I've read about a lot of tuners/programmers. Is this one (Gearbox Z DPF-R + and delete pipe) at 900 or so US dollars worth it?
Input please folks!
Gracias y'all.

 

$900 is too much. I got mine and stainless delete pipe for $685 (including a discount coupon otherwise it is $705)... Anyway, it is a no bells and whistles system. Just a simple dongle that you plug into the computer and it makes a copy of your existing software and then uploads its own. There are catches...no display for the dash and it doesn't play well with trucks that have been previously tuned. The R+ is delete only and does allow you to program with another tuner on top of it or you can get the tachyon which is stock power delete or the tachyon plus which has 5 power settings. Under power, stock power, 70hp over (their economy tune) and the last two are unknow as they just haven't bother to dyno them yet. I have the tachyon plus and the aFE stainless pipe. If you get the non-SS pipe it is a cheaper kit....

So look into it a little more but i like mine. Super simple and very inexpensive but like i said no bells and whistles. It just works. Since i have the edge insight already i did not need the dash display. It does turn off the egr error codes but not the egr. So if you leave the egr in place it will work as normal or if you remove it (or unplug it) you will not get any codes. You just have to be careful. Even on the economy tune it has so much power you have to remind yourself to stay out of the peddle...

 

I assume the Edge Insight doesn't delete anything.

 

Nope the insight is just a digital display that shows the data from the computer. It shows temps, pressures, voltages and also allows you to read and delete codes. It isn't a programmer. As far as i know edge no longer makes a delete tuner.

 

That sounds like a workable, affordable solution.

 

I am using the DPFR 4.0 and have not had any troubles yet..only a couple thousand miles though...I bought it direct from the GearboxZ web site for $400 and picked up a pipe from Cgs List for $100.
I didnt get the "Plus" because I already had the Banks AUtomind and luckily it will strack with the DPFr.

 

Thanks WyoBlueF3, I'm leaning in that direction.

What about the Banks Automind?

 

It plugs into the Banks IQ. It has a tow tune, and a "super sport" tune and an economy tune, then has the same along with the stock tune under an advanced tuning that allows options of CAI and speed limiter raised. after installing the Gearbox DPFr program, and the pipe, I plugged the Banks IQ back into the OBD port and the Automind plugs into a bridge wire to the IQ. I like the tuning Banks has. its pretty clean and not much black smoke with noticeable power increase.
If I didn't already have the Automind, I would have got the DPFr 4.0 Plus. It would be a lot less expensive. The IQ is handy either way for monitoring a bunch of different parameters.

 

I'm a little confused (not unusual though). I have the tachyon plus and GearboxZ told me the tachyon plus disabled the EGR, but the above post says it works as normal unless you remove it or unplug it. Why would the tuner only turn off the error codes but leave the EGR functional? It would seem if the EGR is still functional you would want to know about error codes if any. I assumed what GearboxZ meant was that the EGR was disabled closed and no exhaust gas was going through the coolers or routed back to the engine. Can someone clarify?

Also, I paid $673 for the tachyon plus with the DPF/DOC pipe. I didn't get the pipe with bungs, though, and I kinda regret that. I bought it off ebay from Dales Super Store.

 

Ok, the egr will function as normal if left plugged in. It just blocks the codes so you can delete it if you want or not... Not everybody does a full delete. If you don't want to remove the hardware you can leave it in place but deactivate it. In that case here is what you do... Unplug the egr valve and just put some electrical tape over the pigtail wire so no water gets on it. Just below the egr valve you will find another plug. This is the throttle plate motor. When the truck calls for egr the throttle plate closes forcing the engine to pull though the egr system. Unplug this pigtail but you need to put two resistors on this plug to short it out or it will set a code. Put a 1000 ohm (1kΩ) resistor shorting pins 2 and 4 and then short pins 1 and 3 (effectively every other one so you don't really need to worry about which is pin 1. It works no matter how you hold the plug. It is a 4 pin connector. Then tape the whole thing up to make it somewhat water tight. Now the egr system is off and nothing should be flowing though it except for coolant. Why is the egr still functional? Not sure. The delete pipe w/o the bungs is just fine. The tuner does not use the sensors it just looks to see if there are there. So just zip tie them up out of the way (plugged in) and you are golden. If by chance you break a sensor then you need to replace the sensor before plugging it in or you can put a resistor in place of the sensor. I don't know what resistor to use. You will have to call the help line for that information. If you forget to plug in the egt sensors or one is bad it will high idle at 1000rpms.

 

Ok. Thank you for the clarification. I think I'll do the 1 kohm resistor trick for the time being. Eventually, I'd like to remove the EGR/coolers.

As far as the bungs/no bungs, I've read on here about monitoring EGTs and not letting them go to high. Since I don't have the sensor in the pipe, I can't monitor anything. It's probably not an issue as I have the tachyon plus on level 2 (stock), but it would still be nice to see the EGTs. I do tow a TT.

 

That is a little different than what I understood happened...
I thought that the GBZ disabled the EGR by setting parameters in computer essentially telling the Valve to stay closed all the time. The EGR valve never got the message to open. Exhaust gases still could get into the EGRs but did not pass through the valve unles exhaust pressure overcame the valve and thus let some by. Hence then, to prevent that and the possibliity of coolant leakage into the EGR getting past the valve and into the combustion chamber, you inserted the block off plates.

 

If you get a scan gauge 2 or edge insight to monitor your truck they use the pre-turbo egt sensor not any of the lower exhaust system sensors. So you are still golden. That sensor (mounted behind the passenger head on the passenger side up pipe) is still there and working. Level 2 is stock and is perfect for towing. Then when not towing or working the truck you can bump it up to level 3 if you like. Level 3 is 70hp higher and their economy tune.



I have heard that also and don't have a return debate as i have seen posts presenting both.... What pushes me to believe the version i posted was, my edge insight shows the computer commanding the valve to open. If it wasn't then the insight would show nothing. I do know the valve is deleted via the tuner as it is all unplugged and i don't have any codes. As said, who knows... They are not forth coming with how the turner actually works. Hence why the suggested way to go was to unplug the whole thing. I go agree with you, removing everything is the only safe way to go and the manufacturer does suggest blocking everything off. If you have a cooler failure unplugging the valve isn't going to stop the coolant from coming out of the cooler. It is a temp fix. The idea was, no egr gases no high heat though the cooler and they are less likely to fail. No definites here, only definite is to remove it.

 

Gearbox Z is nearly the only affordable delete programmer on the market. I have the Gearbox Z DPFR+4 with MBRP stainless delete pipes with bungs. I paid $735 with shipping a year ago. This programmer does re-flash the ECM so any other programmer that re-flashes is not compatible with DPFR. But nearly any programmer that needs to remain plugged in to work is probably compatible. This is called stacking programmers or tunes. I recommend leaving the Gearbox Z stock with only the delete feature if stacking to prevent any engine damage. Too much timing advance could hurt the longevity of the motor. I was told by Gearbox Z that the EGR is shut down as well as regenerations eliminated. It is not necessary to unplug the EGR. The EGT sensors in the exhaust just need to be plugged in. I put mine in the exhaust bungs so the installation was clean and neat.