my plans are to get the ecu and keep my original for either service/warranty work,,if I trade the truck on a newer one next year different model I would hope to just send away again for a reflash,,, I look at it as a long term thing,,,unfortunately its not right at the top of my priority list (maybe should be ) but high up on the "to do " list,..everything I've read sounds great and really like the fact GDE comes on board and discusses his product in detail and what I see is honesty,. my truck runs awesome and love the sound and rattle,,,but the GDE tune sounds like it would be so awesome,,,better fuel economy,,, cleaner burning and power,,, turbo lag etc. i'm not complaining about the way she runs now but if it can do better then i'm onboard at some point,..so let us know what u do,,,thanks..

 

argoldst, why are you so concerned if you have to tell your dealer your tuned or not? i don't see how that is remotely relevant under the general assumption you are not talking about "warranty/repair" work... second, regading how to prevent tune from being overwritten...well that's an interesting one. you have the ability to simply say "do not flash"..you don't have to "defend/explain" anything. it is YOUR truck not the dealers. you can buy an ODB 'plug' that also has a "do not flash" warning on it...you can go to the extreme and buy an actual lock that prevents anyone from plugging into the ODB port.

regardless of tune or not, i would suggest people start thinking very seriously about the privacy and security concerns regarding ODB port access. i work in the IT field for a Fortune50 company that will remain nameless; suffice to say computer access, privacy & security, are things i am very much qualified to discuss and comment on. the amount of data that is available and the ability to compromise your vehicle through the ODB port is a growing concern. at my dealer where the truck is now, i was talking with the service adviser about ODB access, when do they plug in, what do they look for, what do they keep record of. his answer basically was "every time you bring your vehicle in we plug in and pull all data". that may not bother you, it may be 'harmless' data. but it is YOUR data and you have the right to who has access to it and what is done with it.

i got off on a tangent a bit, but spend a few minutes with google and "odb privacy, security" type searches. insurance companies are now trying to get access to that data...one company even sends you an adapter that you keep in your car while driving - you are basically consenting to being tracked. it is a whole new world when it comes to the privacy & security aspects to cars (especially as we see more and more and more integrated services/systems).

 

I unplugged a wiring harness when I installed the cabin air filter. The next time my truck was at the dealer, the the service writer mentioned the HVAC harness had been unplugged.

 

of course. but the point to me, is you should be in a position of controlling that info & access. let's say you are going in for...uh, tire rotation. what purpose do they need to access the ODB? how about an oil change? how about your brakes are making a funny noise? there are plenty of valid reasons to have the dealer accessing the ODB port, absolutely. there are also plenty of valid reasons to say "no" and additionally, you do not need to defend "do not flash my truck".

 

I just ordered the gde tune yesterday and I'm keeping my stock ecu. I figure with only 3000 miles on truck its cheap insurance. Plus it's always good to have a backup in case of a need to reflash or update.


Typos and nonsensical words courtesy of fat fingers on a make believe keyboard.

 

Bought the ECM to keep my stock one just in case.

 

What about mileage? Is it stored in ECM? Asking because let's say you have service at dealer. You go home and put on the tuned computer. 6 months later you need to take truck back so you put on original ECM. If ECM stores mileage then you may only have 20 more miles than the last time you were there.

 

those days are gone it is stored elsewhere I believe as I have read on these forums,,actually I think GDE set the record straight ,..

 

answered multiple times, mileage is not stored in ECU.

edit: also, you guys are making dealers out to be some crack unit of investigators... i mean come on. have you actually looked and watched and listened to the typical service department? please, if they were as adept and sharp and attention to every little parameter and comparing to last time and asking questions, well shit that'd make them like a CSI unit now wouldn't it? lol ...no offense, but ummm, no.

 

I agree. I am probably worrying a LOT more than I should be. If we could flash our ecu's ourselves I wouldn't worry. Would run GDE and then flash to stock before service and then back to GDE. Sadly we can't. Also, if it was cheap I would just keep both but an additional 650 is a LOT of money just to hold on to a stock ECU that (as you said) I most likely will never need. Hard to say which is right but that is why I am seeking others opinions.

