SweetLou wrote:
Dumb question, is it better still than just putting it into tow/haul mode? How does it change towing with one of these?
Yes, way better. Most people mistake what is called "canned tunes" ,like Bully Dog or Edge, for custom tunes. Canned tunes are one tune fits all power adding tuners that do not alter trans tuning. You can alter parameters yourself, but the wrong perimeters will have adverse effects on your truck. Stacking tunes like this was one of the main reasons people were blowing head gaskets early on with the 6.7L because they would increase timing too much causing too high of cylinder pressures at low rpms. Add boost to this mixture to and you get a popped head gasket.
Custom tunes are different than these canned tuners in many ways. Usually you will pick a certain tuner(hopefully a reputable one) and they will sell you the hardware needed to tune along with a base file tune. If you like how the base file drives then you are done, but if there are things you want to alter like shifting at a certain speed, altering torque converter lockup, or even make the engine sound different by removing the pilot injection then you just inform the tuner and he will make these changes. This is why they call it a custom tune because you get to customize it to your preferences.
Most of the top name custom tuners that I mention above are reputable and have been in this business for a long time. They have grown a reputation for their work and most of those whose tunes have caused damage are generally "black listed" on the forums. If you decide to do a custom tune, do your research and go with a reputable tuner. Do not go with some off name tuner just to save a few bucks unless you trust that his fuel mapping will not harm your truck.
Here is some good reading material on EFI Live and how far it has come. In the early days of tuning, a lot of mistakes were made and most were due to lack of maps available to the tuners rather than the tuners making mistakes themselves. Of course there were some tuners that were just down right reckless with their tuning. Most of those guys have been weeded out by now, but they have left mark on the tuning industry for many, like some in this forum, who are ignorant to how far tuning has come from those early days when tuning caused engine damage was a common sight.
EFI LIVE TUNING: THE DIESEL INDUSTRY’S MOST POWERFUL TUNING TOOL
