Is GM's Connect and Cruise Worth the Money?
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- In today's episode, I'm reviewing and installing GM Performance's Connect and Cruise universal LS Swap Wiring harness and control system on my LS3 Swapped Datsun 280z. In this review, I'm covering what's included, what's not included, what tuning limitations there are, and if GM's Connect and Cruise system is worth the money. This system is incredibly popular amongst the LS Swap community, being regularly installed in shops across the US, but is it right for you?
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WARNING: This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume the responsibility for the results. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Am I being too harsh on my impressions? There are plenty of people who happily run this on their swap cars, and it's a natural fit to go with the crate engine and crate transmission solutions, but do you think it's worth it? What do you think I should do here?
Very nice review! I can appreciate people who understand wiring and being very critical over design choices. Build your own harness! It's the only way you will have everything cut to perfect length.
I'm about 99% convinced that's my best path forward, thanks for your feedback!
Couldn’t a fella just use this harness which is complete…. and just shorten to your own custom lengths?
I bought the LS3 376/525 crate engine, and the harness and other stuff came included as part of the deal. Like you, I found it kind of unnecessarily bulky, and since I used a PDM much of the harness would not have fit my application. I also wanted to do a mil-spec harness for the much higher heat resistance of the Tefzel wire and DR-25. I did find the harness useful though, just as a reverse engineering aid when I built my own. That was actually invaluable.
I wanted to mention, the documentation that came with this stuff included a pin-out of all the ECU connectors....it was near the end of the booklet IIRC. That was very useful as well.
Im arriving at the exact same conclusion. I think the plan will be running everything through a PDM, using the connect and cruise ECM, and stripping the harness apart to reverse engineer it. I think a lot of people would be interested in the process, and having the hardware is a huge help, so I'm not chocking it up as a complete loss. I was using the PDM to power the chassis anyways and I think I'll have capacity to run everything on it. The ECM pinout sheets are super, super helpful as well, I did miss those the first couple times I ran through the guide. It's not everything, but it's a good start. Did you mimic all of the GM harness' wire gauges? I was surprised to see how much was done in 22AWG, I've always used more 20AWG for ease of workability. Hope you're doing well John!
Bro I saw your first video and heard you say I want to make it a race car and I thought uh oh. It's coming together really nicely keep it up and it'll be great! I can't wait to see it!
Hey thank you so much, I'm glad you're into the series! I'm hoping to get a lot more stuff coming soon, I've been in hell waiting on backordered parts to get anything meaningful done so I'm rethinking my approach to continue getting content to y'all
I haven't been on youtube in a long time and the last video I saw of yours, and of this car was something to do with the rear quarter panels. It's awesome to see how far this car has come and how improved your content has become! I'll be on youtube a lot more so I'll be here for every video in the future.
As for the wiring.. it seems like the warranty is what is having you question it all. Sure it's easy for someone on the internet to say "just void the warranty" it's not their money. Though you've already put tons of work into this car to make it look really nice, and it's those small things like the MAF being longer than a yacht and the ecm and everything being too long of wiring as well. Personally, if this were my project, which it's not, I'd probably tumble down the side of voiding the warranty to make it look nice, rather than popping the hood and being annoyed by the little things every time I see those.
But warranty is a big thing, stuff isn't cheap. I'm sure you could make it work (look nice) without having to shorten any of that, it'd just take a lot more effort and creativity
Excited to see what direction you choose!
To be honest, my warranties are voided anyways with needing to reflash and tune due to the headers (and actually probably time by now). I only brought warranties up so much because it's a major selling point for these systems, but these systems seem to give people a lot of reasons to want or have to void it in their own projects. There's a lot of really cool fabrication vids to catch up on! Hope you enjoy!
The braided shield *is* a nice touch...but I work with automotive electrical every day and couldn't justify that cost considering I'd want to shorten parts and do a tune. I'm doing my own harness mods on my LQ4 when I get there. I plan to tuck it as close to the engine as possible and shoot it through the firewall behind the intake to keep visible wires to a minimum. I think your review was fair.
Im torn between tucking the harness behind the intake or making it very visible in the passenger firewall making it very accessible. The passenger firewall needs rework anyways and it could be a good opportunity to make something really functional and tidy, but would leave a lot of the harness work exposed
@@GrindhousePerformance My plan is to move my PCM into the cab and hide it under the dash. If it were in the engine compartment, I'd probably route it differently. If you plan to his track days and stuff with it, I'd probably lean toward serviceability. Mine plan is a cruiser with the ocassional drag race or auto cross.
LS3 525 Connect & Cruise in my Cobra Kit Car, it took a little work but I'm happy with it! BIG TIME!
Bucket list car for me, friend had an LS3 factory five cobra and it was incredible 🤘
“The sticker is already peeling” subscribed bro lmao
Unbelievable 🤣
I'd just do a Holley Terminator X.... I have it on my 2002 Camaro SS and its really nice. I also have the holley 7" digital dash and its super nice and you can monitor boat loads of stuff on it. It's "self learning" not self tuning which we found out after getting it. I'd recommend it for most power adder swaps.
