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Thread: Has anybody been ripping files from handhelds.

  1. #1
    Senior Tuner mbray01's Avatar
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    Has anybody been ripping files from handhelds.

    SO i have always known that the handhelds were a joke. even going way back to the 80's with the eprom chips. I have been doing dyno testing with them and had very laughable results, usually had losses in both hp and torque, gains would usually come right at the point of spark knock. You could always just tell that they were horrible tunes. Well a customer came in with one the other day, and I decided to rip the files off, here is what I found

    91 octane tune, only adjustments were that they added 2' initial timing and removed all fail safes for timing. basically setting all adders to 0 therefore not allowing pcm corrections for spark under load. it basically made the base timing table the sole table for timing.

    87 octane has no 2' timing added but all other tables are left stock.

    towing tune same as 87 octane except shift points are brought up 2mph, pressure increased 2psi and converter lockup moved uip 5 mph

    here is where it gets laughable

    fuel economy- shift points lowered 8mph, trans pressures dropped 10psi across the board, (very dangerous for 4l60-E's), and the best part. no timing or fuel changes to increase performance. The actually re-calibrates the speedometer +8% so there isn't an increase in economy but an increase in an odometer reading so you think you went farther per tank of gas.

    This wasn't a cheap knock of tuner this is a name brand top of the line tuner from a very large player in the industry. I can only say I was shocked that they couldn't make changes to give better economy but deceive the customer into believing they are doing better. For $400 what do you really get?
    Michael Bray
    Rusty Knuckle Garage
    Slidell, Louisiana
    20yr Master Tech.
    Advanced Level Specialist
    Custom Car Fabrication, Customization, High Performance.
    GM World Class Technician
    Shop Owner

  2. #2
    Tuner
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    great research bro
    Josh Performance Tuning (956)784-0059
    https://www.facebook.com/joshperformancetuning

  3. #3
    I have found the same thing.

  4. #4
    Tuner TexasGMC08's Avatar
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    Nice Research I had been wondering for years!

  5. #5
    Tuner in Training DrBrown54's Avatar
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    I could guess what brand that is, and it's laughably horrible. But that's awesome that you took the time to dig into that and find out just how terrible of a tune that was. I can't believe it actually lies to you so you think you got better mpg lol. Did the government design that device? Cause it sounds exactly like something Congress would do.

  6. #6
    Senior Tuner mbray01's Avatar
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    well, needless to say the customer that bought the unit was far from amused. I showed him the differences in the tune so he could see visually. Pulled them in front of him, opened them then did a compare to stock file. what a joke and this tuner sells for about $400.
    Michael Bray
    Rusty Knuckle Garage
    Slidell, Louisiana
    20yr Master Tech.
    Advanced Level Specialist
    Custom Car Fabrication, Customization, High Performance.
    GM World Class Technician
    Shop Owner

  7. #7
    Potential Tuner
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    Jun 2014
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    Gilbert, AZ
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    I'm very curious to know which tuner this was...I know way too many people using handhelds to not. Maybe I should start pulling files myself and looking into these things more.