Black Bear Tune Review

[Joseph Garcia]

+1. I'm okay with them changing their busines model too, but when I bought my tune, the published deal was lifetime tunes, so that figured into my purchasing decision. To find out that those of us who bought under that policy are no longer eligible for free tunes makes me not want to recommend them any longer. Maybe they will "tune" in here and set the record straight if we're misunderstanding the policy.

You are not misunderstanding the policy, as that is their current policy.

 

[the_tool_man]

EDIT: I crossed out my incorrect statements below. See later update for more details.

Another update. One thing I neglected to consider when I bought my tune is what happens in the event of something like a transmission failure. A replacement transmission requires the ECM to be re-flashed so it can talk to the new TCM. if you don't buy the Autocal from BB, you're screwed. They'll overwrite the tune with the re-flash, and with BB's new policy you'll have to pay all over again to get your tune back.

So if you still want a BB tune, you should probably plan on buying the Autocal as an insurance policy for failures. My transmission failed last week, and my short-sightedness means I'll end up with a stock tune, AFM and all.

That said, I'm now of the opinion that the better option is to find a local shop that can tune your truck, and support you for the lifetime of it. All of the shops near me that offer tuning use HPTuners, which is incompatible with the Autocal BB provides. But they can do all the same things BB can do, and are capable of supporting future mods far more conveniently than mailing parts to BB, or self-loading email tunes.

In my case, after the dealer re-flashes my ECM, I'm driving it straight back to the shop that replaced the transmission and pay them to turn off AFM with a tune of their own. Trans tuning will have to wait until after 1500 mile break-in. But when the time comes, they have a dyno.

 

[Charlie207]

This might be a dumb question, but why can't they swap over the old TCM (already tuned)? I'm not familiar with internal hardware of the 6-spd, but is the computer so encased in the transmisison that it can't be moved to the new one?

 

[jdwood1111]

What gave out on yours trans and how many miles?

 

[mattbta]

Damn, TCM bench harnesses are expensive! Was going to suggest until I saw the cost.

 

[Doubeleive]

This might be a dumb question, but why can't they swap over the old TCM (already tuned)? I'm not familiar with internal hardware of the 6-spd, but is the computer so encased in the transmisison that it can't be moved to the new one?

the TCM has all kinds of other components inside of it and is often part of the problem with the transmission a new or rebuilt one is about $500 so it's not a easy fix

 

[the_tool_man]

I was wrong about a few things. At least in my case, the ECM was NOT touched by the GM dealer. So the BB tune in the ECM is still there (AFM off, rear O2's, etc.). The trans tune is gone, of course (torque management is back). I spoke to a couple of local tuners, all of whom recommended to not mess with the TCM for at least the break-in period. All said it would void the transmission warranty (36mo/100kmi). For those suggesting moving the old TCM to the new trans, this would also void the warranty. I even tried to get them to put a drain plug in the transmission pan. Nope. When we pull the pan post break-in to change the fluid, I'll probably swap on a pan with a drain plug anyway, and keep the original should I have a warranty claim.

Based on the codes I scanned, I think something in the transmission control system, possibly the TCM itself, caused the failure. It was fine up until 3 days prior to failure, when a noise started that I mistook for a bad serpentine belt idler bearing. I had checked the trans fluid monthly, and saw no issues. So I didn't suspect the transmission. Then it started shifting erratically, and flaring, then wouldn't pull, all within a few minutes on the same drive. Postmortem, I scanned multiple codes for "pressure control solenoid" stuck off, which might have been TCM related, or might not have. But whatever happened, it cooked the transmission. I elected to replace the whole thing with a GM upgraded reman. The original made it 141k. This one will hopefully last at least that long.

 

[Charlie207]

I elected to replace the whole thing with a GM upgraded reman.

How much was that?

What's the difference between a regular (6L80?) and GM upgraded version?

 

[the_tool_man]

How much was that?

What's the difference between a regular (6L80?) and GM upgraded version?

A regular GM reman 6L80 is $2880, and takes 3-4 weeks to get. The upgraded one was $4200, and the local dealer had one sitting on the shelf. Even if they were the same, I'd have paid the 50% more to get back on the road in a couple of days. I'm in the middle of moving and need my Yukon daily. Waiting a month was out of the question.

As far as differences, I've been told general statements about GM fixing known weak points, etc., but no details. I've asked the installer for the difference, and he's supposed to get back to me. I guess I could call the parts counter at the dealer. I just hadn't done it yet.