The "single tune" debate

[Cat_rebel]

Burning the same program 6 times?! Or just do what several already mentioned.

Because I didn't know that you could do that with a TS chip at the time.

 

[Cat_rebel]

Pffftt.....I have 16 different tow tunes....all of which were "live tuned"!!!

J/K, you guys guys know what I have. And Cat, an emulator is the perfect 1 position chip! My truck has not seen a chip in many years.

What's the going rate on an Emulator?



Another thing I've noticed is people that tune their own trucks tend to be firm believers in a single tune. More so then people with a stock truck that want 11 postions.

 

[Charles]

If you have the ability to shift the truck manually, with either a ZF5/ZF6 or full manual control over the 4R100, there really is no reason to have more than one program.


A cheap little single bank chip would probably make these people happy. I know paying for a 6 position chip when you only want 1 position isn't the most economical, aside from whether or not you decide to use all 6, or 4 in my case.

 

[Chvyrkr]

I had 5 tunes plus high idle for my old setup. But like I said, I only used the hot tune.

I didn't have any issues when I was out west in the mountains with the truck, but I did have to watch the mirror a little more for smoke control.

And as far as time tuning, I think it took less than 2 hours for Jonathan to get it there. Obviously a more radical setup would take longer, but I don't think it's as hard to make a tune do what you want as some seem to believe.

 

[Groovy Chick]

It's vintage.... Duhhhhhhh,

AH! An antique! I get it now.

 

[Groovy Chick]

What's the going rate on an Emulator?

We sell the romulator and adapter for $449.

 

[TyCorr]

If you have the ability to shift the truck manually, with either a ZF5/ZF6 or full manual control over the 4R100, there really is no reason to have more than one program.


A cheap little single bank chip would probably make these people happy. I know paying for a 6 position chip when you only want 1 position isn't the most economical, aside from whether or not you decide to use all 6, or 4 in my case.

If the tunes adapted to driving habits doesnt throttle position do what six tunes would? If your tune makez 500hp, or 6+ in your case, you know that you dont wanna mash the pedal to tow a trailer. Rather maybe quarter pedal. Is this how you address tuning? And with the control of having auto and manual I can see how one tune is entirely adequate. Id like to be at this point but I dont have enough power to even compete, lol.

 

[Charles]

If the tunes adapted to driving habits doesnt throttle position do what six tunes would? If your tune makez 500hp, or 6+ in your case, you know that you dont wanna mash the pedal to tow a trailer. Rather maybe quarter pedal. Is this how you address tuning? And with the control of having auto and manual I can see how one tune is entirely adequate. Id like to be at this point but I dont have enough power to even compete, lol.

I use full pedal, fully loaded. Errr, at least I used to. Since it doesn't move when I put it in D, it doesn't do too much for the time being, although I'm almost done with my new barn, so hopefully I can pull it apart sooner rather than later.

But as far as tuning, I just had the pedal linear from zero to full acceleration as you applied the pedal. Seems pretty intuitive to me.

The other main thing I do that some people might not like, but that I find intuitive, is that the pedal equals acceleration..... not power, fuel or anything else. It's like each point along the pedal travel equates to a given desired acceleration. This makes a truck drive VERY easily, and very CONFIDENTLY.

This is very important to me. What this ends up doing is making the truck drive fluidly. You move your foot to say, halfway, and the truck is clipping along nicely, through first gear, but NOT running away hard off the top of the gear, and then dropping down on power coming off the shift, causing you to continually release a little pedal as the rpm climbs, and then stab back into it off the shifts as SOOOOOOOO many people have to do, so often in fact that they become UNAWARE of it.

In my truck you hold your foot constant, and the truck accelerates at a constant rate. As it rolls off the top of say 2nd gear it doesn't run away and start accelerating faster and faster. It just pulls evenly from 2000 to whatever point the trans shifts at. It does this by leveling off ICP, and pulling back the pw ever so slightly as the rpm climbs, to negate the tendency of the engine to make more power as rpm climbs at part throttle. And just as importantly, PRECISELY as the shift happens the engine IMMEDIATELY gets PISSED OFF about the fact that the 4R100 DARED to slow it down, so it automatically brings the ICP back UP, and the pw back UP, but not too much.... just enough to keep the vehicle acceleration seamless. And there must be NO lag. AS the trans is making the shift the engine MUST be bringing in more ICP and pw at the SAME TIME. This is crucial. THAT...... is how you tune an engine for DD use.

The shifts become confident and smooth when a truck is tuned this way, and the driving experience is one of a truck that just begs to be driven briskly, and one with an engine in FULL control of the vehicle's behavior, not the other way around.

I can't STAND to drive a truck with the engine power output wavering all around as the rpm climbs and falls through shifts. Completely unacceptable IMO.

 

[TyCorr]

I use full pedal, fully loaded. Errr, at least I used to. Since it doesn't move when I put it in D, it doesn't do too much for the time being, although I'm almost done with my new barn, so hopefully I can pull it apart sooner rather than later.

But as far as tuning, I just had the pedal linear from zero to full acceleration as you applied the pedal. Seems pretty intuitive to me.

The other main thing I do that some people might not like, but that I find intuitive, is that the pedal equals acceleration..... not power, fuel or anything else. It's like each point along the pedal travel equates to a given desired acceleration. This makes a truck drive VERY easily, and very CONFIDENTLY.

