I'm looking for a few users of GDE to provide some basic info and data on their fuel economy results. Ultimately I'm hoping to gather up some real world data to influence my decision on buying the GDE tune and report back to the forum so others can make a more informed decision.
If you are a GDE user I'm looking for the following items.
1. Miles on your truck before GDE tune installed.
2. Miles on your truck since GDE tune installed.
3. Improvement in MPG since GDE tune installed (this can be calculated or educated guess). If calculated, what was your before and after MPG?
4. Yes/No, have you used Fuelly or some other method to track MPG before and after the tune?
5. If yes, how many pre and post GDE fuel ups have you had?
Thanks in advance for everyone's responses. I'll do a deep dive into this and report back my findings ASAP. I know there's a lot of information out there regarding fuel economy related to the GDE tune, but I want to take the opportunity to compile some of this data in one thread.
Kkaldor
Admin/Mods, I know this probably should be in the Tuner forum, but I was thinking it would get more views and responses here. Please move if necessary.
1. Miles on your truck before GDE tune installed. 25,000
2. Miles on your truck since GDE tune installed. not many, less than 1,000 (installed last week)
3. Improvement in MPG since GDE tune installed (this can be calculated or educated guess). If calculated, what was your before and after MPG?
Mine is still settling in. have had this on truck since last wednesday, so 1 fuel up, which was 75% pre GDE. I did reset the mileage indicator at install, and it is showing 26-27 mpg, still fluctuating. before was 22-24.
4. Yes/No, have you used Fuelly or some other method to track MPG before and after the tune? Fuelly in signature. the note "tune up" is the GDE install. between fuel up 11 and 12.
5. If yes, how many pre and post GDE fuel ups have you had?11 pre, not even 1 full one post......
I'm looking for a few users of GDE to provide some basic info and data on their fuel economy results. Ultimately I'm hoping to gather up some real world data to influence my decision on buying the GDE tune and report back to the forum so others can make a more informed decision.
If you are a GDE user I'm looking for the following items.
1. Miles on your truck before GDE tune installed. 50,000
2. Miles on your truck since GDE tune installed. 113,000
3. Improvement in MPG since GDE tune installed (this can be calculated or educated guess). If calculated, what was your before and after MPG? Hand/Fuelly 25.2 B4...27.8 After
4. Yes/No, have you used Fuelly or some other method to track MPG before and after the tune? TES, Fuelly link in my signature...GDE added 9/01/2016
5. If yes, how many pre and post GDE fuel ups have you had? IDK 338 total after today
Thanks in advance for everyone's responses. I'll do a deep dive into this and report back my findings ASAP. I know there's a lot of information out there regarding fuel economy related to the GDE tune, but I want to take the opportunity to compile some of this data in one thread.
Kkaldor
Admin/Mods, I know this probably should be in the Tuner forum, but I was thinking it would get more views and responses here. Please move if necessary.
3//01/2018 I put 305/55/20E AT3Ws on my truck and lost the 2 MPG overall since. After playing w/ tire pressure since I have landed at 63psi cold...down to 1 mpg loss overall and began this pressure 10/01/2018 so time will tell overall MPG. Best tank ever (4x4 leveled) was 725 miles range wise
1. 345
2. 1100
3. 4-5
4. no
5. none pre (345 miles) 755 post. Was averaging 30 MPG last 250 miles on 50 MPH secondary roads. Then I had a regen. I'm now @ 28.5 since the regen 50 mi ago but I think it's going to climb back up. Tank's just below 3/4 after 250 miles from fill. I'm lovin' it.
18k before tune, about 98k since...
~2.5MPG gain after tune. Before was about 21.2-21.4, after is about 23.7. (both are inclusive of towing)
Fuelly started tracking a few months before GDE installed.
Roughly 25 pre tune fills, about 200 post tune fills.
I ran the numbers going by your Fuelly fills. You averaged 25.15 mpg pre GDE (up to 25th fill), and 23.49 mpg after GDE. Your's actually got worse! Where are you getting your numbers? Not trying to question your numbers, just understand how you feel you've gained 2.5 mpg. Was that based on the EVIC?
Seems to me the question begs the inference that you are thinking of buying and installing GDE into your vehicle. Well on this forum and the GDE forum you will find masses of information discussing not only the mag benefits but the real longevity benefits. Then there's also the performance benefits to be considered.
