GDE tune review

[J-Cooz]

Just towed 5,000lbs of gravel and the tune really shines here. The shift points are nice and the downshifting is agressive while braking and it really helps you slow. Can feel the engine braking working well. It's quite agressive so for a light trailer you probably don't even want or need to use tow haul mode.

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[abmillh]

Just towed 5,000lbs of gravel and the tune really shines here. The shift points are nice and the downshifting is agressive while braking and it really helps you slow. Can feel the engine braking working well. It's quite agressive so for a light trailer you probably don't even want or need to use tow haul mode.

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I've actually been towing my 7500lb 30 foot travel trailer the past few weeks. I strongly agree about the downshifting. It does an amazing job holding speed down hill (6% grade even) and conserves the brakes as much as possible.

 

[J-Cooz]

I've actually been towing my 7500lb 30 foot travel trailer the past few weeks. I strongly agree about the downshifting. It does an amazing job holding speed down hill (6% grade even) and conserves the brakes as much as possible.

It makes a massive difference for sure, I was shocked how little brakes I had to use.

The extra power is very noticeable with a load too. Getting up to speed was no problem.

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[Daverous]

GDE has a version of their trans tune that cuts out the 3-4 and 4-5 flutter.

I've had mine since the first week they offered it for the 3rd gen and drove up for dyno testing in beta. After a recent update from them the shift flutter drove me nuts. Their first few versions didn't do that. Spoke with Keith and they wrote a new one I installed last week. I'm much happier. Just an FYI.

 

[J-Cooz]

GDE has a version of their trans tune that cuts out the 3-4 and 4-5 flutter.

I've had mine since the first week they offered it for the 3rd gen and drove up for dyno testing in beta. After a recent update from them the shift flutter drove me nuts. Their first few versions didn't do that. Spoke with Keith and they wrote a new one I installed last week. I'm much happier. Just an FYI.

How long ago did that get released? Do you know how I would get the updated tune? Do I have to send my pcm in?

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[Daverous]

I recieved it Tuesday last week. They can email you the file. The trans tune uses the pg3 device so no shipping needed

 

[J-Cooz]

I recieved it Tuesday last week. They can email you the file. The trans tune uses the pg3 device so no shipping needed

Emailed GDE last night and they responded within an hour or so. Now that's customer service! Going to get the new file installed today.

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[J-Cooz]

Just installed the updated trans tune. Much better!

Great customer service by GDE.

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[Daverous]

Nice! I've been happy so far the last week, too. Haven't noticed much of a change in heat cycles either.

 

[WXman]

What I'm more concerned about is the clunk that you and anyone in the truck feels on the 3-2 downshift under light deceleration. It happens consistently for me and I know the issue so well, I can avoid it by using more brakes (harder decel) or coasting much further (lightest decel possible). Either way, it's not disengaging the converter lockup when shifting and that's hard on everything. My previous tune from GDE (1st Gen) was much better. This last one I'd take a star off my review for that transmission issue.

This was my complaint also. I got the tune when it first came out over a year ago when I still had my Gen 3 EcoD. The transmission tuning wasn’t good. It held 1st gear way too long, then harshly went into 2nd. Seems like it was trying to lock up the converter way too often. I likened it to driving a vehicle with a manual transmission at low speed without being allowed to touch the clutch pedal. Allegedly they revised the tune some after that, but some guys still report the trans tuning to be poor.

 

[J-Cooz]

The transmission tuning feels much better after this revision. I never had the low speed lurching that Wxman reported. I can say now this tune feels perfect. They said they made some revisions to the tow/haul mode programming as well.

Will report back after I tow with this new update. Very impressed with the customer service of GDE. They sent me the file at 10:45pm last night.

15,000km on this tune so far and loving it.

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[abmillh]

I emailed them earlier today. Waiting to hear back but I'll update my thoughts also after it's installed.

Edit: they had replied very quickly but it went to my junk mail for some reason. Thanks Outlook.

 

[abmillh]

As far as I can tell, the new prototype tune has gotten rid of my previous complaints about the clunking which is GREAT news. The fact that they already made the sale yet still refined the tune and sent it out free is a testament to their great customer service.

The only thing I noticed even slightly odd was that my truck now rolls backwards when I park at my parents' house haha. Before I could pull up, let off the brake and it wouldn't roll back. Small very minor detail but overall, HUGE improvement.

