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Hot damn vs KEM 345

7K views 44 replies 15 participants last post by  LFD132 
#1 ·
Well guys not real sure how to judge these two. I have been running the KEM 345 for a couple of days and not as impressed with it as I thought I would be. Kinda thinking the hot damn tune might have a little more a** to it. I was thinking the 345 would be a huge difference compared to the hot damn which is advertised at 250 or 275 depending on who you ask. Don't want to knock it to soon, but thought it would be a little more out of the box. Seems like it just falls over when the torque converter locks outs. It's starting to shift better, but really was hoping for more. :dunno:
 
#3 ·
Both of you are very correct. It doesn't prove to be any stronger than a 275 tune. I switched back to my spartan 275v3 today after driving the 345 for a month or so. My shifting is back to being precise and snappy. The shifting is so erratic on the 345 for easy driving. My rear leafs constantly clunk when truck shifts from red lights at light throttle. It is a good running tune engine wise but the shifting needs some work. Mine will also kickdown after the converter is locked after 45mph, never had any other tune do this. I have not seen any dynos of the 345 meet the hot damn much less the 310!
 
#18 ·
Your Comments are your 2centavos worth and dont substantiate that there are any shifting issues with the KEM 345 .
Guys..these kinds of posts pop up occasionally ever since the Spartan/KEM war started up.
There is no doubt of the KEM 345 tune being a superior street and Daily tune and worthy of the reputation its gotten. Personally the Dyno numbers even if accurate are not relative to my reasons for getting the 345. Ill purchase it as a potential daily driver when Im finished playing with the Hot Damn tune. Id like to have all the tunes available to the Mini Maxx in my stable.
 
#7 ·
Hot Damn did 556 on a truck and the KEM 345 did 530. The numbers speak for themselves. The dyno used was one of the most respected in the country, which says a lot in my opinion.
 
#11 ·
I would say that you shouldn't assume that we haven't contacted Mike. I worked back and forth with him for a couple months and he did make honest attempts to correct the issue. He just finally told me that there was not much else he could do. I have it on 3 trucks and they all seem to shift nice and firm for about a 100 miles, then the shifts get softer and there are erratic shift flares that have been reported by others as well. just stating the facts that it is a great tune other than the shift issues. Again, thanks for your input.
 
#9 ·
subscribed
working on saving some cash for a mini maxx and was wondering if te kem 345 was worth the money or not.....
 
#12 ·
I still dont have allot of time with the 345 tune yet but power wise it dont feel much stronger like i first thought i think that was in my head more than anything! however the shifting i feel is much better and the converter stays locked and dont jump but it seems to be eating a decent amount of extra fuel which sucks @ $3.89 a gallon! I have run all the big tunes and never seen a fuel drop until now i dont know if the 275 or 310 tune would be better but i am not sure it was well spent money at this point!
Chris
 
#13 ·
I can honestly say I have hand calculated mine several times and it gets 15 mpg consistently in town. But what's funny is , it gets a little better on the interstate, but not much. Maybe 1mpg more.
I also want to add that every tune can possibly have it goods and bads. And the 345 despite the few shifting issues is probably the best street tune I have run beside my first spartan 275 tune.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I ran the 345 for a couple of days on my truck. When I first installed the tune I was pretty impressed with the responsiveness of the truck. Power wise it felt, if not the same, just slightly better than the hot damn tune. I'm assuming maybe because of the sharp throttle response. It is VERY sensitive IMO. The sensitive throttle response just wasn't doing it for me. Transmission wise shifts were right on as a DD. They were smooth shifts. When I would get on it, they would firm up right away and were snappy. Traction bars are a must. I ended up going back to the Hot damn tune as a daily driver and I will use the KEM at the track or when some races in "mexico" go down. These are all my .02 cents on my experience. I am not upset nor disappointed at all. I knew what to expect when I made the decision to purchase the tunes. Just the option of dailying the tune was not for me. Could I have had the tune tweaked a bit? Sure. And Im sure Mike would have had no problem adjusting it. I just came to the decision of not dailying the tune. KEM has great customer service and are all great guys. They were always very helpful and quick to respond when I had any type of questions. No bashing here.
 
#16 ·
I guess its different in each truck. I can't believe yall don't like the shifting or the throttle response, I think its great. Maybe just from me DD with the Spartan 310, the 345 is easier shifting and a much less sensitive pedal.
 
#19 ·
I'm not complaining about the shifting or the throttle response. I was just expecting more out of it than what I have seen so far. I will keep running and see how it does. Might drop down to the 310 and see if there is any differance.
 
#17 ·
I daily drove the spartan 310 for about 6 months and there is not doubt the Kem 345 shifts better and is know where near as jumpy throttle wise but still has good drivable pedal responce. I never thought after reading pages of posts about the 345 tune that mileage would have been a issue where most say they saw gains compared to the hot damn and the 310 being i drive 200 miles a day thats a big factor to me with fuel prices and the power is just like BlueDemon09 said those small perks are not worth the overall cost of DD this tune from the looks of it.
Chris
 
#22 ·
I got the mini from Mike a few weeks ago along with the 345 tune. When I put the Kem card with the 345 tune in it also shows a 75,150,210,250,275,310,345. I guess I have all these tunes if it shows them. Right?:dunno: Thought I was only getting the 345. Anyway loaded the 345 and drove around enough for a tranny relearn. Comparing it to the Spartan 275 and Erics extreme street, I'd say power wise little less on take off but picks up for it when the tc locks up. Big plus for me is the 1400 to 1500 egt max on the 345. The other 2 hit 1600 at 75 mph on a wot run. 345 made more boost too. 345 no smoke,smooth shifts with my built tranny,less back pressure, fuel milage can't say haven't driven it that much. Just my observations on very little driving of the 3.
 
