Bully Dog Hemi Plus Tuner?

Hey guys, new to the forum. I have a 2012 1500 Express (5.7 Hemi) and I am looking at an air intake, performance tuner, and removing the resonater. Any advice about the new Bully dog programmer, the resonater removal or not, and the best air intake?

Thanks!

2012DodgeExpress said:

Hey guys, new to the forum. I have a 2012 1500 Express (5.7 Hemi) and I am looking at an air intake, performance tuner, and removing the resonater. Any advice about the new Bully dog programmer, the resonater removal or not, and the best air intake?

Thanks!

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Hey welcome to the forums. As far as removing resonators that's going to depend on how loud you want your truck and what muffler you go with. There's a thread somewhere with a lot of video/sound clips of exhausts. Most people have been going with the mufflex 14", 18" or 24" kits (Magnaflow), some with and some without resonators, depending on sound you want.

For intakes, most common around here are the Vararam Air Grabber and the S&B.

The Bully Dog tuner is awesome. I just installed mine this week. Install wasn't all that hard but the instructions were barely helpful (some steps aren't thoroughly explained and seemed switched around). At first, the truck seemed a sluggish but after a few days it really started to kick in. Throttle seems more touchy and responsive, shifts better, downshifts quicker. This is the first (and only so far) that I have done. The tuner has plenty of options built in and adds some nice gains both in HP and MPG's but lacks the ability to custom tunes. If you don't plan on doing any custom tuning then this is a great tuner to have and about $100 cheaper than the Diablo Sport Trinity. The BD is a great first mod for the money and will make your future upgrades even better.

I got my BD from Moes-performance.com, ordered on Monday (Memorial Day), it shipped out Tuesday and I received it on Thursday. I will be ordering more parts from them in the future.

Again, welcome and let me know if you have any questions. I'm sure others will chime in as well.

Joe

Yup!! Everything he said is true! Welcome to the forum.

Jabrego said it all.

As someone that is running a combination of most of what you are looking at I can say it really makes the truck a lot more fun. The BD especially wakes the truck up in combination with other supporting pieces as well. I love my Vararam, its my favorite intake I have had on any vehicle and I have had several. The one piece of advice I can offer is if you plan on bigger/badder mods in the future just skip the BD and go straight to a Diablosport. I got a BD to save a couple hundred bucks and was nervous about a custom tune on a new truck. Now I just feel like I was being cheap because, while the BD is very good, I want the best of everything and will probably being doing things down the line that I will want a custom tune to pull everything together.

If u can use a computer and can do an email tune and send back a datalog, I'd go for Diablo and my tuning. I've had quite a few folks come from a BD to my tune and can't believe the power & driveability increase with the trans programming.

Don't just think you need Diablo for a heavy mod'd truck and custom tuning. Its more of it being a "better tune" n general. Even a stock truck w/o anything will get much more performance and driveability with my regular ole tune upgrade than any other tuner out there. So if you're okay with a computer, hands down look at my Diablo option (get it through me or Moes Performance if ur already ordering stuff)

hemifever said:

If u can use a computer and can do an email tune and send back a datalog, I'd go for Diablo and my tuning. I've had quite a few folks come from a BD to my tune and can't believe the power & driveability increase with the trans programming.

Don't just think you need Diablo for a heavy mod'd truck and custom tuning. Its more of it being a "better tune" n general. Even a stock truck w/o anything will get much more performance and driveability with my regular ole tune upgrade than any other tuner out there. So if you're okay with a computer, hands down look at my Diablo option (get it through me or Moes Performance if ur already ordering stuff)

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2013... It's like being in a desert, thirsty... Can we get some water...

I recently added a K&N air intake, the Diablo Trinity to my 2010 ram fifteen hundred. Just like you I asked questions on the forum and did alotta research before my purchases. I am more than happy and the extra money I spent on the Diablo was well woth it. I also put a Flow Master muffler on and drove the truck around a week before I cut the resonaters out. The rumble was alittle deeper and it is a little louder now. Over all happy with the sound and performance.

Welcome to the forum. The guys already have you on the right track. The Bullydog is a nice tuner that will show noticeable gains over stock, but Hemifever can pull some extra power out of these motors if you opt for 1 of his custom tunes. Right out of the box, there aren't many differences between the canned Diablo tuning and the Canned Bullydog tuning, but Hemifever's custom tuning will make more power than both.

