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Programmers?? best one???

86K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  Popgun05 
#1 ·
I recently intalled a 7.5 RCX lift on my 2011 Z71 crew cab with 35 nittos with 20's. before all this i was getting 17ish MPG and now im getting around 11.5-12 TOPS!!!! i knew it would hurt my fuel milage but not that much. I love my truck but she is killing me on gas. So here are my questions:
1. What would be the best programmer to help with everything like tire size, shift point help, MPG, Power, towing ETC.
2. What mods can i do to also help my efficiency on gas?

Please keep in mind it is under full factory warranty still so i dont want to void that in any way if i can keep from it! Thank you for all suggestions!
 
#2 ·
At best your looking at 2 MPG increase. As for the warranty, there is a TSB out there that is telling dealers to check the history for changes. So it depends on your dealer and how they handle it.
 
#4 ·
Lol, this is a good one. If you want a little better mpg then gears will help plus an InTune programmer, won't be long until they have TCM support. Other than that take the lift out and smaller tires. You hoisted a square box up 10" inches into the air, decreased aerodynamics, increased drag coefficient, increased rolling resistance and load on the engine. I'm suprised your getting that good of mileage. Just a realists opinion.
 
#5 ·
+1

Big lifts = big MPG drops. I think Diablo has the best tuners on the market, since they allow for custom tuning. If the truck is really sluggish, you might want to get new gear ratios, but I don't think that will help the MPG rating. However, custom tuning is probably your best bet, but you'll never get back to 17 MPG with that lift, unless you start throwing huge chunks of cash at the engine (like putting on a turbo).
 
#6 ·
I have a 5.3 running 35s on 18s on a 6.5 In Lift and I was in your same boat about a month ago.
After A LOT of research and tearing apart this site and buyer reviews, I decided to get the Hypertech Max Energy programmer. it has two tuning modes, Premium fuel and regular fuel. It has the ability to turn off AFM, adjust top speed, rev limiter, shift points, tire size, and calibrate for different gear ratios, as well as the option to turn back to stock settings (a must, because I am under warranty as well). I have also noticed about a 2-3 MPG increase and a decent amount more power gains in the premium fuel tune. (Hypertech claims 28HP W/Premium and like 17HP W/Regular). I bought mine on autoanything.com, they have free shipping and damn good prices. I couldnt be happier with it.
Hope this helps your decision man!
 
#8 ·
lose the lift. just level the front end,like the others said you put that thing up in the air and your milage goea away. I had 04 with 4 inch suspension lift and the best i got roughly was 18.5 highway with the wind at my back.
 
#9 ·
Hahaha dont lose the lift, no one who puts a 7.5IN lift on is gonna settle for a leveling kit for a couple MPGs anyways.
Just get a tuner, exhuast, and a CAI and you will see a descent increase power in MPGs.
 
#10 ·
gears will give you the most noticeable difference. if not your gonna trash your tranny.

if i were you, i would get gears first, to save your tranny. if you still want more mpgs down the road...get a programmer.

i have 3.73s and 33s and it is PERFECT. 4.10s and 35s. and 4.56s for 37s.

buddy of mine had a 02 silverado with a 10 bolt rear end (axle), 40 in tires, and 3.73s. 3 months later his tranny took a dumb. got a new tranny. 4 months after that his axle shafts split. after that he finally gave in and got 4.88s. 4 years later, and 2 sets of 40s later...he hasnt had a single problem
 
#12 ·
You won't need a 4.56 gear with 35s. I think most guys run 3.73s or 4.10s with that size tire. That salesman was probably trying to earn some extra commission when you talked to him...
 
#13 ·
the Diablosport Trinity and inTune would both work for your truck... the Trinity has tcm/tranny support now, and the inTune will be getting it soon... the diablo programmers offer the most user adjustable parameters or any handheld, have full data logging, when you need to go back to the dealer you can simply restore the original backup stock tune to the truck and you're good to go - there are no "footprints", plus you can get custom tunes done for both the Trinity and the inTune for your vehicle to gain even better/more performance...
 
