Diablew Tuning Started 2015 Tahoe

[Flynnstone]

Sounds like everyone has been very pleased with the diablew tune. I'm trying to determine if the cost of the tuner and the $150 for custom tuning are worthwhile?

I have a '15 Yukon with a 5.3l, and the one grip I have is with the how slow it shifts from gear to gear. Is this addressed by the tune?

 

[LGSONE]

I was in the same boat years back, worth every penny. TCM is tunable and if you let Monte know your requests he will build it in. I have had no issues with Diablosport even with my Silverado being cammed and built, zero problems. There are many tuners out there and I went with this for the ease of being able to switch back to stock quickly.

LGSONE

 

[Flynnstone]

I was in the same boat years back, worth every penny. TCM is tunable and if you let Monte know your requests he will build it in. I have had no issues with Diablosport even with my Silverado being cammed and built, zero problems. There are many tuners out there and I went with this for the ease of being able to switch back to stock quickly.

LGSONE

Thanks!

 

[Fifty]

What's the difference in parameter abilities of the Diablew tuner vs the system black bear uses?

Considerable price difference all told.

Aside from the fact that you can easily detune with the diablew...And it would seem the bbp tune is permenantly encoded unless you buy their additional
Modual (unless I'm reading their page wrong which is highly probable)...

 

[Yukon John]

I think the Pro Tuners have probably cracked the codes to build in more "Parameter" specialized tuning than what is available from the vendors with some educated code writing. Short of that...what you can do with the Diablo by customizing fuel pressure, ignition timing, shift pressure, etc. is remarkable.

I set mine up again this afternoon and called my brother to come over and take a drive. He took it out for about 20 minutes with me as co pilot. He asked me had I ever run it straight up against my Mercedes?

My Mercedes is a 2004 S500 7 speed with a custom tune by Rentech in Lake Park, Fl. It has run 13.85 in the 1/4 at 108 MPH. Zero to 60 is in the high 5's depending on traction.

So I told my brother " Let's go see". He drove the S500 and I took my Yukon. We drove over to a secret stretch of road that is occasionally used for "Testing" by the locals. It has a few marks if you know where to look that marks off a 1/4, 1/2 and Full Mile. We decided to run the full mile and compare.

We started from a dead stop...3 honk start. The Mercedes had a bit of spin where the Yukon laid down about 4 feet of Posi Rubber and launched hard. I jumped my brother about 2 lengths that he had back plus a length pretty quick. At the 1/4 he was 4~5 lengths ahead pulling away. At 1/2 mile his lead was 10 lengths and at the full mile I felt like I needed to get out to see what was wrong...but I was running just south of 130 !

So in summary...we are guessing that the 0-60 on the Yukon is close to about 6 seconds flat..1/4 mid to high 14's at about 90, My brother in the Mercedes was running about 105 at the 1/4 and about 165 at the mile. He was surprised how hard the 5.3 Yukon launched and admitted that based on that he thought we were going to have a close run. We both agreed that given Newton's first law of motion and the fact that the Yukon is carrying about 1500# extra it performed well!! LOL.

All of this is NOT empirical research but a ROUGH comparison of 2 vehicles, one of which has real world recorded numbers. I think it's believable when you consider a 2016 Denali has tested 0-60 times in the mid 5's bone stock. I would not be surprised to see a 6.2 Denali/Escalade drop in to the 4's 0-60 with similar tuning.

I spent about $400 out the door for my In Tune Tuner at a local Truck and Speed Dealer. I feel that I got a HUGE bang for the buck that I can remove and re-install in less than 10 minutes.

With Direct injection and Variable Cam Timing, in 2016 we have a naturally aspirated 325 cu. in.. 11:1 compression ratio V8 producing 355 HP and 385 # ft. TQ...NET ON 87 OCTANE GASOLINE !! In the mid/late 60's I was messing around with 'Vettes, and Camaros with 327's rated at 350 HP and 375 # ft. of TQ GROSS ON 101 OCTANE GASOLINE !! That 350 gross in the '60s was probably closer to 315~320 NET if that. FAST Street cars from the factory laid down 0-60 times in the mid to low 6 second bracket with REALLY FAST cars with 4:11 gears and 4 speeds were running low to mid 5's.

I'm probably older than most of you guys but I have to say that I am AMAZED at the fact that a close to 3 TON BRICK with a Small Block Chevy can produce the performance, utility and economy of these new Trucks/SUV's !! And to be able to custom tune one of these rigs with a gizmo no bigger than a Zippo Cigarette Lighter just blows me away!!

I really enjoy these forums and reading about what all you guys are doing and answering questions about things that I can based on "Old School" experience.

THIS is the GOLDEN AGE OF PERFORMANCE !! Enjoy it...

