Diesel Tuners

I bought a Superchips tuner, from the Ford Dealer, in our 2002 Diesel dualie with the 7.4 diesel. It ran like a sports car in tow setting. Only problem was it would unlock the torque converter when pulling fifth wheel and make check engine light come on. Had the tune redone and lost power. Should have left it as original Superchips tune. Mileage increased too. The only problem was the transmission as the weak link. If Ford had kept the 7.4 and put the new trans in the 6.0 it would be the best truck bar none on the market.
Tuners work. EPA is the reason Mfgs choke engines and why engines and trucks cost way more than they should.

That's one of the great things about custom tuning, and doing my own custom tuning. I can set the powerband for driveability and longevity. I do the same for the tunes I sell.

There does come a point when things break from power, but good tuning can go a long ways.

Exactly ^^. I ran tuned diesels for 7 years (two different trucks in sig). Never a problem. I set the tuner to a reasonable setting and drove normally.

transamz9 wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:
The new engines might be under-tuned, but what happens when the transmission gets hit with that extra power ? Or the rear end, U-joints, or my 4 wheel drivetrain ?

Tim

Depends on how you use that power.

Exactly! Beat on it at every stoplight and you could very well start breaking things. Drive it normally with some common sense while having some fun from time to time and your likely not going to have issues. There are many diesel owners with a lot of "tuned" miles on their rigs that have no problems. Most of the current EFI Live Duramax tuenrs know the limits of the rest of the truck including the Allison and tailor their tunes around those limits. Likewise they offer what they commonly refer to as "max effort" tunes for guys going all out with built transmissions and extra fueling capabilities.

Manufacturers on the other hand have to tune these trucks with warranty costs in mind and under the assumption that owners will subject them to the worst conditions possible. Warranty is warranty regardless of how hard I beat on my stock truck.

The argument that manufacturers test and test and no way could an aftermarket tuner be any better is complete hogwash... I bet many of the these tuners have spent more time on a dyno than the big3 put together.

GoPackGo wrote:
The new engines might be under-tuned, but what happens when the transmission gets hit with that extra power ? Or the rear end, U-joints, or my 4 wheel drivetrain ?

Tim

Depends on how you use that power.

GoPackGo wrote:
The new engines might be under-tuned, but what happens when the transmission gets hit with that extra power ? Or the rear end, U-joints, or my 4 wheel drivetrain ?

Tim

:B

The new engines might be under-tuned, but what happens when the transmission gets hit with that extra power ? Or the rear end, U-joints, or my 4 wheel drivetrain ?

Tim

On the newer DEF/DPF trucks tuning the emissions out WILL provide a noticeable increase in MPG especially if you have one that likes to regen quite frequently.

Adding 100HP/200ft lbs of TQ is nothing for a modern diesel. These things are so under-tuned from the factory its amazing. The H&S "Breaking Point" videos on Youtube illustrates this point quite clearly.

wintersun wrote:
The heavy trucking industry will spend thousands of dollars on fairings and TPMS to improve fuel economy as even a 1% gain will result in many dollars in savings.
None of the fleets use tuners for their engines. The only difference is that the fleet managers decide based on facts and not advertising claims.

Want a guaranteed 15% increase in fuel economy. Drive at 55 MPH instead of 65MPH. Or even at 65 MPH instead of 70 MPH.

RVer's as a whole are the least conscious group of people in terms of doing anything to maximize fuel economy of any group I see motoring down the highway.

You'd be surprised at how many semi trucks get tuned before they are even bought. You choose what you want them set at and they do it at the dealer. The same motor can have 350 hp or 500 hp and they keep all warranties. The fleet managers also have speed limiters put on them. They will pull like a beast until you hit that speed. there are still alot of trucks out there that are down on power but if you pay attention to a lot of trucks that are governed at 62 to 68 when they hit a hill they hold that speed.;)

I've had EFI Live on my truck now for 1.5 years. I love it. Didn't do if for any mileage gains. I just love how it woke my truck up. I guess the fun factor increased by about 100%. If it breaks, oh well.