Long term owners of BlackBear Autocal tunes.

[wjburken]

So what are the numbers on these tuners, unless I missed it I didn't see actual data on what they provide other than that generic description. I'm a guy that likes to know what he's paying for how much extra hp, torque is it providing, what's the decrease in quarter mile times with the extra power and faster/higher shift points ?
Inquiring minds want to know..lol

I think a direct conversation with Black Bear is needed for those types of questions. People get tunes to achieve different goals; Fuel Economy, towing, 1/4 mile, etc.

 

[swathdiver]

So what are the numbers on these tuners, unless I missed it I didn't see actual data on what they provide other than that generic description. I'm a guy that likes to know what he's paying for how much extra hp, torque is it providing, what's the decrease in quarter mile times with the extra power and faster/higher shift points ?
Inquiring minds want to know..lol

Such is very hard for BB to quantify as there are so many more variables compared to a car. Differences in options alone can add hundreds pounds of weight and then you have differences in gearing, engine condition and transmissions.

Having said that, I'll share with you my results. I do not have a stock baseline but we know that my particular truck's engine was rated for 310 HP, SAE Net. How much of that makes it to the rear wheels in the quarter mile I do not know. However, the only modification to my truck is the BlackBear tune and it's not even a max performance tune as I kept asking Justin to dial it back when he was tuning it. I wanted AFM turned off more than anything but boy does the transmission operate beautifully now. Ok, back on topic!

Ok, only performance mod is BB tune. With failing cats and a K&N air filter (33-2129) in the stock airbox, her best run through the traps in the quarter mile was 301.86 Rear Wheel Horsepower. She averaged 299.57 HP that night. Almost 13 months later, with a stock paper air filter (A3085C) and a new Magnaflow Y-pipe and cats (51578), same weather as the previous year, she made 307.52 RWHP through the traps. She averaged 306.76 RWHP that night.

So how much horsepower does it take to turn a 6L80 through a MP3023 transfer case and the 8.6" Rear Differential and BFG KO2 AT tires? 50 or 60 horses?

 

[Peacock]

Such is very hard for BB to quantify as there are so many more variables compared to a car. Differences in options alone can add hundreds pounds of weight and then you have differences in gearing, engine condition and transmissions.

Having said that, I'll share with you my results. I do not have a stock baseline but we know that my particular truck's engine was rated for 310 HP, SAE Net. How much of that makes it to the rear wheels in the quarter mile I do not know. However, the only modification to my truck is the BlackBear tune and it's not even a max performance tune as I kept asking Justin to dial it back when he was tuning it. I wanted AFM turned off more than anything but boy does the transmission operate beautifully now. Ok, back on topic!

Ok, only performance mod is BB tune. With failing cats and a K&N air filter (33-2129) in the stock airbox, her best run through the traps in the quarter mile was 301.86 Rear Wheel Horsepower. She averaged 299.57 HP that night. Almost 13 months later, with a stock paper air filter (A3085C) and a new Magnaflow Y-pipe and cats (51578), same weather as the previous year, she made 307.52 RWHP through the traps. She averaged 306.76 RWHP that night.

So how much horsepower does it take to turn a 6L80 through a MP3023 transfer case and the 8.6" Rear Differential and BFG KO2 AT tires? 50 or 60 horses?

I could live with that, at least it's some factual numbers, like you my main interest is turning off that AFM but would also like a little more kick in the pants during normal driving. While searching performance mods I came across a few ads promising 25%, 50% and others claiming 100hp to the wheels, that's why I thought it was odd to not mention any numbers in their ad.
I'm not building a max performance thing with the Tahoe, I have a couple other cars for that, just looking for a fun daily driver/tow vehicle. I guess that's part of my problem having the other old school cars is I know what mods do what and what I can expect with certain amount of cash outlay on parts. With the Tahoe being computer controlled it's out of my wheelhouse and I'd be totally reliant on someone else to tune the darn thing for me.

