Blackbear Tune DONE.

DENALIHD66 · December 10, 2019

A couple weeks after placing my original order for my Autocal tune, the tune is officially installed and I've been running it for almost a week. What a night and day difference. I should have done this sooner. The transmission is much more predictable, no more laggy AFM crap, and it uses my intake and exhaust mods better meaning more power. It runs smoother (I think mostly in part due to the AFM being deleted) and the shifts are much more crisp.

I still have weird behaviors between the 1-2 shift after a cold start, so its gotta be some sort of design flaw in these transmissions. Its like it'll hold it between the 1-2 shift for a second longer before hooking up, meaning it still clunks into gear and sometimes experience a harsh engagement under light throttle. I also requested for them to correct for my larger tires too, though I am waiting back for more details about what all was programmed into my tune.

I also had them delete the speed governor, which I have a question about. I believe my tires are rated for 112 mph, but what else should I be concerned about if I attempt to go those speeds on occasion? I hit 105 and it felt fine, but what would the driveshaft be limited to?

CustomChevyGuy · December 11, 2019

Congratulations! I loved the changes their EFI Live tune made on my 03. I can't wait to get my 19 tuned up by them!

I'm not sure how similar their tune packages are between EFI Live and Autocal. Do they still have min Octane tune type of packages?

Edited December 11, 2019 by CustomChevyGuy

wforrest08 · December 11, 2019

Yeah it’s amazing the before & after with the tune on these trucks. IMO the BlackBear tune is how these trucks should come off the lot. I was going to wait till my 3/36 was up on my 015 & did the BlackBear @ 3k cause I couldn’t take the stupid anymore was about ready to go trade if for a F**d...

I notice the same 1-2 harsh shift when the truck is cold. Seems to be less noticeable (for me anyway) when it’s warmer out?

Your right the weak point is the one piece drive shaft. Lots of debate on here about what the magic speed is. Plenty of guys claim to have been 130+ multiple times without incident. I’ve had mine over 100 (on a closed course of course) probably 6 times so far IMO if your not doing it all the time your probably fine. With that said there’s plenty of shops that won’t run a stock shaft on their dynos because of the potential for failure.

TRKLGND · December 11, 2019

22 hours ago, DENALIHD66 said:

I also had them delete the speed governor, which I have a question about. I believe my tires are rated for 112 mph, but what else should I be concerned about if I attempt to go those speeds on occasion? I hit 105 and it felt fine, but what would the driveshaft be limited to?

The driveshaft. Replace it and the u-joints. They have been known to come apart at higher speeds.

DENALIHD66 · December 12, 2019

On 12/10/2019 at 9:47 PM, wforrest08 said:

Yeah it’s amazing the before & after with the tune on these trucks. IMO the BlackBear tune is how these trucks should come off the lot. I was going to wait till my 3/36 was up on my 015 & did the BlackBear @ 3k cause I couldn’t take the stupid anymore was about ready to go trade if for a F**d...

I notice the same 1-2 harsh shift when the truck is cold. Seems to be less noticeable (for me anyway) when it’s warmer out?

Your right the weak point is the one piece drive shaft. Lots of debate on here about what the magic speed is. Plenty of guys claim to have been 130+ multiple times without incident. I’ve had mine over 100 (on a closed course of course) probably 6 times so far IMO if your not doing it all the time your probably fine. With that said there’s plenty of shops that won’t run a stock shaft on their dynos because of the potential for failure.

What's the alternative to a "one piece" driveshaft? This isn't something I plan on modding, but I'm just kinda curious to know what the max speed would be. I have the 8 speed with 3.42 gears so I'm guessing my speed threshold would be lower than someone else running higher (numerically lower) gears. I don't really intend on touching 120 ever, but if there is temptation...

Also there are some TSB's for our truck's transmission, but the dealer won't perform them while I have my cold air intake installed. So I said to hell with it, I'm not dealing with this stuff. Waste of my time.

6 hours ago, paracutin said:

The driveshaft. Replace it and the u-joints. They have been known to come apart at higher speeds.

What kinda higher speeds? Lol.

wforrest08 · December 12, 2019

3 hours ago, DENALIHD66 said:

What's the alternative to a "one piece" driveshaft?

