Power Tuner for Gas engines

I run an SCT tuner with tunes from 5 star tuning. With the V-10 it made a significant improvement in towing. Mine came with 3 different tunes, towing, perf. and economy. And can be had in any octane rating. I have the 3 tunes in the 89 octane. When towing now it is much more relaxed because the trans shifts better and it holds O/D longer and raises the shift points and line pressure. I can also change any parameter i want to tailor it to my specific needs. It also adds 15HP in the towing mode. I gained .7 mpg towing too. You have to understand how a tuner works to use them properly. The generic tuners won't do much for you. But when you get a custom tuner tailored to your specific vehicle it works great.

The ads always say "UP TO XXXX H.P. Gain" It's the "up to" part that bites. If it was that easy the factory would tune them this way. They are always trying to get more power and better mileage. The only people that say they work are the ones that bought them and don't want to admit they wasted their money..

B.O.

I went to stock after getting spark knocks. Couldn't get it resolved with many updates. Waste of money. They make your truck "feel faster" with trans adjustments. I noticed zero difference in pulling my camper in the normal rpm range. Driving solo it felt 2000 lighter. I bought it for pulling power which had no gain.

I used to have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with the 5.2L engine (318 Magnum) that I installed a set of high quality Mike Leach headers specifically designed for this application; the K&N fuel injection performance kit (cold air filter); Mopar performance computer; larger injectors; larger throttle body; 3 inch stainless steel exhaust front to rear (not just cat back); high flow cat; high flow muffler (still pretty loud); and a few other mods. After about a year I started wishing I could meet somebody that had a factory stock Jeep that would trade me straight across. I really hated the way it drove. I got rid of it and bought my 06 F150 with 5.4L. I bought an Edge tuner thinking it would help with towing and fuel mileage. I could definitely tell a difference, but it wasn't an improvement. My truck ran better and towed better without the tuner. I returned to truck to stock and sold the tuner and am much happier for it.
I've come to the conclusion that, as much as we may like to think otherwise, those guys in Detroit have a pretty good handle on what it takes to build a truck that meets the needs of the majority of the population with a good degree of drive ability and reliability. If you look around, just about every "old" truck you see on the road is bone stock and simply properly maintained. All the "improved" trucks can be found in the junkyard or on shyster used car lots.
Leave your truck stock and don't overload it. Take good care of it and put all that "upgrade" money in your pocket.

stub-kb-2 wrote:
I just bought a Chevy Avalanche for my wife. i am curious about performance tuners (Bullydog, edge, etc.) what experience do you have with either the Chevy 5.3L or other small block gas engine (any Brand). are these tuners worth the investment?

thanks!

I can only offer you my personal experience with the tuner noted in my sig.

You will see benefits in both power and torque and fuel economy on a stock engine. Period.

The gains in power and torque could be enhanced if you have other mild mods like CAI and CAT back exhaust, but my engine feels a little stronger with the tuner and my K&N panel filter. Best part is I get better mileage too ... about 1 mpg. At this time of year I get about 17 mpg on my daily work commute (30 miles round trip) in traffic on the freeway. I get 22 on the highway at about 65 mph average and have seen just over 25 mpg at 60 mph average. All this on regular gas. I would get more power using the premium tune and premium gas, but is am cheap.

As an added bonus I can also use it to re calibrate my speedometer if I change wheels, change my engine shift points, switch off AFM, turn off top speed governor, etc., etc.

As for the warranty issues ... Pooh! You can revert to stock if you feel the need.

I recommend the tuner I use ... based on actual experience!

beemerphile1 wrote:
On a stock engine - worthless.

Modify vehicle to increase airflow through intake and exhaust - then add a tuner.

Ya, it's part of a bigger process. The tuner it's self will not help much without other modifications.

Some of them make a small difference but only in the very high rpm range where most don't enjoy driving. Factory tuning ifs usually pretty good or about as good as it gets over All

On a stock engine - worthless.

Modify vehicle to increase airflow through intake and exhaust - then add a tuner.

They just don't do much more than remap the throttle curve to make it feel more powerful and force you to use premium fuel. Even if they give the 20 or so HP they claim it's hardly noticeable.
Save your money.

Totally useless. If there is any warranty it will be voided to boot.