Hi;

Just wondering if the Diablo Performance Tune included with the Predator is suitable for use while towing? I looked at the documentation and the web site, but saw nothing related to this question?

I have installed the tune on my 2000 Expy and so far am happy. It does feel like there is a power increase, but 10-20 horses is really tough to feel in the seat of the pants. The transmission behaviour however is improved quite a bit and well worth it.

I look forward to more driving time to get a better feel for it. I also need to get better 91 octane fuel as I had to retard timing by 8 degrees just to stop the pinging under acceleration...

Eric

 

Yes, they made the tunes suitable for towing. California fuel (I assume that's where you are because you said 91 octane) is pretty bad compared to most of the nation, but 8 degrees is a lot of timing to take out. Where are you buying fuel?

 

Actually, I'm located in Ontario, Canada. Most of the stations locally only carry 91 octane "Super" with the exception of Sunoco that carries 94 octane, but its blended with 10% Ethanol.

Would the ethanol blended 94 octane by OK to run?

Eric

 

Yes, you'll actually do better with it. Ethanol has a higher octane rating per volume (its what actually bumps the octane of the Sunoco up to 94).

 

Thanks Ken;

I'll give the Sunoco 94 a try and see how that works out. I'll report back on results later on.

Cheers;
Eric

 

funny- my 7000 lb 3/4 ton 04 van gets no less than a 2mpg improvement over stock with the 87 octane mpg tune loaded in from my superchips 9100 tuner- and even while hot rodding i attain this

 

racer944. I just installed Diablo Predator last night. I was wondering if you did any other modifications to the performance tune?

Thanks,,,

 

Hi Claynewt;

I had to reduce the timing as you can see by this thread, but I also upped the torque modulation for the transmission to 100% to avoid as much slippage as possible during up shifts and adjusted the shift firmness to 50%. I have not towed yet however (next week) so I don't really know if these values are better or worse since these items will show mostly under load or WOT I gather.

With the basic tune though I did immediately notice that the shift behaviour of the transmission had changed for the better. It is not so quick to upshift into a higher gear at slow speeds. I also noticed what I perceived to be better acceleration however I won't really be able to confirm that 100% until I can get a tank of 94 octane into the truck and advance the timing back up to where it should be.

Now if only the Predator could program my overdrive to stay off until about 80KPH (50mph) I would be a very happy camper...

Cheers;
Eric

P.S. Let me know what you find/think when you get to testing your setup...

 

Have you played around with the shift points?

 

Hi Ken;

I did not play with shift points because it seemed to indicte that it would only apply at WOT... Will changing the points make a difference in "normal" driving?

Eric

 

Racer944....Check out my thread "kit or tune for firm shifts"...I'm getting feedback from Ken about modifying tranny parameters. I have wound mine up a couple of times and found out that it does make it move, sound, and shift better! I'm able to use BP/Ammoco 93 octane w/o any pinging (17 gal. on top of 8 gal. of 87 octane). You should notice a big difference once you can take full advantage of the tune!

 

Hi Ken (and Claynewt);

Tanked up with Sunoco Gold 94 Octane and was able to reset all Diablo tune timing parameters back to where they should be (i.e. no retard necessary).Truck is responding very well to the Tune!!

I am happy with the performance gains/feel of the truck, and I am very happy with the transmisson behaviour now...

Thanks for your help guys.

Cheers;
Eric

P.S. Only wish Diablosport had included a few small stickers in the box! ;-)

 

Yeah, they supply them with the chips....

 

Racer944... Glad to hear the gas improved the tune so much! I just went about 110mi. on the weekend (mostly highway) and my gas gauge didn't move as much as it would have before installing the tune. Improved mileage would be icing with the already better performance!

good luck!!

 

One thing to do if you like tinkering: get a wide band O2 sensor. Then play around with air fuel ratios and timing!