What’s the best GDE reprogram way to go?

[HerbW]

I’ve got the AEM update and just signed for the money. When it arrives, I want to get the GDE update.
What updates are worth getting? The transmission one too? FCA is treating me with it!
Will it affect my warranty so I need to keep my original ECM? I just made 29,000 miles.

 

[brods]

I’ve got the AEM update and just signed for the money. When it arrives, I want to get the GDE update.
What updates are worth getting? The transmission one too? FCA is treating me with it!
Will it affect my warranty so I need to keep my original ECM? I just made 29,000 miles.

If you want to commit fraud, then yes keep your old ECM, blow up the truck and then try to get it fixed under warranty. If you are successful then you better NEVER complain about how expensive trucks have become, since Ram has to pass those fraudulent warranty costs on to the consumer.

Put yourself in Ram's shoes. You make a complex product, invest tons of time and money developing and testing it and then owners want to change how it operates, yet they still want YOU to fix it if it breaks. There is not one person on this planet who would truthfully answer: "Sure let the owners do whatever they want and I'LL pay to fix it if it breaks".

I have no issue with people wanting to change their truck, but man up and accept that the moment you modify the way the engine operates you become your own warranty station. If you can't afford to take that risk, then leave the engine alone! If you do decide to run a tune, please do not come back to the boards crying how Ram denied your warranty claim.

 

[JJJ]

The GDE engine and trans tune is the best thing you can possibly do. I've had the engine tune for over 4 years and added the trans tune last year.

I visit several forums and there's never been any denial of warranty with the GDE tune. The dealer can't tell it's there because it appears the exact same as factory.

If you want to play it extra safe you can keep your stock ECM and simply swap out as necessary.

The GDE tune will actually save Ram and consumers tons of money by eliminating all the common warranty repairs. Ram would use the same tune in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the EPA.

I wouldn't own this truck without the GDE tune especially after the AEM.

I'm not sure how much brods knows about GDE. It's not a rollin coal tune that adds tons of power. It's about fuel economy, improved driveability. and most importantly engine longevity.

From GDE:

Benefits and Features of the GDE tunes for the EcoDiesel V6s (Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee)

• GDE Combustion Concepts
  • Optimized fuel economy (3-5mpg* improvement) both while driving and at idle
  • Engine longevity increased
  • Transient management of injection timing to reduce combustion noise
• Better transient engine performance
  • Faster time-to-torque giving elevated customer confidence in the driving experience
  • Required accelerator pedal effort to hold constant speeds is reduced
  • Engine performance is improved over stock from sea level to 12000ft elevation
  • At 5000ft, 0-60mph is 1.5s faster; at 9000ft, 0-60mph is 0.75s faster
• Refined cruise control operation (only for vehicles without adaptive cruise control)
  • Retuned speed control for improved fuel economy
  • Better gear holding during accelerations and uphill driving
  • Lower possible set speed (15mph instead of 25mph, can resume from 5mph)
  • Faster buttons' response
• Superior management of grille shutters
  • Shutters will now function in cold ambient temperatures for better warmup performance
  • More expansive criteria for closing the shutters
• Improved operation of three-way coolant valve to give engine warm-up benefits
• Two-footing driving is now permissible
• Eliminated high pressure pump noise for MY15 and newer vehicles
  • Also applicable to MY14 vehicles that have been recently re-flashed
• More intuitive driver indications
  • "Engine Power Reduced" warning for hot oil temps activated at lower temp
  • Glow plugs indicator will be displayed only when glow plugs are actually on
• Improved cooling fan control
  • Fan will now run for a certain amount of time after shut-down to cool down the engine and exhaust system
  • Activates if either the regen is still active when the engine is shut off, or if the exhaust temps are above a prescribed limit
  • Earlier activation based on coolant temp while driving to keep engine and oil cooler
• Inducement improvements: torque limitation instead of no-start, activates after one key cycle instead of immediately.
• Disabled low voltage charging mode in order to properly drive electrical accessories in all conditions

 

[JJJ]

I like the turbo brake and the regen notification. High idle could be useful in colder climates.

 

[Ozymandias]

Amazing Tune, that's for sure.
Not the Power - but all the other upgrades, that's truly outstanding.

 

[Jim W]

I know my tune is not the same as yours that you are looking at. But I installed my MADS Smarty S67 in Aug. 2009 almost two years after I purchased my truck. I had several visits to the dealer before the tune was installed for warranty issues do to emission problems and I had two recalls done for the emissions. After the change to the Smarty tune I never went back to any dealer for any issues at all warranty or otherwise. I did my up grade at 21K miles I now have 127K. Truck has run great every since I made this change. As long as you use safe power loads and follow the recommendations the truck should run great.

Also you do realize that you are your own warranty station know.

 

[brods]

The GDE engine and trans tune is the best thing you can possibly do. I've had the engine tune for over 4 years and added the trans tune last year.

I visit several forums and there's never been any denial of warranty with the GDE tune. The dealer can't tell it's there because it appears the exact same as factory.

If you want to play it extra safe you can keep your stock ECM and simply swap out as necessary.

The GDE tune will actually save Ram and consumers tons of money by eliminating all the common warranty repairs. Ram would use the same tune in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the EPA.

