Recap:
1) Ability to tune for towing
1a) and at various octanes
2) ability to adjust torque management (at my peril / if I ever decide to grenade the trans)
Suggestions?
Optional:
3) performance and economy tunes not related to towing and for various octanes
Warranty: You are on your own once a tuner goes on.
I apoligise (sp), But there was more than mpg discussed in that thread.
Quote: As I was reading those 9 pages I was thinking, it's too bad ther's not a way to have a thread where only owners of gassers WITH tuners could respond.
Hense the reason I was responding to THOSE threads the way I was..
Everyone always has an "opinion" (even the diesel guys).. Take everything with a grain of salt...You'll notice it's always the people that don't have something who are the first to argue "it doesn't work"
(you'll also notice that some people change their mind, as you see in the other thread)..
BTW, I have a blackbear tune, if it's any consolation. I am VERY happy with it. Improved MPG (lol), but much improved drivability. Hard to explain, but it holds gears better when towing, and the truck actually "reacts" when I push the go pedal.
There are much better resources than here.. Dieselplace.com (oddly enough this is a great forum), performance-trucks, and gmfullsize.
Honestly, Don't get the over the shelf programmers. Not worth it. Remember that these programmers are guessing what you'd like before you purchased the product.
Someone like Blackbear can customize the tune to exactly how you like it. MPG/power/towing/etc.
Yes you can swap tunes fairly easily if you have an Autocal (~250), but not on the fly like the diesels.
Custom tuning, you can change anything pcm related at all. I've got most of my TM removed in 2-3, with 50% removed in 1st.
The only downside to custom tuning, is it's built & locked to your vehicle. In otherwords, you can't turn around and sell it later.
I would check out some of the GM truck websites like silverado.com and others. Google can find them for you. Also dieselplace.com has a forum for GM gas trucks.
Your question is in the tow vehicle forum so pay close attention to towing type of programers instead of all out two long black marks in the street drag race versions.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 gvwr two slides
I got some tunes from 5 Star Tuning for a V10 Ford and it has been worth the purchase price. Tow tune, while not changing fuel economy towing at all, changed my shift patterns for more power through the shifts and the economy tune has netted me around 17mpg running empty on the highway when my previous average historically around 14mpg. Not dramatic results like a diesel, but worth the investment for me.
Without writing a book about it here is how it goes:
There is only a few things gasoline tuners play with. Lets talk about some:
1. is ignition timing. With more agressive timing you can pick up a little power. And I do mean just a little. More timing will make the engine feel more snappy. It will feel more than you really get and if you put the truck on a dyno the figures will show that.
2. is air/fuel mixture. Usually this is almost maxed out from the factory so there is very little gain there. Oh sure you can go a little more rich and pick up a little bit of power but it is very small.
3. is torque management. This is when the engine is detuned when shifting. If you disable this the truck will feel a lot stronger because it will shift with full torque to the tranny. The question is why did GM do this? It does so to save wear on the tranny. The tranny was not designed to make full throttle shifts with a full load on it, so they came up with a save the tranny program.
To make real HP with a gasoline engine it takes more airflow through the engine. These tuners can't change that so you won't change that much in the HP arena. You can pick up better shift points and program them better for what you do; but for as far as HP goes; your not going to get much of a change because your not changing the airflow to the engine.
Now a diesel tuner is different because it does not rely on air flow so much. A diesel relies on fuel flow to make big power and it's easy to give a diesel more fuel with a tuner.......just add fuel baby!!
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~
"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"
In my experience with gas tuners is you feel it more when you take the tuner off than when you put the tuner on. As in drive with it on a couple of days then take it off and you will notice a difference. Not that big of a difference. I did like being able to keep my OD from shifting back and forth so much. I like to tinker with things so a tuner was a yes. I used a diablosport predator. They also read DTC codes. One can be had for about $250
I learned the expensive way a long time ago that lower gears is the best bang for the buck, at least on my gasser. I've done a ton of things to mine, including tuning, rebuilding the engine and tranny, super charging, adding electric radiator fans, etc, etc. Going from 3.55 to 4.10 gear ratio was like getting a new truck.
JN_B wrote: I apoligise (sp), But there was more than mpg discussed in that thread.
...
BTW, I have a blackbear tune, if it's any consolation. I am VERY happy with it. Improved MPG (lol), but much improved drivability. Hard to explain, but it holds gears better when towing, and the truck actually "reacts" when I push the go pedal.
JN_B, no apologies needed. And you're right, even though MPG was the original Q, much more was discussed. I appreciate your feedback and everyone else's. I just wanted to make it clear that I did in fact look at that and felt it didn't seem to address any of my concerns so I fired away with a new post.
Also, thanks for the info about the blackbear tune, that is exactly the type of feedback / suggestion I am looking for. I emailed them and got an auto reply that they were away at a tuning event.
Doing a cold air intake kit and a custom tune is starting to sound like the direction I am leaning. If I add an exhaust later, they will re-tune for free if needed (if I am reading their website correctly).
I think I have determined my 1st choice of a replacement TV would be a 2010 Yukon XL 2500 SLT (SLT2 actually). I like 2009 or newer as all the '09+ 2500 Burbs and XLs are made in USA not Mexico (this statement is from a build-quality P.O.V. not jobs, that ship has sailed for used cars). Also, the '10 and newer SLTs have cooled seats which my wife would love. Me too I guess as it totally agrivates me to see her need to put a towel on a leather seat because it is too hot.
So my options are:
1) Upgrade the '06 LTZ with a new Class V hitch, cold air intake, and a yet to be determined tune for around $800-$1,000 - Doable
2) 2009+ Yukon XL 2500 SLT - Possible
3) Get a diesel - Not enough pennies in the piggy bank for that upgrade
4) do #1 then #2 and wish I did #2 first, hmmmmmmm To be continued...
BillyW wrote: I learned the expensive way a long time ago that lower gears is the best bang for the buck, at least on my gasser. I've done a ton of things to mine, including tuning, rebuilding the engine and tranny, super charging, adding electric radiator fans, etc, etc. Going from 3.55 to 4.10 gear ratio was like getting a new truck.
What did you think about the elec fans? I thought of that and some underdrive accessory pulleys too.
I actually considered 4.10s to be my primary backup plan but as I started asking around, and I'm glad I did, it get's much more complex than it should really quickly. See this thread: Does rear end gear ratio swap require programming?" I have AWD so I need to do both axles AND get a programmer that will let me change the speedometer settings and ratio in the computer. I'm told the dealers will no longer do this programming at any price. I would be having the gear swap done for me and being responsible for the tuning myself. The consensus there was the difference wouldn't be much, not worth the expense $1,500+? so just replace the TV. Someone might have said get a diesel too
JN_B wrote: Really.. it's not even 4 threads down..
SEARCH...
He probably tried to read that thread but it has resorted to name calling and foot stomping. Any useful info has been compromised.
LOL
Any discussion about programmers on here degrades into the same thing, usually from people that have never run a tuner and since they have never run one, can not fathom why anyone else would want to run one.
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You can pick up better shift points and program them better for what you do; but for as far as HP goes; your not going to get much of a change because your not changing the airflow to the engine. 
