Diablo vs. Blackbear?

Dusilligaf · October 7, 2015

I have had my truck back and forth to the dealer for its crappy throttle response poor shifting, engine lugging along at low speed several times already....the last time they drove it for days and said "its the same is all the other ones" there is nothing we can do to change it or make it any better....I discussed a tune with service writer who understands the way i feel and said he would not hold it against me if i had a warranty issue if I was to tune it to make it run better, which makes feel a little better about going the tuning route. (hopefully he keeps working there a long time)

So after all I've read here about tuning etc, whats the opinion of the masses

Diablo or Blackbear?

I will most likely do a custom tune thru Black Bear or Diablew...just need to know which device is easier to use, which is easier to set back to stock...I don't want to have to get to technical with changing little settings. I just want to download and go without having to worry if my truck is going to start and run after i go thru the process...

morrislee · October 7, 2015

I have had my truck back and forth to the dealer for its crappy throttle response poor shifting, engine lugging along at low speed several times already....the last time they drove it for days and said "its the same is all the other ones" there is nothing we can do to change it or make it any better....I discussed a tune with service writer who understands the way i feel and said he would not hold it against me if i had a warranty issue if I was to tune it to make it run better, which makes feel a little better about going the tuning route. (hopefully he keeps working there a long time)

So after all I've read here about tuning etc, whats the opinion of the masses

Diablo or Blackbear?

I will most likely do a custom tune thru Black Bear or Diablew...just need to know which device is easier to use, which is easier to set back to stock...I don't want to have to get to technical with changing little settings. I just want to download and go without having to worry if my truck is going to start and run after i go thru the process...

I have either, Bully Dog GT, not that great. Not much options other than removing Brake Torque Management, change tire size to correct speedo. There IS a difference when you tune it with this low end canned tuner, but does not improve 0-100km/h that much.

It does make it more torquey feel, my 0-100km/h is still only 9.4s at 750m above sea level for a 5.3L 3.42 with crew cab

My buddy is getting a tune for his same configuration in a shop today, I am hoping to see some dyno chart results. of before and after.

KARNUT · October 7, 2015

I used hypertech, I was happy with how my truck ran on E85 shifting was my main complaint. I reduced the TM raised the shift points and top end a bit. The results was a different truck performance wise and still had the ability to use different grades of gas when traveling. I did remove the V4 too, a must with tuned exhaust, lost one mile per gallon on trips.

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Stevens03 · October 7, 2015

I've had HP3, Diablo, and Blackbear tuning. Hands down, Blackbear is the best. Now you can use their hand held tuner to load and unload tunes. You could have a mileage tune, a performance tune, a towing tune all at your finger tips if you desire. If your lucky enough to go to one if his meets, you can have your truck tuned in person with him making minor adjustments to suite your truck specifically. You can also do some data logging and get the same result as an in person tune if you want the best possible tune for your truck. It data logs parameters that blackbear can use to adjust the tune specifically for your truck.

Hands down, Black bear tuning for GM trucks.

Dezrado · October 7, 2015

I just got my 15' tuned by BlackBear and it feels alot better! The custom map is hidden within the computer so if i take it to a dealer it would be hard for them to tell if i have a custom tune. He adjusted my speedo for 35s, throttle response is awsome, shifting points were moved, limiter is now set at 130mph, V4 is gone and works with 89 or 91 since my truck is not flexfuel i cant run E85. Plus if youre LE or Military you get discount!!

nadrojcote · October 7, 2015

I have either, Bully Dog GT, not that great. Not much options other than removing Brake Torque Management, change tire size to correct speedo. There IS a difference when you tune it with this low end canned tuner, but does not improve 0-100km/h that much.

It does make it more torquey feel, my 0-100km/h is still only 9.4s at 750m above sea level for a 5.3L 3.42 with crew cab

My buddy is getting a tune for his same configuration in a shop today, I am hoping to see some dyno chart results. of before and after.

Hmm I'm consistently between 7.2-7.5 seconds 0-100 with same truck and diablosport.

Also have slightly better city and highway mileage.

Blackbear would be the way to go for performance for sure, if you can afford it and find somewhere to meet up with them.

Dusilligaf · October 7, 2015

Can I do a custom tune that gains some performance but still uses 87? I really just want to get rid of the crappy stock tune that GM puts in there and make it drive like it's supposed to.

Or are all the custom tunes going to require 91?

