How has your Range V8 held up?

[TahoeCCS]

I've had one of the Range brand of disablers of Active Fuel Management plugged into my OBD II port since I got the 2014 Tahoe brand new. Now at 74,000 miles I am hoping the Range V8 will have extended how much life I can get out of this engine. Oil changes every 3500-4000 miles, Mobil 1 10W-30. Wix XP filters.

When the Range system was in development, 2010-2014 or so, I was among the beta testers working directly with the developer. I joined his production study at about Ver. 6.0 of the firmware, and I found a few anomalies in its use. He tweaked the timing of the datastream as part of revisions that took mine through ver. 7.6 or so.

In the years since then I've been settled with its ability to defeat what I call GM's "Crippled Cylinder System," or CCS.

I did have an instance of what was called "corrupted" firmware, cause unknown, that took place a few years ago. The module just stopped working. My first symptom was hearing that dreaded sound of a rough running engine, like an ignition problem. Turns out it was the hated CCS that had activated and was turning off a few cylinders against my will. The ugly monster came back from the dead.

The guy who founded Range Technologies in the meantime had sold the company to Holley Carburetors by then, and I had lost touch. So when I went to their website, I found only some anonymous keyword bot type assistance at first.

Eventually I connected with someone who said to send it in for a re-flash of the firmware, and it came back fine. I think that same module is acting up again. I see today on their website that they are willing to re-flash older modules up to the current firmware. Has anyone taken an early module back to them for that upgrade? I would rather not risk introducing problems in what has been a flawless way to work around the questionable system GM put on this engine.

Someday I'll probably get all the CCS components swapped out for normal lifters, etc. and be done with it. I would be interested in any extended user experiences about the Range and whether you feel it was worth the $100 or so back when.

Thanks

 

[Marky Dissod]

I could swear that there is a cheaper way to disable Engine Half@$$ for GMT900 (possibly GMTK2xx), that is not dependent on software updates of any kind.
If you look at the brake booster (or master cylinder?), there is an electrical connector that would not be there on an older GMT800.
Unplug it, no more Half@$$in.

Check the veracity of my suggestion with someone else for better results, I've never done it myself, although I've witnessed it from about 25ft or so.

 

[mikez71]

You two should combine your acronyms.. one syllable.. H.A.C.C.S. (Half A$$ Crippled Cylinder System)

Also heard of unplugging the oil pressure sensor, but you won't know your oil pressure..

I know this isn't what you were asking, but is getting the ECM tuned not acceptable for some reason?

 

[TahoeCCS]

You two should combine your acronyms.. one syllable.. H.A.C.C.S. (Half A$$ Crippled Cylinder System)

Also heard of unplugging the oil pressure sensor, but you won't know your oil pressure..

I know this isn't what you were asking, but is getting the ECM tuned not acceptable for some reason?

Early in my ownership I didn't know about ECM tuning, or if I did, the truck was still under factory warranty. Now, the outlook is to just wait until the engine needs freshening, and either get a crate build without any CCS components, or have my original engine built with (hopefully) a kit of items to make it normal. That's when I'd get the ECM tuned as well.

 

[ianbis]

I actually tried unplugging the electrical connector on the Brake Booster (2011 Chevy Suburban 5.3l Flex Fuel), unfortunately it did NOT disable the AFM/DOD as confirmed by the "Drive Information Center". Putting the transmission in Manual 5 is the only way that I found beyond the Range device et al - a tune or disabling via software.

 

[mikez71]

AFM disable tune for $50 may still be worth it temporarily, depending how far out your rebuild is.

That was always my worry.
That a device could die -OR-
I would unplug it accidentally...

Then when AFM activates, with years old oil in the system, that it might cause lifter failure somehow...

 

[Marky Dissod]

AFM disable tune for $50 may still be worth it temporarily, depending how far out your rebuild is.

Disabling Half@$$ Cylinder Crippler is always a good idea, IFF you plan on keeping it.
If you don't plan on keeping it, consider that the next (prospective?) buyer will appreciate it if you did disable it,
especially if you can prove that you disabled it early, even if it was just with a plug-in or a 'one-note tune', because it's worth more that way.

Also, I've gone on at length about how, even if oil is changed early and often and the part-time lifters never fail,
H.A.C.C. (pronounced by releasing a lougie) eventually causes the part-time cylinders to wear faster than the full-time cylinders,
to the point where V4 mode does not actually save any fuel, and will eventually cause / increase oil consumption.

So, to amend my previous: Disabling Half@$$ Cylinder Crippler is always a good idea, full stop.

 

[pronstar]

I ran Range devices on my two trucks for a few years without issue.

But 3 years ago, I had trouble getting them inspected due to 2 emission monitors reporting not ready…I unplugged the Range, did a drive cycle and passed inspection without issue.

Then I got into HP Tuners and disabled it in the tune. Should’ve gone that route to begin with.

I never did figure out what the issue was with my Range units.

 

[89Suburban]

I acquired my Tahoe with 290K on it. Bought a used Range device and ran with that to 360K. Never had an issue. At that point I replaced the motor with a reman. Then had it tuned. The Range device is for sale right now.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... got into HP Tuners and disabled it in the tune. Should’ve gone that route to begin with.

So should everyone else, but preconceived notions about what tunes are (and are not) seem to discourage them from getting tuned.

... never did figure out what the issue was with my Range units.

They get in the way of the completion of certain 'readiness' monitor tests.
That's why you gotta remove them before you go to the dealer or an emissions test.