1996 Chevrolet K1500 Suburban

[Curt]

Thanks for the info. I sent them an email to see if they have some for my truck. Thanks again.

Awesome, glad I could help. I just remembered that they occasionally restock them every couple of months so I'll try to keep a close eye out for you and if I see anything I'll PM you. Good luck, hopefully they get back to you.

EDIT: If they say they don't make them anymore I wonder if we could get a group buy together and possibly change their minds.

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[drewcrew]

Awesome, glad I could help. I just remembered that they occasionally restock them every couple of months so I'll try to keep a close eye out for you and if I see anything I'll PM you. Good luck, hopefully they get back to you.

EDIT: If they say they don't make them anymore I wonder if we could get a group buy together and possibly change their minds.

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The ones I need are red. Mine aren't in real bad shape but if I could find some that are in better shape for a fair price I'd get them.

 

[Curt]

Alright, so we're almost caught up to present day of how the truck sits. Back in April I wanted to change my peeling pillars for some color matched pillars. I wasn't 100% set on dedicating my pillars to the cause, so I went ahead and bought @95Escahoe's black painted pillar and one plastic pillar. The color matched pillar made me fall in love with the look, so I sent mine out to the people who repainted the truck back in 2012.

Before

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After

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The body shop did an amazing job (Miracle Auto Body in Pleasanton). They got them back to me in a couple of days at an extremely reasonable price. If you ever need anything painted talk to Jeff. Jeff and his team at Miracle are the best.​

 

[Curt]

The final piece to the puzzle so far was a tune for the truck. Yes, I know BBP tunes are the best of the best for our trucks, but I don't have that type of money to throw at the truck at the moment. All I wanted was something to give the truck more oomph. Before the tune, the revs would rise but the MPH would barely climb. At first I thought the trans was slipping, but I didn't want to believe the 4L60E was tapping out. I've always wanted to tune the truck and see what the power difference was, so I opted for the Superchips 2815 I found on CL. I figured I could try it out, and if I didn't like it I could sell it for a profit. The guy wanted $50 for it but I got him down to $25. The tuner was VIN locked, so I sent it out it out to Superchips to get it unlocked (Costed me $100). It took them a long while to get it back to me (very long story, I'll put it in a spoiler). Once it got back to me, I immediately began to tune the truck. There are four settings on the tuner: 87 Octane, Max Economy, Towing, and Performance. Since we use the Suburban to tow the dirt bikes, I chose to tune for Towing. Even though it was on the tow tune, boy did I feel a difference. The truck actually pulls in the top end now instead of just climbing in revs. Additionally, the truck runs much smoother now. It doesn't search for gears on the freeway anymore and it can keep up with the flow of traffic on the freeway with ease. Also, the shifts feel firmer (a Superchips option), I corrected the speedo, and raised the speed limiter (you have the option to raise the rev limiter, but I left that alone).

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(Stole this image off the internet)

Why you should purchase an UNLOCKED Superchips Tuner

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Before I begin, I should note that this only applies if you do not see your tuner on their site. If the tuner you're in the market for is not on their site, chances are they can't unlock it. If it is on the site, then they will probably be able to unlock it. Also, being that I had problems with the company, I am not going to say which people helped me because I don't want to call anybody out.

Alright, so it all started off after I purchased the functioning, but locked, Superchips Tuner from a guy for $25. Being that it was VIN locked, it could only be used to scan and clear DTCs. So, I called Superchips and talked to a guy about sending in the tuner and getting it unlocked. He claimed he had worked there for over 15 years and has never heard of that tuner model, so he searched it up in the system. He then said that the system said they would be able to unlock it. I gave him my credit card info and contact info, and in return he gave me the RMA # to send with the tuner. I followed all the steps to the tee and sent the tuner to Superchips.

I never heard back from them for about a week and a half and was getting worried. Then one day after school, there was a package at the front door from Superchips, BUT the box was significantly smaller than the tuner I sent them. I had sent the the original packaging with the manual, both cables, and the huge tuner. I opened up the box and my heart dropped. They sent me back a Flashpaq F4 tuner for a 99-07 Gas GM vehicle. Boy was I furious. I read the repair order that was in the box and it stated "We found that the unit is very old and outdated, needs replaced..". I specifically told the guy on the phone it was for a 1996 Suburban and that's why I purchased the tuner. Being that the company was located on the east coast it was difficult to get in touch with them due to the time difference, but luckily there was a number in the box to call, which rerouted me to a guy who picked up the phone.

This guy who picked up the phone was very professional. I was annoyed that they sent me the wrong tuner, but I knew it can be fixed. He said that they were actually expecting my call (I literally explained my situation and he knew my name... not sure why they didn't just try to contact me before sending it out??? They had my contact info when I gave the card). I was annoyed when the phone call started, but I was f'in irate when I heard this from the guy. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to give you back your tuner because it was defective and we threw it." Awesome. Now I knew I was at the mercy of these idiots.

But I was in luck and the guy told me that he would try his best to try to locate another unlocked 2815 the next day. So I called them the next day and he managed to locate one! They overnighted it from Utah and it was at my doorstep the next day. Since they did that, I'm happy with the way things turned out.

 

[Curt]

Did an oil change today. I used Mobil 1 5W-30 and a WIX 51036 oil filter.

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I'm going to save all the pics I took for a "how to change your oil" guide. I'll edit this and put a link to the how to once I've created it.

EDIT: Here it is http://www.gmt400.com/threads/how-to-96-00-gmt400-5-7-vortec-4x4-oil-change.38579/

 

[Curt]

Just ordered a new fuel filter for the truck. When I was doing the oil change I realized that it probably hasn't been changed in a while. If anyone is wondering I bought a ACDelco GF652 Professional Fuel Filter off of Amazon for close to $9.


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[BowtieBrody]

Curious as to how well the Superchips tuner works out, I want to try and give my 454 a little bit more snort before I break down and buy a BBP PCM, what all can be modified with that tuner?

 

[Curt]

Curious as to how well the Superchips tuner works out, I want to try and give my 454 a little bit more snort before I break down and buy a BBP PCM, what all can be modified with that tuner?

There's not really much modification you can do to these performance chips. They come pre-loaded with four tunes which you choose to load onto your truck. There is: 87 Octane, Max Economy, Towing, and Performance. The only things you can customize are: telling the truck what your gearing is and how big your tires are, raising the speed and rev limiter, and firming up shift points. It's pretty basic but it did everything I wanted it to do. Now my truck has some top end power instead of it falling on its face like it used to.


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[shovelbill]

great thread Curt......i really dig what you've done man.

do you get to choose the tune for the application, like a switch......or is it a "one at time" deal?

 

[Curt]

great thread Curt......i really dig what you've done man.

do you get to choose the tune for the application, like a switch......or is it a "one at time" deal?

Thanks shovelbill! For the superchips tuner you plug it into your OBD II port and then choose one of the tunes to load onto your ECU. If you want to change the tune you repeat the same process as the first time. So yes, it is a one at a time deal. Also, it will be VIN locked to your vehicle so you can't go around tuning an unlimited amount of trucks. In order to unlock the tuner after you use it you have to revert to stock tune, then the tuner will be unlocked. Basically it is 1 Superchips tuner for 1 truck.