Ive heard nothing but good things about the Holley, I think I'm just building a harness from scratch and reusing the GM ECU at this point since all the body stuff is getting rewired too
Question. Did you order your motor from a performance delearship or online? And How long did it take for your motor and transmission to be delivered? And do they deliver it directly to your home? And sorry for so many questions, I have plans to swap a ls3 into a trans am. Watching these videos help alot for what im getting into.
I ordered both the engine and trans through JEGS. They were stocked at the warehouse (this was pre-covid though so I dont know if they're still available). I drove to the warehouse to pick it up and save on shipping, but they can be freighted if needed
Well, you aren’t really going to be returning the harness right, since you bought it a while ago? So why not just void the warranty and utilize the work you already paid for in the harness?
Hey Jordan! That's right, it wouldn't be able to be returned at this point and I'm pretty sure the included warranties already lapsed anyways. Those comments were largely for folks looking to potentially buy this system. Im thinking about tearing up this harness and building something fresh, using it as a guide
GrindhousePE I’m here for it! I don’t have the knowledge to do it myself so I’ll gladly watch :) haha
Thank you for the video it answered my questions on the reverse lock out. What made you decide on this setup rather than a terminator x? I like the simplicity of the connect and cruise but some of the aftermarket options may be a bit superior
I had just been at a car show and noticed how many swaps were using it. At the time, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible with how technical other parts of my project were becoming. I tend to overcomplicate things and wanted to get the car running, but in hindsight I should've known I'd be a bit disappointed. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the kit if you're just trying to get up and running and enjoying your build. Now that everything's coming together, this kindve feels like a cut corner for my goals with the car, and I'm just going to make the harness from scratch
Thanks for the reply. Really enjoying your build, this style of Z has always been one of my favourites.
What would a rough cost be to buy a ls3 connect and cruise and to have all parts and labor be installed? I have a 1996 K1500 if it helps. There’s no definite answer as to what folks need to save up for in order to do this besides just the kit lol.
Hey that's a really tough one to answer. There's so many variables to what your end result could look like, and I don't really know what's off the shelf vs needing to be fabricated from scratch for a k1500.
Sell that harness and get the Holley terminator x, HP, or Dominator system ! They are all plug & play and very simplistic with nice quality!
Ive heard really good things about the Holley stuff! I'm definitely torn up a bit with this one
@@GrindhousePerformance I’m using a Holley HP on my LS 4.8 LSA 260z. Super easy plus it has 4 inputs to add stuff(nitrous, fans, boost controls).
I'll check it out, thanks!!
The holley harnesses are really cheap and have their own set of issue as well (injector sub harness connector is a source of reoccurring issues). And there are still some lengths that are not great. They are definitely a solid option, but still not the cleanest installation IMO.
Interestingly enough.....GM DOES have a wiring diagram for the harness, but you have to have access to their Service Information system to get it. It's in the Unit Repair section under "2011 Performance Parts Manual". Everything is there including engine control diagnosis, as generic as it can be for a crate engine. If you know how to maneuver through GM SI, the diagrams are in the same place they would be in any regular car line manual. Strange they don't give it to you WITH the harness though.
I imagined it might be! Im glad you mentioned this. I didn't want to spend the money on access just to check whether it was there. I do feel like they should've called this out in the instructions, or really, for the price paid, provided a copy from initial purchase
If GM were smart they would put that whole section on CD for those who buy either the harness or the whole setup. There is a LOT of good info in there.
In fact my Tech2 has a selection for all the Performance engine packages.
I'm really glad to know it's there, I'll be picking up a temp membership to grab as much as I can from it 👍 thanks again man!
Welcome brother!
So did you end up using this harness? I'm in the process of doing mine with the same harness. It would be great if you did some kind of "trimming" and post it.
Im not planning on using it. I'll be reverse engineering it to build something new when the shortage doesn't make sourcing components impossible
Is the long orange wires on fuse block fusible links?
The big orange wires on the back of the fuse box connect the fuses to the relays for the Cooling Fan & Fuel Pumps
Hey, I'm just here to say your videos are great.
Hey thank you so much for that. Have a good rest of your weekend 🤙
that was very helpful thank you
Hey I'm glad to hear that! Thx
I thought Holley's was bad lmfao. Much better than that. damn. I am working on a 260 turbo LS swap myself. Good content! Time for a new vid?
Hoping mid next week, I'm overdue! Have gotten sidetracked with some other projects. Turbo LS in these is insane, that's going to be a monster
Does the ECM needs to be bolt to metal for grounding purposes..?
There's nothing in the GMPP instructions about grounding the ECM case, only mentions the grounds on the back of the cylinder head (and of course the grounds needed to connect the block to the chassis/ battery)
How/where did you spliced in to the car body harness?
This harness was not spliced into the body harness, just how it came out of the box. I'm planning to build everything fresh
Thats one reason i order absolutely everything before i ever even start a project
Great video
Hey thank you!
Get a @psiconversion setup
Hey thanks for the recommendation! PSI reached out to me last night and I'll be chatting with them today on options
🎉🎉
What car is this!?
It's a datsun 280z 👍
I would say the harness should be replaced with a custom solution
Im thinking the same!
Warranties are meant to be voided.
Story of my life 🤣 I only bring it up so much because of how much of a selling point it is for the system, but just because something's universal doesn't necessarily mean it's what you need 👍
$1,500.00 is a little too steep for me.
Eesh is that what it's selling for now? 😬