#15 ·
starspangled6.0 said:
Talking about my 2003, or his 2011?
for your 2003, the Trinity...

for his 2011, the Trinity or the inTune...

inTune support for the Class 2 GM vehicles (which is 1999-2005/2006) will be added in the near future...
 
#16 ·
Stars, I would wait for the inTune support for your truck if you don't need the heads up display of the Trinity. I absolutely love mine and just started tuning the truck with Lew and his first shot at it was leaps and bounds better than the canned 87 octane tune, the truck shifts so much better without even having TCM support. I can't wait to see/feel the final product.
 
#17 ·
All good info...you are going have to change the gear ratio and a programmer of some brand. Most if not all programs offer the user to adjust for gear swaps and tire sizes. Your mpg is gonna suffer until the trans knows when to shift or lock the converter. As for warranty the dealer can't deny a claim unless they cam prove the after market part directly contributed to said part failure...its the law. Here is an example...my brothers 2010 broke down on the freeway because of a fuel pressure issue and he had the Hypertech max energy tune loaded. Well they had some upgrades and wrote over his tuner program. I know your thinking he was screwed but we plugged in the programmer and with a call to Hypertech his truck was tuned in 30 minutes. And best of all the dealer never said anything about the tune or any of the other mods on the truck. Have at it man, why pay that note on YOUR truck if you can't do what you want to it. Say for instance your tranny crap out, they have to prove it was the taller tires...and they can't. Enjoy
 
#18 ·
I also helped my neighbor install the Bully Dog GT on his 09 Sierra this weekend. Man I have to say this is a nice tuner and his truck is bone stock and this sucker woke it up. I like the fact you van change the tune on the fly. I've done some reading on Supetchips new Android based tuner and it sounds like a good piece as well. So if you have a smart phone with the Android operating system then its even better.
 
#19 ·
rdss said:
Stars, I would wait for the inTune support for your truck if you don't need the heads up display of the Trinity. I absolutely love mine and just started tuning the truck with Lew and his first shot at it was leaps and bounds better than the canned 87 octane tune, the truck shifts so much better without even having TCM support. I can't wait to see/feel the final product.
I like the feature of having the display gauges, especially when working the truck hard. It costs more, but I think it's worth it.
 
#20 ·
Hey, if that floats your boat go for it, I like the fact that I can tune and log and then put the inTune in a safe place afterwards.
 
#21 ·
I haven't really researched the inTune yet. I know this about the Trinity: It's got a small, but nice screen for various gauges (it would suck to overheat something and not know about it!), and Lew can give me a custom tune through it. That's really all I'm looking for... even if I went with the inTune, I'd probably spring for some extra temp gauges as well, so I figure the Trinity is the best of both worlds.
 
#22 ·
starspangled6.0 said:
I haven't really researched the inTune yet. I know this about the Trinity: It's got a small, but nice screen for various gauges (it would suck to overheat something and not know about it!), and Lew can give me a custom tune through it. That's really all I'm looking for... even if I went with the inTune, I'd probably spring for some extra temp gauges as well, so I figure the Trinity is the best of both worlds.
yeah, I like my Trinity better than my inTune for data logging and monitoring too...
 
#23 ·
Wooo hooo! Just traded in my CRAPPY Hypertech for a Diablo Predator. It shipped today... stay tuned for more reviews.

Lew- did I need to get the USB cord in order to have access to custom tuning later on? I didn't get it when I ordered the tuner... I hope to get a custom tune from you this spring.
 
#24 ·
starspangled6.0 said:
Wooo hooo! Just traded in my CRAPPY Hypertech for a Diablo Predator. It shipped today... stay tuned for more reviews.

Lew- did I need to get the USB cord in order to have access to custom tuning later on? I didn't get it when I ordered the tuner... I hope to get a custom tune from you this spring.
yes, you need the usb/serial cable and power adapter so that you can connect it to your Windows PC in order to download recorded data logs and import/export tune files for custom tuning...
 
#26 ·
Stars, I think it is all stuff you can get from Radio Shack for half the price of the stuff with Diablo's branding on it.
 
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