What is the best tuner for the Duramax

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NitroxAZ

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I just got a 2007 3500HD with the Duramax. What tuner is best for the Duramax? I am looking for improved fuel economy and horsepower.
 
I did a lot of checking before deciding not to add anything to mine.  With the 100.000 mile warranty, I didn't want to take any chances on voiding it if I had a problem.

I also was not able to get good firm data on the increase in MPG I could expect.  I spent several hours on the phone with Banks, Bully Dog and others and all they could guarantee was HP.  I don't need the extra HP and was interested in fuel savings only. By the time I bought their unit, I felt it was pretty difficult to get my money back with the fuel savings. 
 
More horsepower and better fuel economy are mutually exclusive.  To get more horsepower you burn more fuel, which reduces the fuel economy.  TANSTAAFL.
 
Ned
I am going to have to disagree.  when I added my bully dog power up pup, I was able to hit 25mpg highway, along with an intake and exhaust.  this was with stock tires and suspension though.

right now i am running 20, and 15 towing my 5ver.  an 07 with the 6 speed allison should do even better
 
Ned said:
More horsepower and better fuel economy are mutually exclusive.  To get more horsepower you burn more fuel, which reduces the fuel economy.  TANSTAAFL.
What Ned said. My Durmax Although  2010 has plenty of power and gets fair fuel mileage.
 
Peanutman said:
What Ned said. My Durmax Although  2010 has plenty of power and gets fair fuel mileage.

At least until your warranty is gone.




fixed quote
 
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

If you think the lunch is free, check the price of the beer :)
 
Ned said:
There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

If you think the lunch is free, check the price of the beer :)

::) ::)  Of course!  You'd think by now I'd remember that one.  But I did get a free lunch at the Silverton Casino in LV last month.  The DW & I signed up for their club card, got a voucher for a free lunch & $5 to gamble with.  Ate the lunch, (did leave a tip but that was voluntary), blew the $10 at the penny slots (we are the last of the High Rollers) & left.  I guess this is the exception that proves the rule?  ;) 

Mike Wagner
 
Ned said:
More horsepower and better fuel economy are mutually exclusive.  To get more horsepower you burn more fuel, which reduces the fuel economy.  TANSTAAFL.

That's not true with diesels, gas yes diesels get better fuel economy with stronger tunes. My 01 7.3 gets 16 on the highway in the stock setting, it gets 17 in the tow setting of my edge evolution and 19 in the race setting which makes the truck extremely fast, the programmer has an "extreme" setting but ive never used it, the race setting is good enough for me. I am close to spending the coin to hire Host Tiptoe (DP tuned) to tune my truck for optimal performance. The benefits of having a dies professionally tuned ate far greater than a tune in a box. That is what I recommend the OP do, a tuned can burn 10th different chips onto one chip and since its a "shift on the fly" style (anymore they all are) you can change settings while youre rolling down the road. They can change your transmission's shift points, make you air conditioner blow harder and they can even burn you a tune that will quiet the truck to the point where you don't have to shut it off in a drive through (my 7.3 is a little noisier than your D-max). Look online on some of the performance pages of the many duramax forums to see what/who they use to tune their trucks. 07 is a good year, the emissions isn't choking the engine as much as the 08 and newer trucks. Good luck.
 
To the OP .... in regards to your Duramax, there are no "chips". You need to either purchase a "programmer" which you plug in to you on board port and it just uploads a generic "tune" overwriting the factory tune or the BETTER option to have your actual PCM (on board computer) tuned by a professional based on what you want to achieve. These diesels are nothing like gas powered engines. More HP will improve mpg under certain conditions. I have been researching the same thing and have norrowed down my options to a tuner from Arizona named Michael who's company is KillerBee Performance,
http://killerbeeperformance.com/custom-tuning/what-is-it/, or Diesel Addiction at http://www.dieseladdiction.com/vehicles.html?part=GM%20Duramax%206.6L%2006-07%20LLY/LBZ or a guy who goes by IdahoRob at http://www.atptrucks.com/category.sc?categoryId=39

The tune I will be getting adds about 80 - 90 HP but more importantly will improve mpg and provide a turbo brake, which my 2007 Classic Duramax / Allison does not have. You can either send them your PCM to tune and return or they will send you a tuned PCM and charge a core charge which is refunded when you send back your stock PCM. Some have the option allowing you to keep your stock PCM if that is important to you.

These things always get a little testy on these boards, some believe in modifications that will improve or optimize your vehicle's performace and some who just insist it's not possible. I am of the first group.

Buyer beware and your mileage may vary. If you want to wait a bit, I will be getting my truck tuned in the next couple weeks and then leaving on a 1,500 mile tow and will report back my findings.
 
I'd appreciate it if you would keep some good records and report back every 6 months or so.  It'd be best to keep track with a running total of miles driven vs fuel used from now on.  That will get an overall mpg figure.  Total miles driven divided by total gallons of fuel used.  I've got a book on mine and have kept track of every gallon I've used since it was new.  It now has 98,000 miles on it.  Also keep a log of miles pulling your trailer. 

If you need to do any repairs, keep track of those also.  Over time, that would give us enough data to determine the value of the modifications.

After the time I spent 3 years ago doing research on the subject, this is the only data over a several year period that will convince me of the value of the expense.

