Tuning 18+ ram

Okie345 · Apr 25, 2022

Ya i might just wait for now. Level the truck and put 35s and see where im at after that. I really want longtubes and the vararam intake but we'll see.

Okie345 · Apr 25, 2022

The torque management is the traction control correct?

seabrook · Apr 25, 2022

Okie345 said:
The torque management is the traction control correct?

it has more to do with saving your transmission. it’s the culprit in “this doesn’t feel like 395 hp ‘ lol

16WhiteQC · Apr 25, 2022

Okie345 said:
The torque management is the traction control correct?

If you want to kill traction control/stability you have 3 options.

1. kills everything - pull the ABS fuse = no traction, stability, ABS, etc...will throw a code.

2. in 4wd, push and hold the traction control button for 5-10 sec and it will turn off almost all the traction and stability. This has been enough for me to drift and play in the snow, it's also so you can get out of a muddy condition.

3. Custom tune where they go in and turn all the nannies off permantly, I.E. the traction control button won't do anything as there is no longer traction control enabled on the truck.

John Jensen · Apr 25, 2022

Okie345 said:
The torque management is the traction control correct?

No, they are not related. Torque management is the ECU's control of torque. Basically, the ECU reduces torque during a transmission shift to prevent transmission damage.

Dan Topp · Apr 25, 2022

HP is what replaced my canned Diablo/ Procharger tune and my original 19 PCM is in a box so it needs unlocking unfortunately

Okie345 · Apr 25, 2022

From what I understand on there website it's gonna be close to 1200 to get the unlocked pcm, obd2 plugin and the pro software. Does that sound right?

Noob2Trucks · Apr 25, 2022

Okie345 said:
From what I understand on there website it's gonna be close to 1200 to get the unlocked pcm, obd2 plugin and the pro software. Does that sound right?

If you mean HPTuners, there's the software, the device the credits and the bypass cable (there's a user on here that makes a good one and it does work with HP Tuners and AlfaOBD).

Here's the catch. It'll let you order the unlocked ECU, even if it's out of stock and no restock in sight (ask me how I know). You'll then get a cancellation and have to order everything again. Might want to email to make sure they actually have them in stock.

PaleFlyer · Apr 6, 2023

Noob2Trucks said:
If you mean HPTuners, there's the software, the device the credits and the bypass cable (there's a user on here that makes a good one and it does work with HP Tuners and AlfaOBD).

Here's the catch. It'll let you order the unlocked ECU, even if it's out of stock and no restock in sight (ask me how I know). You'll then get a cancellation and have to order everything again. Might want to email to make sure they actually have them in stock.

Do we actually need *their* OBD? Or will the MX+ work?- I'm really just wanting to bump idle RPM, change the eFan on temp, see if I can soft-disable the MDS, and maybe make some tweaks to try and balance out the MPG losses from the Idle change. (IE I know the extra 200-400 rpm on the idle will eat more gas, so try and compensate, as I don't just idle the Hemi much. Last I looked, the engine had ~1700 driving hours, and like 100 idle, after 75k/4.5 years. I'm up to almost 80k now, but work assigned me a truck, so the Ram is now my toy.)

I'm not against losing the warranty, as I don't have one anymore. And I know Stellantis is going to fight against me on any kind of lifter issue if I ever get one anyway so... F it. Just know the wife won't want me dropping $800+ on a spare PCM. She probably won't love me doing the unlock, but...

danielmid · Apr 6, 2023

PaleFlyer said:
Do we actually need *their* OBD? Or will the MX+ work?- I'm really just wanting to bump idle RPM, change the eFan on temp, see if I can soft-disable the MDS, and maybe make some tweaks to try and balance out the MPG losses from the Idle change. (IE I know the extra 200-400 rpm on the idle will eat more gas, so try and compensate, as I don't just idle the Hemi much. Last I looked, the engine had ~1700 driving hours, and like 100 idle, after 75k/4.5 years. I'm up to almost 80k now, but work assigned me a truck, so the Ram is now my toy.)

