Duramax tuner
Has anyone out there used a tuner/programmer on their Duramax? I tow a Jayco 37'FW with my 2013 Sierra 2500HD Duramax it does a good job but I'm wondering about doing some performance enhancements. I'...
Forum Discussion
Yes and no. Many of today's engines have a lot of unreliable parts all in the name of meeting emissions. From high pressure fuel pumps, variable geometry turbos, to EGR systems. In many cases, tuning makes these engines more reliable by either allowing you remove/replace these parts with more reliable ones or turn them off. There is also fuel maps in the stock form specifically designed to meet emissions even though it harms the engine. One being holding on to higher gears at low rpms which increases EGT's considerably.
I think a lot of people think of tuning and they automatically have 800 rwhp engines in their head with pistons scattered everywhere. Most that tune will not ever take it that high and will likely stay below the 500 rwhp realm which is plenty safe for all of the diesels (internals and all) that have been built in the last decade. You can run 500 rwhp unloaded and switch it back down to 400 rwhp towing heavy and easily have that engine last for hundreds of thousands of miles with no issues. The stock tuning is meant to keep the engine safe and emissions legal towing it's max tow rating(30k lbs) and you can safely increase power output when not towing at these ranges without harming the engine.
Transmissions are going to be your breaking point when you drive at 500 rwhp especially if you have a stock 68RFE or Allison behind your diesel. The Ford 6R140 and Aisin can easily handle 500 rwhp without needing any upgrades. For the 68RFE, you will need to spend another $700 on a new valve body that can handle higher line pressure and you should be good with the right TCM tune and smart driving. Not sure what the Allison needs and I can't speak for the new 10 speed units.
One thing that tuning modern diesels that could not be done on older diesels is transmission tuning. You can alter shift points and TC lockup strategy to your liking and how you use your truck instead of the generic tune meant for everyone. While the stock trans tune that shifts into higher gears at lower speeds may be fine for a flat lander, it may not be ideal for someone who has to constantly go up grades. Having the torque converter lockup when you want it to based on how you use your truck is another benefit.
I implore anyone who has never driven a custom tuned 2013+ diesel truck. They are fun to drive especially when you remove a lot of the "dead pedal" on the factory tuning which is very prevalent in Ram diesels. Do I need 500 rwhp? No, and I even use all 500 rwhp 99.9% of the time, but the added fueling/timing/boost makes the rpms I do drive in(between 1,200-2,000) a lot more fun to drive in than stock since it adds about 150 hp over stock in those rpms so I don't need as high of rpms to get up and go as I did in stock form. The truck feels a lot lighter than it is and I get about 2 mpg better fuel economy.
I think a lot of people think of tuning and they automatically have 800 rwhp engines in their head with pistons scattered everywhere. Most that tune will not ever take it that high and will likely stay below the 500 rwhp realm which is plenty safe for all of the diesels (internals and all) that have been built in the last decade. You can run 500 rwhp unloaded and switch it back down to 400 rwhp towing heavy and easily have that engine last for hundreds of thousands of miles with no issues. The stock tuning is meant to keep the engine safe and emissions legal towing it's max tow rating(30k lbs) and you can safely increase power output when not towing at these ranges without harming the engine.
Transmissions are going to be your breaking point when you drive at 500 rwhp especially if you have a stock 68RFE or Allison behind your diesel. The Ford 6R140 and Aisin can easily handle 500 rwhp without needing any upgrades. For the 68RFE, you will need to spend another $700 on a new valve body that can handle higher line pressure and you should be good with the right TCM tune and smart driving. Not sure what the Allison needs and I can't speak for the new 10 speed units.
One thing that tuning modern diesels that could not be done on older diesels is transmission tuning. You can alter shift points and TC lockup strategy to your liking and how you use your truck instead of the generic tune meant for everyone. While the stock trans tune that shifts into higher gears at lower speeds may be fine for a flat lander, it may not be ideal for someone who has to constantly go up grades. Having the torque converter lockup when you want it to based on how you use your truck is another benefit.
I implore anyone who has never driven a custom tuned 2013+ diesel truck. They are fun to drive especially when you remove a lot of the "dead pedal" on the factory tuning which is very prevalent in Ram diesels. Do I need 500 rwhp? No, and I even use all 500 rwhp 99.9% of the time, but the added fueling/timing/boost makes the rpms I do drive in(between 1,200-2,000) a lot more fun to drive in than stock since it adds about 150 hp over stock in those rpms so I don't need as high of rpms to get up and go as I did in stock form. The truck feels a lot lighter than it is and I get about 2 mpg better fuel economy.
