PIP or KEM tune for 2015?

[Morgan@Midwest Diesel & Auto]

Check this out. 2015 test mule http://powerstrokearmy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50669

 

[truckmaniac]

I know that folks selling KEM tuning are saying that there aren't any glitches. It's hard to believe that KEM (or any custom tuner) got it 100% perfect from the beginning, but if they did: Cudos to Them!

PIP did have a few minor hiccups when they released their tuning but nothing that kept me from deleting & tuning my truck. I've talked to them a few times (Great Customer Service!) and they are going to release an update to solve those, possibly later this week.

So far, my experience with PIP has met or exceeded my expectations.

If you read back. Most of us said that every platform had glitches.. Even when the exhaust brake didn't work on certain tunes. Everyone has work, SCT didn't do everything they needed to before advantage was updated. It's not Mike or Mike's fault.

Yes, I've read the posts about every platform having glitches. I was talking about being told by several vendors, prior to the release of tunes by KEM or PIP, that the KEM tuning wouldn't be released until it was glitch-free. Yet, here we are discussing the fact that KEM (as well as PIP) has some minor bugs to workout.

 

[Breaking Habits]

Yes, I've read the posts about every platform having glitches. I was talking about being told by several vendors, prior to the release of tunes by KEM or PIP, that the KEM tuning wouldn't be released until it was glitch-free. Yet, here we are discussing the fact that KEM (as well as PIP) has some minor bugs to workout.

It was not rushed to market as fast as the competition. We can pull it from the market and recall all tuners if it is not satisfactory? Then again, its odd that when people call every single friggin day want delete tuners, burning your phones down, literally getting angry when you tell them its not to your satisfaction, that those people then call and complain right away. Ironic that impractical impatience leads to unreasonable irritability. Case and point, 99.9999% of the time, you are the bad guy when dealing with an impatient customer.

We found the happy medium between all the KEM test trucks and released to market in order to help the product advance farther than it was. At the point we were, most found issues were addressed. Key point being, every vehicle is different. 1 in 1000 may have an issue the other 999 did not, where the production was, real world testing was the only final solution.

This is also great when people burn your phone down for pricing, ask to be on a call list, and then when you release product to the public, they buy it from someone who was a few dollars cheaper instead of the vendor who supported them the entire time, without even giving them the chance to compete with pricing or explain the difference of apples to oranges. This industry wears me out with this package deal crap. Probably 10 people who bugged me nonstop for the KEM files suddenly decided they wanted to order from Joe Shmoe who doesnt even own a 15 because he was $X.xx cheaper, then call me back to bitch about customer support. If I didnt have to deal with this 15 stuff to keep up with the industry, I wouldnt even touch it to avoid the headaches.

 

[truckmaniac]

Unobjectively, comparing PIP to KEM both on the hottest "race" vs "extreme" tune. They both made similar boost and seemed to have as close as I can tell similar power. The KEM locks the TC at wot and the PIP did not. And PIP did have the exhaust brake function turned off. I only compared the biggest hp files. They both seemed very smoke free in my truck. PIP had 4 tune levels and KEM had 3. The KEM does shift very firm at WOT in the race file. But at mid throttle it's smooth. Some people may complain a bout harsh WOT shifts. That's the way they keep the clutches from slipping during a full TC locked, no defuel, full power shift. The PIP was smoother at wot because of the unlocked TC shifts.

So, there is the best factual comparison I can do without bias. I'm not saying one is better or anything else. Just my experience. No bashing or trashing just what I noticed.

Thanks for the comparison.

For those of us who tune and delete our trucks for fuel economy and dependability, have you ran the other tuning options enough to give us a Daily Driver comparison of the two platforms, not ripping down the track at WOT?

I too am not trying to bash either KEM or PIP.

 

[truckmaniac]

It was not rushed to market as fast as the competition. We can pull it from the market and recall all tuners if it is not satisfactory? Then again, its odd that when people call every single friggin day want delete tuners, burning your phones down, literally getting angry when you tell them its not to your satisfaction, that those people then call and complain right away. Ironic that impractical impatience leads to unreasonable irritability. Case and point, 99.9999% of the time, you are the bad guy when dealing with an impatient customer.

