Tuner like “5 Star Tune “

dodge guy wrote:

ls1mike wrote:
I have a 2017 6.0 3500HD, so basically your truck. I tried Diablew, he deals with the Diablo tuner. He can do a custom tune for you. You do some data logging and he adjust the truck based off it's specific parameters. It really woke my truck up, firmed up the shifts, removed some torque management and yes a tune like this or a dyno tune will add HP and torque. I am a fan of the Dyno tune 11 sec WS6 and a 12 second 14 Caprice they are dyno tuned, but the Diablew tune worked similar to a dyno tune and I am really happy with it.

The 6.0/6L90E tune from the factory is poo, it is really mild. I tend to believe his claims of 20 to 40 RWHP depending on the tune you get. It certainly holds the gears differently and makes use of all the power.

DiabLew

Yes a lot of people have no idea what is left on the table during factory programming to make the bean counters happy. Like I said earlier, it’s not about the HP and TQ it about the TQ mgt/reduced throttle lag and much improved shift strategy.
My old V-10 Excursion had he 4R100 and it sucked when towing even with the 4.30 gears. Once I tuned it from 5 star it woke it up to the point it no longer acted like it didn’t know how to shift. It knew which gear it wanted and when. It was one of the best things I did to the X.

It has more to do with keeping the EPA happy rather than the corporate bean counters. Things like throttle lag, shift strategy, and cam/timing profile are done to meet emissions and CAFE requirements. A tuner removes these barriers and is no different than removing the emissions barriers on a diesel. Tuning a gaser will increase its emissions just like it does on a diesel(if that is a concern) except for the fact that the added emissions are seen on a diesel and not on a gaser.

Most N/A gasers will only pick up slight 5-15 hp gains on regular octane and will probably pick up 20-30 hp on higher octanes since you can advance the timing even more. In comparison, a turbocharged engine can pick up 30-50 hp on a regular octane and 60-90 hp on premium fuel tunes. Diesel's range from 50-200 hp increases on tune-only mods especially if the emissions equipment is removed.

If you want to see big gains in a gasser, a better cam and headers would likely give some good gains with a tune.