 

yea i 100% understand. i have actually received my GDE ECU and it's sitting at my desk...so honestly, i do understand the desire to ask every question, just as i did for my own comfort level. having the hand flash tool would make this moot. i suspect that's something that won't be available anytime soon however.

good luck and i hope you find the info you need to make a choice you feel good about!

 

I to have been considering the purchase of an GDE ecm and when I purchase one this fall I'm more than likely going keep my stock ecm. At least for me my peace of mind in possibly maintaining my warranty in a newer motor design, the fact that parts for are trucks are much more expensive/completed than previous generation diesels, and the fact that most manufacturers of diesel motors are having a significant amount of emission issues to effect my peace of mind is cheap insurance to me personally. It doesn't make economic sense, but rather than dwelling and worrying about it I would rather feel comfortable with easing my peace of mind while having the benefits of the GDE tune.

 

FCA can cancel warranties for any number of reasons. Check out the Turbo Diesel Register. FCA has very strict policies on changing the "tune" on any engines, and it has cost several people on the TDR new engines and total revocation of all warranty claims. I don't care what anyone does with their own truck, but don't believe FCA can't detect modifications to their vehicles performance. You just become your own warranty station. Nothing worse than that.

 

Curious if you could purchase a second ecu through mopar for a cheaper amount then GDE charges, and send it to GDE for tuning? Unless GDE has no mark up on the ecu?

 

I was thinking the same thing and am sure u could,,,and I wonder if its the same as the hemi or v-6,,,
I have a good mind to stop by an out of town dealership during my travels and ask, if I remember at the time lol...

 

Just like Everyone else I try to save money in this case GDE probably isn't making any money or very little on the ECU they make there money on there tune . That's my opinion and the other thing to think about is all the information and help they give to our forum and they go way beyond just a tune company .
And they probably don't care at all but my belief is to support the people who support us !!!! My 2 cents no change required
BTW factory Mopar parts. Net or something like that just google it there the cheapest I've found for RAM parts

 

My guess is they make about $100 on the ecu,,, and I agree with everything u say

 

To buy an ECM from Mopar, my cost on it is around $425, than there is a $125.00 core on it also, for a grand total of $550. Plus a companies time is also worth something. They make $100 on it, which I believe is fair IMO. Also, keep in mind, when you start playing musical ECM's, several things can happen

Scenario 1.) Your stock tune, the DPF percentage was at 20%, but your GDE tune was at 79%. So, do you run the risk of clogging a DPF because of improper data?I am not 100% certain on this, but I am guessing this could cause an issue.
Scenario 2.) Keep in mind that the connectors and pins are only designed to be reliable for a maximum of 10 cycles (last data I had for Delphi). You play musical ECM's every time you have to drive by a dealer you could be in store for long term connector issues

Again like Jeffcalweb said, the dealers are not CSI investigators. Most of the people that will touch your truck in the course of normal service work barely know how to use a WITECH, let alone look for slight anomalies in the data. Now if the motor were to shit the bed, than yes, the top dog tech is going to look at it, but even there, he is going to look for codes, freeze frame data, and signs of tampering and report to mother FCA and wait to hear back. I know on the Duramax's, they have one PID that shows the maximum calculated torque, and if it is over a certain number, then they start looking further, but then again, most tuners for the Duramax's have already worked around that one. My old man has a Duramax powered 2013 GMC that has had a Duramaxtuner tuner in it from about day 4 of ownership. It has been to the dealer several times for some minor issues (oil leak, gas gauge problem, DEF frozen) and not once did anyone ever mention tuners, warranty voiding or anything of the like.

My take in this whole situation is, everyone needs to get over the conspiracy theory deal here and move on. The dealers are not out to get you!!! But in the same respect, if you turn your super duper chip up to full kill and haul a huge ass trailer and toast your motor, you should put on your big boy underwear and take full responsibility for the problem that you created!!!

Now I will step off my soapbox and go eat lunch!!!

Mike

 

Scenario 1.) Your stock tune, the DPF percentage was at 20%, but your GDE tune was at 79%. So, do you run the risk of clogging a DPF because of improper data?I am not 100% certain on this, but I am guessing this could cause an issue.


