Ecu Exchange or Purchase for Tuner and HemiFever Questions

[Kayakbiker]

Hi Guys,

Have a 2017 ram 1500 5.7 with no warrantee. Its the most expensive toy I have ever owned. I plan to add long tube headers one day and want to get a Diablo tuner now. I was super surprised about the ECU being locked and the dollars it takes to run a tuner on a Mopar! (That sucks having a locked ECU!) Looking at places such as Moe's, Hemifever etc. they have a thing where they send you an unlocked ECU and you send them yours.
Questions:
1) Is there a risk that I may need my old unit for something or am I going to have an expensive paper weight if I purchase one? Would it be a good idea to bite the bullet and buy one and save my ECU? (Again this is a nice $ truck with low miles.)

Bonus question:
Since my truck is stock I hear it could throw codes if I install long tube headers first before the tuner. With a tuner this can be compensated for and this is why Id like to purchase a tuner before the headers. Because of wanting to add long tubes I didn't just consider getting a Pulsar.
So at these venders you have the option of purchasing the Diablo I3 with a HemiFever tune at a discounted price.
3) If I purchase a tuner with a Hemifever tune now for my stock setup will Hemifever retune my truck in the spring when I have installed the headers? If so what does that cost if its extra? Or do I need to just skip that option for now and run the canned tunes and wait for when I get the headers installed then purchase a Hemifever tune?

I called and emailed both places with these questions and haven't heard back from them yet.

Anyway thank you for your suggestions in advance.

Dennis

 

[Wild one]

You should be able to get away with installing the long tubes,even if you're going catless.What you need to do is buy a set of tall anti-foulers,and they basically move the stock back 02's out of the mainstream exhaust flow,and they'll read enough of a differance between them and the front 02's to keep the computor happy enough it won't throw a code.You can also stuff the anti-foulers with steal wool if it does happen to turn a light on.

 

[Kayakbiker]

1) Is there a risk that I may need my old unit for something or am I going to have an expensive paper weight if I purchase one? Would it be a good idea to bite the bullet and buy one and save my ECU?

 

[Midnight Storm]

I’d keep it. $500 is pretty cheap insurance, if you have a problem with your aftermarket PCM, so you can still use your truck while it gets fixed or replaced.

 

[Kayakbiker]

If I purchase a tuner with a Hemifever tune now for my stock setup will Hemifever retune my truck in the spring when I have installed the headers? If so what does that cost if its extra? Or do I skip that option for now?

 

[Pull Ya]

Hemifever does not charge extra to re-tune when you add mod's with the exception of happy gas, supercharger or I think a cam and new heads. You can double-check with him, he is pretty responsive.
Jay

 

[Matts175]

As far as the PCM exchange. Here's what I did. I unbolted mine and looked at the numbers on the sticker on the back of it. I went on Ebay and bought the exact same one for $99. Once the Diablo ECM arrived, I removed my original, put it away for safe keeping. I then put the Ebay one in return box and sent it back to Diablo. I just like having the Peace of Mind knowing that if something goes wrong during a reflash or an update or something, I have a PCM sitting here ready to go. Otherwise, you have to send it in to Diablo and you're without a truck for a week. Plus, if and when I ever sell the truck, I can slap the original PCM back on there.

 

[Kayakbiker]

Thank you for the replies. So to wrap this up just in case someone has the same questions.
Called then emailed Hemifever. No response.
Called then emailed Moes Twice second time asking if the had stock. No response. (COVID challenges I am sure.)
Ordered a Diablo i3 direct from Diablo. 20 seconds later I had two confirmations and the next morning it shipped 2nd day air free of charge. I’ll have it tomorrow.

I went with the exchange. I searched and searched for ecu issues nothing really. Then I called Diablo, was on hold for like 20 seconds, then told them that I had cold feet about the exchange. The Diablo tech support guy assured me in the unlikely event my ecu failed they will help me out and make it right. I felt comfortable with that service and answer. So there you go I saved a good chuck of money with the exchange and the sale.

I guess I’ll look at getting a custom tune when I have the headers installed and hopefully by then life will be to normal.

Thanks again to you guys who replied.

Dennis

 

[Josh22855]

I emailed Hemifever over a month ago, never heard back. I ditched diablosport all together and went with HP tuners. The difference is night and day as far as the parameters you can see yourself. With the intune i3 platinum you could only datalog/write tune. With HP tuners you can view all the parameters via laptop while you are operating vehicle.

 

[MidwestExpress]

I was following this thread as I was in the market for a tuner. I had a great, recent(ongoing) experience with Hemifever, so I just wanted to post about it.

