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Are Programmers Worth It?

jeremyrose82

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jeremyrose82 New Member

jeremyrose82

Posted
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post-78953-1280350735_thumb.jpgI have a 2007 Chevy crew cab 4x4 LTZ with 305's and was thinking about putting a programmer on it but wanted to know if it could damage the engine or tranny in ANY way. I just want something simple that will give me better gas milage and maybe make it a little faster without damaging anything in the long run. Any opinions will help, thanks in advance!

post-78953-1280350735_thumb.jpg

post-78953-1280350735_thumb.jpg

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Stevens03 Senior Enthusiast

Stevens03

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the site..

 

IMO... Some handhelds like superchips and diablo work pretty well. They'll give you a little extra power but don't expect much mileage gain. You can unload the tunes for dealership trips and will also act as a code reader. You can also use them to adjust your tire size, or gear swap too. Currently I see your running 305's, did you have the computer (PCM) updated for the tire size difference? If not, then your mileage and speedo are reporting wrong. It could be better than you think. And the handheld tunes aren't aggressive enough to damage the engine or tranny.

 

That being said, a custom tune will work the best. You'll get the most power and if your going to gain mileage, having it tuned for your truck will give you the best possibility of gaining mileage.

 

Look up Blackbearperformance.com. I've got his tune and it worked REALLY nice for my truck. :lol:

jeremyrose82 New Member

jeremyrose82

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Welcome to the site..

 

IMO... Some handhelds like superchips and diablo work pretty well. They'll give you a little extra power but don't expect much mileage gain. You can unload the tunes for dealership trips and will also act as a code reader. You can also use them to adjust your tire size, or gear swap too. Currently I see your running 305's, did you have the computer (PCM) updated for the tire size difference? If not, then your mileage and speedo are reporting wrong. It could be better than you think. And the handheld tunes aren't aggressive enough to damage the engine or tranny.

 

That being said, a custom tune will work the best. You'll get the most power and if your going to gain mileage, having it tuned for your truck will give you the best possibility of gaining mileage.

 

Look up Blackbearperformance.com. I've got his tune and it worked REALLY nice for my truck. :lol:

 

Thanks for the reply...that helps. I'm not sure if the speedo has been corrected or not, I just purchased it. It does have 305 55/R20 BFG all-terrains, which I now realize are VERY expensive, but I was also thinking about putting a 2" leveler on the front and noticed you say your truck has one. Would you recommend installing the leveling kit as well? Do you have to get it realigned afterwards on the newer trucks without torsion bars? Thanks

700 sportsman Senior Enthusiast

700 sportsman

Posted
Posted

X2 on a Black Bear Custom tune, it is worth every penny, it cost about what a programmer does and goes way beyond what they do. Also as far as the leveling kit goes, yes you will need an alignment for sure. I would stay at 2" or below, any more, and you will probably be "nose up" and be causing uneccesary wear on front end parts.

kdixer Enthusiast

kdixer

Posted
Posted

The Superchips is better than the Diablo Predator on the gmt900's without a doubt. I have had both and definately felt way more improvement with the Superchips. Mainly because the diablo does not have TCM support. You can dial in fueling with the diablo but I do not see where that makes a very big difference unless your truck is way off to start with. The fuel trims change day to day depending on the weather so it is not like the stay were you adjust them anyways. I dialed them in on my truck but honestly could not tell much difference in performance.

 

When the Autocal is finally released it would be the best choice I would imagine. It will give you the custom tune accuracy with the at home convenience of a hand held. Depending on price of course.

mato27 Enthusiast

mato27

Posted
Posted

I'm with everyone else when it comes to tunes, go with Blackbear!!!

 

As far as leveling kits, I went with a 1.5" kit by ReadyLift. There is a slight amount of rake. As far as an alignment, I put new BFG KO's on about a month after I installed the leveling kit and it had a minimal "Toe-In," everything else was fine. It was still worth getting the alignment done though considering the $1,000+ in tires

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