I can say that from driving Dad's truck I wasn't disappointed. I just love a more sensitive pedal than what Brian gave Dad but I am sure he could make it into an itchy, twitchy bitchy pedal if asked.

 

Well, no - not all '60HP' tunes are the same. Actually far from it. Tuning these trucks is very complex and some methods are simply better than others. Some tuners have spent years developing and tweaking their tunes on a dyno. They are also constantly learning and getting better at it as a result of this 'real world' feedback.

The difference in my '60' tunes between old chip and new one is very significant and there is no way I'd ever go back to what I had...

The 'tweaky' pedal is just annoying. I want to proportionately go from 1% to 99% using the full travel of the pedal. I don't need a 'trick' to make my trucks 'feel faster'. My preference is smoooooth acceleration as well, the 80E toon I used to have was downright aggravating to drive in the 6spd - at about 2k rpm it would take off, making it impossible to drive smoothly. The other toons that provided 100% throttle at 50% pedal were equally annoying.

The tunes in both of my PSD's came out of the box GREAT. There are a few minor tweaks I would make, but nothing I would consider urgent and certainly just personal preferences based on what I know is possible.

 

OK. I haven't seen much of a difference so maybe it is me. They feel different and strong.

I notice that DP has quietened down some, not that I care one way or the other

I notice that I do get full pedal but in the 80E it seems more lively than the tow tunes. What it is exactly, I don't have the language to describe but it does change on how fast it jumps up.

I guess that is what I am saying. They come out great and you can ask for different changes so first offering isn't a big deal to me. When I asked for the Tow tune to be like the Econo tune I was told that it wasn't good for the vehicle to be towing and the shifts that harsh so my tow tunes are smoother when shifting whereas the Econo seems to push the thing into gear faster.

 

My X currently shifts just as smooth at 324RWHP as it does in 'stock' tune. I think all that jacking with line pressure and shift points is just more 'trickery' to make a truck 'feel' faster - but this is where I get over my head talking about tuning. I will say those wind up and BANG shifts must be hell on everything from clutches and shafts to the u-joints, etc.....

A friend once asked Brian if he could make his truck bark the tires at shifts. His description of the response is hilarious - but in a nutshell, Brian told him that spinning the tires doesn't get ya down the track faster, besides being hard on EVERYTHING.

When I switched from 325/60/18's back to 285/75/16's in the X - it shifted HARD. It's kinda like a big subwoofer, it sounds good cranked up on certain songs - but gets old after awhile (or maybe thats 'cause I'm gettin old...). Anyway, I pretty much hated it after a couple days. A few weeks later, I went to visit some friends getting transmissions at BTS and Brian swapped my shift plate out and I got my silky-smooth shifts back. Alan can tell ya what I mean when I say the truck just m o v e s
f o r w a r d when it shifts gears. Its a beautiful thing!!!

 

Okay, I am confused..

The reason for the "bang" is little to no slip between the clutches, prolonging the life of the clutches? As well as reducing heat from the lack of slip??

Now, Tunes alone increase presure so the slip is little to none?

Where if you get tunes, then a trans, you may loose back teeth from the bang (ask me how I know) , is this where you were at Jason??

 

Jason, just curious how long you have had BTS tunes, and how old were your DP tunes? Between a few of you guys here, you would think that DP tuned trucks drive like ****, work things to the breaking point and every other "tooner" is better! I have NEVER experienced hard shifts, twitchy pedal, or this "death rattle" you guys talk of. I feel like I should post videos of my truck running DP tunes, however I fear it would do no good. My truck sounds exactly the same whether it be in stock, or 140 (with the exception of high idle, it sounds a little different). I struggle to get my truck to smoke, even in the 140 tune, I barely can get a puff of black, all I see is a heat wave coming out of my exhaust tip.

I'm just curious, as you have said yourself, all these tuners have learned over the years, tuning these trucks has always been a learning process. Just sounds like most of you had older tunes from Jody and now have acquired more refined, newer tunes from other guys and I feel it's like comparing apples to oranges. Domino's used to have horrible pizza... Horrible crust, lack of flavor and poor quality all around... They made some changes over the years (listening to customers and such) and now they are serving a quality product.