We found the happy medium between all the KEM test trucks and released to market in order to help the product advance farther than it was. At the point we were, most found issues were addressed. Key point being, every vehicle is different. 1 in 1000 may have an issue the other 999 did not, where the production was, real world testing was the only final solution.

This is also great when people burn your phone down for pricing, ask to be on a call list, and then when you release product to the public, they buy it from someone who was a few dollars cheaper instead of the vendor who supported them the entire time, without even giving them the chance to compete with pricing or explain the difference of apples to oranges. This industry wears me out with this package deal crap. Probably 10 people who bugged me nonstop for the KEM files suddenly decided they wanted to order from Joe Shmoe who doesnt even own a 15 because he was $X.xx cheaper, then call me back to bitch about customer support. If I didnt have to deal with this 15 stuff to keep up with the industry, I wouldnt even touch it to avoid the headaches.

Since you used a quote from one of my posts, I hope that your hostility isn't being focused directly at me.

This thread is about KEM or PIP tuning for the 2015 Powerstrokes.

#1. I own a 2015 Powerstroke
#2. I am running PIP tuning
#3. I gave an honest report of my experience with PIP so far
#4. I noted that I haven't had any experience running the KEM tuning on a 2015 Powerstroke
#5. I haven't said anything about KEM that was negative, unless you construe my comment that the PIP shifting on my new truck was better than my previous (non-2015) trucks tuned with Spartan, KEM and H&S.

I understand your frustration in trying to get everything "right" before releasing a product to a very impatient client base. I also understand your need to capture as much of the market as possible, to help recoup a small portion of your investment, trying to develop tuning every time Ford throws you a curve-ball.

I hope the rest of your day goes a little better and you're able to get away from the phone lines, computer and emails. oke:

 

[roadkingfl]

It was not rushed to market as fast as the competition. We can pull it from the market and recall all tuners if it is not satisfactory? Then again, its odd that when people call every single friggin day want delete tuners, burning your phones down, literally getting angry when you tell them its not to your satisfaction, that those people then call and complain right away. Ironic that impractical impatience leads to unreasonable irritability. Case and point, 99.9999% of the time, you are the bad guy when dealing with an impatient customer.

We found the happy medium between all the KEM test trucks and released to market in order to help the product advance farther than it was. At the point we were, most found issues were addressed. Key point being, every vehicle is different. 1 in 1000 may have an issue the other 999 did not, where the production was, real world testing was the only final solution.

This is also great when people burn your phone down for pricing, ask to be on a call list, and then when you release product to the public, they buy it from someone who was a few dollars cheaper instead of the vendor who supported them the entire time, without even giving them the chance to compete with pricing or explain the difference of apples to oranges. This industry wears me out with this package deal crap. Probably 10 people who bugged me nonstop for the KEM files suddenly decided they wanted to order from Joe Shmoe who doesnt even own a 15 because he was $X.xx cheaper, then call me back to bitch about customer support. If I didnt have to deal with this 15 stuff to keep up with the industry, I wouldnt even touch it to avoid the headaches.

Wow nice rant! Remind me never to buy anything from this guy.

Chill out man.

 

[Breaking Habits]

Wow nice rant! Remind me never to buy anything from this guy.



Chill out man.

You can have that attitude. Sorry if I offended you.

I responded in such because the poster called me multiple, multiple times asking details and I held off selling him a tuner because I wanted the issues perfect. Kept 100% patience and kept him 100% informed of what the news was. Some people may or may not know this, but Morgan, mike, and myself spent WEEKS after work testing the 15s, after hours while putting in 8-10 hours here

After multiple phone calls and tons of time explaining all the quirks of the pcm and such; I sent a friendly email explaining ballpark pricing to get responded with, I bought something else from someone else, essentially without giving you a chance to be on the same level. Pretty insulting, when you take your time to keep someone informed.

