

the EBL wont help you tune your timing tables, idle, power enrichment, accel enrichment, dfco, injector constants, etc. those procedures will be the same whether you use EBL or any ol' ecm with a normal programmable chip in it.

the ostrich is an emulator, so it pretends to be a chip and the ECM will think everything is normal, but lets you manipulate tables live. for a mild build like yours, you barely need something like an ostrich. just take some logs and burn some chips. it's not that much work to open an ECM and swap a chip out, and with the tools and knowledge in this forum, it'll probably only be 4 or 5 tries before you get it pretty close. i wouldn't keep an ostrich running a daily driver or anything, not that they aren't reliable, i'd just prefer a real chip in there.