Mike

This is where you have to be smart. When you pull your stock ecm make sure it is close to a regen. Mine regens at 65 to 70 percent. My plan is to swap ecm's once I can come very close to that so when the stock ecm goes back in it will start a regen. I will also document where the soot mass is on tuned ecm when pulled and swap back around there. I have not figured out what to do with the second swap if needed yet but I will have soot mass numbers stored with the shelved unit. Hopefully some day they will up date to let us force a regen.

 

Since they flash it anyway, maybe it would be best to just buy one for $400 and ship that to them? $250 savings seems pretty nice.

 

The problem is that you really can't buy one for $400. It costs $400 to buy the ECM and then there is a core charge of $125 that you have to pay for and wont get back as your not returning your original ECM. Then GDE doesn't tune blank ECM's from my understanding. The ECM's that they buy from the dealer are programmed with the factory program and then GDE changes what they need to. Your really not saving anything if the ECM costs $525 and then you have to get a dealer to program it at $100-150 a hr for electronic work. Just my $.02 though as I've greatly debated the same thing. I don't know if I want to drop the $650 to keep my ECM but it's the safe thing to do if your not a gambling man/woman.

 

I sent my ecu back to GDE. No reason to keep it. Many dealers hardly know how to troubleshoot let alone detect your tune is different. I don't plan on taking mine to the dealer for any scheduled maintenance, that's for damn sure, and I'm hopeful the GDE ECM will make the ecodiesel more reliable than stock, especially the troublesome emissions systems.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

uh...do you read the install directions? after you install the GDE ECU you will be doing a full DPF regen, exactly because of this...so there is no 'danger'. unless you decide to ignore the big old "DPF Full Regen in Progress" EVIC message.

 

I swapped the stock to GDE when my stock was at ~55% soot, so if I ever have to swap back, it'll be close to a regen (10 minutes driving in town will take stock tune well into needing regen territory). My ideal plan would be to swap ECMs only when they both read somewhere in the 50's, but you never know what life will bring.

FWIW, I'm going to be around 800 miles between regens with the GDE tune. Went from every other day (125-225 miles), to not even one per tank of fuel. Incredible.

 

I have never taken a vehicle to a dealer for service unless it was a recall. What I would be concerned about would be a complete failure of the engine or dpf that has been proven to happen on this platform and a denile of warranty even though we all know there are issues unrelated to a tune.

 

This I agree with, this engine needs to have more miles too prove it's longevity and reliability to me! Throwing away a valid engine warranty on a troubled birth of this engine is reckless and stupid in my opinion.
Take care when deciding your $8,000k engine replacement woes....
Best of luck to those who have committed already!

 

Well that clearly that is a reason to keep the original ecu so you could swap it out and be sure to keep warranty.

 

not to mention that regardless of what u say or do or wish for,,,if u took it into the dealer and they decided oh,,,lets update this truck with the new flash,,,we'll be nice to the customer,,then ur flash is gone,.. and make no mistake its gonna happen,,and peeps will be on here cryin,,, they flashed my truck,, my tune is gone,....wa wa waaa..


so all it takes is to be proactive get the extra ecu ,...and have ur ducks lined up,,, then u don't have to blame anyone or anything when ur truck is flashed inadvertently..cuz it will be,,,"guaranteed"

 

well, you can prevent that from happening if you feel that strongly. there are ODB locks ($95). problem solved. i did buy an ODB "Do Not Flash" plug which i'll also secure with velcro. pretty hard to not notice that... but you are absolutely right otherwise. or perhaps, don't go to the dealer for standard items like an oil change.

 

I have 5 years of free oil changes or I would never go back to the dealer unless a recall or something similar. I will leave my CTS plugged in with tie wraps securing that to the OBD port. Yes they can cut the tie wraps but if they do it will be blatant disregard for my instructions of not to mess with my truck. Worst case for everyone who is worrying about it if the dealer was to flash, GDE will be able to revert back to their tune.

 

What Cummins06TD said. The ecms are about $550 new from Mopar when you include the shipping fee. Then the dealer needs to program the latest stock tune, set the VIN and build specs, this adds at least $100. We make nothing on cloned ecms, just a lot of time to get the tune in the hands of the customer.

 

I just did a quick search online for a used ECM. I found 4 and the only one with a price listed was $400. Seems easier to me just to pay GDE and be done.