My BlackBear post

[cmc76]

I have seen a few of these posts, and they were useful in making my choice to buy the autocal.
So i will walk through the process and give my thoughts.
I have an 04 Z71 tahoe. Airaid intake and corvette servo. As far as i know stock otherwise. About 180,000 miles.
I ordered the autocal on Friday morning 3/23. Pretty quick and painless.
Got notification of my orders and shipment the same day. It arrived at my office Monday 3/26.

I read the instructions on BlackBears site about 5 times, as tech instruction comprehension is not my strong suit.

I went out to do the logging that isnt driving first.
Here is where a piece of friendly advice comes in, if you are like me and get confused with technical instructions. Either print off the instructions, or have a laptop handy. For me it was good to refer back.
I hooked up the autocal as instructed, and got 2 error readings. The webpage has an explanation and directs you to call with issues. I started the truck, shut it down and tried again, this time was a success, autocal retrieved and saved the data.

A few hours later i decided to go out and do the driving log. They request 20-30 minutes of varied conditions of driving.
I dont drive my tahoe that much anymore, let alone really get on it. To do the logging i did some city street driving and then got on the highway to hammer it a bit. My first thoughts were that since i never really drive it hard, the pulls i did above 3500 rpm were more impressive than i remembered anyways.

I logged about 30 minutes, saved the file and went in to upload.
First thought, the EFI dashboard is a little intimidating. But the BlackBear site does a good job of telling you how to move the files, etc.

I sent the files off last night and will be updating with my thoughts once installed. I am sure like anything, using the software and autocal a few times, i will get more comfortable and remember how without looking at the instructions 20 times.

I am optimistic, but realistic. I have a 15 year old truck with a decent amount of miles. I am not the first owner, so god only knows how it was treated. But other than a few minor things here and there, the truck has been reliable and comfortable to drive. I was impressed with the result of the vette servo alone, so i cant imagine that the autocal purchase will let me down.

To be continued.....

 

[Tonyrodz]

I'm hoping I could buy this one day, ir even better, get the in person tune. Funds hold me back tho. In it for the progress.

 

[PG01]

Good luck, following for your results....im sure you wont be disappointed...

 

[cmc76]

So its been a week. I havent seen a tune file yet. But I am not worried, if it was easy everyone would be tuning. My guess is that its taking a bit because they determined that a previous owner snuck in a hot cam......right.
Anyways, the only update so far. So when you order. Blackbear offers to send you the autocal in a nice case.
The only reason i opted not to, is im pretty cheap. And... i had a few cases i bought on sale at harbor freight that do the same thing.
So, here is that.

 

[swathdiver]

Good things come to those who wait!

 

[TM98]

So its been a week. I havent seen a tune file yet. But I am not worried, if it was easy everyone would be tuning. My guess is that its taking a bit because they determined that a previous owner snuck in a hot cam......right.
Anyways, the only update so far. So when you order. Blackbear offers to send you the autocal in a nice case.
The only reason i opted not to, is im pretty cheap. And... i had a few cases i bought on sale at harbor freight that do the same thing.
So, here is that.

View attachment 196090

Which case did you get? I bought the small one thinking it would work but was a little too small.

 

[cmc76]

The small one. If I did it again I'd go bigger. But it works as is

 

[adventurenali92]

Yeah sometimes it’s takes a few days for them to get everything ironed out but it’s not too bad. My AutoCAL works as expected. I need to email them again though and see what’s going on with my fans again. Lol

 

[cmc76]

I got an email from Justin today. No tunes. But he let me know about a few things which is good.
I have a vacuum leak , significant were his words. so i will look into that tonight. Then one of my log files was corrupted and not usable. I was worried about when i got the error message.
So a few things to look into, then a bit more logging then sending more files back.

 

[cmc76]

I have to say, impressive customer service. As i was looking under the hood, trading pictures of what i was looking for by email. Justin helped out the whole way.
I found a cracked rubber 90 degree fitting that was likely the cause of the vacuum leak. I tried to put together a fix, but ended up having to get the fitting next day to me.
Should have the fitting here today to i can get it on, and collect new logs saturday.

 

[PNWMuseumman]

Sub'd for the updates, trying to sell my wife on BB tuning her Denali.