I wouldn't own this truck without the GDE tune especially after the AEM.

I'm not sure how much brods knows about GDE. It's not a rollin coal tune that adds tons of power. It's about fuel economy, improved driveability. and most importantly engine longevity.

You can rationalize it all you want. If FCA doesn't approve the modification then your warranty is gone and rightfully so. If you hide the fact you modified the way the engine operates and then make a claim, that is fraud, no if, ands or buts about it.

I get the desire to make the vehicle run better. I used a Smarty and threw away 50K miles worth of factory warranty. I accepted that I became my own powertrain warranty station the moment I uploaded the tune. Modify your engine and void your warranty. It really is as simple as that. Man up about it and accept the risks and the potential costs instead of making FCA and the rest of us pay for your choices!

 

[sag2]

The GDE tune gets great reviews, but if it was really legal don't you think FCA would already have tuned it that way?
I have to believe that they will eventually be shut down.

 

[AH64ID]

Are any emissions components removed?


The only thing I don’t like is the switchless exhaust brake. That could be very dangerous with snow and ice on the road.

 

[JJJ]

Are any emissions components removed?


The only thing I don’t like is the switchless exhaust brake. That could be very dangerous with snow and ice on the road.

No components are removed.
You will never see the turbo brake under normal driving conditions without manually downshifting to a low enough gear.

 

[Ozymandias]

Are any emissions components removed?


The only thing I don’t like is the switchless exhaust brake. That could be very dangerous with snow and ice on the road.

Nope, the EB is also controlled by the ABS.

 

[JJJ]

Nope, the EB is also controlled by the ABS.

GDE does do the job correctly!

 

[Ozymandias]

Not with GDE

Thats not good, should be changed immediately as it is a dangerous condition, even in heavy rain or so, not only in snow.
That would make me turn away from purchase.

 

[JJJ]

Nope, the EB is also controlled by the ABS.

That's not correct

 

[JJJ]

Thats not good, should be changed immediately as it is a dangerous condition, even in heavy rain or so, not only in snow.
That would make me turn away from purchase.

You are confused sir. This is not the case with the GDE turbo brake.

 

[HerbW]

I really like my truck but since the AEM update, my mileage best is 20.4 MPG. Piss poor. My 2007 3500 Ram 5.9 Mega Cab that I traded in for this truck did better. I keep getting exhaust gas regens that eat fuel like no tomorrow. The truck seems to drive the same as before as far as power goes.
Are 2010 6.7 ISBs any good? I see one locally for sale that looks new, Laramie, RED and fully loaded but 150K miles. What is the best years in the newer trucks? All the ones that are reasonable at 200K plus miles. I'm tired of all the recalls I get, get it done and FCA website still shows it incomplete. Seems their communication there is terrible.

 

[AH64ID]

I really like my truck but since the AEM update, my mileage best is 20.4 MPG. Piss poor. My 2007 3500 Ram 5.9 Mega Cab that I traded in for this truck did better. I keep getting exhaust gas regens that eat fuel like no tomorrow. The truck seems to drive the same as before as far as power goes.
Are 2010 6.7 ISBs any good? I see one locally for sale that looks new, Laramie, RED and fully loaded but 150K miles. What is the best years in the newer trucks? All the ones that are reasonable at 200K plus miles. I'm tired of all the recalls I get, get it done and FCA website still shows it incomplete. Seems their communication there is terrible.

You keep talking about the mileage on your 07. Was that off the overhead or hand calc'd?

04.5-07 5.9's were the least efficient of the 5.9's. Breaking 20 usually meant driving 55 with a tail wind, on a stock tune and a 4wd truck.


As far as the 6.7's the 13+ trucks are where the regens don't use much fuel, and are less frequent.

 

[DonFitzwater]

You keep talking about the mileage on your 07. Was that off the overhead or hand calc'd?

04.5-07 5.9's were the least efficient of the 5.9's. Breaking 20 usually meant driving 55 with a tail wind, on a stock tune and a 4wd truck.


As far as the 6.7's the 13+ trucks are where the regens don't use much fuel, and are less frequent.

Not sure about Herb but my last third gen was a 2006 Quad cab with lwb 4x4. Automatic too. With a mild programmer that truck gave 29 mpg on the overhead and hand calculated 24 mpg highway. It gave 18 mpg in town summer and 14 mpg 4x4 winter time town driving. That truck consistently gave me better fuel economy than any of my 12 valve trucks.

 

[AH64ID]

Not sure about Herb but my last third gen was a 2006 Quad cab with lwb 4x4. Automatic too. With a mild programmer that truck gave 29 mpg on the overhead and hand calculated 24 mpg highway. It gave 18 mpg in town summer and 14 mpg 4x4 winter time town driving. That truck consistently gave me better fuel economy than any of my 12 valve trucks.

With all the 04.5-07 5.9’s I’ve worked around nothing came close to those highway numbers. Around town was the same in the summer and 1-2mpg better in winter.

 

[DonFitzwater]

With all the 04.5-07 5.9’s I’ve worked around nothing came close to those highway numbers. Around town was the same in the summer and 1-2mpg better in winter.

Our winter is always worse due to running all the time and 4x4 everywhere. I owned two 5.9 CR trucks and both were darn good on fuel.