Diesel truck tuning - worth it?

Enniberg

Enniberg

Well-Known Member
I recently purchased a 2006 Silverado Duramax (LBZ).
I have learned that there are are quite a few diesel owners that tune their diesels.
My truck is bone stock, and I only care about longevity and fuel economy, the truck already has ample power.
Figuring there are lots of diesel truck owners on this forum. Have your guys done anything to your truck? Is it worth it?
 
Upgrade the horse power then you need to upgrade the fuel delivery then the transmission more boost you'll need to do the heads

If you leave a tuner such as a smarty on max timing you'll gain some mpgs for sure but is it worth 500$ for 2-3mpgs?
 
Mines an 07 ram 3500 6.7 cummins I deleted everything because I had read that in my trucks case all that smog junk was very detrimental to the turbo wich I replaced at a 100k...since doing the deletes my truck has had no issues fuel economy is excellent as I can go 15 days on a tank of fuel back and forth to work 65 kms round trip daily. I run a smarty Jr tuner in mine set to tow mode and feel it has really increased the life of my truck as I'm over 300k now.
 
congrats! You just bought the most sought after engine of the duramax the LBZ. I would without a doubt. Do the full delete and for you just get a single economy or tow tune. Your truck will breathe 100% better and it won’t affect your transmission fuel or anything els with a single tune. The pros absolutely outweigh the cons!
 
I hear alot of guys going with efi live for tuning. If your on the lower mainland Diamond diesel in Port Kells has been good to me. Unless of course you will be doing the deletes on your own.
 
Efi live with a dps switch will be the best upgrade you could ever do to the stock LBZ. Better economy and power when needed especially with the tow tune. Just make sure you purchase a edge insight to and the edge egt kit to watch your egts if you decide to turn up the tune don’t want to cook a piston.
 
I have the same truck except mine is an 07 classic. It's a machine. I have a stainless muffler and tail pipe done. Not crazy loud but a little more flow. Along with and edge tuner. Improved gas mileage when in level 2 or 3 mode.

The factory air box is not that bad. It was pointed out to me when I baught mine that it was not worth deleting and that the stock air filter does a stellar job at removing even the smallest particles. The intakes dont add any noticable power and the filters dont do as good of a job.
 
Fully deleted is the way to go......as for tuning that is personal preference. I’ve done both, really depends on the engine and what you are using it for/want out of it.
 
EGR Delete is the only delete on those LBZ as they are PRE Def so EGR Delete it and tune done nice 4" turbo back exhaust and even do a race plug on the driver side fuel rail to get rid of the stock FPR (Fuel Pressure Reg valve)
 
Anyone recommend the best fit for a full Delete? I think mine needs the EGR gone.
 
I have a 2012 Ram 3500 6.7L cummins. I was getting EGR codes so I was glad when the EGR cooler fell off the truck. I went with PDR Diesels delete kit with the Bullydog GT tuner, S&B intake, and 4" stainless steel turbo back exhaust. I run it on tow mode 99% of the time which I think is just changing the shift points basically. Easily a couple MPG better than stock. I'm at 370,000 km so just barely broken in now.;)
 
This forum is a gold mine for information for pretty much anything it seems :)

Again, I have zero interest in added power - it already has 360 hp and makes my old gasoline powered truck and my TDI Jetta feel like turtles in comparison. All I am after is better fuel economy and longevity.
I spoke with 3 different shops - one on the mainland and 2 on Island. The guys on the mainland wanted to sell me a PPE Xcelerator Programmer, which according to the manufacturers website has these features:
  • Supports EGR Delete up to 2007 Classic Body Style
  • Speedometer corrections (for tire sizes 25 through 44.75 in. at 1/4 in. increments).
  • Adjustable speed limiter (from 40 to 96 mph in 1 mph increments, or directly to 200 mph).
  • Adjustable gear ratio from 2.73 to 5.13.
  • Reads and clears DTC's (Diagnostic Trouble Codes [Check Engine Light]).
  • Reads real-time data (for engine diagnostics).
  • Transmission reset and quick-learn feature.
  • Online updates available.
The Island shops both offered a single stage EFI Live 40 hp tow/eco tune.

the quoted price was virtually the same from all of them.

I do like the simplicity of EFI single stage tune, but my understanding is that EFI is basically just a platform that allows everyone to create tunes of their own and flash it to the ECM. Is this correct? If so, I am a little worried about ending up with something that has not been sufficiently tested to prove that it is actually beneficial - I know you are thinking Covid vaccines now - snap out of it, that is NOT what we're talking about, lol.
 
Enniberg said:
This forum is a gold mine for information for pretty much anything it seems :)

Again, I have zero interest in added power - it already has 360 hp and makes my old gasoline powered truck and my TDI Jetta feel like turtles in comparison. All I am after is better fuel economy and longevity.
I spoke with 3 different shops - one on the mainland and 2 on Island. The guys on the mainland wanted to sell me a PPE Xcelerator Programmer, which according to the manufacturers website has these features:
  • Supports EGR Delete up to 2007 Classic Body Style
  • Speedometer corrections (for tire sizes 25 through 44.75 in. at 1/4 in. increments).
  • Adjustable speed limiter (from 40 to 96 mph in 1 mph increments, or directly to 200 mph).
  • Adjustable gear ratio from 2.73 to 5.13.
  • Reads and clears DTC's (Diagnostic Trouble Codes [Check Engine Light]).
  • Reads real-time data (for engine diagnostics).
  • Transmission reset and quick-learn feature.
  • Online updates available.
The Island shops both offered a single stage EFI Live 40 hp tow/eco tune.

the quoted price was virtually the same from all of them.

I do like the simplicity of EFI single stage tune, but my understanding is that EFI is basically just a platform that allows everyone to create tunes of their own and flash it to the ECM. Is this correct? If so, I am a little worried about ending up with something that has not been sufficiently tested to prove that it is actually beneficial - I know you are thinking Covid vaccines now - snap out of it, that is NOT what we're talking about, lol.
Click to expand...
IMO EFILive is the only way to go the reason I say that is that your not locked into a tune as per your ppe programmer. Single stage tune should be just fine for what your wanting it sounds like, the best part with it is that even if you want to tweak it a bit you can where as with the PPE you cant modify the tune files at all they are locked into that programmer unit. EFI live has been around a long time now and has been proven for alot of those years! any shop that is doing the efi live tune should be willing to show you a live stream of how well the tune they program into the truck is actually performing assuming they have a dyno which is really nice.
 
X2 on the live. I wish I had went that route. I got the edge tuner. At the time it was around 6 or 7 hundred.

X2 on the EGR also. When you tune these up theres a major restriction there. Gets sooted up. Mine ran better when I first tuned it. Pretty sure I need to delete the EGR and install the larger pipe. Then she will breathe. Yes this adds power but also adds engine efficiency and that's how you increase mileage
 
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