 

[M1Gunner]

Fuel trims and engine speed will be a dead give away for a vacuum leak. Especially going from idle to accelerate to higher steady speed and back to idle. Hopefully that’s all that’s needed was that 90.

 

[cmc76]

I will find out as soon as i get it put back on. The only other thing i found, i believe its a purge solonoid. Its looser than it should be, but the nut that is affixed to the manifold is stripped. Im going to have to figure out how to get it out and jb weld the nut back in so its secure. Im not sure what if any effect that is having.

 

[Rocket Man]

Justin has helped me a few times with problems, some not even tune related. One of the reasons I love the Autocal. Tunes usually take a week or more, be patient.

 

[cmc76]

So I got the vacuum break fixed this morning. I ended up having to put some random fittings together myself. After a few days of looking, i couldnt find the OEM elbow. But i made it work.
Are these trucks vacuum assist on brakes? I had noticed some weak spongyness as of late, figured i would pull a wheel off once it is finally warmer. But placebo or not, after the vacuum fix they seem to perform better.
So i did a new log of the existing tune. Got an error code again. Pulled the radio fuse and then it did a correct read. The last file of the existing log i sent was corrupted and not able to be used. My only concern is that todays log didnt save with the correct date.
I did another log file driving. Justin had asked for a new one once vacuum was corrected, and some higher rpm pulls. Assuming the vacuum is now set. I went out for a half hour of harder driving. I put it in my email to Justin, but I am sure someone will chime in here. In D, i couldnt seem to get it to 5000 rpm. JUst didnt want to go. I pulled constant up to the govenor. Since he asked for 5k though, i i dropped into 3 and launched and it was no problem. Again, since i never in the past really pushed it, I am not sure if that is normal or not?
So thats it for today. Assuming the files are all readable, I should have some news next week.

 

[Rocket Man]

So I got the vacuum break fixed this morning. I ended up having to put some random fittings together myself. After a few days of looking, i couldnt find the OEM elbow. But i made it work.
Are these trucks vacuum assist on brakes? I had noticed some weak spongyness as of late, figured i would pull a wheel off once it is finally warmer. But placebo or not, after the vacuum fix they seem to perform better.
So i did a new log of the existing tune. Got an error code again. Pulled the radio fuse and then it did a correct read. The last file of the existing log i sent was corrupted and not able to be used. My only concern is that todays log didnt save with the correct date.
I did another log file driving. Justin had asked for a new one once vacuum was corrected, and some higher rpm pulls. Assuming the vacuum is now set. I went out for a half hour of harder driving. I put it in my email to Justin, but I am sure someone will chime in here. In D, i couldnt seem to get it to 5000 rpm. JUst didnt want to go. I pulled constant up to the govenor. Since he asked for 5k though, i i dropped into 3 and launched and it was no problem. Again, since i never in the past really pushed it, I am not sure if that is normal or not?
So thats it for today. Assuming the files are all readable, I should have some news next week.

Yes the brakes are vacuum assist unless you have the hydroboost option which is unlikely. Hydroboost brakes are assisted by the power steering pump so they're hydraulic but it's not a common option. And not being able to rev to 5000 rpn in D on a stock tune is normal. You'll be able to once you get your tune though. Looking forward to your impression after the tune.

 

[swathdiver]

If you've got a round booster behind the master cyllinder and a hose coming off of it to your intake, that's vacuum assist brakes. If no booster and a bunch of metal hydraulic lines running down to the power steering pump, hydroboost. Mark just beat me to it but I'm not gonna erase my post! LOL

 

[cmc76]

Dont worry about erasing. Id rather have more information than less.
And Im anxious to see as well. This isnt my first modded truck. But the first Tahoe I have had. This stuff is quickly addicting.

 

[cmc76]

Another update.
So I still have a vacuum leak. Once temp breaks ill investigate further.
And Justin said I was only at 79% full throttle. I just might be the dumbass who lets the floor mat get stuck under the pedal....stay tuned

 

[cmc76]

So other than this loose purge solenoid. I cant find any leaks. I finally got it out .The tiny brass insert had spun in the manifold. I'm going to try to epoxy it back in. The solonoid wasn't snug .Could have been losing pressure.
And i pulledmy floor mat out. Sure as shit was blocking pedal travel. Wtf?