Is a tune my next step?

[Etbenson]

hey y'all, i have a 2013 hemi. current mods are vararam intake, 87mm TB, true dual carven r series exhaust, level kit and 35 tires. oh and a funny looking DIY catch can lol. anyway some other mods I'm planning on doing is JBA long tubes, high flow cats, v6 Efan swap/clutch fan delete and 180 Tstat. from the threads I've read and research it looks like i need to have the tuner for most if not all these mods in order to function properly. i just want to know if theres anything else i might not be thinking of that i can do before the tuner. id like to have as much in the truck before tuning so i can get the most gain out it. then after the following mods are complete i might look into cams, gears, etc. but i don't know much about those yet.

any info is appreciated, thank you.

 

[MADDOG]

I think you have what you need to make a tune very effective and allow your truck to take the next step in performance.

Just a little bit about programmers and tunes. The "canned tunes" that are provided with an off the shelf programmer, such as the Diablosport units, will improve throttle response, provide increased low end torque and HP & they will optimize fuel and spark delivery to the engine. Stock tune generally has the engine running pretty lean around 14.1, even at WOT, which is done to promote fuel economy but is actually detrimental to engine performance as it's constantly on the verge of knock retard. A good tune will add fuel without actually over-fueling the engine, which is at the other end of the fuel equation being too rich and just as bad for the engine in different ways from a lean condition.

The best outcomes in tuning are provided by loading a canned tune from a programmer on your vehicle, logging certain engine operating conditions using the programmer, then emailing those logs to a tuner who will put together a custom tune for you. I've done this on several HEMI powered vehicles and I always got much better results when doing so compared to either the stock OEM tune and the canned tunes that come with the programmer.

You can get a package deal that includes a Diablosport programmer and a custom tune from vendors here on the forum. I got such a deal for my 2014 6.4L 2500 from Moe's Performance and the Hemifever custom tune really, really, really woke up that beast. I was very pleased with the results.

Good luck with your upgrades.

 

[Gary's Hemi]

Your on the right track. I highly recommend getting a tune through Jay Greene. Very worth it. Once you install the headers you will need a tune to get rid of the cel & get the most out the set up also to change the fan temps on the efan

 

[Etbenson]

I think you have what you need to make a tune very effective and allow your truck to take the next step in performance.

Just a little bit about programmers and tunes. The "canned tunes" that are provided with an off the shelf programmer, such as the Diablosport units, will improve throttle response, provide increased low end torque and HP & they will optimize fuel and spark delivery to the engine. Stock tune generally has the engine running pretty lean around 14.1, even at WOT, which is done to promote fuel economy but is actually detrimental to engine performance as it's constantly on the verge of knock retard. A good tune will add fuel without actually over-fueling the engine, which is at the other end of the fuel equation being too rich and just as bad for the engine in different ways from a lean condition.

The best outcomes in tuning are provided by loading a canned tune from a programmer on your vehicle, logging certain engine operating conditions using the programmer, then emailing those logs to a tuner who will put together a custom tune for you. I've done this on several HEMI powered vehicles and I always got much better results when doing so compared to either the stock OEM tune and the canned tunes that come with the programmer.

You can get a package deal that includes a Diablosport programmer and a custom tune from vendors here on the forum. I got such a deal for my 2014 6.4L 2500 from Moe's Performance and the Hemifever custom tune really, really, really woke up that beast. I was very pleased with the results.

Good luck with your upgrades.

yes i planned on getting a CUSTOM tune. not just what comes with the programmer. and moss is exactly what I've been looking at.thanks for the info bud!

 

[Etbenson]

Your on the right track. I highly recommend getting a tune through Jay Greene. Very worth it. Once you install the headers you will need a tune to get rid of the cel & get the most out the set up also to change the fan temps on the efan

i don't know much about jay greene but iy looks like jay greene or hemifever is what i would be going with.
would you be able to provide any pros and cons from one to the other?

 

[Hemi395]

Pretty much been covered here what I was going to say but I'll add that I have both Jay Greene and Hemifever tunes. Hemifever tunes overall work better for my truck specifically because Jay doesn't have as much torque management access as Sean does for 2013 6 speed trucks. Most 2013+ trucks came with the 8 speed which turning wise is set up completely different. BUT I like the way Jays ignition timing tables are better than Seans because I get less pinging with Jays tunes.

Bottom line, either will seriously wake your truck up. My advice is to get both and see which works best for your truck.

 

[Gary's Hemi]

I have had both over the last 10 yrs and will only work w/ Jay now. But thats just myself. I recommend you talk to both & see who you want to work w/ on a professional & personal level.

 

[Nick@GotExhaust]

these guys pretty much got you covered with good info. nice list of bolt ons you got going. If you need any help with future purchases let us know. we offer discounts to all the members here. the only mod that i would recommend that will make the truck feel faster and take alot of the lag/delay in the throttle would be a pedal commander. Many of our customers use the pedal commander along with the tuners

 

[Etbenson]

thanks y'all for all the info. i probably will end up doing both just to have more options.

these guys pretty much got you covered with good info. nice list of bolt ons you got going. If you need any help with future purchases let us know. we offer discounts to all the members here. the only mod that i would recommend that will make the truck feel faster and take alot of the lag/delay in the throttle would be a pedal commander. Many of our customers use the pedal commander along with the tuners

yeah, i thought about the pedal commander. i think am going to wait till after the tune. wanna see what the tune does for me first before i jump into that. thank you.

 

[bchap05]

Love the pedal commander got it for xmas highly recommend

 

[Hemi395]

Yeah the Pedal Commander is great. It works well with a custom tune and the best thing is you can adjust it on the fly

 

[Pull Ya]

After getting your tune I would suggest thinking about your gear swap and a higher stall converter. Those 2 items will definitely change the way your truck performs.
Jay

 

[Etbenson]

After getting your tune I would suggest thinking about your gear swap and a higher stall converter. Those 2 items will definitely change the way your truck performs.
Jay

you think those should come before the headers? again i am not familiar with those items yet, could you give a brief idea of how they'll benefit the truck performance wise?

 

[Pull Ya]

Before we talk about the effect those items will have tell me if you have a 6 speed or an 8 speed trans. Also what is the current gear ratio of your truck? Also is it a 4x4 or a 2x4. Headers will increase your hp by about 20(give or take) although to get the full benefit of the headers you will need the tune. If you get the headers first you just need to tell your tuner you have them and they can adjust your tune. If you get the tune first, you need to have your tuner make adjustments in your existing tune for the headers.
Jay

 

[Etbenson]

Before we talk about the effect those items will have tell me if you have a 6 speed or an 8 speed trans. Also what is the current gear ratio of your truck? Also is it a 4x4 or a 2x4. Headers will increase your hp by about 20(give or take) although to get the full benefit of the headers you will need the tune. If you get the headers first you just need to tell your tuner you have them and they can adjust your tune. If you get the tune first, you need to have your tuner make adjustments in your existing tune for the headers.
Jay

currently no tune or headers. truck is 4x4 6 speed 3.55 gears on 35inch tires.

 

[crackerjack1957]

currently no tune or headers. truck is 4x4 6 speed 3.55 gears on 35inch tires.

Gear change is a costly b**** on these, only reason I still have the 3:55 on my 6-speed.

 

[Pull Ya]

^^^^ As has been said changing gears in your 4x4 will be an expensive process. The complete differential needs to be replaced along with some other parts including the new gear set and install kit, if you can't find a used differential with the right gear ratio you want to change to. You can stay with your 3.55's and put in a higher stall converter which will give you faster acceleration out of the hole. Check out the Edge Converter's maybe a 2600-2800 depending on how you use your truck and depending on whether you tow a lot. Matt at Moe's Performance would be a good contact and he has lots of experience. You need to realize that your 6 speed is going to be the weak link in your truck. A lot of guys have had problems with the 6 speed once they started adding lots of power, however many others are doing OK with their 6 speed realizing their limitations. Matt raced his truck with a 6 speed and has some of the fastest times recorded in the 1/4 with his 4th gen.
Jay

 

[Etbenson]

^^^^ As has been said changing gears in your 4x4 will be an expensive process. The complete differential needs to be replaced along with some other parts including the new gear set and install kit, if you can't find a used differential with the right gear ratio you want to change to. You can stay with your 3.55's and put in a higher stall converter which will give you faster acceleration out of the hole. Check out the Edge Converter's maybe a 2600-2800 depending on how you use your truck and depending on whether you tow a lot. Matt at Moe's Performance would be a good contact and he has lots of experience. You need to realize that your 6 speed is going to be the weak link in your truck. A lot of guys have had problems with the 6 speed once they started adding lots of power, however many others are doing OK with their 6 speed realizing their limitations. Matt raced his truck with a 6 speed and has some of the fastest times recorded in the 1/4 with his 4th gen.
Jay

ill look into it then! thank you.

 

[RLJ10X]

I had 3.55s. They stink out loud, even on 33s.

I'd have to crunch the numbers, but if I was running 35s, I'd take a long hard look at 4.56s.