aftermarket tunes

[L31MaxExpress]

I've got 30,000 miles on a blackbear tune , tm removed. My 4l60e hasn't exploded yet. It scoots unloaded real well

I have ADDED extra shift torque reduction (40% from 300 ft/lbs and above) to 2 of them and still smoked them once the engine in front of them started making some power.

My 4L65E I had in my Express van was built with all the good upgrades when I built it and the combination of the 350s torque, the heavy van it was pulling around and no torque management destroyed it in 40K miles. I did not slip the clutches, I broke the "beast" sun shell.

 

[ZRoe]

Anybody have experience with the 411 PCM swap on the 7400 Vortec? I found a PCM in the junkyard but since it is my daily I haven't gotten around to swapping the PCM yet.

From what I have found BlackBear can flash the 411PCM to run the 7400 Vortec for roughly $250 then for another $100 or so you can get one of their cables (with a core charge) and actually record your trucks data and have them send you a personalized tune.

Alternatively I found a local guy that will write a custom program and dyno tune my truck for $450. I like the idea of seeing my truck on the dyno, but I also wonder how well dyno tunes translate to road driving performance. The BlackBear personalized tune is based on data recorded driving around on the street which seems like the best way to do it.

Thoughts?

 

[Christian Steffen]

Anybody have experience with the 411 PCM swap on the 7400 Vortec? I found a PCM in the junkyard but since it is my daily I haven't gotten around to swapping the PCM yet.

From what I have found BlackBear can flash the 411PCM to run the 7400 Vortec for roughly $250 then for another $100 or so you can get one of their cables (with a core charge) and actually record your trucks data and have them send you a personalized tune.

Alternatively I found a local guy that will write a custom program and dyno tune my truck for $450. I like the idea of seeing my truck on the dyno, but I also wonder how well dyno tunes translate to road driving performance. The BlackBear personalized tune is based on data recorded driving around on the street which seems like the best way to do it.

Thoughts?

If you just pulled the 411 out of a junkyard you need to have it tuned before your truck will run. If you swapped it then towed it to your local tuner he should be able to make the changes necessary for it to run, then dyno tune it, as long as he's familiar with the swap. What did you get the computer out of?

I'm sure blackbear could do it.

Street vs dyno depends on how much time the tuners takes to do it, and how good he is, they both SHOULD take the time to tune the VE and MAF tables. Then hopefully they both add some timing and change PE settings, shifts points and pressure, etc. The main benefit of dyno tuning is you can find what timing the engine makes the best torque at, this is a lot harder to do on the street.

Is your truck stock?

Edit 2: I didn't give a recommendation. If the tuner is reputable I would go dyno tune.

 

[Deathpunch0311]

Anybody have experience with the 411 PCM swap on the 7400 Vortec? I found a PCM in the junkyard but since it is my daily I haven't gotten around to swapping the PCM yet.

From what I have found BlackBear can flash the 411PCM to run the 7400 Vortec for roughly $250 then for another $100 or so you can get one of their cables (with a core charge) and actually record your trucks data and have them send you a personalized tune.

Alternatively I found a local guy that will write a custom program and dyno tune my truck for $450. I like the idea of seeing my truck on the dyno, but I also wonder how well dyno tunes translate to road driving performance. The BlackBear personalized tune is based on data recorded driving around on the street which seems like the best way to do it.

Thoughts?

IMHO opinion dyno tune is the way to go. Simple fact their tuning your truck as it sits right in front of them.

 

[ZRoe]

Truck is currently stock with exception to K&N filter and Magnaflow 2 into 1 muffler. I'm considering doing a cam, headers, and better exhaust down the road but not likely before the 411 swap.

Sorry for the thread jack, just thought the 411 swap was a valid option as far as aftermarket tunes go and was wondering if anyone had hands on experience.

A side note to the tuning question would be to delete or not delete EGR, the big block is pumping a lot of air at highway speeds but we probably don't need all the power when cruising. Does anyone have recorded mpg figures to justify deleting egr on a big block. On a small block I would guess the difference in mpg is negligible, hence the "just delete it" attitude that is common.

Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

 

[Christian Steffen]

Truck is currently stock with exception to K&N filter and Magnaflow 2 into 1 muffler. I'm considering doing a cam, headers, and better exhaust down the road but not likely before the 411 swap.

Sorry for the thread jack, just thought the 411 swap was a valid option as far as aftermarket tunes go and was wondering if anyone had hands on experience.

A side note to the tuning question would be to delete or not delete EGR, the big block is pumping a lot of air at highway speeds but we probably don't need all the power when cruising. Does anyone have recorded mpg figures to justify deleting egr on a big block. On a small block I would guess the difference in mpg is negligible, hence the "just delete it" attitude that is common.

Sent from my moto e5 supra using Tapatalk

If you're thinking about doing a cam and headers, I'd do it all at once and have it Dyno tuned.

