New HD owner has ??? about tunes

[number9]

I have seen several mentions on this board about getting custom tunes. I just bought an 02 GMC 2500HD 6.0/480 this Friday. The truck has 27,000 miles on it but is out of warranty.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What is possibility of a custom tune causing damage to engine/tranny/etc..

2) What effect does a custom tune have if you have to take the truck in to dealer for any problem you may have (not with the tune) and they hook it up on scan tool and find you have a custom tune? Do they say it is "your baby", does the custom tune instantly become the cause of your problem (dealer pass the buck) and they won't work on it until stock tune is back on?

3) What kind of mileage gains can be had?

4) Is it possible to go back to stock if needed/wanted and IF so, how big a deal is it? Trouble/cost/whatever?

5) My truck will be a daily diver - 98% empty but will pull utility trailer with motorcycles form time to time. I am not looking for extreme edge radical performance gains as reliability and gas mileage would be high on list. Suggested tune? I DO want to eliminate top speed limiter.

6) Truck has stock 245's but I plan to put 265's on it - will I need tune for this?

[SilverCrew]

I have seen several mentions on this board about getting custom tunes. I just bought an 02 GMC 2500HD 6.0/480 this Friday. The truck has 27,000 miles on it but is out of warranty.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What is possibility of a custom tune causing damage to engine/tranny/etc..

2) What effect does a custom tune have if you have to take the truck in to dealer for any problem you may have (not with the tune) and they hook it up on scan tool and find you have a custom tune? Do they say it is "your baby",  does the custom tune instantly become the cause of your problem (dealer pass the buck) and they won't work on it until stock tune is back on?

3) What kind of mileage gains can be had?

4) Is it possible to go back to stock if needed/wanted and IF so, how big a deal is it? Trouble/cost/whatever?

5) My truck will be a daily diver - 98% empty but will pull utility trailer with motorcycles form time to time. I am not looking for extreme edge radical performance gains as reliability and gas mileage would be high on list. Suggested tune? I DO want to eliminate top speed limiter.

6) Truck has stock 245's but I plan to put 265's on it - will I need tune for this?

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I learned doing research for my own benefit.

 

1) I guess it's possible as you are stiffining up the shifts, eliminating the top speed limiter, raising the rev limiter, and essentially disabling the torque mgmt (which from what I understand is there to protect the tranny and rear end from too much torque). I asked the exact same question to Bryan at pcm4less and he said that with these 6L/480 trucks he hasn't seen ANY problems in all the years he's been programming them. They are tough trucks. I had him leave the torque mgmt on when I put it in tow/haul mode just in case I did want to pull something heavy without worrying about the tranny....just an idea.

 

2) What I did was keep my stock PCM. You'll see tuners talking about a core charge. This is where they send you a tuned PCM for say $375, but offer you a $125 "refund" if you send them your factory core. I chose to keep mine so if I ever need to go in for service, I'll put the factory PCM back in. The swap took me like 5 minutes literally. It's worth the $125 to keep the original in my opinion.

 

3) I was told I could expect ~2mpg gain out of the tune alone IF I burn 92-93 octane. I could only expect .5-1mpg from 87 as well as a loss of horsepower. This has to do with the timing set in the engine and it's response to the different octanes. I had him tune for 93 octane so we'll see what happens. He also ran it about 2% rich in anticipation of my aftermarket cat backs. My biggest problem now is keeping my foot out of it playing with all the new found power

 

4) Same as number 2...that was my remedy for that. There are software packages out there that would allow you to tune it yourself with a laptop so you could swap back and forth (but they are expensive). And of course you could get handheld like hypertech, superchips, predator, etc which would allow you to swap back and forth at will, but don't expect the same performance gains compared to a custome tune.

 

5) Maybe consider leaving the torque mgmt in when in tow/haul mode like I did. This will soften up your shifts and take offs if you're worried about tearing something up when towing. I can tell you that the truck will pull/accelerate/pass more effortlessly for what it's worth. I think you'll see some mileage gains, but not a staggering amount of gain. If you weigh the gas mileage gain alone against the cost of the tune, it may not be worth it. Think about gaining 1mpg at $2.00 per gallon versus a $4-500 tune? Gas mileage alone doesn't make it cost effective in my opinion, but you get the added benefit of the extra power, speedo recalibration, top speed limiter change, etc.

 

6) Tire size will affect the speedo calibration which in the long run has an effect on the odometer too. I'm not sure how much difference a 245 is over a 265, but any change in diameter will throw it off a bit. I went from 265's to 315's and my speedo was showing 59mph and I was clocked at 67mph (according to the man holding the radar and blue lights ) A tune can fix this difference as well which was my main motivating factor as well.....but I can't lie, the performance makes me smile everytime I drive this monster.

