Best chip for a duramax?

shuug · May 5, 2004

Anybody know who makes the best chip for the duramax??

SOM Truck · May 5, 2004

Screw the traditional "chip". From my experience so far with mine... I recommend the Edge Juice with Attitude. Holy crap this thing is a completely different truck and has all the safety features to keep you out of trouble as well.

Chevyfreek · May 5, 2004

You can also check out a Westers tune for the Duramax. No add on box. No warranty hassles. This is a completly re-programmed PCM. All the latest GM updates included. Lots of power to be had, more than the factory Ally can handle unless modified. There is a good post by Lyndon form Westers garage in this thread:

DMax MPG

Check it out....

Roofer · May 5, 2004

Get the Juice. It is easily installed or removed and now is a decent price. I have the 90HP juice and I only use level 1 for towing and 3 is plenty for driving. It also can be set for different power levels for tow/haul and normal driving.

Machine · May 5, 2004

Hi -

Take the advise from the other diesel owners...Go with the Edge Juice. You can either get the module by itself or pair it with the Attitude. The Juice module has pretty much been perfected, and it offers you 4 different power settings. The Juice takes 5 minutes to install and uninstall, and cannot be detected by GM. You won't regret it.

shuug · May 5, 2004

thanks guys.

cdhd2001 · May 5, 2004

I still some credit left with Lyndon from the PCM upgrade on my old 2001 6.0L. I am currently running the Edge/Attitude and I have been real happy so far. I might give the custom tune for the Dmax a try later after I am out of warranty.

As of now in under 10 mins I am "stock".

P.S. Lyndon, I have been told that the tech II CAN see the changes done to the PCM. If that is the case, then there WILL be warranty hassles. This is the only reason I went with the Edge from the beginning (with the Dmax). Your PCM at the time would have been cheaper (considering the credit), but I do not feel like futzing around with the dealer over the warranty. Especially with the injector scare of lately.

Thanks

SOM Truck · May 5, 2004

PCM updates can definitely be detected with a qualified tech that wants to spend the time. It's true of any uploaded program. I seriously doubt you will find a dealership willing to spend the effort unless something obviously gave up from overpowering. I have thought about getting a Wester PCM with some tranny updates, but from a power perspective... Juice with Attitude is where it's at for me.

Butch 02 Denali · May 5, 2004

Not knocking Edge or any other add on tuner, but just to set the record straight, a correctly tuned PCM like Wester's cannot be detected by the dealers Tec2 scanner. It doesn't matter how skilled or how long the technichan works on it, the programming cannot be seen and it looks all stock. This has been confirmed by numerious wester's owners including myself with my truck at my dealers.

Lyndon Wester got this from a DMax owner that he had tuned and passed the story on to me!

He recently did a 2003 Chevy Duramax tune for a guy. It was the 125HP version and the truck is a monster! The owner had a noise he thought was low in the engine and brought it into the dealers to be checked. The mechanic took it for a test drive and the guy said he came back white faced. He opened the hood and had the service manager take a look at it. They were looking for add on mods like the Edge Juice or any others. After examining it top to bottom, they hooked up the Tec2 scanner to it figuring they would catch this guy. They spent an hour doing every scan they had but everything was absolutly stock, and all the updates were installed. They just scratched their heads and figured it was a wicked fast fluke. All the time the owner was smirking about it knowing Lyndon's magic was hidden in there! They finally discovered an exhaust bracket rattling and fixed it.

That is one happy Duramax owner and one confused mechanic and service manager!

Butch 02 Sierra Denali

cdn111 · May 5, 2004

one word! JUICE!!! as always, check out http://www.thedieselpage.com for an endless amount of information.

Machine · May 5, 2004

Good to hear that it got past the tech at GM - but still a gamble when warranty issues are concerned, regardless.

I like the option of going back to stock when it's required, and having the option of several settings for different applications.

shuug · May 5, 2004

How necessary is the monitor?

linda · May 5, 2004

well, i opted to keep my stock PCM (bought an online core cheap to send back to lyndon). I guess the PCM is in the same location on the DMAX as it is on my 8.1L, and if thats the case.....i can tell you it only takes me about 10 minutes to swap the 2 out. Im not saying anything about which is better cause i dont have the DMAX, but if one of your concerns is returning to stock for some reason, then its still pretty easy to do with the Westers as well.

Machine · May 5, 2004

How necessary is the monitor?

You don't need it at all, really, but the Attitude does offer a very cool bulit-in boost, pyro and RPM display, as well as, you can shift between tunes on the fly. You'll also get a higher HP setting...125 HP, I believe.

Regardless if you get the standard Juice or the Juice with Attitude, you do need a pyrometer to monitor your egt's with these high performance tunes. The Attitude has it all in one package.

I already had boost and pyro on my truck - so I opted for just the Juice module.

bigdogs · May 5, 2004

If you are adding a pyro and boost guage with the Juice/Attitude wouldn't a dealer spot that right away? I'd like to add some upgrade to mine as well (down the road) but also worry about them voiding the warranty.