Only input I have on the egr is that I shut mine off. Hopefully someone has some mpg data on that.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

You will get a better tune doing an in-person street tune than you will a dyno tune. Most dyno's short of a Mustang dyno just cannot load the engine at light/part throttle loads to simulate normal driving conditions. I get a good street tune first then do a little dyno tuning to see if there is anything to gain at WOT by playing with the WOT air/fuel ratio and timing. That being said the two vehicles I street tuned and then dyno tuned had very little power to be found and had much better driveability than if they had merely been dyno tuned for maximum WOT power.

Just to support my statement above. My friend has a GMT400 truck with a LQ4/4L80E in it that I street tuned. Has a thumpy cam that IMO is too large for his setup. Milled and Ported 5.3 heads, TBSS intake manifold & 90 mm Holley TB, Shoefield long tube headers, 2.25" exhaust (too small) and numerous other small additions. He put down 357 RWHP and 314 RWTQ through an unlocked converter in 2nd gear. Given that driveline loses about 25% he is cranking out 475 HP at the crankshaft on a safe street tune that has perfect street manners. I know the truck has more in it with a few mechanical changes and a cam change but he is happy with it as is.

 

[Christian Steffen]

You will get a better tune doing an in-person street tune than you will a dyno tune. Most dyno's short of a Mustang dyno just cannot load the engine at light/part throttle loads to simulate normal driving conditions. I get a good street tune first then do a little dyno tuning to see if there is anything to gain at WOT by playing with the WOT air/fuel ratio and timing. That being said the two vehicles I street tuned and then dyno tuned had very little power to be found and had much better driveability than if they had merely been dyno tuned for maximum WOT power.

Just to support my statement above. My friend has a GMT400 truck with a LQ4/4L80E in it that I street tuned. Has a thumpy cam that IMO is too large for his setup. Milled and Ported 5.3 heads, TBSS intake manifold & 90 mm Holley TB, Shoefield long tube headers, 2.25" exhaust (too small) and numerous other small additions. He put down 357 RWHP and 314 RWTQ through an unlocked converter in 2nd gear. Given that driveline loses about 25% he is cranking out 475 HP at the crankshaft on a safe street tune that has perfect street manners. I know the truck has more in it with a few mechanical changes and a cam change but he is happy with it as is.

Good point about the mustang Dyno. A combination of street and Dyno would probably be best.

 

[Vodka0tter]

You will get a better tune doing an in-person street tune than you will a dyno tune. Most dyno's short of a Mustang dyno just cannot load the engine at light/part throttle loads to simulate normal driving conditions. I get a good street tune first then do a little dyno tuning to see if there is anything to gain at WOT by playing with the WOT air/fuel ratio and timing. That being said the two vehicles I street tuned and then dyno tuned had very little power to be found and had much better driveability than if they had merely been dyno tuned for maximum WOT power.

Just to support my statement above. My friend has a GMT400 truck with a LQ4/4L80E in it that I street tuned. Has a thumpy cam that IMO is too large for his setup. Milled and Ported 5.3 heads, TBSS intake manifold & 90 mm Holley TB, Shoefield long tube headers, 2.25" exhaust (too small) and numerous other small additions. He put down 357 RWHP and 314 RWTQ through an unlocked converter in 2nd gear. Given that driveline loses about 25% he is cranking out 475 HP at the crankshaft on a safe street tune that has perfect street manners. I know the truck has more in it with a few mechanical changes and a cam change but he is happy with it as is.

I couldn't agree more. I run a stroked L31, with ported aluminum heads, converted to a Pro Flo intake set up and a comp 280 cam. I went mail order via scan cable with a reputable tuner. It's okay... Took it in for a dyno and my guy spent a while driving it around tuning the street manners then on the dyno for WOT pulls. First time I have had a guy go this far for me and the results show it.

I have had very good experiences before with a modified Ram and mail order tunes but the guy was always tweaking the tune and asked for files every time I hit the track. He was invested my satisfaction and the vehicle performance where as I feel the recent mail order tuner I used just wanted to move on to the next customer and did not spend the time looking at the details. Luck for me I found that same customer focus locally.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

I couldn't agree more. I run a stroked L31, with ported aluminum heads, converted to a Pro Flo intake set up and a comp 280 cam. I went mail order via scan cable with a reputable tuner. It's okay... Took it in for a dyno and my guy spent a while driving it around tuning the street manners then on the dyno for WOT pulls. First time I have had a guy go this far for me and the results show it.

I have had very good experiences before with a modified Ram and mail order tunes but the guy was always tweaking the tune and asked for files every time I hit the track. He was invested my satisfaction and the vehicle performance where as I feel the recent mail order tuner I used just wanted to move on to the next customer and did not spend the time looking at the details. Luck for me I found that same customer focus locally.

Who did you use for the Ram. White Lightning, Hemifever or Jay Greene?

I tuned my own cammed 5.7 swapped 4.7 Ram when SCT was the only thing around to tune them and it was still fairly new. Would probably still have the truck today if HP Tuners had supported them back then. I kept smoking transmissions because they could not take the torque of the cammed Hemi on the stock 4.7 trans tuning and swapping in a 5.7 controller would have meant changing harnesses both under the hood, under the dash, as well as swapping out the SKIM module, etc.