 

I hope this helps. I'd send this exact same list of questions to the different tuners and get more technical answers before making your decision. For me it was ultimately pricing and the amount of time Bryan spent on the phone with me explaining the different options. I for one and a sucker for good customer service. Plus I had my PCM within 3 days.

 

Good luck bro.

[Bud]

I have seen several mentions on this board about getting custom tunes. I just bought an 02 GMC 2500HD 6.0/480 this Friday. The truck has 27,000 miles on it but is out of warranty.

 

My questions are:

 

1) What is possibility of a custom tune causing damage to engine/tranny/etc..

2) What effect does a custom tune have if you have to take the truck in to dealer for any problem you may have (not with the tune) and they hook it up on scan tool and find you have a custom tune? Do they say it is "your baby",  does the custom tune instantly become the cause of your problem (dealer pass the buck) and they won't work on it until stock tune is back on?

3) What kind of mileage gains can be had?

4) Is it possible to go back to stock if needed/wanted and IF so, how big a deal is it? Trouble/cost/whatever?

5) My truck will be a daily diver - 98% empty but will pull utility trailer with motorcycles form time to time. I am not looking for extreme edge radical performance gains as reliability and gas mileage would be high on list. Suggested tune? I DO want to eliminate top speed limiter.

6) Truck has stock 245's but I plan to put 265's on it - will I need tune for this?

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I learned doing research for my own benefit.

 

1) I guess it's possible as you are stiffining up the shifts, eliminating the top speed limiter, raising the rev limiter, and essentially disabling the torque mgmt (which from what I understand is there to protect the tranny and rear end from too much torque). I asked the exact same question to Bryan at pcm4less and he said that with these 6L/480 trucks he hasn't seen ANY problems in all the years he's been programming them. They are tough trucks. I had him leave the torque mgmt on when I put it in tow/haul mode just in case I did want to pull something heavy without worrying about the tranny....just an idea.

 

2) What I did was keep my stock PCM. You'll see tuners talking about a core charge. This is where they send you a tuned PCM for say $375, but offer you a $125 "refund" if you send them your factory core. I chose to keep mine so if I ever need to go in for service, I'll put the factory PCM back in. The swap took me like 5 minutes literally. It's worth the $125 to keep the original in my opinion.

 

3) I was told I could expect ~2mpg gain out of the tune alone IF I burn 92-93 octane. I could only expect .5-1mpg from 87 as well as a loss of horsepower. This has to do with the timing set in the engine and it's response to the different octanes. I had him tune for 93 octane so we'll see what happens. He also ran it about 2% rich in anticipation of my aftermarket cat backs. My biggest problem now is keeping my foot out of it playing with all the new found power

 

4) Same as number 2...that was my remedy for that. There are software packages out there that would allow you to tune it yourself with a laptop so you could swap back and forth (but they are expensive). And of course you could get handheld like hypertech, superchips, predator, etc which would allow you to swap back and forth at will, but don't expect the same performance gains compared to a custome tune.

 

5) Maybe consider leaving the torque mgmt in when in tow/haul mode like I did. This will soften up your shifts and take offs if you're worried about tearing something up when towing. I can tell you that the truck will pull/accelerate/pass more effortlessly for what it's worth. I think you'll see some mileage gains, but not a staggering amount of gain. If you weigh the gas mileage gain alone against the cost of the tune, it may not be worth it. Think about gaining 1mpg at $2.00 per gallon versus a $4-500 tune? Gas mileage alone doesn't make it cost effective in my opinion, but you get the added benefit of the extra power, speedo recalibration, top speed limiter change, etc.

 

6) Tire size will affect the speedo calibration which in the long run has an effect on the odometer too. I'm not sure how much difference a 245 is over a 265, but any change in diameter will throw it off a bit. I went from 265's to 315's and my speedo was showing 59mph and I was clocked at 67mph (according to the man holding the radar and blue lights ) A tune can fix this difference as well which was my main motivating factor as well.....but I can't lie, the performance makes me smile everytime I drive this monster.

 

I hope this helps. I'd send this exact same list of questions to the different tuners and get more technical answers before making your decision. For me it was ultimately pricing and the amount of time Bryan spent on the phone with me explaining the different options. I for one and a sucker for good customer service. Plus I had my PCM within 3 days.

 

Good luck bro.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are all very good questions. What I did was call

and e-mail Lyndon at Wester's "a lot" with these same

questions. If you want to know something go to the one

that will tell you the truth and not push a sell. I honestly

believe Lyndon told me the facts and let me make up

my own mind. I still have three years warranty left

on my truck. He can have a new tune to you in about

two days if you need to put a stock one in. From what

I've been told, the dealer can not tell you have a

custom tune by scanning.

[mmayo]

I've had the 93 Hot Tune on my truck since it was about 3 months old. I haven't had any problems & would never go back to stock. Try out one of Lyndons tunes - you can't go wrong w/ the 30 day $$$ back guarantee.