The alt to a one piece is a two piece. There’s several companies that make a two piece as well as companies that make a thicker 5” aluminum or a steel replacement or even carbon fiber. Usually it’s guys with performance mods (gas or diesel) and/or lifted trucks that need to upgrade.

One of several threads about failures.

truckguy82 · December 12, 2019

The max speed depends on how unbalanced the driveshaft is from the factory. You won’t know until you go that fast. I’d assume you’d feel some vibration first giving you a chance to slow down.

I’ve hit 110mph many times and haven’t felt a thing.

that being said, i’ve never found a reason to go beyond 110. Maybe if I had forced induction.

DENALIHD66 · December 13, 2019

I hit 105 and it felt smooth as silk. I won't try to replicate that often especially not on a closed course.

YukonXL04 · December 13, 2019

2 hours ago, DENALIHD66 said:

I hit 105 and it felt smooth as silk. I won't try to replicate that often especially not on a closed course.

What year and drivetrain do you have?

DENALIHD66 · December 13, 2019

9 hours ago, YukonXL04 said:

What year and drivetrain do you have?

2015 6.2L 8 speed Max tow 3.42 gears CC

YukonXL04 · December 13, 2019

2 hours ago, DENALIHD66 said:

2015 6.2L 8 speed Max tow 3.42 gears CC

Cool thanks. So you were able to tune the trans... sucks gm locked out the trans on the 17-18s...

DENALIHD66 · December 14, 2019

Yep trans is tuned. They also told me they'd never be able to tune the 10 speeds. But if they run fine from the factory compared to this 8 speed then I'd be fine with that.

How is it Ford 10 speeds can be tuned by 5 star tuning though? Is it something that GM puts on? Why can't we just have access to mods, and obviously GM has the right to deny warranty work if it is a substantial enough modification?

A basic cold air intake and exhaust should never have any impact on warranty. GM OFFERS those add ons from the factory (albeit at crazy prices) and you're limited to what they have anyway.

If I buy my own intake and exhaust of my choice through the dealer, and they put it on, will they not give me a hard time when it comes to warranty?

I had a Borla Atak catback exhaust put on (best sounding exhaust for a truck) and they gave me shit for it despite them offering a Borla exhaust as an option from the factory.

Edited December 14, 2019 by DENALIHD66

BlackBearPerf · March 4, 2020

On 12/10/2019 at 3:01 PM, DENALIHD66 said:

A couple weeks after placing my original order for my Autocal tune, the tune is officially installed and I've been running it for almost a week. What a night and day difference. I should have done this sooner. The transmission is much more predictable, no more laggy AFM crap, and it uses my intake and exhaust mods better meaning more power. It runs smoother (I think mostly in part due to the AFM being deleted) and the shifts are much more crisp.

I still have weird behaviors between the 1-2 shift after a cold start, so its gotta be some sort of design flaw in these transmissions. Its like it'll hold it between the 1-2 shift for a second longer before hooking up, meaning it still clunks into gear and sometimes experience a harsh engagement under light throttle. I also requested for them to correct for my larger tires too, though I am waiting back for more details about what all was programmed into my tune.

I also had them delete the speed governor, which I have a question about. I believe my tires are rated for 112 mph, but what else should I be concerned about if I attempt to go those speeds on occasion? I hit 105 and it felt fine, but what would the driveshaft be limited to?

I know this is a late response, but we are happy you are enjoying the tune! Let us know if you need anything else.

BlackBearPerf · March 4, 2020

On 12/10/2019 at 6:41 PM, CustomChevyGuy said:

Congratulations! I loved the changes their EFI Live tune made on my 03. I can't wait to get my 19 tuned up by them!

I'm not sure how similar their tune packages are between EFI Live and Autocal. Do they still have min Octane tune type of packages?

Sorry for the late response, but some 19 vehicles we are not able to tune, whenever you are ready, send us an email with the VIN, and we can check and see how we can support it. Also if we can tune your 19, it would be via our AutoCal, which is the handheld device EFILive makes. We can provide separate octane tunes, 89/87 and 91+, unless you have a 6.2, which we will only provide the 91+ tune.

DENALIHD66 · March 5, 2020

7 hours ago, BlackBearPerf said:

I know this is a late response, but we are happy you are enjoying the tune! Let us know if you need anything else.

I like the Tune. Might make some adjustments in the future but unfortunately the same horrible transmission symptoms persist from the factory design/programming flaws.