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Duramax tuner

Lightning55
Explorer
Explorer
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'm considering buying a Banks Automind 2 Programmer. Does anyone have any experience with this tuner or others? Reviews are all over the board so not sure which direction to go. It's got good power now, but more is always better and any improvement in fuel consumption would be great.
29 REPLIES 29

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
rhagfo wrote:

I got a diesel for the power, but.


See, you just answered your own question. Like I predicted.
But youโ€™re pretending youโ€™re the authority on how much power is enough....
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

rhagfo
Explorer III
Explorer III
Grit dog wrote:
rhagfo wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
Buddy runs one on his 2015 LML and tows a 32ft 5er. No issues and truck runs well but your not going to pick up any mileage running one. Only way to really improve mileage on emissions equipped diesels is to delete the emissions via tuning. Would take a LOT of years to pay for itself in fuel savings though. Probably not an option for you living in CA.

Why install a tuner to tow a 32โ€™ 5er? We tow a 32โ€™ 13,000#+ 5er with a 2016 Ram 3500 CTD, Aisin, 3.73โ€™s and it does great without a tuner.


Why did you get a diesel?
See now you can answer your own (leading) question!


I got a diesel for the power, but I have the HO, Aisin, 3.73, 25,000# tow rating. I likely will never tow more than about 17,000#. So why bother.
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

ksss
Explorer
Explorer
There are guys here that I know that are running the Banks Derringer controller on their L5P. Everyone that I have talked to is pretty impressed with it. It apparently removes the dead pedal along with the power bump. That along would be worth the price. I cant stand hitting the throttle and waiting for it to take off. Banks appears to be spending a great deal of time with the L5P (in part due to their military contract I suspect). I wouldn't be surprised if Banks and GM are not working together behind the scenes, if that is true, I would imagine that the L5P will get a power bump soon and likely follow the work that Banks has done to substantially increase the power of the L5P that they are documenting on You Tube. Like mentioned, Banks spends a lot of time to get their product right.
2020 Chevy 3500 CC 4X4 DRW D/A
2013 Fuzion 342
2011 RZR Desert Tan
2012 Sea Doo GTX 155
2018 Chevy 3500HD CC LB SRW 4X4 D/A
2015 Chevy Camaro ZL1

ShinerBock
Explorer
Explorer
Lightning55 wrote:
Thanks for the input. I don't want to tamper with the emissions systems on this truck. It's amazingly clean out of the tailpipe. I can take a white cloth and rub the inside of the tailpipe and it's perfectly clean. I just thought if I could crank up the performance for a few hundred bucks and cause no harm to the motor or trans, I'd go for it. I'll look into Duramaxtuner. There are so many companies out there doing this that it's a little confusing.


Durmaxtuner(aka Calibrated Power Solutions) are emissions intact tunes. Whatever you do, DO NOT go with a piggy back system. Go with something that will also tune your trans to hold the added power.
2014 Ram 2500 6.7L CTD
2016 BMW 2.0L diesel (work and back car)
2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 3.0L Ecodiesel

Highland Ridge Silverstar 378RBS

Vintage465
Nomad
Nomad
I've read some good stuff about the Durmax tuners. But normally when I think of a well thought out performance package from anywhere, I seem to come back to Banks. They really seem to look at and research all aspects of performance and reliability so you end up with a pickup that has better all around performance but won't smoke your tranny or cause you grief when you need to get it smogged........
V-465
2013 GMC 2500HD Duramax Denali. 2015 CreekSide 20fq w/450 watts solar and 465 amp/hour of batteries. Retired and living the dream!

Lightning55
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for the input. I don't want to tamper with the emissions systems on this truck. It's amazingly clean out of the tailpipe. I can take a white cloth and rub the inside of the tailpipe and it's perfectly clean. I just thought if I could crank up the performance for a few hundred bucks and cause no harm to the motor or trans, I'd go for it. I'll look into Duramaxtuner. There are so many companies out there doing this that it's a little confusing.