 

[LGSONE]

^^^What he said^^^

Great story, allot of similarities between us with about a 15 year spread. I have a 2005 SL600 that has a Eurocharged tune for the ECM and TCM and I too noticed how impressive the Tahoe was for the size of motor. The SL is just sick fast, just a bit over 600 hp and the turbo's just turn that car into a missile. You better know how to drive a car like that, I've had some fast cars, nothing like this. That said, my old camaro's with built motors that cost a stupid amount of money to get big numbers out of don't even compare to the technology in these trucks. I'm jealous of the kids these days, now if they would just put down the phone and pick up a wrench... man the power they could learn from, and I'm not talking about all the little tuner cars, nothing wrong with em but just not for me. My last truck, 2008 Silverado, I had that cammed with a bunch of vette internals and Diablosports custom CMR dyno tuning and I have to say it was right on par with many of the other tuning software programs. Executive Performance of KC did that truck and it was sick for a 325ci. BUT, it was 5K worth of parts to get there, plus a built level two 4L60e. The 2015 motor feels much more linear compared to that awesome rush of power when a cam comes into its power band. I'd love to SC this Tahoe but for what it is now this might just be a waste of money for as good as it is. I mean is is a nearly 3 Ton Brick as Yukon John stated. Maybe if it wasn't a DD it could be an option. Otherwise the next hotrod we have been looking at comes from Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.

LGSONE

 

[Yukon John]

/\/\/\ continuing...any of the MB's with the Bi Turbo V-12 are insane. My independent MB mechanic here in Ft. Lauderdale has a few he messes around with occasionally. We took a bone stock 06 S600 up to Morosso in West Palm a few months ago for Wednesday night "Test and Tune". He was up against a "Fox" Mustang GT with a bottle that did a fantastic smoke storm in the bleach box...my friend Ron drove around the box and deep staged waiting on the GT. Lights came down and it was over after 60'...S600 ran a 11.90 at 112 in virtual silence. You could hear a pin drop in the stands...talk about "Shock and Awe". There are some great deals also occasionally on AMG cars. I just missed recently a 2004 E55 AMG with 45K miles for 18K in Miami.

My favorite "Toy" I had 15 years ago was a 2001 BMW M5....Valentine V1 Radar Detector mandatory if you know what I mean. I could drive that M5 from my place here in Lauderdale to Disney Main Gate in Orlando in just over an HOUR AND A HALF !!! (205 miles). The Germans were where we are now about 10~15 years ago with engine technology...but suffice to say we have caught up. If you want to have some fun...go take a spin in a 2016 Camaro SS with the 8 speed...biggest bang for the buck I have seen in a while for under $50K.

 

[Denali16]

Rookie at this tuning this thing. Does it void the warranty? Just bought a new Denali. Thanks guys.

 

[Yukon John]

Rookie at this tuning this thing. Does it void the warranty? Just bought a new Denali. Thanks guys.

I have been told no by my dealer...but as a precaution...don't take it to a dealer for service without restoring the original base program. Occasionally service techs will upload updated computer info into a vehicle as part of a scheduled service interval. Doing this erases the current programming and replaces it with the new update. If your custom tune happens to be whats loaded...it will be erased and you will be locked out. It's a simple process to load and unload programming to be on the safe side.

I paid $50K cash for my 2016 Yukon and at 1000 miles I didn't hesitate to install a tun. I'm glad I did...completely re-defines the drive-ability and performance of the vehicle.

Know this...with the new 16 Denali 6.2 you have the 8 speed transmission...I know of no one changing the shift parameters in that unit yet but you would be able to customize the engine parameters. I am sure Diablo will have an update for the 8 speed soon and that would probably be available to you as a NO COST upgrade if you buy now. Check with Diablo Tune to be sure however.

 

[JennaBear]

I have been told no by my dealer...but as a precaution...don't take it to a dealer for service without restoring the original base program. Occasionally service techs will upload updated computer info into a vehicle as part of a scheduled service interval. Doing this erases the current programming and replaces it with the new update. If your custom tune happens to be whats loaded...it will be erased and you will be locked out. It's a simple process to load and unload programming to be on the safe side.

I paid $50K cash for my 2016 Yukon and at 1000 miles I didn't hesitate to install a tun. I'm glad I did...completely re-defines the drive-ability and performance of the vehicle.

Know this...with the new 16 Denali 6.2 you have the 8 speed transmission...I know of no one changing the shift parameters in that unit yet but you would be able to customize the engine parameters. I am sure Diablo will have an update for the 8 speed soon and that would probably be available to you as a NO COST upgrade if you buy now. Check with Diablo Tune to be sure however.

EFILive can tune the 8spds.