Since mpg is what you ask about my take after about 75,000 miles of GDE is ... 2 mpg - hand calculated.
Not really afraid of anything and yes I am thinking about purchasing. Just would like to see hard MPG data instead of off the cuff guesses (in some cases). I’ve read a lot of people’s opinions and reviews with most being very favorable. Thanks for your response!
I am also debating the GDE tune for several reasons. One of which is the cost and payback potential. The other is that there are a lot of posts on here talking about how great the tune is when it was put on with less than 1000 miles on the truck. How is there enough butt time to tell a difference? I just rolled past 12,000 miles and don't thing I know the truck well enough to say, "WOW, look what this tune did for me". Heck, the engine is probably not even a quarter of the way to being broken in.
Also, with the latest EPA witch hunts, there is just enough doubt that forces the tune money to go towards the truck payment. At least until the dust settles.
1. Miles on your truck before GDE tune installed.
2. Miles on your truck since GDE tune installed.
3. Improvement in MPG since GDE tune installed (this can be calculated or educated guess). If calculated, what was your before and after MPG?
4. Yes/No, have you used Fuelly or some other method to track MPG before and after the tune?
5. If yes, how many pre and post GDE fuel ups have you had?
1-5400 miles
2- 4400 miles (9800 total)
3-Hwy pretuned, 30 mpg, post tuned, 33 mpg. While towing, pretuned was about 13 mpg, post tuned around 14 to 14.5 mpg. Post tuned I get around 25 mpg driving around town. I'm retired, it now takes almost a month to burn through a tank.
4-Pencil and paper and Drivvo android app.
5- Enough to know I get better mileage.
I think that the benefit to a tune should not be based solely on better mpg. If you plan on trading in your truck every 2 years then prob not worth messing with. If you plan on running your truck out for the long term then heck yes get one.
Getting rid of smog inefficiency with a tune is guaranteed to get you a bit better mpg. Thats what the tune does plus readjusts the programming to now run as if it is running without smog/egr.
I dont know the additional mpg benefit of the 40hp hot tune I put in my 1500. However I did put the same thing in my wife's stock 2016 GC. We do a 100 mile run to the coast on a windy hilly road frequently. She now gets 33 mpg there and back last time we did it. About 3 mpg increase. So that works out to about a cent a mile she saves on fuel with a 700 dollar tune. So how long for the tune to pay for its self based on fuel savings alone? How many cents are there in 750 dollars?!
1. Miles on your truck before GDE tune installed.
2. Miles on your truck since GDE tune installed.
3. Improvement in MPG since GDE tune installed (this can be calculated or educated guess). If calculated, what was your before and after MPG?
4. Yes/No, have you used Fuelly or some other method to track MPG before and after the tune?
5. If yes, how many pre and post GDE fuel ups have you had?
I'm with Cap on this one...it seems you are making this decision on mpg gain alone when the point is that MPG gain is a bonus on top of the other emissions/soot, turbo lag elimination, Etc. But for your purposes, here are my answers:
No need to run elaborate spread sheets. The info on the GDE site and this forum is indeed accurate. Provided you are doing your part, MPG will increase 2-3 MPG. Most non-SRA tires will decrease your MPG. I dont recall anyone posting that their MPG increased by using non-SRA tires.
I know I could take everyone’s word for it, but I’m an engineer and I like data. Case in point if I just looked at what sourdo is getting, I would think I should be getting 30mpg all day long. Well I can baby the crap out of my truck and never have a prayer to get that high. I just don’t know how it’s possible. Maybe he got “one of the good ones”. I’m running 23-24 mpg occasionally higher or lower. I know it all depends on driving habits, I’d love to know those of the people getting upwards of 30 mpg.
I do realize there are many other benefits to GDE tunes and they are very valuable as well.
Few things to add to the equation.
1) Time cleaning things like MAP sensors
2) Down time due to soot build up causing a repair issue
3) Less engine wear due to less abrasive soot in the oil
4) Longer DPF life due to less REGEN cycles
I held off on buying GDE based on the long pay off from MPG improvement. I did see the expected 2-3 mpg improvement but looking back I should have bought GDE when it was released. Now, I would buy it for the EGR delete alone, or for the improved throttle response alone, or for the reduced regen frequency. The additional MPG is a nice benefit. One of the things that’s hard to articulate is how the emissions systems on these trucks impacts fuel economy. With stock tune, the DPF clogs up quickly and mpg’s drop during regen (or as DPF becomes clogged) this is amplified with lots of short trips. With GDE you’ll regen much less frequently and I don’t notice the swings in fuel economy short trips vs long. Towing with vs without GDE the benefit in economy is less noticeable. Basically, if your primary use is long trips towing I don’t think GDE will give as significant mpg gain but it will provide a little additional power and much cleaner oil. If you need data to justify the decision and the performance and EGR delete are of no interest to you, GDE might not be for you. For me, waiting to tune is the only regret I have with this truck.