Next time, I'll just keep my thoughts to myself. I've found people are extremely impatient and will not pay homage to the guys in the frontline testing nonstop to figure out the quirks for the other guys. Just like the people who burned our phones down rudely when they found out we deleted Morgan's truck in June.

Apologies to those I may have offended. Have a nice evening

 

[roadkingfl]

No worries man!

 

[2006.1f250]

You can have that attitude. Sorry if I offended you.

I responded in such because the poster called me multiple, multiple times asking details and I held off selling him a tuner because I wanted the issues perfect. Kept 100% patience and kept him 100% informed of what the news was. Some people may or may not know this, but Morgan, mike, and myself spent WEEKS after work testing the 15s, after hours while putting in 8-10 hours here

After multiple phone calls and tons of time explaining all the quirks of the pcm and such; I sent a friendly email explaining ballpark pricing to get responded with, I bought something else from someone else, essentially without giving you a chance to be on the same level. Pretty insulting, when you take your time to keep someone informed.

Next time, I'll just keep my thoughts to myself. I've found people are extremely impatient and will not pay homage to the guys in the frontline testing nonstop to figure out the quirks for the other guys. Just like the people who burned our phones down rudely when they found out we deleted Morgan's truck in June.

Apologies to those I may have offended. Have a nice evening

I don't know how you guys do this day in and day out and keep your sanity. Keep on keeping on , beers on me if we ever meet.

 

[Breaking Habits]

I don't know how you guys do this day in and day out and keep your sanity. Keep on keeping on , beers on me if we ever meet.

Thank you buddy. Truth be told. It's just passion. Just farming would be too boring. Ill buy the second round!

 

[truckmaniac]

You can have that attitude. Sorry if I offended you.

I responded in such because the poster called me multiple, multiple times asking details and I held off selling him a tuner because I wanted the issues perfect. Kept 100% patience and kept him 100% informed of what the news was. Some people may or may not know this, but Morgan, mike, and myself spent WEEKS after work testing the 15s, after hours while putting in 8-10 hours here

After multiple phone calls and tons of time explaining all the quirks of the pcm and such; I sent a friendly email explaining ballpark pricing to get responded with, I bought something else from someone else, essentially without giving you a chance to be on the same level. Pretty insulting, when you take your time to keep someone informed.

Next time, I'll just keep my thoughts to myself. I've found people are extremely impatient and will not pay homage to the guys in the frontline testing nonstop to figure out the quirks for the other guys. Just like the people who burned our phones down rudely when they found out we deleted Morgan's truck in June.

Apologies to those I may have offended. Have a nice evening

Hello, Mr. Jared. This is the Poster of whom you speak.

I don't like being unjustly called-out on a Public Forum and being accused of being an inconsiderate jerk. Since that's the way you like to play, it's your turn to get called-out.

As Paul Harvey used to say "Now, the rest of the story":

(If any of you youngsters don't know who Paul Harvey was, look him up on your smart phone. Everyone can learn from his wisdom.)

Before I get down to business, I'll let you know that I deal with high-maintenance clients every day, so I'm a stickler for keeping phone logs, text messages and emails, so every conversation or correspondence that you and I have ever had is in my files.

I talked to you via telephone back in July or August to see if he had anything to offer for the 2015. Your response was "nothing at the moment".

I started a thread back on September 16th, inquiring about tuning for my 2015.

http://powerstrokearmy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55465

You were the first to reply, hinting that SCT would be first to market with tuning for the 2015.

I PM'd you on September 16th, asking what you had "up your sleeve". You replied on the 18th, which I immediately followed up with a Thank You and asked you to get back to me with pricing when it was available.

