Vehicle Performance Chip

[ginwoman]

OK, so I'm looking in to these for my husbands 03' GMC 3500 6.0 Sierra. The prices I've found so far are $69.00 for a "Gforce". And then found a "bullly" for $400.00. Why the major big difference in price?

 

[glhs837]

One is most likely a "cheater", that lies to the engine computer about some variable like intake air temp, and lying to the computer that keeps you 6K-8K engine alive, never a good idea. The Bully one, that actually either overlays or reprograms the factory computer to cut into very conservative factory "tunes" or programs for managing the engine. You might cut long term engine life from say 250K down to 200K, or increase the chances of catastrophic engine failure from .03 to .05, in any case, for most folks, not a real big issue.

 

[ginwoman]

One is most likely a "cheater", that lies to the engine computer about some variable like intake air temp, and lying to the computer that keeps you 6K-8K engine alive, never a good idea. The Bully one, that actually either overlays or reprograms the factory computer to cut into very conservative factory "tunes" or programs for managing the engine. You might cut long term engine life from say 250K down to 200K, or increase the chances of catastrophic engine failure from .03 to .05, in any case, for most folks, not a real big issue.

Hi glhs- are you saying the "Bully" would be the better way to go because its likely not a "cheater"? We only have 40,000 miles on the truck, we mostly use it to pull camper. But gas mileage is HORRIBLE like 6 miles per gal. We just had a tune up on Monday...so we're hoping that will help, but the mechanic was talking about this chip he has in his truck that might help with power (our truck has pitiful power) and he said it might help with mileage too. Thanks for your help.

 

[huntr1]

Hi glhs- are you saying the "Bully" would be the better way to go because its likely not a "cheater"? We only have 40,000 miles on the truck, we mostly use it to pull camper. But gas mileage is HORRIBLE like 6 miles per gal. We just had a tune up on Monday...so we're hoping that will help, but the mechanic was talking about this chip he has in his truck that might help with power (our truck has pitiful power) and he said it might help with mileage too. Thanks for your help.

GM has released a new program for the computer. Guy on another forum was getting 8-10 MPG and after the new program was put on his computer by the service department, it went up to 17 MPG. Maybe check with your service department about getting your program checked?

 

[glhs837]

Check for the factory program update first. Then report back. Is there a service bulletin number for that update?

 

[ginwoman]

If someone has a service bulletin number that would be GREAT. I just called Winegardner and he hasn't heard anything about it. He will check into it and when I bring it in next week anyway for a recall he'll let me know.

 

[Softballkid]

I just ordered stuff for my truck from stylintrucks.com

They have a website and you can put in your truck and see what they have.

If you call the number, you can get better deals, because they work off of comission I guess.

I ordered a programmer and a new intake for my 03 F150. Saved me almost 150-200 bucks talking to them on the phone.

Plus, I talked to the manager, who seems to know what he is talking about.

You could always look on their site, call and get their best price, and then look around, that's what I did, but I ended up going back to them.

Truck Accessories | Pickup Truck Accessories & Truck Performance Parts | Stylin' Trucks
1-800-586-9713 ext 1169 will get you Brandon (the manager of sales or what not)

Just my .02 cents on the matter. I'd rather know what I was getting rather than guess off of just a description

 

[ginwoman]

OK, so I found tbsdata.com. There doesn't seem to be any real recent bulletins on our vehicle. My question is what would I look under in the bulletin: fuel system, tank, rail??

 

[glhs837]

GM has released a new program for the computer. Guy on another forum was getting 8-10 MPG and after the new program was put on his computer by the service department, it went up to 17 MPG. Maybe check with your service department about getting your program checked?

huntr, can you link that other forum? Quite often those folks will have a better clue than most dealerships, I know the Charger guys are always about 2-3 months ahead of the power curve when it comes to this stuff.

Ginwoman, dont buy anything yet, give us a day or two to track this down....

 

[glhs837]

turbo diesel? A couple things come to mind, if the truck has lower power than it should, and is getting worse mileage. an old saw on car forums is "dont mod to fix problems". Fix the problems, THEN modify to get more.

So, with that said, in any turbo vehicle getting poor mileage and lacking power, the first thing is to make sure all the turbo piping is correct, and not leaking boost. And you cant always trust a boost gauge, a leak can be such that the car makes more boost. My Neon was pushing 21lbs of boost, but I was slow. Fixed boost leaks, boost dropped to 18-19, and I gained back power.

 

[ginwoman]

turbo diesel? A couple things come to mind, if the truck has lower power than it should, and is getting worse mileage. an old saw on car forums is "dont mod to fix problems". Fix the problems, THEN modify to get more.

So, with that said, in any turbo vehicle getting poor mileage and lacking power, the first thing is to make sure all the turbo piping is correct, and not leaking boost. And you cant always trust a boost gauge, a leak can be such that the car makes more boost. My Neon was pushing 21lbs of boost, but I was slow. Fixed boost leaks, boost dropped to 18-19, and I gained back power.