As for intakes, the Vararam and the S&B are your best options. The Vararam is going to make a few hp more, but the S&B is built a bit stronger and has a more traditional enclosed airbox. Both are great kits though and will show noticeable gains.

On the resonators, I personally would leave them on there. Do you currently have anything done to the exhaust? If you want loud, I would just go with a Mufflex Muffler Delete. That will give you plenty of sound and keep you from having to cut out the resonators and do any welding on the truck. The Mufflex kit is completely Bolton.

Wow Guys! Thanks for the advice! Lots of knowledge floating around this forum. Also, are the claims of increases in MPGs the slightest bit true or am I wasting my time even thinking about it?

Manufactures mileage claims are rarely accurate, but you will see gains with the tuner. Most guys see 1-3mpg gains with tuners.

Hemi450hp said:

Manufactures mileage claims are rarely accurate, but you will see gains with the tuner. Most guys see 1-3mpg gains with tuners.

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It may take a little bit for you to start noticing the mpg gains, however this is usually due to people wanting to feel their power increases once they start doing performance mods lol

Does the bully dog hemi tuner allow you to disable MDS? How about firmer & better shifting?

URdone21 said:

Does the bully dog hemi tuner allow you to disable MDS? How about firmer & better shifting?

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Yes you can disable MDS as well as the TCS (traction control system). You can set the shift points at WOT from 1-2 gear and 2-3 gear and also adjust the rev limiter in park/neutral and in drive. It also has the ability to adjust the speed limiter, which if I remember correctly was set at like 112 or so from the factory (can someone confirm this?)

You will notice better shifts but I've heard you can add a Sonnax line booster to give you firmer shifts.

The Bullydog will allow you to set shift points but doesnt change the shift quickness/ firmness at all. I added the above mention Sonnax line booster to my truck and it works nicely. There has been a noticeable decrease in the shift time and a slight bump in the firmness.

JabregoUSMC said:

Yes you can disable MDS as well as the TCS (traction control system). You can set the shift points at WOT from 1-2 gear and 2-3 gear and also adjust the rev limiter in park/neutral and in drive. It also has the ability to adjust the speed limiter, which if I remember correctly was set at like 112 or so from the factory (can someone confirm this?)

You will notice better shifts but I've heard you can add a Sonnax line booster to give you firmer shifts.

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Why would anyone want to disable TCS?

Mopar_Express said:

The Bullydog will allow you to set shift points but doesnt change the shift quickness/ firmness at all. I added the above mention Sonnax line booster to my truck and it works nicely. There has been a noticeable decrease in the shift time and a slight bump in the firmness.

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What is the difference between shift points and shift quickness/firmness? The reason I asked about shifting is because I do 95% of my driving in the city, stop&go, 25-40 MPH. The way the truck shifts stock sucks when driving around the city.

URdone21 said:

Why would anyone want to disable TCS?

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Some people don't like TCS, it tends to drop power in order to keep the wheels from spinning. Some want the ability to roast their tires I guess. Come winter I would leave mine on.

The shift points are basically just setting at what rpm you want the auto tranny to shift from 1-2 and 2-3 (at WOT). As mentioned above this doesn't really change the firmness.

JabregoUSMC said:

Some people don't like TCS, it tends to drop power in order to keep the wheels from spinning. Some want the ability to roast their tires I guess. Come winter I would leave mine on.

The shift points are basically just setting at what rpm you want the auto tranny to shift from 1-2 and 2-3 (at WOT). As mentioned above this doesn't really change the firmness.

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Would a canned tune from a bully dog tuner change the shift points for me? Or is that something I would have to do manually? Would changing the shift points be beneficial around the city as I mentioned in an earlier post?

You set them when you program the tune to the truck. You have a few parameters that you are asked to set before the programmer does its thing. Changing the shift points wont really do jack for you around town since you are only setting where it will shift with your foot through the floor. The truck will still shift normally unless you are at WOT so around town the tuner wont change how/when your truck shifts.

Mopar_Express said:

You set them when you program the tune to the truck. You have a few parameters that you are asked to set before the programmer does its thing. Changing the shift points wont really do jack for you around town since you are only setting where it will shift with your foot through the floor. The truck will still shift normally unless you are at WOT so around town the tuner wont change how/when your truck shifts.

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So while I will get better MPG around town, the shifting won't be better. Correct?

Would a Diablo canned tune give me better shifting around town? Or is the only way to get better shifting around town via a Diablo tuner with a custom tune?
Thanks.

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