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Diablo PCM and Tuner Ordered

46K views 116 replies 38 participants last post by  Tetralin 
#1 ·
Well, I ordered my Diablo PCM and Intune just a few minutes ago. The website was down earlier today.

$899 + shipping, as expected.

Hopefully have it by Thursday / Friday.
 
#2 ·
awesome! Let us know how it goes!
 
#6 ·
On the 2015's, you must have a unlocked PCM to tune the car.

You have two choices for this:

1. Unlock your factory PCM.

2. Purchase a new PCM.

You will then use the InTune to tune normally.

There is no option around this. Dodge did all they could to prevent tuning on the 2015's.

I decided to move quickly.. because who knows.. they may eventually limit the PCM supply to the aftermarket to prevent this.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Let us know how it all goes. I'm very interesting in doing this myself and what gains at the track would be! I can see these 8 speeds doing 11.7x - 11.8x consistently with a tune and DRs
 
#7 ·
It is all relative. Exhaust systems can run 1k +. Long tubes can run 2k installed.

The main benefit of the tuner will be the reduction of TM.

I personally was disappointed with Diablo on my 2014 6M car; however the automatics cars are known to respond well.

I'm not expecting any major power gains... maybe 10 rwhp.
 
#8 ·
Let us know how you make out, looking forward to hearing your results. I'm guessing it will basically work out about the same as the tuners do for the previous model with just the added hassle and expense of the new PCM.
 
#9 ·
True. The initial testing reviews are good. I think losing a lot of the TM will be a major benefit.
 
#12 ·
definitely report back when you get everything taken care of!

Have you ran the 1/4 mile stock? I'd like to see the differences before and after the tune
 
#17 · (Edited)
definitely report back when you get everything taken care of!

Have you ran the 1/4 mile stock? I'd like to see the differences before and after the tune
I ran a 12.5 with a 2.0 60ft and 1400 ft DA.

I'm waiting on my rims to show up for the DR's I bought.

I believe I could have ran a 11.9 w/ the DR's and better air before the tune.

Definitely hope to see at least 11.8 w/ the tune on DR's. It will be fall before I see the best air though.
 
#14 ·
Subscribed
 
#20 · (Edited)
I was waiting to see who would pull the trigger on this. I can't wait for the reviews to roll in. 899 is a bit steep for the claimed gains but if you can fine tune some other things it may be worth it.

Forgot to ask... does anyone know if the dealer would be able to tell you swapped PCMs? Is there anyway this can void the warranty?
 
#22 · (Edited)
...Forgot to ask... does anyone know if the dealer would be able to tell you swapped PCMs? Is there anyway this can void the warranty?
The SRT engineers 'say' there is a way to tell if the factory PCM has been re-programmed. They could track the number of times the PCM was updated, if that doesn't match the vehicle's records then they would know something happened. If you used the DS PCM and put the factory PCM back in when you take it to the dealer, the mileage would not match...they would know something happened.


Could it void the warranty? You bet it could if you had an engine problem. Yes I know all about the Magnuson-Moss Act, but if the dealer or FCA doesn't want to pay then you have to take them to the FTC. If you win in court you might break even after the settlement is paid - but you'd be out your time and lots of frustration. And would you want to keep the car with the engine broken just in case the court wanted a third-party inspection? Practically, it's all up to the dealer, some are cool, some are not.




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#24 ·
Excellent write-up and explanation! Thanks!!

My 2012 Durango A6 responded very well too and is a lot more fun to drive. The best parts were the firmer shifts, increased throttle response and higher shift points.....


But the Scat Pack already comes with these when you are in Sport Mode. I sure would not want any more throttle boost than Sport Mode gives, I have to carefully feather the throttle as it is. Sport Mode shifts are borderline harsh too. And Sport shift points are higher than in Normal Mode. I'm just not sure what advantage I would see from it. I have a the DS tuner already and when I trade in the Durango I could put its tune in the SP. But I doubt that I will.....

.
You know I was wondering the same thing about this comparing it to Sport mode. I agree 100% that the Throttle Response in Sport mode is perfect if not a little too much! But DAMN do I love it in Sport mode.

So would these changes apply to both modes or would you only notice a big difference in Default Mode?

I guess we will find out when the OP gets his unit in his hands. Then when he is done jerking it.. he can test out the DS Tuner as well!! :grin2:
 
#23 ·
Mine is a '13 A5, and yes it responded very well to it....The gain that you really feel is throttle feel, instant throttle response when driving around town, power throughout the power band. The firm shift option is pretty amazing too. Start data logging them and making fine adjustments and they only get better. I know that when I went back to a stock tune, it felt like a total slug every time I went to accelerate. I also gained 3 MPG around town with the 93 tune.
My 2012 Durango A6 responded very well too and is a lot more fun to drive. The best parts were the firmer shifts, increased throttle response and higher shift points.....


But the Scat Pack already comes with these when you are in Sport Mode. I sure would not want any more throttle boost than Sport Mode gives, I have to carefully feather the throttle as it is. Sport Mode shifts are borderline harsh too. And Sport shift points are higher than in Normal Mode. I'm just not sure what advantage I would see from it. I have a the DS tuner already and when I trade in the Durango I could put its tune in the SP. But I doubt that I will.....






