BD release of tap shifter for 6.0

Jeremy

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I bought one of these on a black Friday sale and just got around to installing it tonight.

I put it on my 06 F250 SCT X3 and EDGE CTS, stock turbo

Observations (I did not adjust the settings for my tests this was just out the box settings)

1. It does not override my SCT files when it is off.

2. The CTS works fine with it except the TC lockup doesn't display correctly on the screen. The PCM commands unlock and the display will show that, but the BD system is over riding it and keeping the TC locked. So that kinda sucks but its not the end of the world.

3. When the system is on the TC locks up and stays locked up...on or off the accelerator pedal she is locked up(again the CTS does not indicate this on the display) It holds locked up from 5th down to 3rd for sure I have'nt played with it enough to see if it holds it in 2nd or 1st.

4. The Engine Brake feature is damn impressive, its feels stronger than the 2015 6.7's. I usually run around with the SCT "jake brake" feature on, and tow/haul is always on. With the SCT "jake brake" on it maxes the EBP out at 30-31psi of back pressure and that is manually shifting it down with the gear selector lever. With the BD system and pressing the "-" button it jumps up to 40psi quite easily...it wont read more than 40psi on the CTS so I do not know how high it actually gets. I glanced at my factory boost gauge on the dash and it was in the 20's. It stays on 40psi on the cts for quite awhile until it comes back down. This concerns me...how much back pressure with the 6.0 valve springs hold, before I float a valve? The chart in their manual shows it above 70psi in the 3000 rpm range. :jawdrop: Also putting the jake function on a upfitter switch will be a good idea so I can turn it on or off as desired.

5. That boot thing sucks and looks like azz, I hope someone comes up with a solution there. Its a good clean product other wise.

6. When I called BD about it a month ago the guy there said it was all plug and play, with only two wire splices. Of course reading the manual linked above that is not the case. I hate splicing wires(under the hood is a good place for corrosion) I wish it had a trans connector harness. I would have paid extra for that.

I'll update some more as I play with it.
 
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6.0 Tech

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So with this the exhaust brake is always on then? Also were you still running yhe sct brake when using yhis brake?

As far as the boot goes, could you slide the factory boot on it or no? Just a thought.

All in all sounds like it pretty good. You feel it was worth the money?
 

HOOV3R

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So with this the exhaust brake is always on then? Also were you still running yhe sct brake when using yhis brake?

As far as the boot goes, could you slide the factory boot on it or no? Just a thought.

All in all sounds like it pretty good. You feel it was worth the money?


The stock boot isn't long enough for the new lever.
 

Jeremy

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No, i changed to a file without the jake brake function before the install. The BD exhaust brake turns on when to turn the BD system on(pressing "-" button when the truck is in D) but they have a wire you can put a switch on to turn it off. The factory boot is too short to use again. I didnt try to slide it on the shaft as the hole for the shaft on the old boot is smaller and I didnt want to cut it apart...just incase I removed the BD system and returned to stock.

Im not recommending it just yet. While i was out testing it last nite, manually shifting it up and down with the "+" and "-" buttons the system locked up on me and wouldnt shift anymore it also locked up the converter up and wouldnt unlock it. I had to stop by putting the truck in neutral and restart the engine. I'll try to get some time and call BD on that today. Mean while I'll keep playing with it, trying to dublicate what i did to lock it up, so i can explain that to BD tech support.
 

Radioflyer

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Im not recommending it just yet. While i was out testing it last nite, manually shifting it up and down with the "+" and "-" buttons the system locked up on me and wouldnt shift anymore it also locked up the converter up and wouldnt unlock it. I had to stop by putting the truck in neutral and restart the engine. I'll try to get some time and call BD on that today. Mean while I'll keep playing with it, trying to dublicate what i did to lock it up, so i can explain that to BD tech support.

Try unplugging your CTS and see if the issue comes back. This is a similar problem I had with mine with a CTS or CTS 2 plugged in. When i ran a Bully Dog GT or a Live Wire as a monitor, had no issues and it read the lockup rate out correctly. I know that 6.4 and 6.0 differ, but may be something to try. For your sake, i'm hoping that isn't the case, but when my CTS2 is is plugged in it will work for a while then lock me into gear.
 

Jeremy

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Update

BD tech support is working with me to figure out whats going wrong. I'll try it without the CTS and see if that helps.

Thanks

Anyone else running one yet?
 

HOOV3R

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Update

BD tech support is working with me to figure out whats going wrong. I'll try it without the CTS and see if that helps.

Thanks

Anyone else running one yet?


Yes. Running a Nonvgt, so I cut and heat shrunk the exhaust brake jumper wires open. Running one of the older style CTSs, and haven't had any issues with it locking up.
 

Jeremy

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What mode are you running in? Ive tried 1 and 7, and occasionally have an issue where the truck free wheels(engine goes back to idle) when you manually select 3rd and 4th gear when you let off the accelerator in tow/haul. Sometimes it holds converter lockup but it usually lets go. I re-did all the heat shrink connections, and unhooked the CTS and it still acts up. BD tech support is looking into it. I have another one for the excursion but dont really want to put it on until this one is figured out. When its working right I really like it though.
 

