Scarsman
Sponsor
- Messages
- 1,561
- Location
- Monroe, WA
Well, as I said in another thread, I was going to be getting a custom tune done for my truck. I will track it all in this thread and try to answer any questions anyone has.
What I am starting with:
2005 H2 on 37" Cooper STTs with stock 4.10 gears
Stock 6.0 rated at 325 hp/365 torque
DiabloSport Predator U7193 tuner, running canned Diablo 92 octane tune and adjustment for 37" tires
Flowmaster cat-back system
Why the Predator:
I chose a DiabloSport tuner because after a lot of reading and research online, I found that Lew Eaton, of DiabLew Tune, does custom tuning for DiabloSport users. I read endless reviews on his tunes, and have yet to find a single bad one. In fact, I have not even found any ho-hum ones. They are all rave reviews.
The Predator tuner is no longer made, and has been replaced with the inTune and the Trinity. The inTune is a direct replacement for the Predator. Basically just a flash programmer and scanner in a more modern updated package. The Trinity is a full dashboard tuner and gauge monitor with all kinds of cool functions. But anyway, they all fully support custom tunes.
How does this DiabLew thing work:
Well, first you pay him $145. For that he will make you a custom tune and do all the tweaking that is needed to get it right. Plus, if you change anything within a year, like headers, mufflers, intake, etc, he will make the needed adjustments to optimize your new mods for no extra charge. I think he can even handle cam changes if they aren't too crazy. After that one year time is up it is just $75 to make any updates to your tune.
Once you have paid the man, you use the tuner to record a data log on your truck. Basically you get it up to temperature and find a nice flat road where you can keep it at a steady speed for 5-10 minute with the RPMs between 1800-2500 as much as possible. Record the log, and then email him the file, along with the original backup file and last-tune-written from the tuner. He will email you back your new tune, which you then load onto the tuner and then upload to your truck. Then you drive it like normal for about 150 miles. Then you will do another log and send to him. He will check things and make any tweaks needed, and send back. Repeat until it is dialed in.
He can also make changes for the traction control, torque management, shift points, shift speed and pressure, and throttle lag.
So, today I got my first revision back from him and installed. I must say, he is fast! I emailed him all the files, and he had the custom tune back to me in about 15-20 minutes.
Does it work? First impressions:
It should be noted that performance is supposed to get better and better over the first 150 miles, as the computer learns the new fuel trims and gets everything balanced out. This has been confirmed in all the reviews I have read as well.
I IMMEDIATELY noticed that the delay in the throttle pedal was gone. Before, if I quickly floored it and released it nothing would happen. There was enough of a delay that I could release it before it did anything. Now, I can't blip it fast enough for it to not react! I would say it reacts about the same as my old carbed small block 400.
From a dead stop, it has always felt like it was in second gear until about 3000 RPM. Then it would start to pull hard. Now, it jumps and pulls hard immediately. The RPM climb is steady. Before you could watch the tach slowly rise, and then about 2800-3000 it sped way up as the power came on.
The shifts are firmer, and the shift points are higher. If it is floored, it now holds 1st all the way to 6000 RPM.
I also notice under normal driving, the up-shifts happen at a little higher MPH. If you are driving slow, like through a parking lot, or on a long driveway, it will stay in 1st. Whereas before it would almost immediately shift up to 2nd if there was no load, then when you gave it a little gas or a slight incline it would shift back down. Now it acts more like you would drive it if it was a manual.
On a loose gravel road I floored it from a dead stop in 4Hi unlocked. It spun some of the wheels enough for the "traction active" notice to come on in the dash. I can assure you THAT has never happened before! However, I did not notice the usual bog that comes with that notice. It just kept pulling hard. I then drove the left front wheel up a bank to off-load the LR and RF wheels and make them spin to further test the traction control. (I had requested it be off) There did not seem to be any braking action being given to the spinning wheels. :cheers: He explained that the system is still on, i.e. the notice on the dash when it senses spinning, but he has turned off all torque management, and the functions that is does to control spinning. So it thinks it is working, but it is actually just telling itself to do nothing.