When BigPower announced on October 15th that tuning was ready for the 2015's, I called you to inquire about price and availability. You told me that they were using a different "Tuner" and it would be a few days before yours were ready to go. You were the one who said that you wouldn't ship a tuner until it was PERFECT. Those are your words, not mine and an opportunity for you to promote your tuner (I didn't know it was going to be KEM at the time) over PIP.

http://powerstrokearmy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56421

I followed-up with an email on October 16th to thank you for your input and to ask a "Tow Tune" question. On October 17th, you emailed me, asking for my full name, address and phone number for your files and noted that you was attaching a quote for the SCT-4X, Delete Tunes, AFE delete Pipe and EGR Block-off plates. I never received a quote.

On October 28th, you emailed to ask where you stood on the quote. My reply was that I was still waiting for it, since you either didn't attach it to your email of the 17th or forgot to email it to me.

I looked over the numbers, checked with a few other Vendors whom I've bought tuners and delete equipment from in the past and emailed you on October 31st that I'd decided to go another route. And by the way, I didn't just save a few dollars, I saved almost $300.00! I actually told you the difference was around $200.00, so as to not hurt your feelings.

So there you have it!

My advice to you Jared, is that if you're "over-worked", "stressed-out" and "agitated" over a person like me (two 5 minutes phone calls, one PM and 3 emails), you need to stick to farming.

Sincerely,

Truckmaniac

 

[Breaking Habits]

Hello, Mr. Jared. This is the Poster of whom you speak.



I don't like being unjustly called-out on a Public Forum and being accused of being an inconsiderate jerk. Since that's the way you like to play, it's your turn to get called-out.



As Paul Harvey used to say "Now, the rest of the story":



(If any of you youngsters don't know who Paul Harvey was, look him up on your smart phone. Everyone can learn from his wisdom.)



Before I get down to business, I'll let you know that I deal with high-maintenance clients every day, so I'm a stickler for keeping phone logs, text messages and emails, so every conversation or correspondence that you and I have ever had is in my files.



I talked to you via telephone back in July or August to see if he had anything to offer for the 2015. Your response was "nothing at the moment".



I started a thread back on September 16th, inquiring about tuning for my 2015.



http://powerstrokearmy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55465



You were the first to reply, hinting that SCT would be first to market with tuning for the 2015.



I PM'd you on September 16th, asking what you had "up your sleeve". You replied on the 18th, which I immediately followed up with a Thank You and asked you to get back to me with pricing when it was available.



When BigPower announced on October 15th that tuning was ready for the 2015's, I called you to inquire about price and availability. You told me that they were using a different "Tuner" and it would be a few days before yours were ready to go. You were the one who said that you wouldn't ship a tuner until it was PERFECT. Those are your words, not mine and an opportunity for you to promote your tuner (I didn't know it was going to be KEM at the time) over PIP.



http://powerstrokearmy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56421



I followed-up with an email on October 16th to thank you for your input and to ask a "Tow Tune" question. On October 17th, you emailed me, asking for my full name, address and phone number for your files and noted that you was attaching a quote for the SCT-4X, Delete Tunes, AFE delete Pipe and EGR Block-off plates. I never received a quote.



On October 28th, you emailed to ask where you stood on the quote. My reply was that I was still waiting for it, since you either didn't attach it to your email of the 17th or forgot to email it to me.



I looked over the numbers, checked with a few other Vendors whom I've bought tuners and delete equipment from in the past and emailed you on October 31st that I'd decided to go another route. And by the way, I didn't just save a few dollars, I saved almost $300.00! I actually told you the difference was around $200.00, so as to not hurt your feelings.



So there you have it!



My advice to you Jared, is that if you're "over-worked", "stressed-out" and "agitated" over a person like me (two 5 minutes phone calls, one PM and 3 emails), you need to stick to farming.



Sincerely,



Truckmaniac

I sincerely hope that you are happy with your purchase Ricky. It's no skin off my back. You were emailed a quote twice, and even followed up. It's a shame that you could call me whenever you had a question, but couldn't give me the chance to match your price. Instead of saying, hey, I appreciate all the time you've invested, can you get a little closer to this. Just a little something I learned from my 68 year old father. Which of whom I listened to Paul Harvey with on AM radio until his passing, that man word was gold.