HOOV3R

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What mode are you running in? Ive tried 1 and 7, and occasionally have an issue where the truck free wheels(engine goes back to idle) when you manually select 3rd and 4th gear when you let off the accelerator in tow/haul. Sometimes it holds converter lockup but it usually lets go. I re-did all the heat shrink connections, and unhooked the CTS and it still acts up. BD tech support is looking into it. I have another one for the excursion but dont really want to put it on until this one is figured out. When its working right I really like it though.

4 and 5. I don't leave it on for long periods of time, since I like my GH shift points and lockup much better. Mostly use it to bump down from 5th to 3rd gear when pulling a grade at lower speeds.
 

Josh@DirtyDiesels

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been thinking about trying one of these but I can't see it being too worth it considering with my IDP tuning I can just hit tow haul and knock it out of OD if I need to. Only nice thing would be for keeping it in a gear when say you are coming down a hill in tow haul and it will downshift way to early.
 

slvr bullet

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Anyone care to update with their experience with this tap shifter? Thanks for your input.
 

Jeremy

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Ok so I've been working with BD's engineering department on my particular issues, and they have been great to work with. I'm 95% happy with how it works now, just a few little bugs to work out.

I can say that the engine brake is very effective and it is stronger than the factory option on the 15-16 6.7 PSD. I hooked up the exhaust brake function to my up-fitter switch so I can turn it off if I want to.

I wanted the ability to manually select a gear and have it stay there with a locked up torque converter and it does that now.

At first it did not like my SCT X3 program when I used the TS in automatic mode 1(basically mode 1 lets you select the highest gear the truck can shift to, so if I pick 4th it will shift up from 1st, shift up gear by gear and stop at 4th it won’t shift to 5th etc) The issue was the SCT was set up for TC lockup in 1,2,3, and TCM was expecting to see that. The TS was not set up to do TC lockup in 1,2,3 in that mode, so I would get a flashing tow/haul light, because the TCM did not get the results it wanted from the trans. BD emailed me an updated file to fix that issue, and with a micro USB cable it was fixed in 30 seconds. BD made it very easy to update the TS.

The Edge CTS will not display the TC lockup on its screen, because the factory TCM isn't controlling that anymore when the TS(Tap Shifter) is on. The kit comes with a LED for the 03's so you can see that you have engaged "tow/haul", I used that LED so it lights up when the TS is commanding torque converter lockup. It a nice feature to watch the TC lockup on the CTS and I missed it when the TS is on.

So it does not affect your custom tunes, until you turn it on(press the "-" button). Once its on the TS shift schedule takes over. This is why I like the manual mode #7, I can turn it on to hold a gear towing up a grade, and adjust which gear I want it to be in on the way down with the exhaust brake on or off. When I get to the bottom, I just press the "+" until the BD display gets past 5 and it turns off, and I'm back on SCT trans tuning.

Its not for everyone and it does not work exactly like a new 6.7 does but its close.

I hope this helps.
 
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6.0 Tech

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Ok so I've been working with BD's engineering department on my particular issues, and they have been great to work with. I'm 95% happy with how it works now, just a few little bugs to work out.

I can say that the engine brake is very effective and it is stronger than the factory option on the 15-16 6.7 PSD. I hooked up the exhaust brake function to my up-fitter switch so I can turn it off if I want to.

I wanted the ability to manually select a gear and have it stay there with a locked up torque converter and it does that now.

At first it did not like my SCT X3 program when I used the TS in automatic mode 1(basically mode 1 lets you select the highest gear the truck can shift to, so if I pick 4th it will shift up from 1st, shift up gear by gear and stop at 4th it won’t shift to 5th etc) The issue was the SCT was set up for TC lockup in 1,2,3, and TCM was expecting to see that. The TS was not set up to do TC lockup in 1,2,3 in that mode, so I would get a flashing tow/haul light, because the TCM did not get the results it wanted from the trans. BD emailed me an updated file to fix that issue, and with a micro USB cable it was fixed in 30 seconds. BD made it very easy to update the TS.

The Edge CTS will not display the TC lockup on its screen, because the factory TCM isn't controlling that anymore when the TS(Tap Shifter) is on. The kit comes with a LED for the 03's so you can see that you have engaged "tow/haul", I used that LED so it lights up when the TS is commanding torque converter lockup. It a nice feature to watch the TC lockup on the CTS and I missed it when the TS is on.

So it does not affect your custom tunes, until you turn it on(press the "-" button). Once its on the TS shift schedule takes over. This is why I like the manual mode #7, I can turn it on to hold a gear towing up a grade, and adjust which gear I want it to be in on the way down with the exhaust brake on or off. When I get to the bottom, I just press the "+" until the BD display gets past 5 and it turns off, and I'm back on SCT trans tuning.

Its not for everyone and it does not work exactly like a new 6.7 does but its close.

I hope this helps.

Have you gotten used to the huge boot on the shifter? I think this may be something yhat would bug the hell out of me. When you force downshifts, how hard does the shift hit?
 

Jeremy

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Have you gotten used to the huge boot on the shifter? I think this may be something yhat would bug the hell out of me. When you force downshifts, how hard does the shift hit?


yea kinda, it still bugs me once and a while but I'm pretty much over it. When I force a downshift its no harsher than it is when I physically move the gear selector down in to 3,2,1.
 
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