- I sent him an email with some questions Friday night 1/1 and he replied Saturday morning 1/2.
- I placed an order through his website on Sunday 1/3 for an i3 & custom tune.
- I received the i3 on Thursday 1/7.
- I sent him some files in an email on Sunday 1/10 and he replied on Monday 1/11 with a custom tune.
- I did a data log on Wednesday 1/13 and he replied on Thursday 1/14.

All of his communications have been prompt and I'm really happy with how things are going working with him.

 

[2012RAM1500RT]

I was following this thread as I was in the market for a tuner. I had a great, recent(ongoing) experience with Hemifever, so I just wanted to post about it.

- I sent him an email with some questions Friday night 1/1 and he replied Saturday morning 1/2.
- I placed an order through his website on Sunday 1/3 for an i3 & custom tune.
- I received the i3 on Thursday 1/7.
- I sent him some files in an email on Sunday 1/10 and he replied on Monday 1/11 with a custom tune.
- I did a data log on Wednesday 1/13 and he replied on Thursday 1/14.

All of his communications have been prompt and I'm really happy with how things are going working with him.

I can say the same. I do not consider myself computer smart at all and Hemifever helped me with the tunes he sent me and helped me 4 months later when I asked.

 

[Matts175]

I was following this thread as I was in the market for a tuner. I had a great, recent(ongoing) experience with Hemifever, so I just wanted to post about it.

- I sent him an email with some questions Friday night 1/1 and he replied Saturday morning 1/2.
- I placed an order through his website on Sunday 1/3 for an i3 & custom tune.
- I received the i3 on Thursday 1/7.
- I sent him some files in an email on Sunday 1/10 and he replied on Monday 1/11 with a custom tune.
- I did a data log on Wednesday 1/13 and he replied on Thursday 1/14.

All of his communications have been prompt and I'm really happy with how things are going working with him.

Same here. I was extremely impressed with how quickly he responded to my emails. And the tune...... WOW!.... My truck runs better than new now.

 

[Pull Ya]

I think that everyone needs to understand that businesses like Hemifever and Moe's are small businesses and with this damn pandemic and with the recent "gifts" from the gov't, which no doubt increased business, these guys can get buried pretty quickly. I can't explain why some people seem to get fast excellent service and others don't get any response at all, however, I can tell you that I have spent time with Matt at Moe's and he can get a couple of hundred phone calls a day from people just wanting information and from people that are purchasing parts. This is in addition to taking care of shipping and receiving. It is inconceivable to me that any business person would purposely ignore a potential customer unless there is past history. Both of the businesses named are preferred vendors on this site and have been for years. They have both had excellent reviews from almost everyone they do business with, so I'd say maybe give them another shot next time. This is just one person's opinion, others may disagree.
Jay

 

[Kayakbiker]

I think that everyone needs to understand that businesses like Hemifever and Moe's are small businesses and with this damn pandemic and with the recent "gifts" from the gov't, which no doubt increased business, these guys can get buried pretty quickly. I can't explain why some people seem to get fast excellent service and others don't get any response at all, however, I can tell you that I have spent time with Matt at Moe's and he can get a couple of hundred phone calls a day from people just wanting information and from people that are purchasing parts. This is in addition to taking care of shipping and receiving. It is inconceivable to me that any business person would purposely ignore a potential customer unless there is past history. Both of the businesses named are preferred vendors on this site and have been for years. They have both had excellent reviews from almost everyone they do business with, so I'd say maybe give them another shot next time. This is just one person's opinion, others may disagree.
Jay

I am sure you are correct about them being buried and honestly I don't hold that against them. (I do know there are a lot of people looking for work though.) I am an American and am used in instant service thanks to technology. But with Covid who knows what's going to happen next, everything is just so uncertain. I have been spending the last 9 months trying to learn patience. lol. So with that said I hope that things get back to normal soon so that I can afford to purchase those headers and get a tune.

Update is I wound up getting the Diablo I3 tuner with the ecu exchange direct for Diablo. I called them asked a Tec all my questions and concerns I felt super comfortable after that and ordered it. It came in like a couple of days. (Super great service.) It installed pretty easy in less than an hour of messing around. I really enjoy the bang for the buck. The truck runs so much better (super smooth) with the tune and the mds turned off. I really like the way it shifts now too. I am very happy with it and like I said cant wait for the next mods. The gas mileage went back to being the same as before the install after I finished mashing the throttle like a teenager for 2 weeks! hahahehe Makes me wonder why they have the mds system in the first place? Its just more crap to break.

 

[2021Bigcorn]

I emailed Hemifever over a month ago, never heard back. I ditched diablosport all together and went with HP tuners. The difference is night and day as far as the parameters you can see yourself. With the intune i3 platinum you could only datalog/write tune. With HP tuners you can view all the parameters via laptop while you are operating vehicle.

I have a Diablo tuned by Hemifever. It's been a year and my transmission still won't take the tune. I wasted $800, but I'm going with HP Tuners too.