 

Years ago when my trans broke (back in the early 90s) and I was using Lingenfelter Perf Engr for my 91 Firebird mods, I talked to him and asked what he thought I should do. He directed me to Rossler Trans who rebuilt the trans the way LPE likes it. That Firebrid was my DD and I drove it everywhere for over 14 years till some idiot hit it and insurance totaled it. Since then, I transferred the engine and trans over to my Vette. Since that is the way they had it set up, I try to set up all the vehicles I have to drive that same way. It does make the tires bark from 1 to 2 but you are dropping from 3.08 to 1.63. Kinda like why I won't drive a FWD (Transvestite Engine ) car. They handle different and all my cars are RWD. A little eccentric, I guess.

As to feeling fast, I probably have little use for that. IMO, speed or power can only be demonstrated on the dyno or on the track so I wouldn't be going after a faster feeling car. Yes, I do realize it is harder on things but I guess, if I want it to feel like the car, I gotta go along with it.

 

I would think that there is a point that you get into where you have too much "bang" and stress the drive-train beyond what it's design capabilities are.

Not sure but I believe that the trans shifted more crisply after I installed the VB but BEFORE the tuner went in.

 

I do believe there is a difference in pedal feel between my 80E and 60T.

That part is odd. I can hear the difference between the Tow and the Econo tunes. Tow sounds a little more muffled and lower pitch while the Econo sounds a little louder and higher pitch.

With my setup, I can definitely throw a big cloud of smoke at the tailgaters or idiot pedestrians.

 

Well, I know this was BTS oriented, but this is identical to my DP. I have started driving around town in my 60T, just feels smoother, less sensitive pedal, shifts feel good, and still plenty of power when I want. It is quieter, less rattle/cackle. Now the 80E does feel stronger, but driving on a bumpy road just isn't enjoyable. And, tunes were new as of April this year.

 

Mine too except I am more used to the harshness so if I had a BTS program, I'd probably want that put back in so it is more in line with what I am used to in the car.

 

im getting over my head but Brain said that his tunes do not change the trans shift unless you ask for it? at times when im starting off harder than is needed with a 13000lbs trailer i can fill the TC lock up but it is not neck breaking.

the one thing about the tunes in 80dd is to rich to drive on back wet windy roads, so i use 60dd on them, in 100tow i can get the egts to 1200* but that in going slow up a steep hill towing 13000lbs+. the last time it scaled towing total was 22156lbs and egts are much better then the Superchip i had. i so need to get some insurance on the 550 so i can drive it.

 

I think there is a difference between a 'fast' shift and a 'firm' shift. A stock trans does not shift like a BTS. Raising line pressure makes 'firmer' shifts. With my failing trans, this resulted in shifts that went BANG - but I've been in lots of tooned trucks that I thought shifted like crap. BTS uses stock line pressure. I think he adjusts the shift plate in his trans to compensate for the way some tooners fool with line pressure - but I dunno how that works. I have heard him say something like you don't want to 'bang' into the next gear, you want to 'grab' it. Make no mistake, there is nothing mushy or invisible about the way my X shifts - but there is no 'bang' to it. Fwiw, I've also heard him recommend having your tuner use stock PMT2 trans logic.

My BTS tunes are about 2.5 yrs old now. Before I went there, I called DP and asked about 'updating' my toons and explained my issues/concerns. He looked at my files and told me there was nothing he would change. In fact, Jody recently posted he has NOT changed the way he tunes since ULSD came out.

There was no 'death rattle' by any stretch of the imagination - but my engines were louder than stock with DP and are probably quieter than stock now - but certainly waaaaaay quieter than they were with my old chip(s).

And the smoke ain't no joke! My 80E smoked more than my current '100' tune - which just leaves a fart cloud if I snap the throttle (and made 324HP on the rollers with stock injectors). You can see in the pics at the drag strip where I was 100% smokeless in less than 2 car lengths from the line, but some of the other trucks are smokin' down the whole track. I also never went over 1100* in 16 passes, but others saw temps well into the red.

I've heard a few other tales where DP appears to have got it right. My experience was not so good. Personally, I'd love to see some videos of a 140 tune that doesn't smoke and video/audio of tune-switching with no audible change. I have posted videos of just that with my current chip.

 

We are on the same page Jason, just slight differences in explaining..

 

Jason, this is in my 140hp tune before my BTS and live tuning. I ran a 9.4 right there.