My Black Bear Story

[ghoster]

My Tahoe is still very new. I knew the day I drove it off the lot that it needed a few changes in the way it ran to be perfect. I contacted Black Bear, and purchase the Autocal. It was sent to me with all the instructions I needed to get started. I did all the logging and e-mailed everything in as per the instructions.

Yesterday was a nasty rainy day and I had to run a number of errands. I pulled up to a light waiting to make a left hand turn. I was waiting for any break in the traffic that I could squeeze in to (this was on a 4 lane road in Baltimore at lunch time). I saw my opportunity to get across coming, so I let off the brakes and was rolling forward, as the gap opened I put the pedal down about 3/4 of the way to the floor. Then I waited. And waited. And waited some more, (maybe a slight exaggeration) then the truck lurched into the gap and across the intersection. The delay between command and execution was staggering! I made it through, but it wasn't fun.

I tell that story so that I can now say this, the hesitation/delay, is GONE. I don't have any idea what they do to fix it, but it works. The Tahoe responds the way I expect it to now. I spent the last hour driving around testing the response time, and I am impressed. This is how GM should have made these things to start with. I didn't ask for a major performance tune or a mpg tune or anything very specific, I just asked Black Bear to make it better, and they did.

[soulsea]

Hey ghoster, I'm glad you like your tune ... but I can't help but think it may be masking something more important going on with your truck. There simply shouldn't be that much of a delay in response time when one hits the pedal that hard, especially for a brand new truck. If there was something wrong it might have been a good idea to get it looked at before the tune ... I don't know if these tunes negate the warranty should the issue rise again. :think:

Anyhoot, I don't meen to be a downer ... hopefully it will all be good. :waytogo:

[ghoster]

I know pretty much what it was, it was the 6 speed. When I started rolling with 0 throttle it decided to shift to 2nd. Then I needed acceleration and it was still stuck trying to decide which gear it needed. Once its in the right gear it moved pretty well, it just seemed to take its time deciding to actually move! Either way its gone now. If I had kept my foot on the brake and up to the point of pressing the gas, it would have worked just fine.

[soulsea]

I understand now ... sheesh what kind of tune do they set at the factory on these things that it slips into 2nd gear from idle? :whymewhyme:

Congrats on the tune. :waytogo:

[ghoster]

I understand now ... sheesh what kind of tune do they set at the factory on these things that it slips into 2nd gear from idle? :whymewhyme:

Congrats on the tune. :waytogo:

My guess is they are shooting for the best mpg's possible. And in reality, if you are pulling away slowly, 2nd gear has more than enough torque. Maybe this is just the growing pains of the 6 speed tranny?

My last 6 speed didn't have this problem..... but thats an apples to oranges kind of story.

[07Burb]

nice and thanks for the feedback!!! I'm looking forward to the day I can do this mod! :waytogo:

[sumo]

did you do the tow/sport mode? Im still amazed how much kick there is between shifts that can be felt on a 7000 pound truck

[ghoster]

did you do the tow/sport mode? Im still amazed how much kick there is between shifts that can be felt on a 7000 pound truck

They can't do that with the 6 speed. I don't really need it, but I can just flash in the performance tune if I need it.

[07Burb]

Do you notice a pretty big difference on acceleration for like getting on the highway and getting up to highway speeds pretty quickly?

[ghoster]

Do you notice a pretty big difference on acceleration for like getting on the highway and getting up to highway speeds pretty quickly?

What I notice the most is reaction time. The truck doesn't hesitate at all. It also doesn't downshift as much under very light throttle. From a standstill the old butt dyno tells me its quicker. It seemed to pull harder when I was getting on the highway. Its perfect for me. I am running the 87 octanes tune right now. Thats what I will use on my long trips. At home I usually use Shell 93 octane. I will load up that tune later today and see if I can tell the difference.

[07Burb]

Oh so you actually got two different tunes then? That is pretty awesome!

[ghoster]

Oh so you actually got two different tunes then? That is pretty awesome!

2 tunes for the different octanes, yes. I didn't opt for an all out performance tune so far. I want to get more miles on it before I do that to it!!

[blueflamed03]

nice, glad to see the investment was worth it. Havent seen one say it wasnt yet :)

[07Burb]

:waytogo: cool! and it's pretty easy to flash between set ups, I guess? This is all very intriguing to me as I look to get my tune by the end of the year I hope....

[TahoeTX]

My 2009 Tahoe does this same thing and it's soooooo annoying! I'm positive it's because of the 6 speed transmission. It wants to stay in a higher gear at the wrong times. I can't wait for a tune. It makes you wonder how much GM tested these trucks in actual driving conditions.

[ghoster]

Its very easy! You use your computer to flash the tune you want to use to the Autocal, then flash the tune from the Autocal to the truck. Pretty simple. It took me longer to figure out how to get the tune to the Autocal than it did to flash the tune to the truck. The instructions are pretty good, but lots of people that can help you if you need it. I like the option of being able to contact Black Bear and get another tune if I want it for the price of the tune only. It makes it simple! Right now I have no mods at all. In a few years I am likely to put on an exhaust and intake, maybe a few other things. It will be pretty easy to have Black Bear adjust my tune accordingly.

[sumo]

Oh so you actually got two different tunes then? That is pretty awesome!

i got 6 tunes i can choose from. Stock ECM and Stock TCM, Sport and tow tcm, and a 87 and 93 tune

[ghoster]

i got 6 tunes i can choose from. Stock ECM and Stock TCM, Sport and tow tcm, and a 87 and 93 tune

Well yes, but I already had the stock and tow tunes.:laughing1:

Now I have the 87 and 91 tunes. Do the separate tables for e85 count as another tune?

[07Burb]

Sumo has got a wide variety :eek:

[sumo]

Well yes, but I already had the stock and tow tunes.:laughing1:

Now I have the 87 and 91 tunes. Do the separate tables for e85 count as another tune?

you have a e85 tune? Justin told me i can just run e85 on the 87 tune no probs

[ghoster]

you have a e85 tune? Justin told me i can just run e85 on the 87 tune no probs


Its the factory tune, but it must use a separate set of parameters, so its different, and I think I shall count it as a tune!:Big Laugh:

[ghoster]

These are the results of my trip to Atlantic city last week. It was a 5 day trip. I did 212.5 miles on the Highway and 192.9 miles on rural roads. Part of it was slow cruising, site seeing along the Jersey shore. On the highway around the Delaware line we crept for 3 miles at the toll plaza. With all this I averaged 18.1 mpg. I did no more than 5 mph over the limit at any time. The Tahoe now has 1925 miles on it, so its not even broken in yet. Not too shabby.

[sumo]

Nice, Do you have any comparison compared to Before? My last trip i was at 18.5 with 22 rims.

[ghoster]

Its around the 1500 mile point the lifetime mpg's on it were 16. So it appears the mileage is improving. This is kind of the starting point for me. The end of this month we are going on a much longer 10 day trip. It will probably be a good 50/50 hwy/rural driving with plenty of mountain roads. If I can maintain 18 mpg average for the next trip I will be impressed.

---------- Post added at 11:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 PM ----------

The end of this year we may drive to Miami to visit the in-laws. If we do that will give a great, flat land all highway test.

[07Burb]

1. Driving to Miami is a LONG drive!!! :)
2. Awesome info on mpg! I hope to have similar gains when I do this mod to the Burb in the fall or winter:waytogo:
3. Welcome back from your trip :)