Need info on tuner/programmer feature differences

[XXSNOTRODXX]

hey everyone, got a 2011 ram 1500 sport 4x4 5.7. About 2 years ago I picked up a used bullydog gt tuner and installed it. I noticed good power gains however I thought that it made my trucks shifts feel horrible!. It made my shifts feel mushy and dragged out almost like slippage. Uninstalled it and my truck shifted perfectly again (and has ever since).

I’ve came to the point where I am considering purchasing another tuner and was hoping for some clarification on a few things. Now I know the “which is better” threads have been beats to death but I’ve dine a ton of searching and couldn’t find all of the answers I was looking for so I decided to make a thread about it and hopefully it will answer questions for others aswell.

First of all, I’ve narrowed it down to either getting another bullydog or a diablosport trinity or intune (if there is a better option out there please let me know). As for the diablosport I don’t really NEED the trinity as I don’t really need the gauges or the 1/4 mike stuff which as far as I am aware is pretty much the only difference from the intune. But feel free to school me if there are differences and as to if there are differences between the different intune models aswell.

Also I know a custom tune is the “way to go” but for the immediate moment atleast I will be going with a canned tune.

On my old bullydog that I got rid of a couple of years ago. When you installed a tune it would tune everything at once from what I recall (engine and transmission). On the diablosport can you choose to tune the engine separately from the transmission or are they tuned one in the same? . I ask because In the event the diablosport is like the bullydog I previously had and makes my shifts feel like crud I would be curious if you can tune the performance of the engine while keeping the factory transmission tune. If that makes any sense?.

Also on my old bulldog I know there was a feature to turn fog lights on with high beams. Is this feature available on the diablosport aswell?

I have also heard rumblings that the diablosport kills the battery if left plugged into the obd2 port, is this true?.

And something that would be even more helpful that I haven’t been able to track down is an updated full feature set available for my truck for either of these programmers. Which would help me in comparing one against the other.

My main goals with the tuner would be #1 more power, #2 better mpg’s would be a big plus but I’m not holding my breath lol, #3 I do not want sloppy feeling shifts, #4 I would like the ability to disable mds, #5 all of the bonus features such as enabling dogs with high beams and editing tire size and gear rations and top speed limiter and rev limiter and ob2 scanner etc..etc... are a plus.

I’m sorry if any of this has been asked before but I’ve been googling and scrounging the forums and couldn’t find all the info I was looking for and anything close to what I was looking for was a good 5 or more years old and I don’t know if anything has changed with updates over the years. Thanks in advance for any help on the matter.

 

[MADDOG]

1. Trinity & InTune have the same programs. The only difference is the Trinity configurable display that must be plugged in to the OBD II port to work.

2. I've read that some folks thought the tuners plugged into the OBD II port drained their battery. I'm thinking something else was wrong with their electrical system. I have an Edge CTS II plugged into mine and I have not had any battery drain problems.

3. Plan on a custom tune somewhere down the road. It's an amazing upgrade to the "canned tunes" that come with the programmer.

4. The Diablosport programmers tune all boxes at once. You won't have any problem with the trans tuning included as all it does is firm up the shifts by raising transmission line pressures as part of the canned tune. There are options to change WOT shift points on the Diablosport programmers as part of the "Modify Tune" page. Best bet here is to get that custom tune done for the most effective shift points.

5. The Diablosport programmers do NOT have an option to turn on fogs with high beams. You can do that, however, with a harness kit from RetroShop.

6. See my comment above regarding battery drain issues with programmers that are plugged into

7. I have not seen a direct, feature for feature, comparison between programmers either. Sorry, can't help ya there.

8. Your list of needs and wants can be done with the DiabloSport programmer and a custom tune except the foglight on with high beam option. The OBD 2 scanner for reading and deleting DTC's is already built into each programmer they make as is adjusting for different tire sizes. Gear ratios may require a special tune. I don't think I saw that on the I2 I had on my 2014 6.4L powered CC but I may be wrong.

 

[XXSNOTRODXX]

1. Trinity & InTune have the same programs. The only difference is the Trinity configurable display that must be plugged in to the OBD II port to work.

2. I've read that some folks thought the tuners plugged into the OBD II port drained their battery. I'm thinking something else was wrong with their electrical system. I have an Edge CTS II plugged into mine and I have not had any battery drain problems.

3. Plan on a custom tune somewhere down the road. It's an amazing upgrade to the "canned tunes" that come with the programmer.

4. The Diablosport programmers tune all boxes at once. You won't have any problem with the trans tuning included as all it does is firm up the shifts by raising transmission line pressures as part of the canned tune. There are options to change WOT shift points on the Diablosport programmers as part of the "Modify Tune" page. Best bet here is to get that custom tune done for the most effective shift points.

5. The Diablosport programmers do NOT have an option to turn on fogs with high beams. You can do that, however, with a harness kit from RetroShop.