I tuned at 50k and now have close to 70k.
Like others have said you can’t just look at MPG savings and the only way to quantify the purchase. Yes it will take awhile to break even dollar wise. But as others have said this will help with the longevity of your engine. Turning off the EGR is the best long term move. Also you won’t have has many dumb check engine lights or service electronic throttle control issues. To me personally that’s the best of them all. I’ll glady spend the extra 800 bucks to save my self even one extra hour at the dealership. Your time is worth more than that.
Yes, and as others have stated, I mostly liked the reduced off idle lag (was really annoying and somewhat dangerous IMO with the stock tune), the "perkier" acceleration, and just overall more fun to drive characteristics. Lack of cel and egr issues is a great benefit. I opted for the engine break and regen notices and although have not yet towed, the engine brake going down Mont Eagle mountain near Chattanooga is great, set cruise at 60 or 65 and when engine downshifts attempting to maintain speed, the engine brake kicks in and holds the speed exactly where the cruise setting is. I presume it will do the same when towing, saving brakes.
Thanks for the reply Domino, I’ll have to try find your post.
Yeah, there is a lot of data on this. A lot that hasn’t been proven or truly analyzed (some has been). A lot of guys saying “I got 10%” or “I gained 3 mpg”. That’s not data. Those are statements. It’s not a waste of time. I’m sure there are plenty of prospective buyers out there like me who would like to see actual data in one place, not strewn about across the internet. That’s what I’m trying to do.
I’ve already disproven one persons claims of a gain with real data. That is not my goal, but that is also why you can’t believe everything you read.
Apparently some are too hung up on pointing out that there are other benefits to the tune, which I totally agree with, but that’s not helping the cause here.
Thanks to those who have posted some data that I can truly analyze!
This was a no brainer for me. After spending many hours reading, gathering data, gathering information, etc. Makes sence, the egr is an enemy of our ED. I drove a 2004 with the mighty 5.9 with no egr , just a straight pipe. It had over 400k miles and still ran perfectly. I wasn't so concerned about mileage as I was turning the egr off. Anyway I have a '18 ED and installed the GDE at 600 miles. It now has around 3400. I tow a little 5 x 8 trailer everyday and average 24.8 mpg. City and hwy combined. I will be installing the GDE tranny tune real soon.
Well I’ve really only received enough data to analyze two different trucks. I’ve posted those results, but Sorny’s was not fully inclusive data so that one was scewed. Without actual Fuelly or equivalent data I cannot properly calculate the results. I was hoping for more complete data.
I analyze my own data as that is what I do for a living... You can see the red arrow is before and to the right is after. Also, large dip in winter months is due to towing snowmobile trailers at higher rates of speed to get up north to the good snow!!!
Having been here a few years, I've seen that the large majority of GDE owners have realized the mileage gains advertised by GDE. That in itself will pay for the tune over time.
I didn't tune for MPG. I tuned to keep the inside of the engine as clean as possible for longevity. I can pull the dipstick at 5k and the oil is still clean, not ink black like the stock tune at 100mi.
I tuned because the stock tune is finicky and erroneous trouble codes will have you back at the dealer often. I tuned because more power will help me tow, which is important to me.
I tuned the trans because it wakes up this lazy trans and makes the truck downright fun to drive.
Best of luck in your numbers quest. I tuned at 457mi so I really have no baseline with the stock tune.
Even across, no bowing in the middle. 65psi max cold on these. New were 18/32 depth...30,000 miles and 15/32 depth all four. Was also 15/32 after rotation at 22k so I honestly don't get how 0 wear last 8k.
Started at 54psi when new...worse MPG with lower psi and ride no difference at higher regarding bumps. Put Helwig 7709 on couple of weeks ago and ride better now than when new...of all my mods..the rear bar has been by far the best regarding overall drive-ability.
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