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#25 · (Edited)
Tuner and PCM will be here tomorrow. I'll get it installed tomorrow evening and report back.

Concerning warranty, Diablo claims a dealer won't be able to tell anything with the spare PCM. I, too, wonder about the mileage issue; however I still believe something else besides the PCM has to track actual mileage.

You know some unsavory characters would gladly swap a spare PCM into a new car, run the mileage up and then swap the original back in if they could when they decided to trade or sell the car.

I was told by Diablo that exact mileage didn't matter in the new PCM. I just gave them what my car has now and I told them it would be different by the time I received my PCM. They said it didn't matter.

I would have to believe the dealer would never know. Now if they sent the PCM back to the factory and analyzed it, they probably could tell something was up.

I've never heard of such a thing though for even major engine issues.

Diablo said that a Scat Pack they used for testing didn't gain a lot of power but had "100x" better drive-ability on the street, as it was finally using all the of the 6.4's power.

No MDS is important to me as well.
 
#26 ·
That was reported by a Diablo employee.

"We had a scat pack in here last week, gains were not as solid as the Ram, but it felt 100X better on the street with the tune, it was actually using all of the ridiculous power that 392 makes".
 
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#28 · (Edited)
Well I'm pretty sure they were just trying to make a point.

This is proven though.... TM reduction and the minor h.p. gains obtained from a tune have resulted in 3-4 tenth E.T. reductions.

That my friend is bang for the buck... even 2 tenths is worth the money.

Tell me another mod that nets you 2 tenths for under 1k...... ?

You can't.

I'm not a Diablo homer either.. I bashed them pretty good for the tuner performance on my 2014 M6. Of course, many other people already knew and reported that the M6 cars don't respond like the automatics do.
 
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#29 ·
...will be eagerly following.

I too was disappointed with what the tune did for my 2012 6M SRT8, and I also think the 2015's drive like they have a tune on them when you are in sport mode, which is how I always have it set when I drive the car. I can't imagine it getting much better, but if it can, oh hell yeah I want it! LOL
 
#40 ·
you can set what your default it, and basically make it be sport mode, so it would automatically do it. I think you can change sport mode as well. So if you play with it I think you could flip.

personally I find it silly, the car should be at peak at all times. They tout it as some cool option, but really its one more thing to pay attention to and cost more.
 
#32 ·
The reduction in TM is going to be the biggest thing. Also I'm already running a Jet 180* tstat so I'll be looking to set fan settings as well which is something I'm looking forward to. Engine temps always under 190 is always good esp at the track to prevent heatsoak. Of course turning MDS off all the time will be great. And turning ESC fully off all the time will be good for me anyway.
 
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#35 ·
The reduction in TM is going to be the biggest thing. Also I'm already running a Jet 180* tstat so I'll be looking to set fan settings as well which is something I'm looking forward to. Engine temps always under 190 is always good esp at the track to prevent heatsoak. Of course turning MDS off all the time will be great. And turning ESC fully off all the time will be good for me anyway.
2 tenths would be a good gain. Anything over that would be awesome. Of course, as most everyone knows.. the faster you already are, the harder it is to gain.

I do believe TM reduction will be worth 2 tenths. Any additional h.p. is just a bonus, along with MDS, fan settings and data logging.
 
#34 ·
Correct. If I had a M6 car, I would be on the fence about the tuner.. especially considering the cost. If you were only going to do a CAI, etc.. I personally probably wouldn't bite the bullet with the M6.

I wasn't happy with it on my 2014 M6 5.7L.
 
#42 ·
For the guys thinking 800 for a tune isn't worth it. I don't see how you think that. 1 it's not just a tune your getting it's also another PCM, 2 aside from a CAI there's not much for bolt ons that you can do to this car to make more HP/TQ, without having to tune it, 3 people spend almost that much on a custom exhaust just for a different sound with no gains. So 800 for some tents off in the 1/4 and the ability to tune for future mods. You bet your sweet butt dyno it's worth it.
 
#45 · (Edited)
I installed the PCM and tune tonight:

Observations:

The PCM is easy to swap - Zero problems with this. Demating and mating the (2) connectors was a little nerve racking, but it would be tough to screw it up.

The tune loaded flawlessly. No issues at all. It loaded faster than my 2014 did. Start to finish was maybe 10 minutes at most.

It is raining tonight, so no hard driving. I shutoff MDS and this works as expected. The tune felt good in sport mode and felt better and better over the 15 minute drive in the rain. There is a definite improvement in response and smoothness while tooling around in sport mode.

The only "issue" I noticed was while messing with the data logging. I checked ST KNK and noticed that as soon as the data log started ST KNK would go to 4* and never changed. It remained at 4* at idle, etc.

I checked KNK TOTAL RETARD and it read 0.

Of course, I don't believe the car has knock at idle, but I posted on the Diablo forum to make sure the car isn't pulling 4* of timing for no reason.

I'll have more to report when the weather clears out. All in all... I'm pleased so far.
 
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