Tuned PCM worth it for a stock Bonnie?

[uber-charged]

I have been looking at some of the PCM upgrades offered for the 3800, and most of them promise amazing things! I am thinking possibly going with one, maybe ZZP. My question is, is it worth it for a stock 1999 SLE Bonnie?

The raised shift points, raised rev limiter, and better mpg are really convincing! Also do you think this would be ok with a my bonnie that has 176,000 miles?

[CatmanFS]

I would make sure that all the basic components are up to spec as far as possible failure points goes. If you're going to spend the money to tune the pcm, you'd get a better gain with a few basics, cold air intake, new spark plugs, good brakes, that kind of thing. I built a cold air intake box for my 98 ssei, check out the topic ssei in the performance and brainstorming. Sometimes the small vacuum tubes on the intake manifold can decay and check them for leaks and such, as any improvements as far as performance goes would put extra strain on these little tubes. Very cheap to replace. Make sure it has plenty of coolant, and it doesn't smell burned, or else a flush might be in order. Also check the transmission fluid for the same symptoms, burned or dark looking.

Again any performance gain can put extra strain on these systems, as well as many others, so it's a good idea to make sure they're in good working order and new if possible, especially as far as brake pads go. The first thing I did on my car was get a good set of ceramic brakes. Performance increases make me glad that I made that purchase when I did.

As far as worth it for a pcm, I'm not entirely sure. I am sure that lots of people make outrageous claims to get you in the door, or into your wallet, and the results are probably more mild than they put on, so just keep that in mind. I'm sure if done right you could get some increases to mpg and responsiveness if nothing else.

[nos4blood70]

I'll be honest. I've had both 87 and 93 octane tunes and they are pretty cool but not worth the money. Some shift points are changed and the trans is more eager to shift down. But the car will still be slow. Don't buy one expecting more power.

[uber-charged]

Thanks for the reply guys! It does seem to good to be true, and well I guess it is! Stock pcm for now at least

[nos4blood70]

You have an SLE, keep it as the DD. There isn't much performance to be had while the car is NA.

[2003 SSEi]

a Intake/ tune does make the car feel like it has more response.

also if your looking for gas milage increase that will improve as long as you keep out of the throttle

[CatmanFS]

I would recommend a cold air intake with a nice box to pull in cool air. You'll get a slight increase in gas mileage as well as power. It's not much, but it can be noticed, especially if you'll be driving for more than an hour or so. I do some fab work and can build you one for $50.

[CatmanFS]

Check that, I can build you one for $30.

[redzmonte]

tune is great for the transmission updates alone!

[macksdaddy77]

i imagine it would be better for a ssei or a top swapped than N/A

[nos4blood70]

i imagine it would be better for a ssei or a top swapped than N/A

You would imagine correctly. The L36 doesn't really respond to more timing or higher octane fuel. At best, the tune would make the trans feel more spunky.

[Evilcowboy420]

As for more power I would spend my money more on hard mods and then have the PCM tuned later to accommodate those mods after they were made.

But if I was just trying to correct a sloppy engine then yeah its probably worth it. A CAI as long as it is cheap is good. It makes for a better throttle response. It's anybody's guess as to if a CAI actually gives more power. The theory is that it will due to denser air and such. Most dyno results I have seen with a CAI just didn't yield the results it claims to. But then again I saw a package the other day claiming stainless steel band clamps gives more HP (yeah ok).

The thing forgotten mostly about the bonneville is it was a big grandpa luxury ride and was never meant to be a C7 stingray. So as for a PCM tune it really depends on what your intending to do it for. And to be honest only you know what your after. But it can be a good thing if your simply just trying to get the tranny to act like it should or trying to get a smoother running engine.

but personally to me it's just not worth the money with out heavy engine mods being done before hand. unless your just looking to experiment with tuning using your own cable and software then its a bit cheaper.

But usually a good rule of thumb to do when someone claims it will give you x amount of HP and yada yada is. Listen to half and believe a third . They just want your business and most companies will lie to get it. It's all just a sales pitch.

Anyways thats my opinion.