Dont worry,your not the first or the last to drink the koolaid.
knock on gauge but not scanmaster
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Jerryl
Tall Unvaccinated Chinese Guy
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2004
- Messages
- 9,644
Patrón-Aid
If you are looking for drive ability the chip is much better than the fast. Think of this , for the most part an upgraded chip uses the majority of the engineering that came from the Buick design team and when you order your chip you give the programmer your mods and he or she modified the chip mostly for WOT.
With the XFI the tune basically has to built from scratch. I have the XFI and when I had the TT chip and power logger my car ran much better especially at idle.
if you are very familiar with tuning or have an extra 1-2k to spend on dyno tuning just stick with the chip.
but that wasn’t your question.
Main difference between the 2 is roughly 1 grand and the capacity to hold more tunes.
With the XFI the tune basically has to built from scratch. I have the XFI and when I had the TT chip and power logger my car ran much better especially at idle.
if you are very familiar with tuning or have an extra 1-2k to spend on dyno tuning just stick with the chip.
but that wasn’t your question.
Main difference between the 2 is roughly 1 grand and the capacity to hold more tunes.
the xfi cars just dont drive as well as the chip cars do,seen this on hundreds of cars with various super tuners tuning it.the holley setup is the best driving/ easiest to tune setup ive seen so far but have not seen the gn ecu yet,but ms3 pro stuff gets tossed in the garbage and most up here are going with the holley,the drivability and self learn seems to be just that good.xfi is really old news and alot of cars ive seen just dont run too well on them even after the dyno,it seems they run alot better with a tuner street tuning them and need alot of love,not to mention how glitchy they can be
the stock computer and tt chip definitely keeps a tighter afr in real street driving.
SCOOBY DOO
BASED CANADIAN PATRIOT!!
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2007
- Messages
- 3,941
TT chip for the win. XFI makes me giggle.
Me too,the Holley setup is pretty awesome though,the self learning is like nothing I've seen before.most of the really fast stuff up here has switched over and the results have been really good on different platforms.
The statement "a man has to know his limitations" always applies.
When you look at the potential of an aftermarket PCM along with a dedicated, diligent, capable owner, it is better.
Dealing with the lowest common denominator, don't bother. The lowest common denominator, minus a pile of cash, equals fail regardless of what is controlling the thing.
Now you enter what the options are, and what the checkbook is, capability is, and desire of the owner is. BLM and Aunt-Tifa would not approve of such a statement.
A chip car, with a (good) stock MAF, may work good with gas only, but maybe difficult to max tune with alky. Very little options for tuning the ramp.
A basic translator with a TT chip may be good with gas only, but may be difficult to max tune with alky. It is one thing to tune for simply stomping on it at the line, and something else to be able to roll in on the street.
I am not sure why the GENII translator and the MAFT pro did not get better press other than above qualification. I would recommend a better way to wire tap though, only short coming of the product that I have seen. Takes a little study to understand. I use the MAFT pro as a translator, and it is the most versatile translator you could buy. It is the only reason I have not upgraded yet. I know Eric makes great chips, but to not acknowledge Bob's translator chips as the best factory extension available, and the fact that they will measure air flow to a ridiculous levels, and not require any adjustment boggles my mind.
Eric now offers the axis, which I am just as surprised has not gleaned more attention. I guess it is either rocket scientist or cavemen trying to tune the cars.
SD2 option, fantastic option
Last option after market PCM, limitless tuning and adjust-ability. Make sure you know what you are doing.
Everything about these cars at this age can be quirky, now introduce new electronics and that may require some effort, most likely will.
So simply put, one shoe does not fit everybody, thank God.
When you look at the potential of an aftermarket PCM along with a dedicated, diligent, capable owner, it is better.
Dealing with the lowest common denominator, don't bother. The lowest common denominator, minus a pile of cash, equals fail regardless of what is controlling the thing.
Now you enter what the options are, and what the checkbook is, capability is, and desire of the owner is. BLM and Aunt-Tifa would not approve of such a statement.
A chip car, with a (good) stock MAF, may work good with gas only, but maybe difficult to max tune with alky. Very little options for tuning the ramp.
A basic translator with a TT chip may be good with gas only, but may be difficult to max tune with alky. It is one thing to tune for simply stomping on it at the line, and something else to be able to roll in on the street.
I am not sure why the GENII translator and the MAFT pro did not get better press other than above qualification. I would recommend a better way to wire tap though, only short coming of the product that I have seen. Takes a little study to understand. I use the MAFT pro as a translator, and it is the most versatile translator you could buy. It is the only reason I have not upgraded yet. I know Eric makes great chips, but to not acknowledge Bob's translator chips as the best factory extension available, and the fact that they will measure air flow to a ridiculous levels, and not require any adjustment boggles my mind.
Eric now offers the axis, which I am just as surprised has not gleaned more attention. I guess it is either rocket scientist or cavemen trying to tune the cars.
SD2 option, fantastic option
Last option after market PCM, limitless tuning and adjust-ability. Make sure you know what you are doing.
Everything about these cars at this age can be quirky, now introduce new electronics and that may require some effort, most likely will.
So simply put, one shoe does not fit everybody, thank God.
Not a lot of attention on the board, but should have mentioned Dynamic EFI, it is looks to be in the SD2 category. A little less expensive if you include the chip and the powerlogger cost. Looks like a slick system.
ttypewhite
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2001
- Messages
- 4,156
I'm a sponge for information where electronics are concerned. I've had multiple aftermarket ecu's from Haltech, Acell batch fire (silver box), Acell SFI (black box), Classic FAST and XFI. If the OP is interested in learning it, go for it. Immerse yourself into a network that can support your quest for knowledge. It's not rocket science, I am no scholar by any means, but you would be extremely hard pressed to tell the difference in drivability from a bone stock Buick to both cars in my stable that I have spent countless hours perfecting myself. Heck, my 18 year old daughter has driven my car multiple times already with no problems. Just like a chip, get a base program to get you in the ballpark, then spend time tuning and saving as a new file. Never overwrite the old just incase you have to revert. A chip is the easiest thing to get you running quickly with minor tweaks, and those tweaks are generally with WOT because the drivability from TT chips are really really good, but don't be afraid to embrace technology. Nobody who started learning this platform came out running right out the gate including myself. I have learned more about these cars by being able to see more of what is possible through aftermarket ecu's, and how changes reflect results. Everything is at your disposal from start up parameters, tip in, fuel enrichment, injector voltage etc where you learn more and really fine tune. In most cases you won't pick up more over a chip, but you will understand more having so much data at your finger tip that you now can experiment with, and like anything, once you get the handle of it, it's like riding a bike..very easy.
