HuntingBC Champ
Programmers aren’t that complicated. 99% of the ones on the market are plug and play. 90% of the plug and play programmers require you to shut your vehicle off to make changes to the tune while the other 10%( like efi live )can be changed on the fly by simply turning a dial or pushing a button.Originally Posted by twoSevenO
HuntingBC Champ
Every engine is different. I wouldn't want to just buy an off the shelf programmer, plug it in, and hope for the best.
There are lots of parameters out there that are changed. I wouldn't want to run without all of them being logged and verified by someone who knows this, first.
Certain engines cant even be tuned by yourself over OBD. The ECU must be removed and bench tuned.( That was the case with mine, though, I hear since then they have figured out how to do it over obd as well. And mine isnt even that new anymore. It's a 2014.)
I hunt and gather
One West Performance in Abbotsford. Cheyne knows his stuff, he's an ex BD guy and moved on for good reason. Good rates, a good communicator, and only does what is required.
Steer clear of BD, they like to upsale on every visit. They'll convince you to do work that doesn't need to be done.
Bernhausen in Langley is not bad, but tend to upsale everything as well.
Senior Member
I phoned bd diesel in Abbotsford about looking at my exhaust. They said come on in n they would look at it. I said I’d be there in 20. They said ok. Got there five min before there lunch time I guess. Wish he would of told me to come after there lunch. Went back after. Guy came out finally n looked under my front end n turns out I need for a new down pipe for my exhaust. I asked him can you please look up and get me a part number if he had a free min n order me one. He said sure. He eventually found it n tried to book me in there for service. I only asked for the part number and can I get it from them. Once I reiterated that I just want the part and was going to weld it up myself they changed there attitude and became kinda rude. I did get my part in the end. I grew up in retail in hunting/fishing stores in the lower mainland. Good Customer service is really rd to find these days.
Senior Member
That's JD Diagnostics, same company. That's where my work was done. Was highly recommended by a mechanic that had worked on my truck a couple times at the dealership where I bought it. They seem to know their stuff and are quick to want to fix things if there are any bugs. I had initially planned to do the work myself but changed my mind as the labor wasn't a lot of extra cash compared to the parts. I'm sure it's not that difficult but I had some uncertainty where the electronic part comes in...I'm sure the plug and play tuners are just fine but I was a little hesitant to go down that road myself. Also the EFI Live tune was really all I was after, I would never be using the "extreme" or whatever other settings there are on a selectable tuner anyway so I decided against going that route as well. To each their own of course.
Member
Diamond diesel in port kells. He knows his stuff
HuntingBC Champ
Yes, every manufacturer is different but we’re not talking about your bmw car, we’re talking about a domestic diesel truck. Take gm for an example, there newer diesel trucks ( 16 and newer I think ) couldn’t be programmed due to the ecu they designed but now there are aftermarket companies that have programmed ecu’s or programmers that you can buy. These after market companies have major money in R & D so I wouldn’t be worried about the plug and play programmers. After all, every single programmer is an aftermarket tool. Personally I would never buy a single tune. It’s nice to be able to change tunes with out having to go back to the shop and pay to have it changed. If you want a single tune there are tuners called pucks that plug into the obd II port and are left plugged in.
I had an H&S mini max in my duramax and after trying every setting.....the extreme tune was the best option. Not only did it increase the power by ~ 175hp it was also the tune that gave me the best fuel economy. If you don’t drive with your foot to the floor all the time you shouldn’t have to worry about head gaskets or have any issues. Delete the egr and it will be even more reliable.
Last edited by j270wsm; 09-09-2019 at 02:03 PM.
HuntingBC Champ
Tuners are for girls. Give me a socket set, a flat head screwdriver and a 12 valve cummins and I'd be good to go!
HuntingBC Champ
It would be nice if all Diesel engines were that simple. No egr, no cats, no def, no bullsh*t.
HuntingBC Champ
long gone are the days of a simple diesel. They are so complicated now days its ridiculous ... with each additional component just reducing reliability. DPF, SCR/DEF, EGR, EGR cooler ughh.
Consumers demanding 1000 ft lbs of torque doesn't help in the reliability department either.
Everyone talks about the old 12V or the Ford 7.3 ... well those didn't really produce any power like the ones today. I'm sure if any modern 6.7L was made to produce only 200hp it would last forever, too.
Does anyone have a high mileage truck that has been aggressively tuned for most of its life? like +150hp or more who hasn't spent a fortune on subsequent engine and transmission upgrades/repairs?
There is a lot of "grey area" for me in the tuner world:
1. Most of it seems based on bro-science. Lets tune it until it breaks, then back down a bit. Is anyone at these companies an engineer with a background in engine design at an actual car manufacturer?
2. R&D - related to above. I do not see any evidence that these guys spend a ton of money on R&D. I don't think the market is there for them to do that. Sure, there are a lot of trucks being tuned, but what's the R&D? "Here, drive this tuned truck and report what broke and when"?. I think most of the R&D is actually the computer guys who figure out how to break into ECUs and make flashing possible. Tuners generally just buy the software and equipment for this and don't develop it in house.
3. A lot of tuner shops just do the hardware changes and upload the software tunes they get from a tune distributor. So not every shop is really a "tuner".
4. "These engines are heavily de-tuned from the factory" --- Every forum, on every site. Doesn't matter if its diesel or gas or car or truck. Everyone makes this claim. No one ever has any actual proof of this, other than "well, Mike's has been tuned to +150hp and it hasn't broken yet". While i agree that engines are conservatively powered from the factory for reliability reasons and to ensure it lasts the warranty period, I have yet to see any actual PROOF of what that difference is that everyone claims. The difference between stock power and SAFE tuned power.
5. If these guys really put a ton of money into R&D, there would be some whitepapers written on the tuned trucks and torture tests they've been subjected to and successfully passed. But i have yet to see one. Stock torture tests for engines are pretty comprehensive. True R&D would be a company replicating that with various tunes and letting us know which tunes passed and which tunes can't be labeled as "meets OEM reliability testing". Is that cut off at +50hp? +100? +20? ..... who knows.
DISCLAIMER: it's been a couple of years since i've researched this, so it's possible some of the above is now available, but i don't have the time to research again to confirm.
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