Coyote's Escalade

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So I just pulled the trigger on a '16 Escalade and I've been doing a little research on a few light mods, intake, flapper bolt mod, maybe swap out the muffler for a Magnaflow or something (not a full cat back, just the muffler), nothing too crazy. Might throw on some Hotchkis sway bars at some point.

I guess I'm curious if anyone has input on how well a canned tune from, say, Diablo will work with those type of bolt ons? I saw the Black Bear intake comparisons, and saw the notes on a few of the intakes that tuning is probably necessary due to the intake leaning things out too much. Will a canned tune be enough to rectify that? There also seems to be a slight hesitation right off idle before power comes on, which I gather is a common issue and one that I definitely want to address. Truth be told, I think just an intake should be enough to get that off the line power where I want it, but afraid I'd be running too lean with just intake. I guess at the end of the day I'd like the ability to turn AFM off if I want to as well, especially if I'm gonna do the flapper mod.

PS I know the group consensus around here is Black Bear Black Bear Black Bear and I totally get that custom, tailored tunes are the bees knees. However, I have had "good enough" experience with canned options in the past that I prefer just a plug and play option rather than all the data logging and back and forth that comes with custom tunes. I also work exclusively on a work issued laptop, so any downloads or software or files are a pretty big no no.
 

STORMIN08

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i my self am researching the same...i generally lean towards superchips as the service is great. but in this case, i saw that Diablo states some relatively more fine tunable items ( timing and A/F Ratio), havent called to see if that is correct for a gas gm product, but i plan to as it has looking at them more so than before.

i will let you know what i come up with.
 

STORMIN08

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Superchips, diablo, edge and range are all one in the same company umbrella...i tied again to call, takes to long to get a tech.
 

Joseph Garcia

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I know that you are looking for tune options other than Black Bear Performance for your tune, and I cannot specifically assist you there.

However, I know that a Black Bear Performance tune gives you the opportunity to re-tune both the ECM and the TCM. For many folks, the re-tune of the TCM has as great an impact on performance and driveability as the re-tune of the TCM. I do not know if the other tune options provide the opportunity to re-tune both the ECM and TCM, but I am recommending that you consider this parameter/requirement, as well, as you look at other tune options.
 

George B

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I strongly considered the Diablo but decided to just save my coin for the black bear specifically for the TCM tune. I primarily dislike the shift points and firmness of the factory tune.
 
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theycallmecoyote
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That is absolutely something I have considered, and I believe Diablo does have options for transmission tuning, I.E. shift points and firmness.

Edit to add: some of the Diablo options are also open ended for future custom tunes, so I guess if I go that direction and am unhappy with the canned tunes I can always have a custom file built later? I think I'm talking myself into it, but still definitely would like to hear feedback from people who have used the canned tunes.
 

Prospect62

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I have owned my 16 'Burban since January. I had originally purchased a Range AFM disabler to handle that chore and then I drove it like that for months, but the factory transmission programming in this truck (which I spent good money on as we all know) left me disappointed every day. The truck just never felt like it had a 355 HP mill, even knowing it's a Suburban with 3.08 gears. I even had the dealer look at it initially because it shifted so lazily, but I was told it was normal. Being on this forum confirmed that I am not alone in hating the OEM tune.

As you say, everyone here might as well have a Black Bear tattoo but it's just not in the cards for some people. I have a Crown Vic project car - I paid good money for an SCT tuner and a custom written tune from a legit speed shop for it. I know the benefits of doing it that way. But for the family hauler I don't think it's necessary.

A couple weeks ago I found a deal on a used Superchips Flashpaq 2845 tuner that I couldn't pass up. I had good luck with a Superchips Flashpaq on a Ram 1500 that I owned years ago, so I gave it a shot. I installed the basic "87 Octane" canned tune and turned off the AFM (by the way I was able to sell my Range and recoup most of the cost of the Flashpaq). So far, I am very pleased with the results. The Flashpaq canned 87 tune raised the shift point RPMS, firmed up the shifts and just made the truck feel a bit more lively and sure of itself. It's not earth-shattering but it's exactly what I needed. Just a little kick in the pants. I assume the "91 Performance" canned tune might be even better, but I am going to stay with the 87 tune for now and see how it goes. My gas mileage has stayed about the same but overall, for the small investment I am quite happy with it. The Flashpaq also allows for nearly infinite custom adjustments in shift points, shift firmness, torque management, tire size, gear ratio, etc. I haven't even begun to screw around with all that. The 87 tune does fine, and if I get hungry for more I'll try the 91.

If a time comes where I wanna run this thing down the 1/4 mile with groceries flying out the back, maybe I'll invest the money in a Black Bear tune. For now, for much less than half the cost (if you can find a used Flashpaq) the Superchips did really well.

Just my $.02 - not trying to run down Black Bear. Just letting you know there are other effective options.
 
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theycallmecoyote
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Hey Prospect, thanks for the input, your experience sounds pretty similar to what I'm after. I guess I should refine my original question a bit, in that what I'm really asking is, will a canned tune be enough to deal with a probable lean situation due to adding cold air intake? Maybe I should just reach out to Diablo and see what they say.
 

STORMIN08

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have you data logged to verify a lean condition ? or if yo have, what is the A/F ratio you speak of and what rpm range ?
 

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