Diesel engine tuners

Help,
I'm considering buying a tuner for my 05 duramx to try and improve the towing mileage but the ones I'm considering cost $300-$600. Anyone out there ever used one on their truck and if so did it improve the mileage enough to justify the expense????

Hey there... I have a 2005 GMC 3500 dually, 6.6 Duramax LLY with the Allison automatic. I purchased the Edge Juice with Attitude programmer for my truck in 2008. It is adjustable from an additional 40 HP/100 ft. lb. of torque to an additional 150 HP/300 ft. lb. of torque over stock. ( the 150 HP code is a "hot unlock code" that was an additional fee, after I signed a waiver) I pull a Wildcat 29BHBP with it and I get around 18-19 MPG at 75 MPH consistently. The power I have when empty is just incredible. I have 19.5 American Force alloys on it and they will break free at 40 MPH if I mat the accelerator. There is a "tow safe" setting I will use for long hauls which will give me enhanced engine braking above the factory Allison brake, and still give me around 18 MPG towing up some pretty good grades. The $900.00 price is hard to accept at first, but in my opinion, worth the money when you can clearly feel the results. I had a Superchips programmer for my last Duramax, a 2003 LB7 and I couldn't feel a difference or see an increase in MPG's when in use. That one was around $350.00 at the time.

I guess the old saying "You get what you pay for" is true here.

You probably cannot justify the expense using money; you'll have to throw in the "fun factor".

scottz wrote:You probably cannot justify the expense using money; you'll have to throw in the "fun factor".

In that case, the "fun factor" with the Edge Juice is off the charts!!!

FUN FACTOR YEAH, MILEAGE NOT THAT MUCH MAYBE A COUPLE. THE TOW TUNE GIVE YOU MORE TORQUE WHICH IS ALWAYS GOOD. WITH THE HOT TUNES WOW THESE TRUCK ARE AMAZING AND IF YOU DELETE THE DPF AND CAT EVEN MORE POWER.

DON R wrote:FUN FACTOR YEAH, MILEAGE NOT THAT MUCH MAYBE A COUPLE. THE TOW TUNE GIVE YOU MORE TORQUE WHICH IS ALWAYS GOOD. WITH THE HOT TUNES WOW THESE TRUCK ARE AMAZING AND IF YOU DELETE THE DPF AND CAT EVEN MORE POWER.

Yup... Agreed. I deleted the cat and the muffler on mine, bought the 4 inch downpipe and had a custom 4 inch dual exhaust installed and it is ridiculous how much more "awake" my Duramax is now. Tow Tune is awesome for added torque, and enhanced engine brake, but the "hot code" is where the real fun begins. Just have to make sure you watch you EGT. A good gauge pack is a must have.

More Cowbell wrote:Hey there... I have a 2005 GMC 3500 dually, 6.6 Duramax LLY with the Allison automatic..... I pull a Wildcat 29BHBP with it and I get around 18-19 MPG at 75 MPH consistently. The power I have when empty is just incredible. I have 19.5 American Force alloys on it and they will break free at 40 MPH if I mat the accelerator. There is a "tow safe" setting I will use for long hauls which will give me enhanced engine braking above the factory Allison brake, and still give me around 18 MPG towing up some pretty good grades.

I've never heard of those kinds of numbers (mpg's) while towing a 5er. Even on flat ground.

I have the LBZ series Duramax. All stock except exhaust. (muffler delete) I average between 10 and 12 towing the Cat depending on mountains or flatland. If I knew I could get another 8mpg towing, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the $900.00

We talking what? Around $50.00 a tankfull in savings? Wouldn't take long to get that back.

Yeah I have a 34flr and I get about 10-11.5 on my truch while towing. Not towing I get about 16.

The consensus at TurboDieselRegister is that if you're out of warantee, tuner up and bomb your diesel to your hearts content. If you're still under warantee, you'll become your own warantee provider the first time you take the vehicle into the shop. No matter how ingeneous you are at hiding the fact that you connected a tuner to the engine/computer combo, the computer will know that the tuner was there and will record that fact.

Best of luck

All the fun stuff you can do if you dont live in a Communist state like Mexifornia... only legal aftermarket is an Exhaust Brake.. now that they are smog checking diesels, first thing they look for are any chips, etc..

Depends on where U live in great old CA.

I've had the bully dog/triple dog with outlook monitor for 4 years it gave me a couple miles per gallon more but I didn't like the egts that I ran while towing up longer steep grades. I just switched over to a banks six gun with speed loader the best thing about it is the safaty features its almost impossible to hurt the motor unless you have it turned to six they remove the safaty features for the high power.. The shifts are nice and smooth I usually average around 12 to 14 towing the rig. Once you put any programmer on a truck you can't trust the DIC it lies you have to hand calculate fuel mileage. Empty I average anywhere between 18 to 21 hand calc depending on how I'm driving it's hard not to have fun when you've added an extra 155 horsepower. If your towing stay away from the PPE hot tuners they mainly good for speed high EGT'S. Since you have an 05 take a look at my sig you can see some of the easier cheaper mods that you can do to your truck. I would highly recomend doing the pcv reroute and the egr blocker so your engine stops breathing the dirty air it will save the motor in the long run. Good luck on the search.

PCV reroute to where?

pcv reroute dumps on the ground right next to the frame.

Can not do that here. Good old smog control.

I have the Bully Dog and keep it set at towing/economy all the time. It did add power while adding a few mpg's. A change to the high air air filter to also increase the mpg.

High air filter?

Sorry, I meant a high flow filter like a K&N. One that allows more air to get to the engine.

Interested in K&N on filtration. Does it filter out bad stuff as good as a regular filter. Also will it pass CA smog.

All that I have read about it Dan says that it does filter out the bad stuff. You wash the filter in soapy water, let it dry, they spray on a kind of oil that I think makes it sticky so that the dirt and dust gets stuck. It was actually recommended by my dealer when I bought the truck new. I don't know about CA. Do they test you once a year or is it spot checks? If it is on a schedule, you could switch filters for the test (did I just break a law?)

Here is Calif. web site that will tell you if it has a EO (excutive order) that makes it legal in Calif. http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermkt/devices/amquery.php

Cool