is the s&p 6sp ls1 harness worth the extra money over the painless system? anyone have pros and cons of each? planning on ordering in the next week.

 

I have checked out all the wiring latley and havn't decided on one for myself
painless states you must use a 98 ECM with their harness. If you have a different year you will need a different ECM. My LS1 is a 2000 so I forgot about that one
here are some prices I got latley
speartech - ..............750 new - 450 modify your existing
SnP - .............895 new - modify n/a
speed scene - .........715 new - 400 modify
current perfromance - 650 new - 350 modify
the only real differnece I have heard/found is how the relays are wired. Inline or with a fuse block depending on your picks
Most look the same but the ones listed above can be tailored to your car compared to painless
I will probably choose the harness for my install based on whoever reprograms my ECM
Makes sense to me to have the same guy do both so they work together
Different ECM reprograms offer diferent power increases based on whether they just eliminate the unwanted systems or actually reprogram the power curve
I'd onyl consider the painless if you have a 98 ECM

 

i do have a 98 ls1 with the 98 ecm... so the painless for me??

 

Just keep in mind that any year PCM can control any year LS1. The engines aren't year specific when it comes to their computer.

One sensor that is slightly different on the '98 is the engine coolant temp sensor. On the '98 it has a triangle plug configuration, on later years it is just an oval. Thats about it, a $12 part.

Tony

 

I have a speartech and havent installed it yet but it is a beautifully made part, look better than factory and it was mde to my specs

 

Our harnesses are custom made for your application as opposed to the "one size fits all" approach. You tell us where you want to mount your computer; we don't tell you.

Our harnesses come with a nice split loom covering for a nicer look, instead of wire ties and no covering.

We build harnesses for all years of the LS1 (97-04) and its variants (4.8, 5.3, 6.0, 8.1). Our harnesses don’t require the limited use 98 PCM (unless the customer already has or wants this PCM).

These engines have changed over the years and our harnesses have changed with the engines. In 2001 the high flow 85mm 5-pin mass airflow sensor came out and many customers are using this MAF sensor. With our custom harness, we build to suit the features and options of your setup.

We pioneered the use of the electronic throttle on retrofit LS1/LS6 applications and are now building approximately 50% of our harnesses with this feature. The street rodders love it, and most of the others don't address this or any of the other changes that have taken place on this engine series.

Our method of custom building costs more than the mass production "cookie cutter" way of doing it, but the fit and finish of the final product is worth it to many, many customers.

We also believe that the best results come from setting up the total engine control package. This is why we not only build the harness, but also program the PCM specifically for your vehicle. We don’t use any VATS modules, tricker resistors, O2 sims, etc., with our harnesses. You tell us about your setup (gear ratio, tire size, emissions equipment, etc.) and we’ll program the PCM specifically for that setup. The results of this total approach method means that your new powertrain will operate as designed in your vehicle without any extra gadgets or modules; and without the check engine light being on all of the time.

Another advantage of the custom build approach is with the combinations you guys are putting together these days! We’ve built harnesses for about any mix and match setup you can imagine. How about an LS1 engine with 4L80E transmission, 75mm MAF sensor, electronic throttle, 7 feet long! What’s the painless part number for that one?

We are higher than some, lower than others, but the quality is surpassed by no one!

 

I have the reworked factory harness from Speartech. The reason I did the factory rework was because the factory harness was the right length with were i was going with it. The customer service WAS excellent right after purchase, but I had a few questions about a month later and could get NO response. I called and left a message, and wrote an email with no response to either. I even checked my spam mail. It was a simple question about the fuse terminal in the modded harness. I figured it out within a few days. Rather this got over looked or bypassed I am not sure but I still give the quality of the work two thumbs up.

 

Wouldn't is be really cool if there was some way for one of the custom rod magazines to do some kind of build off or comparison test or something for these kinds of things? Not sure how they would do something like that, but it would be kind of neat for the swap guys out there if some kind of actual research for the pros and cons of all the differnet companies was out there. Like I know S&P harnesses look like crap, they cover the whole thing in heat shrink, and I don't think they get very custom, but they have the advantage of selling a bunch of other stuff to make it all more convenient for the consumer. Maybe I will mention it to a friend of mine that is going to SEMA to see if he can ask one of the magazine people out there.
John,
I was also wondering, you use LS1 edit for the programming right? How is that "quality-wise" compared to what Fastchip/Ed Wright is doing? I understand he uses something a little more complex, but I haven't heard any real pro's or cons aside from his pricing is kind of high.

 

Those two somewhat simple sounding characteristics alone would have saved me hours in installation time. I have the Painless harness on my '69, and it works just fine, but I spent hours re-routing the wires where I wanted them, cutting wires I didn't need off, and lengthening/shorting various wires to fit my setup neatly. Then add in a few more hours of looming all of them into bundles with zip-ties and covering them up with the plastic loom. It took forever! I also ended up with a rat's nest inside my dash of wires that I didn't need (why does it come with all the damn emissions crap harnesses????) and about a foot of extra main wire bundle length that I didn't want.

I would have gladly paid extra now, just for the time savings involved.

 

What is Speartech phone number?

 

Has anyone used the electronic pedal setup in a first gen install?

 

If you are who I think you are, I think it might be more fair to say I couldn't resolve your problem, rather than you got "NO response". (the overheating wire?)

If this is someone else or another issue, I apoligize if I didn't respond. I do get caught up sometimes in everything going on around here and miss some calls and emails. I try to respond to everyone; ESPECIALLY paying customers!

John

 

Yes, I use LS1 Edit. I think the quality is very good (it is used by most of the top dyno tuners). I think EW may have access to info that is not generally available which may give him a slight advantage on a few things, but the big problem is when he scrambles the code so that you can't read it later and build on it as you continue to make modifications in the future. I guess he's "protecting" his knowledge and abilities or something like that, but it's a BIG turn-off to many, many people.

John

 

You are correct on the person, BUT after I checked what you had asked me to, I gave you feedback with another question, via email, then a phone call with the same unanswered the previous week. It was even a simple YES or NO at that. This was your stand alone harness so I figured you might have a simple fix. You never responded to either the last phone call or the email. If you didnt know you could have just said so and not ignore a question, last time I checked, I was a paying customer.

Anyway sorry to junk up this thread, like I said he does do quality work..

John, if you have anything else to say, please refer to pm's as I will do the same.

Thanks
Kenny

 

I have a Speartech Harness, it's worked great for me. John was able to make it so we could use all our smog equipment and fuel system, the works! Plus he was able to put up with us calling him every 3 days to see how it was all going.

 

As far as the 98 computer is concerned... Is it possible pop the 2 large connectors off of a 98 harness and replace with 99+ connectors? Is the wiring order and colors the same? I know there are a few small changes such as the water temp sensor, and the alternator trigger wire, but would this cause any problems? Do you guys think it would even be possible to get replacement connectors? Sorry to hijack.

 

(765) 378-4908

John

 

I'm not aware of anyong doing it yet. You could be the first!!!

John

 

That was definitely the "mother of all harnesses"! Damn California emissions!

Glad it's all working well.

John

 

No, the problem is with the wiring order. The pinout is completely different between the 97-98 LS1 PCM and the 99-04 PCM.

We've re-pinned 4 98 harnesses to use the 99-04 PCM and it is a complete PITA! After each one I say "never again", and then someone else talks me into doing it for one reason or another.

But my final answer is "never again"!

John