You Can Still Modify Your Truck
Earlier this year GM and a few other automakers lobbied against a proposed exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The exemption would allow for the diagnosis, repair, and modification of v...
Forum Discussion
downtheroad wrote:
Prosecution and warranty denial aside:
I'm still waiting to be convinced that chipping/programming my truck is a good idea.
I agree. In hind sight it wasn't a good decision.
I bought a tuner for my F-250 and it worked great for about 40,000 miles. Increased my mileage by about 3 mpg. I even got 14 mpg towing a 14,000 lb FW a couple of years ago up in the Dakotas. That's the up side.
The downside is that last year I spent eight thousand dollars getting new head gaskets, a valve job, new EGR cooler, and oil cooler.
There are various theories about why they failed, but I'm sure the added cylinder pressures from the Hypermax Econ tuner didn't help. The tune advanced the injection timing and produced more cylinder pressure.
Manufacturers frequently use the same engine in pickups and medium duty trucks. The difference is that the medium duty trucks use a de-tuned version for reliability and longevity. If you plan on towing, it's probably not a good idea to use a tuner. It puts too much stress on internal engine parts during extended full throttle operations, like towing a long incline. Something to consider if you're thinking about chipping.