6. See my comment above regarding battery drain issues with programmers that are plugged into

7. I have not seen a direct, feature for feature, comparison between programmers either. Sorry, can't help ya there.

8. Your list of needs and wants can be done with the DiabloSport programmer and a custom tune except the foglight on with high beam option. The OBD 2 scanner for reading and deleting DTC's is already built into each programmer they make as is adjusting for different tire sizes. Gear ratios may require a special tune. I don't think I saw that on the I2 I had on my 2014 6.4L powered CC but I may be wrong.

Thanks for the reply!. I also see billy dog now offers their BDX model. But of course finding any information or a list of feature sets is about impossible so I am not sure if it has any pros or cons over previous models or competitors.

I seen you mentioned that you are running the edge CTs, is there a reason behind that?. Do you prefer it over other brands?. If so, why?.

I use to have an edge on a ford I had years ago and I loved it and thought it worked great and I also enjoyed the little features it included like oil change reminder.... which would come in handy for me since my 2011 ram doesn’t have an oil change indicator aside from the one that pops up out of the blue when it’s actually time for one. I know I could just stick a windshield tag on it lol but if I could have a chimed reminder on a screen that would be great haha.

My old bully dog had tons of cool features it could do on my ram...granted many of the features could already be changed right in the trucks evic such as changing when doors auto lock and headlight delay and such. But things like the fog lights with high beams was a big feature I liked. Funny thing, even after returning to stock and unmarrying the bullydog from my truck it still left the fog lights on with high beams feature enabled. Which I like but I wouldn’t mind the option to disable it if the need to do so ever came about for whatever reason.

Sorry for all of the nooby questions and the big posts. I really appreciate the help. Just want to make the right decision before tossing money at a product . So I’m really hoping to find some good detailed feature comparisons between all the offerings out there.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[MADDOG]

I have a 2017 2500 CTD and use the Edge CTS II as I believe they have the optimum set up for diesel applications.

I'm running the Cummins unlock with an EFI Live tune package with the monitor installed in the A pillar.

 

[XXSNOTRODXX]

Can someone please explain to me what each programmer offers for our trucks ( In my case 2011 5.7 )Trinity/intune/predator, bullydog gt/bullydog bdx, edge cs2/edge cts2, Superchips Flashpaq F5/Superchips Dashpaq?. Custom tuning aside who offers the best canned tunes with the most gains?. What all features do they offer?. I have been searching for almost a week and can't find even some of what should be basic info, Not on the manufacturer websites, not on forums, no youtube videos that show what im looking for...plenty of videos on other vehicles but not all features are available on all makes and models and I want to know specifically what is available for my truck.

I would like to know if they offer MDS disabling , fog light with high beam enabling , how many tune levels there are (economy,tow,performance,extreme...etc..etc..). Other features that I know bullydog offers such as things like disable seat belt chime and auto unlock doors with fob press. Things of that nature.

The idea of a custom tune is of interest to me but I would still like to know what each tuner offers so I can make an educated decision and not jump to one particular product because thats what everyone says to get based souly on custom tuning.

Any help would really be appreciated, looking to buy asap but don't want to jump the gun. Thanks for any help!

 

[MADDOG]

Looks like you are gonna have to do some research.

 

[XXSNOTRODXX]

Looks like you are gonna have to do some research.

I have been....for about a week now. Part of the research is hoping to talk with people that actually have these programmers and can explain to me the included features/abilities. The companies themselves give scripted generalized responses.

 

[Gary's Hemi]

Diablo I3 for price, product & ability to custom tune. Diablo's website list the features & parameters that can be changed

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Email Hemifevertuning.

 

[MarshRam]

Can someone please explain to me what each programmer offers for our trucks ( In my case 2011 5.7 )Trinity/intune/predator, bullydog gt/bullydog bdx, edge cs2/edge cts2, Superchips Flashpaq F5/Superchips Dashpaq?. Custom tuning aside who offers the best canned tunes with the most gains?. What all features do they offer?. I have been searching for almost a week and can't find even some of what should be basic info, Not on the manufacturer websites, not on forums, no youtube videos that show what im looking for...plenty of videos on other vehicles but not all features are available on all makes and models and I want to know specifically what is available for my truck.

I would like to know if they offer MDS disabling , fog light with high beam enabling , how many tune levels there are (economy,tow,performance,extreme...etc..etc..). Other features that I know bullydog offers such as things like disable seat belt chime and auto unlock doors with fob press. Things of that nature.

The idea of a custom tune is of interest to me but I would still like to know what each tuner offers so I can make an educated decision and not jump to one particular product because thats what everyone says to get based souly on custom tuning.

Any help would really be appreciated, looking to buy asap but don't want to jump the gun. Thanks for any help!

Not an easy thing to figure out. I have had Superchips on two different trucks. Funny thing is, I had no idea what tunes they provided until I installed them. I know what they can offer with their programmers, but I don't know what you actually get until installed. Rather ******, as they could tell you in advance what is supported prior of your order depending on your truck specs.

I am not sure if other brands are the same way, but it makes more sense to buy something someone can hack and customize further.

After spending all that cash for a tuner, IMHO, I would want the comfort of knowing I could spend a few more on something that I can fine tune even further to my desire if I am not happy with the canned options it provides.