Diesel tuner comparison: Hardway versus Anarchy

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SouthTexan

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I know there are not too many diesel owners here, but just in case there is one that is looking for a comparison of the two then hopefully this will pop up in their search.

In short, unloaded I prefer Hardway. Loaded I prefer Anarchy. Everything that makes the Anarchy worse unloaded makes it much better loaded and visa versa.

The reason why I prefer Hardway unloaded mainly has to do with my 41 mile commute which is 14 miles of highway, 24 miles of back country roads, and the rest city along with the slightly(.5 mpg) better fuel economy. On the highway, there is not much different about them besides the Hardway being at 50% VGT closed while the Anarchy generally defaults to 30% on flat land and Hardways trans minimum line pressure is 120 psi while Anarchy's 90 psi. Both have a max line pressure of 170 psi.

The major difference between the two is on the back country roads where the speeds range from 45-55 mph and city driving due to the different shift points of each. The Anarchy holds onto gears until you reach higher speeds/ rpms and downshifts much sooner essentially keeping you above 1,600 rpm at all times. This causes the truck to constantly shift while I am driving down these roads which gets old real quick. The Hardway shift sooner and at lower speeds keeping you below 1,600 rpms for a more calmer drive.

The 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th shift with the Anarchy tune did get annoying at times down back roads. The truck will shift from the 3rd to 4th at no sooner than 43 mph at an around 2,100 rpm. So if you are stuck behind someone doing 38-40 mph like I am at times, then you are hearing the engine whine at 1,900 rpm wishing the truck will up shift, but knowing that it will not until 43 mph. I can back off a little so I can have some room to accelerate past 43 mph to get the truck shift into 4th, but if the vehicle in front of me goes below 38 mph then the truck will shift back into 3rd. This causes the truck to be shifting between 3rd, 4th and 5th a lot on these roads. This is good for keeping you in the right gear for power when loaded, but can be nerve racking unloaded on my daily drive.

The Hardway shifts much sooner, but holds on to gears a little too long forcing me to downshift. It will shift into 4th around 35 mph, 5th at 45 mph, and 6th at 55 mph. The flip side is that it holds on the 6th until you get down to 45 mph and 5th until you get down to 35 mph leaving me to force a downshift via the gear selector button which I generally at the very end of my drive when the speed limit goes from 55 to 45 mph. However, the good side is that it basically stays in 6th at low rpms my whole drive down the back country roads and has plenty of power at the low rpms for the hills along the way.

Anarchy is better at normal take off due to it locking immediately after it shifts into 3rd(2nd in T/H)giving you full engine power. This is one of the major benefits of the Anarchy tune with it locking torque converter in lower gears, but by doing this then tune has to hold gears longer so it is a give and take, The Hardway locks a few seconds after you get into 4th(3rd in T/H) which means the torque converter is just spinning not sending much power to the wheels.

The Hardway feels better accelerating on the highway. Just a slight tip in on the pedal in 6th gear and the torque just pulls you and you are going 85 mph before you know. While you get some of the same feeling with the Anarchy, the Hardway just feels like it pulls harder and quicker. I think this might have something to with the VGT staying around 50% closed while driving down the highway with the Hardway as mentioned above allowing the turbo to spool up quicker. With the 30% closed that the Anarchy generally stays at, it may take a little more time to spool. I remember reading somewhere that variable geometry turbos are most efficient when half open so this may also be one of the reason why the Hardway generally gets slightly better fuel economy.


I hope this helps anyone looking for a tune.
 
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MADDOG

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Thanks for the write up. I've been curious about other tuner's offerings and the results.
 

mohemipar

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Not a CTD owner but still an interesting bit of info to read. :waytogo:
 
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