I guess your talking to me? Our truck is gas and also not turbo. Also, I WON'T BUY ANYTHING till I hear back from ya. Thanks!

 

[GWguy]

I have a GMC 4.8L. I didn't get a new chip, I got a reprogrammer. It allows you to select one of 3 operating modes for increased HP and performance, as well as actually being able to modify shift-points. I never did that, just the performance mods as I needed a boost when towing the trailer.

However, when you reprogram the computer, your fuel requirements can change. For the best improvement mode, I have to use 93 octane fuel. Anything less and it will ping and knock and detonate.

Your fuel mileage also goes down when you get the extra HP. Normal drive from here to Long Island, basic mode and trailer, about 1 and change tanks of fuel. With the performance mode, I have to fill up 2-3 times.

Reprogrammer was around $400.

 

[huntr1]

huntr, can you link that other forum? Quite often those folks will have a better clue than most dealerships, I know the Charger guys are always about 2-3 months ahead of the power curve when it comes to this stuff.

Ginwoman, dont buy anything yet, give us a day or two to track this down....

Ask and ye shall receive.

GM Shop Foreman's response to Bad MPG
So some of you may know I have been getting pretty bad MPG on my new truck ( 8-10city/12hwy ). I've been getting the run around at GM about the issues when i would take it in to the shop. So this time I took it in today and asked to speak directly to the shop foreman, figured i would get some straight answers that way. The shop foreman was very nice and spent a good 15min talking to me about the MPG of my truck, Below is what i learned.

First thing he said was that oversized tires are the leading cause of poor MPG ( already knew this ). He then went on to say that in Houston area atlest that Ethanol content at the pumps are not always as stated which can cause the vehicle to get very poor fuel mileage. He said even though the gas is suppose to be 10% ethanol, that he has seen a many of vehicles come in with 40+% ethanol. The foreman said running that high of ethanol will cause my truck to loose a 100miles a tank.

He said he was going to personally take care of my truck today and he would start with doing a full computer update to make sure all the electronics are up to date as GM has released some better tunes for fuel mileage since my truck was released, next he was going to do an ethanol fuel test to see how much ethanol is in my tank, and lastly we was going to go over the mechanicals to make sure nothing is mechanically causing the issue like brake drag. He would then drive my truck for a bit and calibrate the speedometer with his new GPS device to make sure everything was accurate and hook up a fuel meter to monitor the flow of fuel to calculate actual MPG.

I have to say i was quite surprised that the Foreman took the issue so seriously, Its a far cry from the run arounds i was getting before about driving habits ect.... The guy also hooked me up with a nice dealer rental while my truck is in the shop. The foreman said the new silverados should be getting 17-21 on the hwy.

I'll let you guys know how it turns out after i get my truck back.

Kudos to GM for hiring this guy!




Update:

Just heard back from the shop foreman. He said he checked the mechanical stuff out on the truck first and found nothing wrong, then tested the fuel quality. The fuel was excellent with 9.5% ethanol. He then filled the truck up and drove 60miles down the hwy and calculated the MPG at 8.2 mpg. He then updated the computer to the latest tune and repeated the same process and got 16.7 MPG @ 70mph.
Hes also replacing the Slip-Yoke which has a TSB on it, and the truck will be ready in an hour.

Damn good work GM!

 

[ginwoman]

Thanks guys. I'm printing this out now.

Is there any place around that sells gas with low ethanol? Sound's like that might be an issue.

 

[glhs837]

Nope, all MD gas gets the same level of ethanol. Note that this poster on the truck forum, he has no data beyond what the dealership guy has told him. And his truck appears to be newer than yours. I lean towards a mechanical issue that should be fixed.

 

[ginwoman]

Ha Ha, you can tell it's that time of year again. I'm reviewing all the stuff we talked about last year. We didnt add a chip or anything. We did ask the guy at Weingardiner to check the computer settings and such.

 

[glhs837]

And.......?

 

[Baja28]

Somebody help me too with my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, Sport, Quad cab, 4x4, 5.9 V8. Has got 12mpg since I got it. Uggghhh!!!

 

[glhs837]

Somebody help me too with my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, Sport, Quad cab, 4x4, 5.9 V8. Has got 12mpg since I got it. Uggghhh!!!

I would look at gearing maybe? If the "sport" appelation meant performance, the gearing might be slanted towards accelleration, not cruising. My 425 hp, 4100lb, 6.1 liter car gets 15 or so around the pax river area, 21 or so straight highway. But it has a five speed auto with ball bearing internals.

 

[Baja28]

I would look at gearing maybe? If the "sport" appelation meant performance, the gearing might be slanted towards accelleration, not cruising. My 425 hp, 4100lb, 6.1 liter car gets 15 or so around the pax river area, 21 or so straight highway. But it has a five speed auto with ball bearing internals.

I tach around 2K at 55-60mph. I'll check it the next couple days.