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ECU for an LY6 engine

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Old 11-12-2012, 01:46 PM
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Default ECU for an LY6 engine

Hello Everyone,


I'm new in this forum and I'm writing from Italy. I'm going to ask you some things about an LY6 engine that I have bought in USA some weeks ago but unfortunately it was shipped without ECU...


At the moment I have this engine in the workshop but I'm unable to run it. The engine specifications below:

1) The heads are marked GM n.0821

2) The camshaft is an LUNATI#60511


Starting from that I have all injectors (stock) and all the eletrical wires. The ECU connectors are stock and I don't want any secondary ECU's for the tranmission, I will use a manual gearbox.

Any suggestion to get this engine work? Where can I buy the right aftermarket ECU? How I can tune it for best performance whit my cams/heads?



Thank you for your help...I really need it!!!
Old 11-12-2012, 03:36 PM
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Do you know what year and model the engine came from? The harness on the engine should be set up for an E38 ecm which we do offer from Chevy performance NAL-12612384 at a price of 247.99. If you happen to find it cheaper from another retailer we do offer a price match policy.

MSD just came out with an Atomic EFI for the LS engine that will contain harness, ecu and self learns for many applications. You can get more information on this at the MSD page and we will be getting the MSD Atomic LS system shortly since it was just debuted at the SEMA 2012 show.
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Old 11-14-2012, 07:17 AM
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Here are your options as I see them.

Stock ECU (GM e38). If you have all the other control hardware like the drive by wire (Dbw) throttle with pedal and all the original sensors then this is a good option. The problem for you will be changing the tune in the ECU to match your engine configuration. In this country (USA) we have many tuning options for these ECUs but I don't know about Italy. The tune is adjusted using aftermarket software. This software (hptuner, or efi live and others) can be purchased by anyone, however you have to know what you are doing. Most people send their ECU off to an expert that will give it a base tune that will allow the motor to start and run. Then they drive the car to a tuning expert and have it tuned on a dyno or on the road.

Aftermarket ECU. There are endless options here. You need to ask yourself what do I want this engine to do? How much am I willing to spend? Will I be making upgrades in the future? You can get self tuning systems, DBW, nitrous, boost ect, ect. With aftermarket systems you will probably need a new wiring harness. Aftermarket ECUs are not cheap, expect more than 1000 dollars for a cheap one.

If you have access to a tuning shop that is familiar with these engines then going with a stock e38 ECU is your simplest option. If money is no object then I would go with a modern aftermarket system like the Holley EFI system. In fact the newer systems might even be cheaper than a e38 in the long run. The new systems are self tuning and user friendly which can save you some money paying a tuner.
Old 11-29-2012, 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Summitracing
Do you know what year and model the engine came from? The harness on the engine should be set up for an E38 ecm which we do offer from Chevy performance NAL-12612384 at a price of 247.99. If you happen to find it cheaper from another retailer we do offer a price match policy.

MSD just came out with an Atomic EFI for the LS engine that will contain harness, ecu and self learns for many applications. You can get more information on this at the MSD page and we will be getting the MSD Atomic LS system shortly since it was just debuted at the SEMA 2012 show.
Unfortunately, I don't know the engine made year, can I detect it starting from the engine serial number?

Originally Posted by mallder
Here are your options as I see them.

Stock ECU (GM e38). If you have all the other control hardware like the drive by wire (Dbw) throttle with pedal and all the original sensors then this is a good option. The problem for you will be changing the tune in the ECU to match your engine configuration. In this country (USA) we have many tuning options for these ECUs but I don't know about Italy. The tune is adjusted using aftermarket software. This software (hptuner, or efi live and others) can be purchased by anyone, however you have to know what you are doing. Most people send their ECU off to an expert that will give it a base tune that will allow the motor to start and run. Then they drive the car to a tuning expert and have it tuned on a dyno or on the road.

Aftermarket ECU. There are endless options here. You need to ask yourself what do I want this engine to do? How much am I willing to spend? Will I be making upgrades in the future? You can get self tuning systems, DBW, nitrous, boost ect, ect. With aftermarket systems you will probably need a new wiring harness. Aftermarket ECUs are not cheap, expect more than 1000 dollars for a cheap one like the Holley EFI system. In fact the newer systems might even be cheaper than a e38 in the long run. The new systems are self tuning and user friendly which can save you some money paying a tuner.
There isn't any expert tuner for american engines in Italy...and I would want something Plug & Play or pre tuned ECU avoiding dyno testing...doesn't matter if I need to replace all wires/harness

I think that the best option for me is an aftermarket ECU, I have no chance to tune properly a stock E38 ECU although is the cheaper option. Another good option is to find someone who can tune a stock E38 ECU starting from my engine setup (cam shaft and heads), if someone have an engine like mine...
Old 11-29-2012, 05:11 PM
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If you want my opinion, I like the new holley EFI systems. I've worked with the older Commander 950 system and am now learning the holley HP efi system. This is a very capable system. It has an excellent instruction manual and a easy to use interface. It operates in speed density mode and can control nitrous, boost, water or methanol injection, spark timing, cooling fans, ect, ect. And it is self tuning provided you give the system a reasonably suitable air fuel ratio target.

Probably the best part of the holley system is the customer support. Doug Flynn is an engineer at holley and he is very active on several car related forums. He will go out of his way to get you an answer. He can frequently be found in the EFI section of the "Chevy talk" forum. He's the guy to talk to.



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