Good Luck,
 
From what I understand nearly all "tuners" just turn up the juice a little bit. That's all. The mechanics of the engine is unchanged. Same stroke, bore, same amount of air, same RPM, just more fuel. You can feather the throttle all you want to get whatever number you like. I can do that with my stock Cummins and make my mileage vary between 16 to 26. But that's not typical. I'm with Ned here. More power requires more fuel. As far as noisy older diesels made quiet the injection process on ultra hot air creates an explosion, hence the typical noise. By the same token a "tuner" could lean the fuel at idle a little, and retard timing to reduce noise some, I suppose. But again the mechanics of the system remains the same. The newer "quiet diesels" like my '05 Cummins uses a common rail injection system with some pre-injected fuel before the main shot causes a smoother combustion process. My engine is so quiet you can't hear it running with the windows up. You are not going to duplicate that with a "tuner". Now with all that said more fuel creates more heat. Too lean equals more heat. Then EGT have to be monitored. Too much heat will kill the best engine out there. With all the torque and horsepower available stock and 50% better mileage than a gasser, what more could you want? I guess just gotta have more power...

Diesels Rule,
CarolinaCamper
 
I have a 2004.5 Dodge 5.9L and just bought a Smarty Jr.  Has three "programs", one adds 45 HP, 65HP, and 100HP and all have adjusted timing and torque for each of the settings.  I began getting between 3-4 mpg increase in setting #1 (economical setting) and 2-3 in #2 setting (towing). The programmer can also customized timing and torque and power can be decreased in each setting.  I have not used #3 setting...a little scary adding 100HP...keep having a vision that I will see my my truck's rear end still at the stop sign while I am going 60mph!

What I researched made sense to me.  The engine has a computer and it is programmed for emission purposes and not fuel economy.  Cummins when building a stock engine had to "compromise" fuel economy for emissions control (due to govn't regs)  but these programmers tune the engine for fuel economy sacrificing emissions control.  The question in my mind is what was posted previously...how much heat is generated in tranny and engine since that will pretty much wipe out any benefit of the programmer. 

Smarty has stated it keeps both w/i limits but they won't warrant that!!! I have friends who are mechanically inclined and all say you will see immediate benefits but it will depend on how you drive as to whether you will damage the engine...whatever that means!!
 
In all the reading I have done, EFI Live is the best tuner for the Duramax, hands down. http://www.efilive.com/

In regards to what other have said regarding more fuel = less MPG, that idea has been proven wrong time and time again.  Here is how it works, with a towing or economy tune:

Fuel injection timing is advanced and lengthened resulting in more fuel into the combustion chamber, that fuel is burned resulting in more exhaust gases, more exhaust gases drives the turbine side of the turbo faster resulting in more boost.

With more HP and torque created, your transmission will have to downshift less meaning your engine can operate in it's power band longer which equals better fuel mileage.

Tuners are notorious for increasing exhaust gas temperatures (EGT's) beyond 1,250 degrees (considered by most to be the red line) which is why it is recommended that a full set of aftermarket gauges, intake and exhaust installed.
 
First if you drive posted speed limits and speeds safe for your trailer tires I am sure your stock Dmax will have all the power you will need.  If you do go beyond with a tuner then you will most likely get into EGT problems and transmission problems in that you will exceed the torque ability of your Allison.
 
lavarock1210 said:
First if you drive posted speed limits and speeds safe for your trailer tires I am sure your stock Dmax will have all the power you will need.  If you do go beyond with a tuner then you will most likely get into EGT problems and transmission problems in that you will exceed the torque ability of your Allison.
You are exactly right. Leave it stock and the whole drivetrain will last until the wheels fall off, literally. Now if you have to get to 75 MPH faster than anybody else, go to a tractor pull and see what they do to those diesel engines and get water injection to keep the pistons from melting! The only tuner my diesel truck will ever have comes from the middle of the dash. I will see 300,000 easy. Engines all "tuned" up,  I'm not so sure?
 
lavarock1210 said:
First if you drive posted speed limits and speeds safe for your trailer tires I am sure your stock Dmax will have all the power you will need.  If you do go beyond with a tuner then you will most likely get into EGT problems and transmission problems in that you will exceed the torque ability of your Allison.

I wouldn't say that's exactly true.  I agree about driving the posted speed limits but sometimes those speeds put the engine out of it's effective torque and horsepower bands.  Engine tuners can change injection timing and other parameters to move those powerbands up or down in the RPM range.

I tow at 70 mph which is about 2k rpm's.  My tuner adds HP and TQ in that region which keeps the truck from having to downshift as often as it did when it was at stock power levels.  Given that, my fuel mileage has increased substantially.

Yes, you do have to modify other areas of the vehicle to support a tuned engine but in my opinion, it's well worth it.

I look at tuning vehicles the same as tailoring a suit.  Everyone sells a size that is close to what you need, but to get the perfect fit it has to be modified.    I know a few hot shot drivers that have well over 500,000 miles on a tuned engine with no ill effects attributed to the tuner.
 
Boy lots of info for you.  Honestly I would go to a Duramax forum and ask the question over there, you're gonna get really good information from people that have done some serious mods to their trucks.  Now as for the more fuel=more heat= less MPG, that is false.  You make more power just by changing the timing, cool your EGT's, and get better mileage as a by product.  I have increased the RWHP on my truck by over 150HP, have lowered EGT's when towing, and gained 1mpg across the board.  A lot no, but figuring all I have done it is impressive.  What I have noticed is a lot less hunting with the tranny with the power.  The tuners that are added alter all sorts of parameters to make your engine more efficient.  If you add a small tune to your truck, you will find a more capable tow rig for sure.  Be aware though, you have to "pay to play" for every mod that you do, whether a chip (yes they have chips for D-Maxes, quadzilla or Edge to name a few) or program it you will need supporting mods such as turbos, tranny mods, head studs, etc.  For a small tune you should be fine, but I wouldn't tow on it without gauges and beefing up your tranny. 

In answer to your original question, EFI live is the best tuner for your truck, and tranny BTW.  Next I would say is PPE (Pacific Performance Engineering) They both specialize in D-Maxes.  Good Luck
 

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