This is very important to me. What this ends up doing is making the truck drive fluidly. You move your foot to say, halfway, and the truck is clipping along nicely, through first gear, but NOT running away hard off the top of the gear, and then dropping down on power coming off the shift, causing you to continually release a little pedal as the rpm climbs, and then stab back into it off the shifts as SOOOOOOOO many people have to do, so often in fact that they become UNAWARE of it.

In my truck you hold your foot constant, and the truck accelerates at a constant rate. As it rolls off the top of say 2nd gear it doesn't run away and start accelerating faster and faster. It just pulls evenly from 2000 to whatever point the trans shifts at. It does this by leveling off ICP, and pulling back the pw ever so slightly as the rpm climbs, to negate the tendency of the engine to make more power as rpm climbs at part throttle. And just as importantly, PRECISELY as the shift happens the engine IMMEDIATELY gets PISSED OFF about the fact that the 4R100 DARED to slow it down, so it automatically brings the ICP back UP, and the pw back UP, but not too much.... just enough to keep the vehicle acceleration seamless. And there must be NO lag. AS the trans is making the shift the engine MUST be bringing in more ICP and pw at the SAME TIME. This is crucial. THAT...... is how you tune an engine for DD use.

The shifts become confident and smooth when a truck is tuned this way, and the driving experience is one of a truck that just begs to be driven briskly, and one with an engine in FULL control of the vehicle's behavior, not the other way around.

I can't STAND to drive a truck with the engine power output wavering all around as the rpm climbs and falls through shifts. Completely unacceptable IMO.

So your truck drives thru the shift almost as if there is one continuous gear? Do you think to be able to setup the tuning like this that there needs to be a certain amount of power? For example, is 500hp enough to be able to control the way the truck drives?

My trans is funny in that it shifts when I want it to. Almost precisely when Id grab another gear manually. The ONLY bitch is that I want the convertof to lock in 2nd gear, not.just 3rd and 4th. I am seriously underpowered so it isnt a huge deal. Also, one more thing, did you tune out the stock trans parameter that wont let the convertor lock until x trans.temp is achieved? THAT drives me crazy!!

 

[Charles]

So your truck drives thru the shift almost as if there is one continuous gear? Do you think to be able to setup the tuning like this that there needs to be a certain amount of power? For example, is 500hp enough to be able to control the way the truck drives?

My trans is funny in that it shifts when I want it to. Almost precisely when Id grab another gear manually. The ONLY bitch is that I want the convertof to lock in 2nd gear, not.just 3rd and 4th. I am seriously underpowered so it isnt a huge deal. Also, one more thing, did you tune out the stock trans parameter that wont let the convertor lock until x trans.temp is achieved? THAT drives me crazy!!

Yeah, I guess that's a good way to put it. The truck acts like it's in one big gear that just seamlessly accelerates from zero, to your desired speed, all the time.

I lock the converter at 28mph. This usually means, that under 99% of part throttle driving, that the truck goes 1st, 2nd, TCC lock, 3rd, 4th. Which spreads out the load nicely.

As for temp... with the PCS you get to just type in the oil temp, below which you wish to keep the TCC unlocked. If you typed -50, you would never have it unlocked. I however, think I have it somewhere in the 30* range or so because it's not good to drive the trans around on cold oil, and the torque converter heats it up quick when unlocked. I usually blow right through the unlocked converter time within a mile of my driveway, even in very cold temps.

 

[dietoremain]

With my PHP tunes my converter usually wont lock for the first mile or so in the cold, but no biggie.. better than stock tunes!

 

[TyCorr]

Ive gone five.miles.before without it locking.

 

[Cat_rebel]

Ive gone five.miles.before without it locking.

Common, remember that GA & CA tend to be warmer then IL.

 

[firehunter]

In my truck you hold your foot constant, and the truck accelerates at a constant rate. As it rolls off the top of say 2nd gear it doesn't run away and start accelerating faster and faster. It just pulls evenly from 2000 to whatever point the trans shifts at. It does this by leveling off ICP, and pulling back the pw ever so slightly as the rpm climbs, to negate the tendency of the engine to make more power as rpm climbs at part throttle. And just as importantly, PRECISELY as the shift happens the engine IMMEDIATELY gets PISSED OFF about the fact that the 4R100 DARED to slow it down, so it automatically brings the ICP back UP, and the pw back UP, but not too much.... just enough to keep the vehicle acceleration seamless. And there must be NO lag. AS the trans is making the shift the engine MUST be bringing in more ICP and pw at the SAME TIME. This is crucial. THAT...... is how you tune an engine for DD use.

This is exactly how my '99 CTD felt while accelerating and I liked it a lot. I know of what you speak.

 

[TyCorr]

Common, remember that GA & CA tend to be warmer then IL.

I hear ya boss! Im thinking when I go from 37's to 35's my driveability is going to change ALOT!!

 

[Jason]

It will, for the better of course!!

Just thought I'd chime in on the whole converter not locking when cold deal. I don't know if anyone has had to pull out into faster moving traffic with a cold trans/motor. Converter won't lock, and ebpv hangs closed...3 mile to get to 70mph....

 

[Cat_rebel]

First thing I do is unplug the EBPV on all my trucks or ones I work on. I hate those things with such a passion.

 

[DocBar]

Until Charles agrees to tune vehicles that don't belong to him, I don't believe him. I volunteer my truck for tuning "experience".

 

[Jason]

I need to unplug it, that's for sure. It used to not bother me, but it's getting to where it is sticking now and hanging up. How do you unplug it? I always planned on deleting when I changed turbos, but it's been more problematic this winter than ever.

 

[Cat_rebel]

There is a flip locking plug on the pedestal.