I will keep this updated as I drive it more and do further logs/adjustments. So far, I am very impressed, and really like the way it drives!
What I am starting with:
2005 H2 on 37" Cooper STTs with stock 4.10 gears
Stock 6.0 rated at 325 hp/365 torque
DiabloSport Predator U7193 tuner, running canned Diablo 92 octane tune and adjustment for 37" tires
Flowmaster cat-back system
Why the Predator:
I chose a DiabloSport tuner because after a lot of reading and research online, I found that Lew Eaton, of DiabLew Tune, does custom tuning for DiabloSport users. I read endless reviews on his tunes, and have yet to find a single bad one. In fact, I have not even found any ho-hum ones. They are all rave reviews.
The Predator tuner is no longer made, and has been replaced with the inTune and the Trinity. The inTune is a direct replacement for the Predator. Basically just a flash programmer and scanner in a more modern updated package. The Trinity is a full dashboard tuner and gauge monitor with all kinds of cool functions. But anyway, they all fully support custom tunes.
How does this DiabLew thing work:
Well, first you pay him $145. For that he will make you a custom tune and do all the tweaking that is needed to get it right. Plus, if you change anything within a year, like headers, mufflers, intake, etc, he will make the needed adjustments to optimize your new mods for no extra charge. I think he can even handle cam changes if they aren't too crazy. After that one year time is up it is just $75 to make any updates to your tune.
Once you have paid the man, you use the tuner to record a data log on your truck. Basically you get it up to temperature and find a nice flat road where you can keep it at a steady speed for 5-10 minute with the RPMs between 1800-2500 as much as possible. Record the log, and then email him the file, along with the original backup file and last-tune-written from the tuner. He will email you back your new tune, which you then load onto the tuner and then upload to your truck. Then you drive it like normal for about 150 miles. Then you will do another log and send to him. He will check things and make any tweaks needed, and send back. Repeat until it is dialed in.
He can also make changes for the traction control, torque management, shift points, shift speed and pressure, and throttle lag.
So, today I got my first revision back from him and installed. I must say, he is fast! I emailed him all the files, and he had the custom tune back to me in about 15-20 minutes.
Does it work? First impressions:
It should be noted that performance is supposed to get better and better over the first 150 miles, as the computer learns the new fuel trims and gets everything balanced out. This has been confirmed in all the reviews I have read as well.
I IMMEDIATELY noticed that the delay in the throttle pedal was gone. Before, if I quickly floored it and released it nothing would happen. There was enough of a delay that I could release it before it did anything. Now, I can't blip it fast enough for it to not react! I would say it reacts about the same as my old carbed small block 400.
From a dead stop, it has always felt like it was in second gear until about 3000 RPM. Then it would start to pull hard. Now, it jumps and pulls hard immediately. The RPM climb is steady. Before you could watch the tach slowly rise, and then about 2800-3000 it sped way up as the power came on.
The shifts are firmer, and the shift points are higher. If it is floored, it now holds 1st all the way to 6000 RPM.
I also notice under normal driving, the up-shifts happen at a little higher MPH. If you are driving slow, like through a parking lot, or on a long driveway, it will stay in 1st. Whereas before it would almost immediately shift up to 2nd if there was no load, then when you gave it a little gas or a slight incline it would shift back down. Now it acts more like you would drive it if it was a manual.
On a loose gravel road I floored it from a dead stop in 4Hi unlocked. It spun some of the wheels enough for the "traction active" notice to come on in the dash. I can assure you THAT has never happened before! However, I did not notice the usual bog that comes with that notice. It just kept pulling hard. I then drove the left front wheel up a bank to off-load the LR and RF wheels and make them spin to further test the traction control. (I had requested it be off) There did not seem to be any braking action being given to the spinning wheels. :cheers: He explained that the system is still on, i.e. the notice on the dash when it senses spinning, but he has turned off all torque management, and the functions that is does to control spinning. So it thinks it is working, but it is actually just telling itself to do nothing.
I will keep this updated as I drive it more and do further logs/adjustments. So far, I am very impressed, and really like the way it drives!
Last edited:
