I've hinted at the TNT tune on a few occasions, but I was sworn to secrecy on the details. Cody wrote a tune in 2011, and he has been "dialing it in" since then, with Stinky as one of a few test vehicles (since Dec 2012) to see what would happen with rigs other than the ones at his disposal. There was no name for it then, so I took the liberty. TNT, or Tow-N-Town: An engine-braking tune that you leave on through normal driving - even with cruise control active.

I have an HD4R100 transmission with an upgraded coast clutch. This is an important upgrade before using the tune, because the stocker will fail.

 

Man thats super sweet. No big hills here in north fl but towing my usual 17k equipment around that sure would be nice.

Although my DP F6 won't take it

Rich any links to the Hydra ? i might be doing some reconditioning of chip set up hehe !

 

The Hydra can be purchased through a number of vendors, including PHP - but you can get the tune here [LINK]

This is not widely known yet, you guys are getting an exclusive from me, and Powerstrokenation got an exclusive from Bill, with Cody chiming in. Cody called me last night to announce the tune was on the loose. Under normal circumstances, a new tune would ooze out onto the market - because tunes are not a big deal. My wife and I both enjoy this tune when it's active, it's a huge brake saver, and it's never been achieved before - plus I know a gajillion guys that would want this.

I can hear it out there "Wait.... Why would your wife enjoy the tune?" A few reasons:

• She got a piece of a conventional exhaust brake tune before... you hit the button and I liken the reaction to firing a reverse thruster - it's a bit harsh. TNT eases into it like you would use your own brakes.
• There is a strong feeling of "control of your own destiny" when going down a steep grade. On the surface, that sounds silly - but there is a healthy sense of control when you are in cruise control down a steep grade in OD.
• "PHSHT" - I called the conventional decel tune a "Snake Brake", because of the long perpetual hiss going downhill. TNT as a whole different feel and sound. Dog owners - you know that sneeze-ish sound a dog makes when he issues a playful challenge? Make the dog 8000 pounds and have him/her do that (this is the effect in heavy traffic, surrounded by vehicles). It can bring out your inner grunt and snort - possibly more so than the turbo whistle.

For those thinking I might be pushing Bill at PHP - far from it. My personal experience with his customer support is abysmal. He backs his product 100%, and he got online with me to work out a technical difficulty with my Hydra-PC interface, but I've had to wait for up to six weeks to get my stuff from him - on three separate occasions. Gaugepro is a staunch advocate for Bill, and he says the customer support has improved of late. I don't know, I was done after my third six-week wait.

 

Rich, sounds interesting......I assume it can be tweaked to work well with multiple types of sticks and a valve body vs. no valve body?

Can it work with stock sticks?

 

Any other Cody tunes on the market?

 

How would this react with a 6 speed? Would it be worth it or even work?

 

There is no reason for it not to work with different sticks - mine is a tow-tune with the "TNT option". My #3 tune is the exact same tune, but without TNT. #5 is my daily driver, so I can bounce to TNT from either tune with one button-press, depending on driving conditions.


Under the guise of tunes from PHP, but I don't know which they are.


Cody wrote the tune for manuals and tweaked it for autos. Absolutely, Cody uses it daily on manual trucks bigger (and much heavier) than ours.

 

For those that lack a "warm and fuzzy" feeling about the hissing of the EBPV:

If you don't mind sacrificing the exhaust whistle out the back, I installed a Diamond Eye 400400 resonator (4" exhaust) with the opening of the louvers pointing toward the engine. The engine is now louder than the hiss (engine noise did not change, I use this as a sound level reference). This gets rid of exhaust drone as well. After all... that's what it was designed for.

The resonator installed was about the same price as an EBPV delete pedestal on a bench. No lost Saturday afternoon, no O-rings to replace, no bloody knuckles, and I keep my engine brake without the jet noise on a cold morning or while engine braking in a residential neighborhood... your call.

If you have a malfunctioning EBPV, then it will cost more money and time to maintain it. Again... your call.

 

I've been undecided about tuning my truck since I got it, then as to which tuner, I think you have just made up my mind!! Sounds exactly what I need. Thanks for sharing.

 

Sounds awesome!! I've always wondered why someone hadn't written a tune like the one you've described. It sounds like something I'd be interested in...

...Too bad us TS guys are outta' luck.

 

The nice thing about the Hydra is that it has the capability to use anybody's tunes.

 

Can the TNT tun be put one of PHP's chips or is it Hydra only?

 

Will it give my truck an unfathomable shake at certain RPMs?

Jests aside, can you give more detail on the conditions when the EBPV will activate? In my decel tune the EBPV is not a fast acting valve and I can imagine that sluggishness being a handicap in cut 'n' thrust traffic. Pretty BA with it so easy to access. No manually selecting in and out of it, can still accelerate, etc.

 

Can some explain to me why you'd want such heavy decel?

I tend to let of the gas and let it cruise to match traffic speeds. Sounds like something like this would overslow me and force me to accelerate more. Brakes are so long lasting, I don't understand the aversion to using them.

 

The Hydra is the one with the copy security measures, I doubt it would be offered on anything else - but Bill would answer that better than I. Let's be honest here... wouldn't a tune this useful be a great marketing tool to sell more Hydras, and reward the early adopters?

Stinky's shake is gone. I'll post on that much later, but I'm taking a break from tinkering and discussing the just-completed Stinky. I think everybody can appreciate that right about now - I know I can... and I'm sure Gaugepro will second the motion. I'm just here to answer questions on the tune.

Let off the throttle at speed, and 2 or 3 seconds later the EBPV eases into full activation. Just touch the throttle (take it off idle validation) and the EBPV won't kick in (or it will drop out if already activated), but the torque converter is still locked - so coasting is not this tune's strong suit.


Have you ever done a brake job on the rear axle? I have. It's not a job I want to repeat any more than absolutely necessary. I sure don't want to pay for it either, the brake place would throw a shop vac on the end of the Buck$Zooka and plug it into the kitchen stove outlet.

You might live where it's flat, many of us don't. An 8% grade will quickly push you up to an uncomfortable speed for turning corners. So if you're on the top of Mt. Rose in Nevada or Chinook Pass in Washington - you either warm those brakes up real good, or use the decel tune and land at the bottom with cool disks. Throw a 5'er behind you down a steep grade that goes on for many miles, like in Colorado... and you are praying you put good pads and disks on the truck without a decel tune.