Looking to purchase first truck! HELP

[Rawze]

(07-15-2018 )Dre912 Wrote:  ...

Also what is the average price for demandateing an engine?
What is the down time for a job like this?

partial re-posted off here ( http://rawze.com/forums/showthread.php?t...1#pid18091 ).

Gearhead, Mr.Hag, or Unilevers ...

Cost depends on model truck/engine. I hear people say $3k ~ ish or less depends on things.

Assuming you live in a country where that stuff is legal ...

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- Unilevers is a good option to get it remotely tuned. He knows his stuff and has contributed greatly towards helping people without gouging them for it. I know he also has helped countless with setting up software and things of that nature too, will look at what you already have, etc. most of the time without even charging any money. He does however charge money for engine tuning/de-mandating, that is what he does for a living.

Unilevers does a lot of stuff with power tuning (above factory HP) but for most highway trucks, the shortened lifespan that comes with this, I personally would not recommend, as I am all about fuel mileage and long term profit. An ISX with 600 HP in it averages 650k miles before the head comes off vs 900+k miles, simply because people that feel they need that much power all the time also like to push the bigger HP engines harder. Maybe 500~ish seems to be the break-over point for this. - Personally, I would recommend leaving an engine at stock power. It is hard to teach an older motor new things without some damaging consequences sometimes. Engines with age on them do not like suddenly having to work harder. You can always have the power adjusted later down the road. My own CM871 is at 450hp and I think that is just fine for making a living with.

- Gearhead knows his stuff too. He has a shop in MD, and also does remote stuff too when needed. Great guy who knows every single detail of how that engine is made, built, tuned, and programmed. Like myself, there is no question he does not know the answer to when it comes to tuning that engine. He takes his work seriously, and is the kind of guy who will loose sleep if he thinks something is not done to perfection.

- Lastly there is Mr. Hag down in Atlanta. He does not do remote tuning, only tuning with the truck in hand. He also has the advantage of having me down the street + come over to visit if there are any questions, concerns, special needs, or just about any type of thing in question ( Believe me when I say I am on the guys side who owns the truck). He also knows I am the pickiest "you had better make it 110% right or I will shout it on my forum" bastard on the Internet. He is picky as hell about making sure things are 100% right both with the programming and the mechanical stuff like I am. It is of the mindset that every truck should be looked at and gone through thoroughly BEFORE the tuning is done so that no stone is left unturned. Because of this, he has a set way of going about it without compromise. He includes installing new boost and pyro gauges, cam inspection, fuel pump inspection on 2250/2350's, overhead valves re-adjusted, sensors replaced, top quality plates, making the cans 100% hollow and not just drilled through, test drives it + load tests, fine tunes the turbo and other things, and a lot more. The mindset is to establish a repeatable, predictable result + verified to perfection BEFORE the job is completed. This way there is no question to what you have as a result. He spends about 10+ hours going through the truck ans engine along with the other work done. Takes a full day to do one.

- Those are your choices. There are a lot of other places who claim they do this type of work but they always result in a horror story just like yours. This is why those places are not on my forum. I will not allow them to advertise or incite/drum up work from this forum until they have proven themselves 110%,.. and THE REST ARE ARROGANT, BLIND FOOLS WHO TAKE PEOPLE'S MONEY AND LEAVE THEM WITH AN ENGINE THAT IS HELL BENT ON DESTROYING ITSELF AND/OR ITS TURBOCHARGER -- Or worse yet,.. hell bent on removing the most efficient VG turbo ever designed for that engine and putting on something that is inherently LESS EFFICIENT!.

This is why it only comes down to a few people ever being recommended. I do all of my own work on my own equipment and help people for free when I am not busy. I cannot always have people over here, it is merely a hobby for me. I do help people look at their programming with them and explain what someone has done and its consequences, good, bad, or otherwise, so they know what they have and its quality. THOSE PEOPLE DOING THAT KIND OF WORK THAT CAN POTENTIALLY BE DAMAGING need some kind of unbiased accountability. I have no trouble providing that when needed and I am not busy doing other things.

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- Personally, I am not a fan of remote engine tuning as any kind of first choice. ?I know there are people who only go regional or local who have no choice, but personally, I would drive 3,000+ miles on my own dime to get one right after seeing what I have seen. An ISX costs $36,000, just saying. The ability to have a professional test and load test the engine and truck, inspect the work, get that cam(s) inspected, gauges installed, test driving, fine tuning, and a second set of eyes on the truck is worth every mile for such drastic changes. I want to do something ONCE, not 6 times because something got overlooked, missed, was not realized, or was giving a bad feedback when it was done the first time. Some people just can't get to one of the 2 shops I mentioned above, and drive locally, or only have day-cabs and cannot leave the state with their vehicle. Some people just don't want someone to go through their truck to ensure everything is 100% right, but I think those people are simply being short sighted as hell and must not care about their equipment enough to give a damn... but then again that is just my own opinion.

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