Black Bear Autocal Writeup

[kdixer]

I recently sold my Superchips Cortex to give the Autocal a shot, tuned by none other than Black Bear Performance.

Before I purchased the Cortex I had a Diablo Predator. I have already done a comparison of the Predator & the Cortex. So now I want to do a writeup of the Autocal.

 

First things first, the ordering experience. I submitted my order Monday night. I ordered it online via their website which I found to be very simple and straight forward. I followed up with an email to confirm they had recieved my order. That was not really necessary but I wanted piece of mind. Justin responded Tuesday by saying it had already shipped and supplied me with the serial # of the unit I would soon recieve. I thought that was great because it allowed me to logon to their site and study the Autocal instructions. By Thursday evening I found the package from Black Bear sitting in my mailbox. I was very impressed considering it made its way from California to West Virginia in such a short time (3 days).

 

Next I prepared the unit per the simple instructions on their website. Setup was very easy. I read the stock tunes from my truck and saved them to my computer. I then drove around and recorded approximately 30 minutes worth of varied driving to begin the tuning process. Per Black Bears instructions, I emailed the stock ecm & tcm tune files along with my log file to the email address provided in the instructions. I also typed a brief description of the changes I was wanting in the email. By the end of lunch today I recieved an email from Justin confirming he had recieved my files and that he would try to get my tune finished today.

 

I have to say my experience with their customer service to date has been top notch. I already knew they had a great reputation, but so far Black Bear has exceeded my expectations.

 

Since I do not have my tune yet, I will touch on my impressions of the unit itself. Black Bear did a great job of packing the unit neat and secure in the box. The unit itself is pretty small and easily stored. Quality seems pretty good. The screen is not as flashy as the Cortex was but that is mainly due to the type of LCD screen used. There is nothing wrong with the Autocal screen, I just think the Cortex screen is easier on the eyes. It comes with two cables, one for connecting to a computer and another for connecting to the vehicle. I think that is pretty convenient because you can just carry the unit itself back and forth to the vehicle without fighting with the cable.

 

Reviewing the scan files using the free software from EFILive is very neat. You can review the log file and see what your truck is doing. It is actually alot easier yet thorough than the scanning abilities of the Diablo Predator in my opinion. The Autocal is capable of monitoring alot more PID's than either the Cortex or the Predator.

 

I will add to this writeup after I recieve my tune files and get some drive time in.

[Jennabear]

Thanks for the write up, Eddie- hopefully this helps folks trying to understand the process.

 

I can see where you are on the queue, we will try to get your tune to you tonight.

[tanker4lyfe]

Im very anxious to see the results as this might be my best bet since it'll be difficult to get an IN PERSON tune.

[kdixer]

Well, I recieved my tunes via email today. Installation was a snap. You simply copy the files to the autocal via the EFILive explorer. Due to the size of my tune files I am only able to have 2 tunes on the autocal at a time. But I do not really forsee that as being an issue.

 

My initial impression of the tunes is nothing short of impressed. I am running a 93 octane ecm tune with the sport tcm tune. The engine is very responsive. The powerband seems to be more consistant than the factory tune. My factory tune seemed to surge during the rpm climb. I suspect that is due to the amount of knock retard I was getting running 87 octane on the factory tune. There is no more throttle delay when pulling out hard. Power appears to truly be "on demand" as it should be.

 

The 6 speed needs to "adapt" to the tcm tune which seems to take a few shifts in various scenarios. The 6l80e has to teach itself how to achieve the parameters requested by the tcm. That is due to the adaptive learning built into the 6 speed. But after the tune settles in, shifting is very crisp & decisive. The transmission does not "slip" when shifting under heavy throttle like it does from the factory. I am not one for jerky neck snapping shifts, after all, I really loved the smoothness of the 6l80e. But the tuned shifts are alot quicker yet smooth. Sure you feel the shifts more, but I do not consider it to be unpleasant at all. I would say overall driveability is greatly increased.

 

I have not driven enough to report on fuel mileage gains.

