Diesel Tuners
I received an email and video from Trailer Life about Bully Dog GT tuners for diesel engines. It all sounds good but I have been warned that the warranty would be voided if I use a tuner. Now I wond...
Forum Discussion
The best claims I have seen in writing (though in advertisements) is a 5% gain and most only mention "improved fuel economy" with no numbers mentioned. I calculated that for my diesel truck the breakeven point was at best after 100,000 miles of driving.
It is one thing to add horsepower as the manufacturers tune their engines for maximum durability and to minimize both emissions of pollutants and problems from overheating or added stress on downstream components like the transmission. Kids who add tuners often learn this the hard way with a $3000-$4000 tab for a transmission rebuild.
It is not credible that some guy has discovered something about how to change the tuning of an engine that escaped the hundreds of professional full time engineers at the auto and engine manufacturers.
The fuel economy gains claimed usually involve removal of the emissions controls which at best is cheating (though that is considered commendable in Republican circles).
Anyone who wants to spend less on fuel should either buy a lighter trailer or drive slower. In the trucking industry there are drivers that routinely get 30% better fuel economy out of the same rigs as a result of how they drive. The fleet operators will pay thousands of dollars per rig to increase fuel economy by 1%. And of all the devices they use to try to accomplish this a tuner is not on the list.
It is one thing to add horsepower as the manufacturers tune their engines for maximum durability and to minimize both emissions of pollutants and problems from overheating or added stress on downstream components like the transmission. Kids who add tuners often learn this the hard way with a $3000-$4000 tab for a transmission rebuild.
It is not credible that some guy has discovered something about how to change the tuning of an engine that escaped the hundreds of professional full time engineers at the auto and engine manufacturers.
The fuel economy gains claimed usually involve removal of the emissions controls which at best is cheating (though that is considered commendable in Republican circles).
Anyone who wants to spend less on fuel should either buy a lighter trailer or drive slower. In the trucking industry there are drivers that routinely get 30% better fuel economy out of the same rigs as a result of how they drive. The fleet operators will pay thousands of dollars per rig to increase fuel economy by 1%. And of all the devices they use to try to accomplish this a tuner is not on the list.
