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Aftermarket tune leaving torque management on (6.2L). Worth it?

BigRedd

By BigRedd
in Engines & Drivetrain

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TJay74 Senior Enthusiast

TJay74

Posted
Posted

Jenna is spot on, there are torque management settings on both sides as well, in the ECM and in the TCM. Some of the best gains in performance I got out of my truck was the time I spent on the TCM side adjusting the shift parameters.

Ten4Lou Enthusiast

Ten4Lou

Posted
Posted

Jenna is spot on, there are torque management settings on both sides as well, in the ECM and in the TCM. Some of the best gains in performance I got out of my truck was the time I spent on the TCM side adjusting the shift parameters.

 

Much appreciated TJay74!!

 

I suppose I'm just going to have to install a program with only ECM tuning to see what improvement that makes and if that will be sufficient for what I'm looking for. I really like this truck and plan to keep it for awhile, so I don't want to abuse the tranny if I can help it.

 

Thanks,

Lou

Ten4Lou Enthusiast

Ten4Lou

Posted
Posted

Tuning the transmission can actually prolong it's life.

 

Sent from my fone.

 

Thanks Jenna! That's right... I forgot about the quicker shifts reducing slippage which can make the frictional surfaces last longer. I'm just not a fan of the "thump" or "bang" from the firmer shifts that I've experienced with tunes in the past.

 

As an experiment for myself...I'm going to first install a custom tune with ECM mods only and see what gains I experience. I've got a little over 500 miles on my truck now so I guess I'm comfortable to do that.

 

Thanks,

Lou

Jennabear Senior Enthusiast

Jennabear

Posted
Posted

That is a common complaint from the handheld you are using. They don't have the same tuning tables for the TCM that EFILive does, EFILive is a much more powerful tuning tool, which is why you won't see folks who use that handheld being able to tune for modifications.

airman734 Enthusiast

airman734

Posted
Posted

Lou,

 

Just want to throw in my two cents. When you buy an AutoCal from BlackBear, they work with you to make sure you are completely happy (in my experience). If you feel the shifts are too firm when they tune it, you just log the data (super easy) and send them the file and say that the truck shifts too hard and they work on that.

 

I do not have an 8 speed or the 6.2, but the tune they did for my truck is spot on. My truck shifts very nicely, just without that huge delay between shifts. It is very smooth. I know exactly how hard the "firm" setting on some handheld tuners can be, and this is not even comparable.

 

Obviously your truck and your money and your decision, but you seem like you already want a tune so if all else fails, you could load the stock transmission file and just keep the engine tune. I do believe though if you read the literally hundreds and hundreds of posts about how happy people are with BlackBear and the virtually zero complaints, you should get a slightly better feeling that they really know what they are doing.

Haus_Z71 Enthusiast

Haus_Z71

Posted
Posted

Thanks Jenna! I really appreciate you taking so much time to explain.That definitely makes things clearer for me...

 

Thanks,

Lou

Now come join us Blackbear tuned members. The tune will definitely fix your drivability issues. It did for mine. I had exactly what you described, had BB tune my truck, and now it's a night and day difference.

Ten4Lou Enthusiast

Ten4Lou

Posted
Posted

Thanks everyone for the helpful info!! Apologies for delayed reply but a work project I'm involved in is demanding most of my focus right now, so probably won't be able to give much attention to the truck for a bit. Just going to have to drive it in its "boring stock state" for the moment, HaHa!!

 

I'll update later...

 

Much Appreciated!!!!!!

Lou

Ten4Lou Enthusiast

Ten4Lou

Posted
Posted

Now come join us Blackbear tuned members. The tune will definitely fix your drivability issues. It did for mine. I had exactly what you described, had BB tune my truck, and now it's a night and day difference.

 

I had a chance to catch up and respond to this thread because I caught a break from meetings today as things got pushed till tomorrow, whew!!

 

Thanks Haus_Z71!! I've heard nothing but good things about the Black Bear tuning!

 

A little history on my decision....When I decided to purchase a tune for my 2014 SLT 5.3, I decided to either go BB or Diablew based on the recommendations of this forum. Seemed like those were the two prime choices, with some minor nuances between the two. The lesser cost and the ability to swap back to stock very quickly and conveniently and the more confident claims of being undetected by the dealer for warranty purposes with the inTune handheld is what tipped the balance of the scales on my decision to choose Diablew. So I purchased the $399 deal from Lew.

 

Right after I purchased and installed the canned tune in my 5.3 was when I drove my brother's 2015 SLT with the 6.2 and really Loved it! That made me decide to trade up to the 2016 Denali w/ 6.2, so I did not get the custom tune from Lew yet as I was waiting until I took delivery of the new truck. I was impressed with the performance gains of the canned tune in my 5.3, but just didn't like the hard shifting. However I had not sent the logs to Lew yet to get my custom tune because I knew I was getting a new truck.

 

All that being said, it would not make sense for me consider BB tuning at this time since I have already purchased the Diablew deal. After all the awesome things I've read here about Lew and Justin's tunes, I'm pretty confident that Lew is going to deliver me a custom tune to my liking. My only disappointment was when I discovered after the fact that Diablo doesn't support the 8spd tranny. I'm hoping that they will offer that soon. If the delay is too long...I will possibly look into the BB tune.

 

Once again, thanks for all the helpful info and making me feel welcome to the forum!!! I will probably be here awhile since my wife has made me promise to keep this truck for at least 100K Miles, HaHaHa!! (I don't know why she puts up with me??)

 

Thanks,

Lou

TJay74 Senior Enthusiast

TJay74

Posted
Posted

If you want a better transmission calibration then stay away from the handhelds. As Jenna said, EFIlive and HP Tuners are the premier tuning suites on the market for tuning these vehicles. The handhelds just don't do enough and as said can tend to give a very harsh shift.

 

With HP Tuners I can go into each gear and change the shift time, I can go into each gear and change the shift pressure for any point in the throttle position. So to not have a harsh shift while under light part throttle I went in and reduced the shift time and only added a little extra pressure to the shift table. Once you get above X point in the RPM range I reduced the shift timing more and added more pressure.

 

You just cant do that with hand helds. The learning curve is something to take into account though with using tuning suites, so if you don't think you can do it then pay someone like Blackbear to tune it for you. They can make the appropriate changes and it will make a night or day difference in how the truck runs.

 

The transmission will live longer, it will run cooler, you will have better performance and you can actually get better gas mileage. I turned off AFM on my truck and made some slight changes to how the torque converter locks up, my truck knocks down 21+ mpg on the highway. That is a win/win in my book, 5500lbs and 430hp on tap. I will take that every day of the week.

Willshire Enthusiast

Willshire

Posted
Posted

I have the BB tune installed on mine just recently and really enjoy it. I do have one question: And it may be based inside the operation of the transmission. Does anyone notice at part throttle, the 4th gear shift is 2 shifts? I suspect it is the 1,2,3,4 clutch releasing, and the 4,5,6 clutch engaging which is an overlap of two sets of clutches. Just wondered if anyone else noticed or could explain. Sorry for the off topic question there.

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