I can have a guy here local reprogram my car for $100. Some of the LT1'* and LS1'* he has done have gotten as much as 25 to 30 hp. My main concern is, he says I will actually get better gas mileage by him doing this. Is that true? And he says he can also change my shift points so it doesn't jump into forth gear too quick and lug up hills like it is doing now. What have you guys ran into who have done this?? Any noticeable power gains and any increase or decrease in mileage. And last, he said that the factory sets cars up to get them to last longer (get longer life out of the engines), is doing this going to shorten the life of the engine or is it going to cause any gasket failures do to higher combustion temps?? Thanks for any info.
Joe

You're not going to gain a significant amount on a stock car by this alone. It can help you make the most of other changes though.

Who is this 'guy'? Has he ever tuned an L67 before? What tuner software is he using? We need alot of details. For the same price, you can get the INTENSE standard PCM from a business that has mastered the art of the L67 in a Bonneville like no other.

and on top of that tuning a sc v6 and tuning a na v8 is a big differance. might not get a good tune from a v8 guy

Despite what is always prescribed by members on this board, Intense is NOT the end all, be all of 3800 performance. I would rather have a custom tune than some junk standard off the shelf tune. Every car is different so a off the shelf is not always the better option.

A custom tune from someone that understands and has background with the vehicle is the best as mentioned. The way it was mentioned is not the way this forum is run. While the Intense PCM was used as an example, there are others out there. Lately one 00+ member has been having some trouble with the standard ZZP PCM.

Things I would recommend if you are going to have the local person do it. They give you a copy of the bin files (pcm file) that your car had originally and the modified file. This is in case you need either in the future and this person is no longer available.

And before having them do anything to your car..consider asking what they intend to change and to what basic settings. Run those past us.. some of us have some experience and will be able to coach you as to our understanding of the changes proposed.

For example..shifting too high in the rpm is bad and has been known to break springs.
Too little torque management under a heavy foot can allow harm to the transmission
turning the fans on at a lower temperature is something I consider required. It will keep your engine much cooler in the summer.

Intense does have a good general setting tune that they sell off the shelf. Similar to the original GM programming, it'* intended for a easy install and wide usage. I do not have any experience with the ZZP pcm currently available.

When it comes to BONNEVILLE PCM'*, INTENSE clearly stands alone at the top of the heap. Nobody has supported the Bonneville to the level that they have. There are some unique differences between the Bonneville'* tuning when compared to the W-body tuning.

In this particular case, a custom tune would be a waste of time and effort, considering the car is bone-stock right now. You would gain very little to nothing over INTENSE'* standard PCM (which can also be modified/customized to suit you). The continuing support you would recieve afterwards is well worth the investment.

To re-iterate, a custom tune on a stock setup just isn't worthwhile. Later on in the modding game, it'* the best option when done by someone that knows what they're doing.

IMO, an off-the-shelf PCM IS the best option for a stock car looking for a little extra.

Could not agree with others any more!! Don't waste money and effort messing with the PCM on a stock car. My car has some mods. I then had my PCM re-flashed (by zzp) and actually lost some hp compared to a stock PCM.

ZZP has never grasped the unique aspects of the Bonneville PCM.

What makes tuning a Bonneville different from anything else with a 3800? Same motor but a different chassis is all and a PCM has nothing to do with a chassis. There is a bias on this site towards Intense, but no need to be blowing smoke up other peoples asses saying things like a Bonneville 3800 is different from a GP 3800 when they are infact the same motor with the same tuning. On that note a VERY prominent member of the 3800 community warned me about putting anything from Intense on my car, and I respect his word seeing as how he used to work for them but quit, not fired, but quit for personal reasons.

To the OP, make your own decision, whether it be Intense, ZZP, or the custom tune by your friend, but don't buy Intense just because these guys say so do it because you want too, because these guys recomend Intense for everything when there are better options out there.

There are differences in the code for each car, if they truely are the same how about you take a computer from a gp and put it in yours and see if it works out of the box, because it wont.

zzp handles grand prixs mostly and intense handles bonnevilles more than them, we arent saying DONT use zzp, we are just pointing out that they are different than intense in some aspects.