All good, I'll keep doing my thing. Including, driving my farm truck to work, with a functioning exhaust brake from day 1.

Well just agree to disagree. I doubt we'll have any transaction in the future so this is no longer relevant.

Back to tuning topic then!

 

[morepower02]

Tuner wars by guys that are not even tuners. Gotta love the evolution of this crap. Vendors vending is what I see here.

 

[Breaking Habits]

Tuner wars by guys that are not even tuners. Gotta love the evolution of this crap.

Well when your truck was used to beta and you helped figure out the sluggish exhaust brake issue.. You get just a little bit of gumption in it. The Performance/Race tunes were perfected on my 15, just like the 15 Turbo files were dialed on my 11. I doubt anyone in this industry does more R&D with KEM than myself & Morgan. Mike didn't buy a 15. So Morgan, Ben, & Myself were the betas. No worries though.

 

[morepower02]

So you tune for Kem or they used you truck to run tunes on that makes you a expert. Not trying to bust chops just clarify for people.

 

[bigrpowr]

Probably 10 people who bugged me nonstop for the KEM files suddenly decided they wanted to order from Joe Shmoe who doesnt even own a 15

so I need to own a 15' to sell the units ?

 

[morepower02]

Lmao

 

[Breaking Habits]

so I need to own a 15' to sell the units ?

No. It's just in direct relation to all these people asking for first hand experience and put miles on these trucks these themselves.

 

[Morgan@Midwest Diesel & Auto]

This thread is basically useless.

1. It its full of people who have no experience with both nor either one of the products in the op's question.

2. People have taken it upon themselves to link any past experience with tuners as to be the case with the tunes in question, of which they have zero experience with.

3 anyone that does have experience with them that has any involvement with one or the other is automatically labeled as a "liar" or "using sales pitches"

4. The general population of posts have absolutely nothing to do with the topic.

You guys have came in here like bunch of apes throwing feces and thumping your chest saying X tuner is better than X. Or I hate X tuner because they didn't do what I wanted. Or my old tunes for a different platform... It's all irrelevant to the topic.

The fact of the matter is, Jared may not be a tuner, but he has spent more of his time unpaid and donating his own vehicle because he loves this sport. More than most anyone else would even care to think about. He is a little passionate when called out. Sure. But you do you think these things just happen for no reason? It takes multiples of people to test, push, prod, and actually want something to happen to bring a new platform to life. Do the new tunes have bugs? Sure, some more than others. Each truck is different. Some react different. But it's part of the game. Different tuners have different facets they need to work on. I don't know of anything I would change with the tunes I am running now. But I'm sure in someone else's truck they may feel different.



Like I've asked before, can we limit the posts to people with actual relevance to the OP? If not the thread may as well be closed.

 

[truckmaniac]

This thread is basically useless.

Like I've asked before, can we limit the posts to people with actual relevance to the OP? If not the thread may as well be closed.

When the OP was asking "PIP or KEM tune for 2015?", what did everyone expect? It was bound to become a PIP versus KEM battle royal. For the most part, guys typically tout the praises of whichever tunes they shelled out their hard-earned dollars for.

I get the feeling that ever since I mentioned that I liked my PIP tunes and made the mistake (heaven forbid) of comparing the transmission shift to non-2015 tunes, the KEM vendors here think I've been bashing KEM. On the contrary, I've said that I haven't used them on a 2015 and hoped that everyone who tunes their trucks, regardless of the platform, have good luck.

Why don't you jump back on the guy who posted on this thread for the sole purpose of bad-mouthing KEM.

I vote that we close this thread and start (2) new threads:

What I like or dislike about my 2015 Powerstroke PIP tunes.

and

What I like or dislike about my 2015 Powerstroke KEM tunes.

There are probably less than a handful of people (Morgan for example) who've had the luxury of running both PIP and KEM, so there aren't many folks qualified to answer the PIP or KEM question.

Good Night and God Bless America! (Morgan and Jared, too :toast