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
rhagfo wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
Buddy runs one on his 2015 LML and tows a 32ft 5er. No issues and truck runs well but your not going to pick up any mileage running one. Only way to really improve mileage on emissions equipped diesels is to delete the emissions via tuning. Would take a LOT of years to pay for itself in fuel savings though. Probably not an option for you living in CA.

Why install a tuner to tow a 32โ€™ 5er? We tow a 32โ€™ 13,000#+ 5er with a 2016 Ram 3500 CTD, Aisin, 3.73โ€™s and it does great without a tuner.


Why did you get a diesel?
See now you can answer your own (leading) question!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
midnightsadie wrote:
just a though, if you play with this stuff??? and then have a problem. when they hook up there machine it,ll show what you done .I think it,ll kill your werrenty.

Roflmaoe
Go find something else to be scared of...
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

N-Trouble
Explorer
Explorer
rhagfo wrote:
N-Trouble wrote:
Buddy runs one on his 2015 LML and tows a 32ft 5er. No issues and truck runs well but your not going to pick up any mileage running one. Only way to really improve mileage on emissions equipped diesels is to delete the emissions via tuning. Would take a LOT of years to pay for itself in fuel savings though. Probably not an option for you living in CA.

Why install a tuner to tow a 32โ€™ 5er? We tow a 32โ€™ 13,000#+ 5er with a 2016 Ram 3500 CTD, Aisin, 3.73โ€™s and it does great without a tuner.


Because you can... Dont think he installed it specifically for towing. We all run our trucks empty 90% of the time.

I have the same truck but a 2012 LML that is stock. His truck is noticeably quicker than mine unloaded but gets a little worse mileage than me. We tow similar size 5erS around 13-14K GVWR
2015 Attitude 28SAG w/slide
2012 GMC 2500HD SLT Duramax
B&W Turnover w/Andersen Ultimate 5er hitch

rhagfo
Explorer III
Explorer III
N-Trouble wrote:
Buddy runs one on his 2015 LML and tows a 32ft 5er. No issues and truck runs well but your not going to pick up any mileage running one. Only way to really improve mileage on emissions equipped diesels is to delete the emissions via tuning. Would take a LOT of years to pay for itself in fuel savings though. Probably not an option for you living in CA.

Why install a tuner to tow a 32โ€™ 5er? We tow a 32โ€™ 13,000#+ 5er with a 2016 Ram 3500 CTD, Aisin, 3.73โ€™s and it does great without a tuner.
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

N-Trouble
Explorer
Explorer
Buddy runs one on his 2015 LML and tows a 32ft 5er. No issues and truck runs well but your not going to pick up any mileage running one. Only way to really improve mileage on emissions equipped diesels is to delete the emissions via tuning. Would take a LOT of years to pay for itself in fuel savings though. Probably not an option for you living in CA.
2015 Attitude 28SAG w/slide
2012 GMC 2500HD SLT Duramax
B&W Turnover w/Andersen Ultimate 5er hitch

ShinerBock
Explorer
Explorer
OP, give Nick at Durmaxtuner.com(aka Calibrated Power Solutions). They also post a lot of videos on Youtube if you want to do some more research on their product offerings.

Anarchy Diesel is another good Durmax tuner and so is PPEI.
2014 Ram 2500 6.7L CTD
2016 BMW 2.0L diesel (work and back car)
2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 3.0L Ecodiesel

Highland Ridge Silverstar 378RBS

Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Explorer
midnightsadie wrote:
just a though, if you play with this stuff??? and then have a problem. when they hook up there machine it,ll show what you done .I think it,ll kill your werrenty.


I seriously doubt he has a warranty left on a 2013 truck.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~


"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"

"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."- Abraham Lincoln

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
just a though, if you play with this stuff??? and then have a problem. when they hook up there machine it,ll show what you done .I think it,ll kill your werrenty.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
If the tuner meets emission requirements, give it a try.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad