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tunes removed, stock or not?

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  boghog 
#1 ·
Was towing with my truck and after having a few diesels, I thought this truck was a bit under powered. So after looking it over real close, I can see the IDM was removed at least once, it was missing one of the hold down screws and the black plastic cover from where the aftermarket chips plug in. I also have two spots on the dash that looked like there were items adheared, (left over adheasive). I checked the inner fender at drivers front wheel and It appears that it had been pulled at one time.
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My question is, if an aftermarket tuner was installed and then removed, could the slower or gas miser tune be left on the IDM, in place of the stock tune?
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I am going to get an aftermarket tuner or at least a chip. I am leaning to one that will show and reset codes. I just wish they sold them at local stores. I have always been the type that wanted to get my hands on the item I was thinking about buying. Even better yet, compare two items side by side. It does appear that I will have to buy it over the "net". Now all I have to do is search for all the info on these "tuners".
How many types are out there? Who's got the best warranty? Which one can be tuned on the fly? Is it possible to tune it on the fly? Would I want to tune it on the fly?
Sometimes I wish there was only one thing on the menu! LOL.
 
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#2 ·
i have a 6 position chip from D I Performance and i have been running it for three years and havve been very happy wiith it! it was a great chip but nor that i have stepped up and done alot more work i am going to be getting a 6 pos chip from BTS and letting them dyno tune my truck... but for stock and mild bolt ons a 6 pos chip cant be beat!
 
#3 · (Edited)
So after looking it over real close, I can see the IDM was removed at least once, it was missing one of the hold down screws and the black plastic cover from where the aftermarket chips plug in.
I suspect you are not talking about the injector driver module (IDM) at all, but the powertrain control module (PCM). Hot-rod "chips" plug into the PCM, not into the IDM.

My question is, if an aftermarket tuner was installed and then removed, could the slower or gas miser tune be left on the IDM, in place of the stock tune?
There are 4 ways to change the tune in your engine.

1] The most common way is with a "chip" that plugs into the PCM. When you unplug the chip, the tune goes back to stock.

2] Another way is with a module, such as the Edge Juice. I don't know anything about those, but I'm pretty sure when you remove the Juice the tune goes back to stock.

3] Flash the PCM. A good tuner can flash one tune into your PCM to give you a hot-rod tune. If you have it done by someone like Jody at DP-Tuner, then you can choose one of several different tunes he has, from mild to wild. But if someone flashed your PCM with a low-power fuel-mizer tune, then it could easily still be in there.

4] Programmer/tuner, such as the Edge Evolution or the SCT X3 PowerFlash. You plug that into the OBDII port under the dash, then download one of three different tunes into the PCM. If you reload the stock program into the PCM, then it's simply stock again. If you sell the truck with one of the SCT or custom tunes still in the truck, then the tuner is useless to anyone but the buyer of the truck. So the seller would have to be pretty stupid to do that.

I'm going to get an aftermarket tuner or at least a chip. I am leaning to one that will show and reset codes. .. How many types are out there?
Staying strictly within the programmer/tuner category, there are two basic types. Both types are sold by Edge, so I'll use them as the example. One type is the original Edge Evolution. It can read and delete codes, and it holds 3 Edge tunes. The other type is the newer Evolution II that does what the original Evo does, but it also has digital gauges and data streaming. You can check details at
Edge Products: Home

Which one can be tuned on the fly?
None of the programmer/tuners can change tunes on the fly. All require two or three minutes to change from one tune to another.

Is it possible to tune it on the fly?
Yes, with the right hardware, but not with a programmer/tuner that can read codes. You'll need a multi-position chip loaded with several tunes of your choice, plus a switch setup that selects the active tune at the flip of a switch, plus some wiring and elbow grease to install it right. But I don't know of any multi-position chips that can read or delete codes.

Would I want to tune it on the fly?
I don't, but you may. One senario is you're cruising on 80-economy mode, but for some reason you want to instantly switch to a race mode or a tow mode. Flip the switch and you instantly go from 80 HP economy to 140 HP race tune, or maybe from 80-economy to 80-tow.

And with a multi-position chip, one of your tunes could be the electronic exhaust brake tune. But that tune can be used only when coming down the mountain, so at the top of the pass flip to exhaust brake tune, then at the bottom of the grade switch back to 60-tow or 80-economy or whatever.

Another available tune is the "high idle" tune. For only $45 or so you can add that tune to your multi-position chip, then you won't have to have my $700 auxiliary idle controller (AIC) to let the engine idle at an elevated idle RPM such as 1,200 RPM.

But with a programmer/tuner that requires a few minutes to change tunes, the exhaust brake or high-idle tunes are not very practical.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for your time and answers. This has given me food for thought. I will have to think this over for a short time. I would like to get some sort of HP increase before I tow my 5th wheel next. As with most other people, money is much tighter than it used to be, so I will have to do more research into these and really think of my needs before dumping the cash. Thanks again

If there is any other info you might think of feel free to drop it down here. Even more so if it relates to towing HP.
 
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