 

[swathdiver]

I could live with that, at least it's some factual numbers, like you my main interest is turning off that AFM but would also like a little more kick in the pants during normal driving. While searching performance mods I came across a few ads promising 25%, 50% and others claiming 100hp to the wheels, that's why I thought it was odd to not mention any numbers in their ad.
I'm not building a max performance thing with the Tahoe, I have a couple other cars for that, just looking for a fun daily driver/tow vehicle. I guess that's part of my problem having the other old school cars is I know what mods do what and what I can expect with certain amount of cash outlay on parts. With the Tahoe being computer controlled it's out of my wheelhouse and I'd be totally reliant on someone else to tune the darn thing for me.

Same here and the learning curve with computer programming is long and can be expensive if you lean the motor out and melt a piston, been there, done that ('79 Buick)! So I relied on Justin's expertise and have not been disappointed. The tune is the best bang for the buck, everything else gets more expensive afterwards. The good thing about the tune with BB is if you add headers or a better exhaust, you can send in a new data log and BB will update the tune for as long as you own the truck.

 

[Peacock]

Same here and the learning curve with computer programming is long and can be expensive if you lean the motor out and melt a piston, been there, done that ('79 Buick)! So I relied on Justin's expertise and have not been disappointed. The tune is the best bang for the buck, everything else gets more expensive afterwards. The good thing about the tune with BB is if you add headers or a better exhaust, you can send in a new data log and BB will update the tune for as long as you own the truck.

Well that's good news that it's something that can be reconfigured as you go along, when I had my Buick T-Type I had the 93 chip and the 100 octane chip which h of course neither of those two can be turned up or down.
I have a roots blown 540 in one of my other vehicles and going lean is my worst fear, as a matter of fact I'm currently upgrading everything from fuel cell forward to keep one step ahead of it..lol.
I won't do anything on the Tahoe until the roads are clear of winter salt so I've got a couple months yet, I might do the air intake and maybe a less restrictive muffler before enquiring about the tuner, thanks for your input it's much appreciated.

 

[swathdiver]

Well that's good news that it's something that can be reconfigured as you go along, when I had my Buick T-Type I had the 93 chip and the 100 octane chip which h of course neither of those two can be turned up or down.
I have a roots blown 540 in one of my other vehicles and going lean is my worst fear, as a matter of fact I'm currently upgrading everything from fuel cell forward to keep one step ahead of it..lol.
I won't do anything on the Tahoe until the roads are clear of winter salt so I've got a couple months yet, I might do the air intake and maybe a less restrictive muffler before enquiring about the tuner, thanks for your input it's much appreciated.

Was that a "Red 93" chip? That was a pretty good one but the Kenne Bell Ultimate was great for day to day and had an '86 GN that loved the 137R Pit Bull for daily use, that car ran 13.69 on its first night at the drags.

 

[Peacock]

Was that a "Red 93" chip? That was a pretty good one but the Kenne Bell Ultimate was great for day to day and had an '86 GN that loved the 137R Pit Bull for daily use, that car ran 13.69 on its first night at the drags.

Yes, the local turbo buick club had many members using Red Armstrong pieces so that was my direction too, some of their cars were pretty fast, my car actually got turned into a full blown drag car, it went 10's on factory long block and ended up in the 9's with a stage ll block.

 

[Doubeleive]

I still haven't tried the u-turn, but the abs was out for a day (I smashed the cable over a speed bump) and I put it in 2wd boy she likes to do burn out's pretty easy lol, easy to do in a pickup though

 

[swathdiver]

Yes, the local turbo buick club had many members using Red Armstrong pieces so that was my direction too, some of their cars were pretty fast, my car actually got turned into a full blown drag car, it went 10's on factory long block and ended up in the 9's with a stage ll block.

Red is/was a good guy, did a lot of business with him back then and we used to race together in Bowling Green for a number of years. Coincidence, my last GN was also turned into a dedicated drag car, cage, tub, the whole works. It's in Georgia last time I checked. While I had it, it was completely stock appearing, airbox, exahaust, radials, etc. Great sleeper car!

 

[chilleblanco36]

This thread has me wanting a BB Tune.i hate the shift points and the way the truck drives. Sounds like BB is the solution


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