I'm not against losing the warranty, as I don't have one anymore. And I know Stellantis is going to fight against me on any kind of lifter issue if I ever get one anyway so... F it. Just know the wife won't want me dropping $800+ on a spare PCM. She probably won't love me doing the unlock, but...

I'm not even sure if the MX+ has ECM write ability, but the HPTuner PC software is locked to only recognize their dongles, pretty seamless, but like you said, it's another expense. But once you have everything in hand it's very smooth to do the changes you mentioned (MDS disable is one toggle).

PaleFlyer · Apr 11, 2023

danielmid said:
I'm not even sure if the MX+ has ECM write ability, but the HPTuner PC software is locked to only recognize their dongles, pretty seamless, but like you said, it's another expense. But once you have everything in hand it's very smooth to do the changes you mentioned (MDS disable is one toggle).

I haven't found a whole lot on what it would actually take to unlock the PCM. they want some file, which I assume the software can "pull", then you mail them your PCM, and they mail it back a few days later. I have an idea as a programmer what they are doing to the PCM (and I don't care that much, but what I need to do as the customer I haven't seen much obvious on their site that says "Here is what you need to do, step by step"), but the dongle side of the equation leaves a LOT to be desired on the explanation.

It also would be nice if someone had tested Alfa with their dongle, as I probably would have just bought that one instead of the MX+. (and if I had done the research properly to find out one of the big things I wanted Alfa for I can't do with Alfa at all... eFan cut in, and MDS...)

danielmid · Apr 11, 2023

PaleFlyer said:
I haven't found a whole lot on what it would actually take to unlock the PCM. they want some file, which I assume the software can "pull", then you mail them your PCM, and they mail it back a few days later. I have an idea as a programmer what they are doing to the PCM (and I don't care that much, but what I need to do as the customer I haven't seen much obvious on their site that says "Here is what you need to do, step by step"), but the dongle side of the equation leaves a LOT to be desired on the explanation.

It also would be nice if someone had tested Alfa with their dongle, as I probably would have just bought that one instead of the MX+. (and if I had done the research properly to find out one of the big things I wanted Alfa for I can't do with Alfa at all... eFan cut in, and MDS...)

Basically yes, I opted for the spare PCM route so I emailed them the stock PCM read from the MPVI3 dongle, they unlock and then write the stock file back to the ECM and send it out. Plug and play once you get it and it's like nothing changed, except it's tweakable.

I tried to use Torque with the HPTuner MPVI3 but couldn't get it to work, but didn't dig in to why and just swapped back to the MX+ and it worked fine so not sure why.

DILLIGAF · Apr 11, 2023

HP Tuner and Alfa with MX+ are 2 different things.

Not sure why anyone would think they would work together... lol...

PaleFlyer · Apr 11, 2023

danielmid said:
Basically yes, I opted for the spare PCM route so I emailed them the stock PCM read from the MPVI3 dongle, they unlock and then write the stock file back to the ECM and send it out. Plug and play once you get it and it's like nothing changed, except it's tweakable.

I tried to use Torque with the HPTuner MPVI3 but couldn't get it to work, but didn't dig in to why and just swapped back to the MX+ and it worked fine so not sure why.

That (the second half) seems weird... why wouldn't they want you to be able to use it for more, as it makes you less likely to flip it on marketplace/fleabay, or share it with your friends, getting them more MPVI3 sales...

DILLIGAF said:
HP Tuner and Alfa with MX+ are 2 different things.

Not sure why anyone would think they would work together... lol...

Because they are both OBD2 dongles, and one would assume that if they can both talk to the PCM, they can both do similar jobs. And 99.9% of software has figured out that hardware "keys" are dumb. IE having to have a specific piece of hardware to "license" software is a pain in the butt, and usually just ****** off customers.

