Experience with Predator tuner on a 6.2 6-speed?

[Fast55]

Anyone have this? I'm tired of waiting on the BB handheld solution and I don't want "in person" tuning that will be gone the first time my dealer does anything to the truck. I know I shouldn't expect as much as the BB tune, but they do claim to change nearly everything including the trans. They also claim to be able to hold several "custom" tunes, so other than experience, I'm guessing this is their version of the EFI live autocal and it should be able to do anything BB could do with the right download? Anyone?

 

[THE YETI]

why not just buy the extra PCM and when you take it to the dealer, swap the tuned one for the stock one?

It still ends up around the same price, but you get a better tune and can swap it out faster than it takes to deprogram the handheld tuner.

 

[Mr. B]

Don't you have to do the re-learn every time you change out the PCM?

 

[Fast55]

Even with an extra PCM, wouldn't any tuning in the TCU be lost? I can get a Predator for $287.00, so I might try it if no one has any feedback. They do have a 30 day return policy.

 

[JennaBear]

No handheld tuner can tune the TCM in the 6 speed.

 

[Mr. B]

Jenna,

What's the update on the handheld? Weren't you guys beta testing a couple?

 

[JennaBear]

We do have some Beta versions, but we are at the mercy of EFILive just like everyone else. Once they decide to release it and its full details/pricing we will be up and running!

 

[AquinoSteven]

I got the Predator for my truck and i have to say that i wasent as impressed as i thought i would be. Yeah its nice because i get to mess around with the tables but i regret not getting a BB tune when i could.

 

[jee123]

Jenna, how many times have heard a dealer wiping the program?

 

[JennaBear]

I have always told my dealers not to touch my PCM and they comply. We have had some folks have their dealer flash over their tunes. This is one of the reasons folks have spare modules, they will put their stock modules in before a dealer visit and swap back to the tuned ones after the visit.

 

[Fast55]

OK, so if no handheld can make TCM changes, their website is wrong, or they do not know what they are talking about? I'm not saying I prefer a Diablo handheld to a BB tune, but what they describe sounds an awful lot like what the EFI live setup with multiple custom tunes promises to be. they even have several "CMR" dealers you can visit for "custom" tunes. I'm not baggin' on BB, but especially since my supposed TSB fix for the shifting in my 6.2 6 speed 4X4, I'm even less happy with how the truck is performing. 14.0 mpg over 6K miles of mostly highway driving and this BS "flair" on the 2-3 shift is worse if nothing else, not better. I've been down the flash tuning road on my E55 and lost the first tune I had after an emissions recall and that cost me big dollars. I had no choice but to pay for another tune because the car is modified and wasn't safe to run on pump gas without extensive tuning. The second time I went with a different tuner who offered to reflash the car if the tuning was lost by a dealer service and they were local to so. Cal. The only good thing was it made even more power with the second tune. I don't see that offer from BB, and no offence Jenna, but it's not like you guys are local either. I'm guessing a second ECM woudn't help because the TCM also is "tuned" and is too much trouble to swap? If I'm wrong, what does a spare ECM cost? I really need the transmission tuning as much as the motor.

 

[JennaBear]

I am confused by your post, so pardon me if I don't answer your questions...

There is no handheld tuner out there (Diablo included) that can tune the 6 speed transmissions. Check out gm-trucks.net and you can see that Diablo is a vendor there and there are quite a few people griping about the fact that they have been waiting for TCM support for over 2 years now.

As for our tuning, we safe every single tune (including iterations) on our servers, so where a customer to lose their tune due to a flash from the dealer, it is not a problem for us to get a new module out to them. In your case, the TCM is internal to the transmission, so you would not be able to swap out the TCM module, only the ECM module. An option, other than the AutoCal, is to purchase the EFILive V2 which can flash tunes into your vehicle just like a handheld. It is a pricey option, but we do offer tuning packages for customers that went this route. We are anxiously awaiting for EFILive to release their AutoCal to help support folks such as yourself with the 6speed.

 

[Fast55]

Now I'm confused.

1. You say that they cannot tune the 6-speed, but they claim to be able to adjust line pressure and shift points?

2. They claim they have "CMR" dealers that can give you custom tunes? If this is not true, what is the difference between a EFILive and a Predator?

3. I looked at EFILIve and it seems there is no "tune" available, you're on your own to read what is going on and spend a lot of time figuring out what to do to tune your vehicle?

4. I don't want to do that, I'd like to "read" my truck and have a tune downloaded to both the ECM/TCM that will be perfect or close to it. What exactly is the difference between an "Autocal", and an "EFILive V2"?

5. Is it that the Autocal is a "write" device and the EFILive V2 is a "read/write" device?

6. What is the cost of each?

7. When do you expect to have the "cheaper" Autocal?

8. They might be technically savy, but I wasn't too impressed the responses I got from EFILive. Can I buy this stuff from BB?

I'm not trying to be cheap here, but I don't want to buy more of a "tuner" than I need and I sure as hell don't want to spend days or weeks figuring out what works and what doesn't. If you can help me now, tell me what the cost is from BB and what I need to buy. Sorry for all the questions.