#24 ·
Wow you have dumped some money into these tuners. I guess I was expecting the 345 tune to be a huge diferance compared to the hot damn tune. If you go by the numbers 345 compared to 275 I just haven't seen that great of a change, but still happy with the fact that I went ahead and bought all the tunes for an extra 50.00. I wil try the 310 in a couple of days and see what it does.
 
#31 ·
Like i said before 0 shifting issues with the 345 on my truck it is the best high HP tune I have ever run on my truck.

I don't think Jeff runs any KEM tunes :dunno: on his truck to tell you of any issues.
 
#32 ·
Thanks drservo:thumb: I really enjoy what Ive been hearing about that tune.

At this point I think the Hot damn is a qenuine quality performance tune. The KEM seems to up the, street and daily driver quality, a notch or two for a small investment. Perhaps The KEM will be my permanent tune, Id like it to be.
 
#33 ·
Im gonna need some :stump: for this one
 
#34 ·
I'll chime in. The only tune that I own is the KEM 345 tune for now, and I bought that tune only after I had purchased a used SCT LiveWire just to be able to upload a custom tune. I have no experience with any other tunes from any other tuners, so I can not compare shifting with other tunes against the KEM 345. I will say however, that before I purchased the tune I read up on the shifting issue and how hard it was with other tunes compared to the KEM 345. With my experience so far, I am pleased with the way the truck shifts with the KEM 345 tune, as I was expecting a change from factory programming, but did not know to what extent. It does not shift violently like some people had reported on other tunes, but at the same time it does not shift smooth and unnoticeable like on the factory tune. In my opinion it is a very tolerable light shift that you can feel when gears change, but does not scare me in thinking that it is doing any internal damage whatsoever. I do not hear any clunking from the rear as reported on this thread earlier. That could possibly stem from a suspension or drivetrain issue that might need attention. Whether or not what the true dyno horsepower ratings are on this tune versus the others was not the selling point for me purchasing this tune. The selling points for me that compared to other tunes were that it shifted better and smoother, the truck ran cooler than the other high performance tunes, and that it felt stronger and had better reports of increased mileage, which was the strongest selling point. Other factors included price. I was not forced to purchase a tuner at a high price that came with 14+ tunes, of which I would probably only use one of them 95% of the time. I purchased my SCT LiveWire and the KEM 345 tune which only put me $500 in the hole for a tuning solution that I want. Going this route, I decide what tunes I want to pay for my day-to-day operation of my vehicle, without going $1400 in the hole because a tuner wants to force you to buy all of their tunes in one package. In the future, if there is another tune that I want to purchase from a different custom tuner, I have that option as well. The cost effectiveness of the tune paying for itself is at a much faster rate than if I went the other route.
 
#35 ·
Yeah I read where you got the SCT and coupled it with the KEM 345 at a super bargain. I already had the mini so My package will be near double from yours. I thought you made the sweetest deal possible. I dont find any real substance to the Kem tunes having Shifting problems and will be talking to mike next week.
Thanks for the feedback Condo.
 
#36 ·
Ok, here I go again. vettester, you must must need a dictionary to spell this out. I have the 345 tune on 3 trucks and the tune is great. It does however have a slight shift flare at certain speeds between 2-3 on all 3. This is a minor issue that I can live with. This is what causes the clunk of the leafs wrapping. Also, it is a fact that after some time the shifts will get softer and you can reload the tune to make them quick and firm again. It does get the best in town mileage of any tune I have run. I ran the 275 for a day and did notice a difference. The 345 feels slightly stronger and the early lockup is great. it is my best street tune. If you don't want peoples true opinion, don't ask. I have no problems here with spartan or kem, just happy I got to experience both. You might consider reading the full kem345 thread on powerstrokenation before you jump the gun next time. Sir.
 
#38 ·
All right thanks, Ill check out the powerstroke nation thread.
 
#37 ·
OK so here is my feedback.. the 345 tune is a great daily driver tune, easy on the tranny and the power is there when you want it. Not to sure about the lock up at 45mph... might ask to have that changed to 55, also with the KEM I have more smoke then the Hot Damn tune

The Hot Damn tune from H&S you will need trac bars... lol

Also people have talked about the rev then slamming into gear.. remember our Trannys need up to 500 miles to relearn and also that slam is part axle wrap.

Noticed the gas milage about the same on both.
 
#39 ·
Yeah thanks, sounds good. I emailed Mike , asking him about the 345 and a Job1 truck. He detailed the TCM differences and adjustments in the tune.
Im thinking of starting it up and relearn with the 55 lockup. I use the 45 for the Hot damn its calmed the shifts down after relearn pretty well but Im looking for some better shifting all around with the KEM. This truck is a marvel already and want to keep it that way going forward.
 
#42 ·
Oh your right.. oops
 
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