On the "didn't do enough research", again, didn't do enough research, and didn't think about the fact that a 4th gen RAM has like 12 different computers. My thinking was "a master computer, and a bunch of client hubs". So ONE computer needs to be programmed, the rest just act like remote IO units, distributing the signals.

danielmid · Apr 11, 2023

PaleFlyer said:
That (the second half) seems weird... why wouldn't they want you to be able to use it for more, as it makes you less likely to flip it on marketplace/fleabay, or share it with your friends, getting them more MPVI3 sales...

Because they are both OBD2 dongles, and one would assume that if they can both talk to the PCM, they can both do similar jobs. And 99.9% of software has figured out that hardware "keys" are dumb. IE having to have a specific piece of hardware to "license" software is a pain in the butt, and usually just ****** off customers.

On the "didn't do enough research", again, didn't do enough research, and didn't think about the fact that a 4th gen RAM has like 12 different computers. My thinking was "a master computer, and a bunch of client hubs". So ONE computer needs to be programmed, the rest just act like remote IO units, distributing the signals.

The HPTuner software has code reading and clearing built in, so it can do tech stuff, I just didn't take the time to figure out if it was operator error or an incompatibility issue. And I didn't attempt with Alfa at all.

thomasspink · Apr 11, 2023

Okie345 said:
I have a 2019 ram 1500 classic. trying to find a tuner that you don't need to remove pcm to get custom tunes?

i have the 2019 classic and have the pulsar
it stacks ontop of your PCM and you control it with the steering wheel controls

PaleFlyer · Apr 13, 2023

thomasspink said:
i have the 2019 classic and have the pulsar
it stacks ontop of your PCM and you control it with the steering wheel controls

Do we need to have the PCM "unlocked" to use the Pulsar, or is that the whole thing, the fact that it doesn't need to modify the PCM, as it "middle man's" the PCM signals??

Holy crap! $622 for the "base", $300 extra for the display, and looks like an additional $600 to use a phone app???

Edit: Didn't realize HP was charging $400 for the MPVI3, and apparently no longer sells the 2/2+.

danielmid · Apr 13, 2023

PaleFlyer said:
Do we need to have the PCM "unlocked" to use the Pulsar, or is that the whole thing, the fact that it doesn't need to modify the PCM, as it "middle man's" the PCM signals??

Holy crap! $622 for the "base", $300 extra for the display, and looks like an additional $600 to use a phone app???

Edit: Didn't realize HP was charging $400 for the MPVI3, and apparently no longer sells the 2/2+.

No need to unlock for the Pulsar, from what I've seen here there's a percentage of people who use the Pulsar who have complete malfunctions. And it really can't do the same tuning ability as the unlocked ECM tuning.

PaleFlyer · Apr 13, 2023

danielmid said:
No need to unlock for the Pulsar, from what I've seen here there's a percentage of people who use the Pulsar who have complete malfunctions. And it really can't do the same tuning ability as the unlocked ECM tuning.

yeah, not loving the idea of a "backpack" on the PCM, that is "perverting" the signals. Leaves a lot of chances for a missed signal, or a funny signal getting either out of the Pulsar to the engine, or from the pulsar back to the PCM, that then does weird ****.

thomasspink · Apr 13, 2023

PaleFlyer said:
Do we need to have the PCM "unlocked" to use the Pulsar, or is that the whole thing, the fact that it doesn't need to modify the PCM, as it "middle man's" the PCM signals??

Holy crap! $622 for the "base", $300 extra for the display, and looks like an additional $600 to use a phone app???

Edit: Didn't realize HP was charging $400 for the MPVI3, and apparently no longer sells the 2/2+.

No, no need to do anything with your current PCM:
I have had it for 3 years now and zero issues, it legit just stacks on top of the current PCM and you control everything from tunes to tire size on the controls with your stearing column

Tuning 18+ ram

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