Which is better

[BlueMeanie]

I have a 2001 Tahoe LT 5.3

I have been reading all the post about black bear and diablo predator and I am still don't know which one to choose. people who like the black bear say they like it because you can do a transmission change for the 6 speed transmission which sounds great, but then there is the diablo that will allow me to have a heads up display on everything going on with my vehicle and and error codes i can see on the diablo. which one should i get??

There currently are no mods but i plan on adding an air intake, flowmaster and headers but i want to get the tuner first. which one should i get the black bear or diablo??

Thanks for your advice....oh im new here too

 

[JennaBear]

We have a few different tuning options, but if you like being able to datalog and read/clear codes, I would recommend going with the AutoCal.

Our tunes are 100% custom, so quite a bit different than what you would get out of the Diablo. Personally, if you are looking for a display, I would go with the Aeroforce Interceptor; I ran one on my Tahoe with a PLXDM-100 and loved having both of them for data.

 

[BlueMeanie]

Jenna thanks for the response and your input. The black bear sounds like what i want if it does what you describe. I am looking for a tuner that can datalog and read/clear codes because i will be doing most of my own work on my truck, the display part that Diablo has was just a bonus. also the Diablo gives a heads up real time display so i would know what was happening as i drove

 

[Mike_L]

I'd go Diablo, and I have. Been running their tunes on everything from my 500 and 600hp SRT8s to my nearly 700hp CTS-V, and I wouldn't even consider anything else. If they're good enough for my high powered rides, they're more then good enough for my truck, which also has their tunes on it, both PCM and TCM.

And when you do mods, there are hundreds of tuners with their tuning suite around the country who can do a custom tune for you, so you aren't locked onto one place or one tuner. Thats important. I've had experience with some "tuners", and I use the term loosely, who are complete and utterly clueless. With Diablo you don't have to stick with those tuners. Anybody who has their ChipMaster Revolution (CMR) software can customize your tune.

Besides, I couldn't imagine being locked into a tune. What happens if GM releases an update? With Diablo, you can just return to stock so they can flash the computer. With anything else, they flash your PCM, you just lost your tune, because they'll write right over it.

 

[JennaBear]

With the AutoCal you can return to stock as well as update your tunes.

Blue Meanie, if you are looking to do your own tuning, you will need to purchase tuning software such as EFILive or HPTuners.

 

[soulsea]

I'd go Diablo, and I have. Been running their tunes on everything from my 500 and 600hp SRT8s to my nearly 700hp CTS-V, and I wouldn't even consider anything else. If they're good enough for my high powered rides, they're more then good enough for my truck, which also has their tunes on it, both PCM and TCM.

With all due respect, good enough does not mean better than or best available.

DSport and all other such tuners give you cookie cutter tunes, not bad ones mind you, just not personalized to you or custom tailored to your specific vehicle.

Personally, if price is a push, I prefer my suits custom tailored rather than one size fits all.

 

[NathanJax]

With all due respect, good enough does not mean better than or best available.

DSport and all other such tuners give you cookie cutter tunes, not bad ones mind you, just not personalized to you or custom tailored to your specific vehicle.

Personally, if price is a push, I prefer my suits custom tailored rather than one size fits all.

And after all, he's biased since he works for Diablo...

 

[Mike_L]

And after all, he's biased since he works for Diablo...

I don't work for Diablo. Mikel who works for Diablo is Mike Litsch. My L is Levy. I help on the forums when I can, and I've done BETA work with them, but I'm not employed by them.


All of Diablos tunes are customizable. Go on the GM Pickup forums and see how many people swear by their DiabLew tunes. Lew uses their software to make those. I also have played with their CMR software and its far more intuitive then EFI Live, thats for sure. And by only allowing certain people to have their software, they have less problems, since 95% of people who think they're tuners have no business touching a computer. There are way too many things you can screw up, and GMs computers brick much easier then most other makes.

In addition to the CMR tunes, by doing logging, end users can add spark or fuel to customize the tunes to their vehicles. Thats absolutely necessary since each vehicle is different and will respond differently to mods and even to the tune. One may run fine, and another may be knocking. The person who truck is knocking would then be able to add fuel or reduce spark advance to get the knock retard under control. The fuel curve is also adjustable on GM applications. You may start out with cookie cutter tunes, but you aren't stuck with them like you are with crap like Hypertech, SuperChips or BullyDog.

 

[soulsea]

Does one need a $600 DS Trinity to have TCM support?

 

[Mike_L]

Not sure. It's definitely not on the Predator, but it might be on the inTune. It is for the cars, so if its not for the trucks yet, it will be.