 

I plan on trying the tow tcm tune this week. I still need to do an after tune log to send Black Bear per the tuning insructions for them to verify the tune results are optimal.

 

If I had to come up with something to complain about, I suppose it would be the amount of internal memory the autocal has. It has 6MB of memory, but each tune for my truck is slightly over 2MB. Therefore I can only have 2 tunes on the unit at a time(1 ecm tune & 1 tcm tune or 2 of one or the other).

 

So far I am very satisfied with the Black Bear tune. I still feel like handhelds have their place, but if you can gather up the funds for the Autocal Black Bear tune,you will not be disapointed. I would highly recomend Black Bear. And it should be noted that this is coming from someone who has had a Diablo Predator, Superchips Cortex and now Bleack Bear Autocal on my gmt 900.

 

I will update this after I have tried the tow tune and drove enough miles to have mpg results.

[IROCmenace]

Thanks for this, I am currently looking at a tuner.

[brad519]

[music]

If I had to come up with something to complain about, I suppose it would be the amount of internal memory the autocal has. It has 6MB of memory, but each tune for my truck is slightly over 2MB. Therefore I can only have 2 tunes on the unit at a time(1 ecm tune & 1 tcm tune or 2 of one or the other).

 

Does this mean that you can't keep the stock tunes on the unit at the same time as a set of custom files (that would be 4 files total)?

[kdixer]

If I had to come up with something to complain about, I suppose it would be the amount of internal memory the autocal has. It has 6MB of memory, but each tune for my truck is slightly over 2MB. Therefore I can only have 2 tunes on the unit at a time(1 ecm tune & 1 tcm tune or 2 of one or the other).

 

Does this mean that you can't keep the stock tunes on the unit at the same time as a set of custom files (that would be 4 files total)?

 

 

 

Correct, each of my tune files are barely over 2mb. Since the autocal only has 6mb of internal memory,I can only have 2 tune files on it at a time.

 

After I program the custom tune files into the truck, I install the stock ecm and tcm tunes onto the autocal. That way I can revert back to stock should the need arise.

[Stevens03]

Awesome... It's going to be on my list of must have's for the new truck

[mtsusa]

Great write up! I look forward to getting mine in Pittsburgh next month.

[kdixer]

It truly does feel like driving a completely different vehicle. I always had the impression my truck was capable of more power than it "let" me have. The Black Bear tune really woke it up. It is very nice being able to hit the gas and have the power on demand. No more sluggish bogging when you apply throttle.

 

The tranny is much more decisive in what it is doing. I have been running the tow tcm tune for the past few days and I think I prefer it for everyday driving. I do not race my truck so I am OK with the more subtle WOT shifts of the tow tune. It still feels more aggressive than the stock tcm tune in all throttle ranges. The downshifts are way more decisive and appropriate. In other words the 6 speed no longer does the "double downshift over rev" anymore unless it is actually necessary.

 

I wish I would have went with a Black Bear tune to start with but I am glad I waited on the Autocal. I always wondered how much better a custom tune actually was than the handheld units. And now I know.

[music]

The memory limitation sounds short sighted on EFI's part. How much more would it have cost to add enough memory for two complete file sets (stock + one custom). Why not a SD slot and have almost unlimited options? Oh well... "it is what it is".

[Nick The Great]

Thanks for the write-up Eddie. I've had my BB Tune (live meet) for nearly 2 years now and it's been great.

 

I'm glad to hear the AutoCal is everything it's cracked up to be!

[music]

Just realized you have the 6L80, so maybe the 4-spd can fit two tune sets on the device? Hope so...

[mjdxtreme]

I did the autocal about a month ago and I have the 6L80. Justin actually set me up with two different transmission tunes that I keep in mine. The system is so easy to use so if I have to put the stock tune back in it does not take long on the computer to get it back on the autocal and then back in the truck.

 

I do have to say as well that if anyone is considering getting this done it is great. I took the truck to the track last night to get a few runs after the tune and I was able to pick up a 1/2 second on my e/t with the tune. So not only does it make the drivability so mcuh better, you get some good gains at the track.