 

[J-Cooz]

As far as I can tell, the new prototype tune has gotten rid of my previous complaints about the clunking which is GREAT news. The fact that they already made the sale yet still refined the tune and sent it out free is a testament to their great customer service.

The only thing I noticed even slightly odd was that my truck now rolls backwards when I park at my parents' house haha. Before I could pull up, let off the brake and it wouldn't roll back. Small very minor detail but overall, HUGE improvement.

Tune feels damn near perfect now. It's amazing how much better it drives compared to stock. Zero hesitation or lag now which is amazing.

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[n8zcc]

The only thing I noticed even slightly odd was that my truck now rolls backwards when I park at my parents' house haha. Before I could pull up, let off the brake and it wouldn't roll back. Small very minor detail but overall, HUGE improvement.

Isn't that the hill assist feature? I believe there is a user setting to enable/disable it. Could this be the reason?

 

[n8zcc]

Tune feels damn near perfect now. It's amazing how much better it drives compared to stock. Zero hesitation or lag now which is amazing.

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I live not far from GDE so about 4 weeks after I got my new ECODiesel I made an appointment and headed over, that was towards the end of February of 2022. I only had about 1,200 miles on the truck but I couldn't believe how bad the stock engine/transmission calibrations were. At this point, my vehicles were a 2013 Laramie HEMI (traded in) and a 2015 3500 Cummins, neither of them was this bad. I need a new cuss word to describe the factory tune. The moment I left GDE I could feel the difference. Their shop is kind of buried in a residential neighborhood so slow acceleration and several turns later I found 55 MPH roads. Wow, just wow, what a difference. Every time I get in the ECO I recall the experience, recall the first drive with GDE's calibrations.

I'm curious about the transmission issue experienced versus GDE's latest calibration. As I said, I have a 2022 ECODiesel and had it at GDE for their calibrations in February of 2022. I'm not noticing any issues with the 3-4 and 4-5 shifts, up or down. I do have issues with their tow/haul and find it better to not use tow/haul mode when I pull my boat. The boat is right around 5,000 pounds of tow weight. Seems the tow/haul holds the gears way longer than what is needed. The ECODiesel doesn't have any issues pulling it with tow/haul mode off.

For those of you who feel the shift fluttering, how noticeable is it?

 

[J-Cooz]

I live not far from GDE so about 4 weeks after I got my new ECODiesel I made an appointment and headed over, that was towards the end of February of 2022. I only had about 1,200 miles on the truck but I couldn't believe how bad the stock engine/transmission calibrations were. At this point, my vehicles were a 2013 Laramie HEMI (traded in) and a 2015 3500 Cummins, neither of them was this bad. I need a new cuss word to describe the factory tune. The moment I left GDE I could feel the difference. Their shop is kind of buried in a residential neighborhood so slow acceleration and several turns later I found 55 MPH roads. Wow, just wow, what a difference. Every time I get in the ECO I recall the experience, recall the first drive with GDE's calibrations.

I'm curious about the transmission issue experienced versus GDE's latest calibration. As I said, I have a 2022 ECODiesel and had it at GDE for their calibrations in February of 2022. I'm not noticing any issues with the 3-4 and 4-5 shifts, up or down. I do have issues with their tow/haul and find it better to not use tow/haul mode when I pull my boat. The boat is right around 5,000 pounds of tow weight. Seems the tow/haul holds the gears way longer than what is needed. The ECODiesel doesn't have any issues pulling it with tow/haul mode off.

For those of you who feel the shift fluttering, how noticeable is it?

You would notice it on the initial warm up phase as it runs through the gears the first time.

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[abmillh]

Isn't that the hill assist feature? I believe there is a user setting to enable/disable it. Could this be the reason?

Hill assist was enabled when I checked. Also, I did notice the 3rd gear clunk once today when driving. It wasn't as bad as before but definitely still there.

 

[n8zcc]

You would notice it on the initial warm up phase as it runs through the gears the first time.

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That is why I'll never experience it. I live deep in the country well off any road considered drivable. By the time I get out of the dirt roads and on pave roadways I'm long past the initial warm-up GDE phase which I believe is the first 5 minutes.

 

[tom318]

where are you guys buying the spare PCMs from? Looks like the sort is discontinued and I want to get my hands on one ASAP. I know there was a long conversation on here about the PN and where everyone was ordering from I can’t seem to find it.
This is the correct PN

68256850AA?​