 

[AquinoSteven]

I have the diablo now and i wouldn't really say that you can "tune" you tahoe. Theres only like 10 or so things you can change after the 93 tune. EFI live does require some knowledge on tuning because it does not come with preset tunes. The up side is that the list of options is so much more and Justin and Jenna can tune it for you. The diablo just skims the surface in what you can tune. From what i remember there was only like 3 or 4 different performance parameters that i could change.

 

[JennaBear]

Now I'm confused.

1. You say that they cannot tune the 6-speed, but they claim to be able to adjust line pressure and shift points?

2. They claim they have "CMR" dealers that can give you custom tunes? If this is not true, what is the difference between a EFILive and a Predator?

3. I looked at EFILIve and it seems there is no "tune" available, you're on your own to read what is going on and spend a lot of time figuring out what to do to tune your vehicle?

4. I don't want to do that, I'd like to "read" my truck and have a tune downloaded to both the ECM/TCM that will be perfect or close to it. What exactly is the difference between an "Autocal", and an "EFILive V2"?

5. Is it that the Autocal is a "write" device and the EFILive V2 is a "read/write" device?

6. What is the cost of each?

7. When do you expect to have the "cheaper" Autocal?

8. They might be technically savy, but I wasn't too impressed the responses I got from EFILive. Can I buy this stuff from BB?

I'm not trying to be cheap here, but I don't want to buy more of a "tuner" than I need and I sure as hell don't want to spend days or weeks figuring out what works and what doesn't. If you can help me now, tell me what the cost is from BB and what I need to buy. Sorry for all the questions.

1. Yes they can't tune the TCM, unless that has changed in the last day. Shoot them an email and see if they have TCM support yet. There is also a Diablo forum that you can find answers in.

2. CMR dealers are folks that you would give parameters to, and for an extra cost, they would make a tune, email it to you and you could upload to your truck. I think you need an extra piece of software for it.

3. EFILive is a true tuners software. You are correct, it does not come with tunes and you are to learn on your own.

4. We offer tuning packages with EFILive sales when bought through us. If you want to just get the V2 and use it as hardware to upload tunes to your truck, and make logs, we have many a customer that do that. Due to our agreement with EFILive, I can't post our prices, but the retail of a V2 is $799 and comes with 2 licenses.

5. There is no telling what the full capacity of the AutoCal will be as to where or not it will be a read/write or just a write. The V2 is a read/write.

6. The cost of the AutoCal has not been released, the V2 retails for $799.

7. We were hoping the AutoCal would be released after SEMA but we are still waiting.

8. Yes, we offer all EFILive products. They are located in New Zealand, so their responses may be a bit delayed. They are only a software dealer and don't do any tuning. This is why Justin is their Instructor to teach their software for tuning.

 

[Fast55]

I think I got it all, but just a couple more questions. If I go for "in person tuning", can I buy a spare ECM to preserve what Justin does to the truck, or will I lose the TCM changes if the dealer does a flash upgrade?

If so, it appears the only way to go to make sure I keep the tuning is to buy a EFILive which will save EVERYTHING that your tuning changes?

If I buy the EFILive from you, I can "read" what the truck and trans is doing, send you the dump, and get updated downloads for both the ECM/TCM?

The reason I ask is that the supposed "fix" for the 2-3 shift that the dealer did may not have made things worse, but it sure as hell didn't fix anything!

 

[JennaBear]

I think I got it all, but just a couple more questions. If I go for "in person tuning", can I buy a spare ECM to preserve what Justin does to the truck, or will I lose the TCM changes if the dealer does a flash upgrade?

If so, it appears the only way to go to make sure I keep the tuning is to buy a EFILive which will save EVERYTHING that your tuning changes?

If I buy the EFILive from you, I can "read" what the truck and trans is doing, send you the dump, and get updated downloads for both the ECM/TCM?

The reason I ask is that the supposed "fix" for the 2-3 shift that the dealer did may not have made things worse, but it sure as hell didn't fix anything!

If the dealer flashes your truck, both the ECM and TCM will likely be wiped.

You are correct, you can save all your tune files on your computer and swap at your leisure, like a handheld.

Yes, we offer tuning packages that will allow you to send logs to us, for us to make a custom tune. The tune will be sent back to you via email and you can upload it to your truck.

We pay for the dealer update stream, so all tunes have the latest dealer updates. If you are having problems with your transmission, it is definitely something Justin can look into and help diagnose through the logs.

 

[Conor]

Jenna really knows her shit. I like that.

 

[Fast55]

Well, my truck goes back to the dealer Tuesday. Hopefully they can unfuck what they did to the trans because I was overly generous when I said it wasn't worse than before (it is). When I get it back, I will be buying the BB EFILive solution regardless of cost. it's BS I have more trouble with the brand new 62K '09 than I do with the 50K '07!! Until now, I've always had better luck with later versions of cars/trucks VS the first year of production. Other than the recall on the heated washers in the '07 LTZ and a weird problem of the rear AC blowing hot air in the '07 that was fixed under warranty, this is no longer true. The '09 doesn't even have the heated washers anymore although the brochure says all LTZ's have them, what's up with that? Jenna, I'll contact you directly once I get it back. At least BB seems to know WTF they're talking about.

 

[Narco]

a woman that can speak "car" as well as Jenna is extra hot in my book =)