Stevens03 · October 7, 2015

Yes, you can have a performance tune on 87.. it's just not as strong as the 91 tune would be, but still better than stock! Personally my 2015 truck seems to run pretty good so I've not felt the need for a tune. This would be the first truck I've not tuned. (yet)

Dusilligaf · October 7, 2015

Alright guys...I know there is a lot of tuned trucks out there. Any more pros and cons to the Diablo vs. Black Bear?

AZRenegade · October 7, 2015

You can squeeze just so much performance out of these motors. So for the basically stock motor, there probably isn't a major difference between the two. I've installed the Diablo tune and find it very easy to use. I have a custom tune from Lew and my truck performance has improved 100% I would probably feel the same way about a Black Bear tune. Reinstalling the original tune is a 10 minute process and my processer has always worked flawlessly. No doubt Black Bear users will tell you the same thing.

The real issue is, are you ready to pony up if your engine experiences a major failure? Regardless of your dealer's good intentions, GM requires the dealer to submit all of the recorded data of any vehicle that has a major breakdown. They (GM) makes the decision as to whether or not to honor the warranty, not the dealer. If you tune and drive in a normal manner you'll probably never need to use the warranty. And if you do experience a major issue and the record shows that you didn't exceed GM's performance specifications when the failure occurred, they won't have any basis to void your warranty. If you drive like an 18 year old street racer, well, be prepared to pay out of pocket.

Dusilligaf · October 7, 2015

You can squeeze just so much performance out of these motors. So for the basically stock motor, there probably isn't a major difference between the two. I've installed the Diablo tune and find it very easy to use. I have a custom tune from Lew and my truck performance has improved 100% I would probably feel the same way about a Black Bear tune. Reinstalling the original tune is a 10 minute process and my processer has always worked flawlessly. No doubt Black Bear users will tell you the same thing.

The real issue is, are you ready to pony up if your engine experiences a major failure? Regardless of your dealer's good intentions, GM requires the dealer to submit all of the recorded data of any vehicle that has a major breakdown. They (GM) makes the decision as to whether or not to honor the warranty, not the dealer. If you tune and drive in a normal manner you'll probably never need to use the warranty. And if you do experience a major issue and the record shows that you didn't exceed GM's performance specifications when the failure occurred, they won't have any basis to void your warranty. If you drive like an 18 year old street racer, well, be prepared to pay out of pocket.

Well I'm to the point that this truck is so crappy to drive that I've already considered trading it in..but i just cant bring myself to take an $8-10k loss on a $52k truck with 7,000 miles on it...so i figure if I'm stuck with it, I might as well get it to drive like it probably should have from the factory or even better...

I'm way past the 18 yr old street racer point of my life, so hopefully i don't have to worry about a catastrophic failure. But if i do gamble, it still works out to be about as much as taking the loss now on trading it in....

I just HATE getting in this truck every day...from what I hear tuning it makes a world of difference, and that's what I'm hoping for...

I just want to get the all the input on which way to go with a tuner that works for me before making another bad decision, like the one i made buying this truck in the first place...

AZRenegade · October 7, 2015

I've never had to use a warranty yet. All of my major failures have come after the warranty expired so I didn't consider it as big a risk as some folks do. I agree with you, these trucks aren't tuned for performance, they are tuned to appease the EPA gods. And of course, the consumer suffers. When all of this warranty stuff hit the fan, I reinstalled my stock tune. That lasted for about 10 miles. I made a rolling left turn and the truck went back and forth between gears trying to make up it's mind as to were it wanted to be for about 30 feet. I went directly home and reinstalled my tune and never looked back. Screw the warranty, I want performance. Get the tune. It doesn't matter which one you get. They all have been on the market for some time now and are proven performance enhancers. Then you'll have a truck that performs as well as it looks.

HondaHawkGT · October 8, 2015

Hmm I'm consistently between 7.2-7.5 seconds 0-100 with same truck and diablosport.

Also have slightly better city and highway mileage.

Blackbear would be the way to go for performance for sure, if you can afford it and find somewhere to meet up with them.

You can get a Blackbear tune without meeting up in-person. The Autocal can log the data and Justin tunes the truck based on the data logs. It works pretty well.

Dusilligaf · October 8, 2015

If you tune it to wake it up for daily driving performance, what happens if tow a boat and don't change the tune....does putting the truck into tow mode create any issues?

Jimmy W · October 9, 2015

Guess I will try Blackbeard this time because I can't get the Diablo to work on the 2015 and you can't get any support from them lately!!Tried of calling and getting hung up on by recording or sit on hold for a hour