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DP Tuner DPF-On tune review

84K views 232 replies 32 participants last post by  ConservativeOne1 
#1 · (Edited)
After not being so happy with my 5* tunes and customer support, I decided to try someone else out. I am in no way bashing 5*, their tunes worked for many people and I'm glad for that, it just didn't work out for me I guess so I'm gonna try something else out. I talked to a few companies and Jody at DP Tuner was very helpful. I knew he wrote great tunes for a 7.3 chip style program, but I never heard anyone talk about his tunes on anything newer. My first email to Jody resulted in an immediate, helpful response. I decided to go ahead and spend $155 and try his performance tune for my 6.7. He wrote and emailed my tune back to me same day at 3:45 in the morning. That says something to me, even though when I sent him an email containing my ECU stratigy I told him not to worry about my order until the next business day or when he had some time. He's been very helpful and has stated he's working on converting his tunes over to the EZ Lynk platform.

I am not home at the moment but will be back on Friday. I will load my tune then and give it a go, and report back with my first impressions. I'll then give an update on how everything settled in a couple hundred miles down the road.

So here is my first impressions.

Received tune, 5.3 mb in size. Cool. Loaded it up and flashed it to the truck. Upon first start, I could feel when the engine kicked over it had a good bit more power. Sweet. Ran up the road and all the power was there, right on tap. Throttle sensitivity is comparable to 5* performance tune. Power seems to be at or slightly above 5* performance tune by the seat of my pants. Shifting: it's so nice that the truck actually SHIFTS now!!! The shifts are pretty firm, but Jody says they'll soften up over time once the transmission learns. Cool. I can live with the firm shifts anyway. One thing that surprised me is the 2nd gear tq lockup. It does lock up from time to time, but not every time. Just something to be aware of when you're putting around in a parking lot like I was today.

I am really liking this tune so far. It's supposedly good for 75 HP over stock, and even though 5* was rated for 90 over stock, I think the usability of DP Tuner's tune beats the 5* hands down. Power comes on smooth and quick and not a hint of a shifting issue. I drove about 100 miles on the tune tonight and am seeing about a +1 mpg increase over stock (hand calc--filled up before flash and at end of trip) and it seems to be running hot enough to negate any soot produced, making the DPF seem frozen in its soot GPL or even burning off some. Just like the 5* tune did. Which is a plus...I went almost 1000 miles without a full regen on 5* performance tune. It tried to regen at the 500 mile mark in that tune, like its programmed to do, but my gpl was so low and I was so close to home I didn't even let it heat up and it didn't try to regen again. I think I'll net the same results on this tune. I will update after I let the tune settle in for a while.

If this tune continues to perform to my expectations, I will be ordering a DP-Tuner heavy tow 35hp tune to replace the 5* tow tune.

Another update:

I am REALLY loving these DP tunes. Power is right where it should be, shifts are firm, MILAGE has come up SIGNIFICANTLY. Was getting 11.5 stock, same driving habits and same routine, hand calc 14.1 MPG today. No regens, soot GPL frozen as expected. Runs just hot enough to keep it at bay.

I have noticed between the DP hot tune and the 5* hot tune is, the 5* ran what seemed to be WAY too much timing. I could literally hear each little click as the fuel detonated. Not the case with DP tunes.

Another another update:

Mkay, the tune has settled for about 1500 miles now. Shifts are firm and nice, truck still runs great, and I have no complaints about it. I'm seeing about +1.5-2 mpg over stock with this tune, hand calc. Woohoo!

The performance of this tune is smooth as ever. Granted it is a performance tune, the shifts are a little harder at light throttle, but smooth as stock at half to full throttle. I did contact Jody about the TQ lockup being a little firm, and he said that it is to be expected to hold the power that the tune is making, he doesn't know if it'll slip or not if he makes it a little less firm. Which is fine for me, I've gotten used to it.

Merging with traffic is a breeze, as I can usually surpass the speed of traffic by the end of the on-ramp now. The power is smooth and feels like it should be there. I cannot recommend these tunes enough.

And guess what....NO REGENS. Runs hot enough to reverse the soot collected. Haven't had a single regen except for the 500 mile mark one. Now of course if you run around in town alot you'll see you needing some regens, but doesn't seem like it'll be frequent. But it is nice that it's burning off passively on the freeway now for me. A major plus.

Any questions please feel free to ask. I'm not a sales rep for DP, just writing my experience. I'll edit the post when it's daylight hours to make more sense.

update again...feb 2017:

I have been DD'ing the heavy tow 35 hp for the last 6,000 miles and am loving it. 16 mpg average on the freeway (unless I have a bad headwind), near perfect shifting, nice little powerbump, does not eat DEF much at all, etc. I'm still recommending these tunes from Jody hands down over anything else.
 
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#2 ·
What did you not like about 5*? Just curious as I just order them today.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I did not like the fact that they could not fix the shifting issue I was having with my tunes and a handful of other people also have reported. They quit answering my emails after their second tune they sent me didn't work and aren't very helpful over the phone. Mind you I wasn't angry at them or forceful, just expected a little better support. I definitely got the impression that they are very very rushed over there at their place.

My truck would not complete a 3-4 or 4-5 shift when >50% throttle in the performance tune. It would stall and defuel and not fuel again or shift until your foot comes out of the throttle. Original and updated tune did not fix. I have been running daily tow since the updated tune didn't work and I'm starting to notice some flared 2-3 or 4-5 shifts, but not particularly from tq lockup. I also did not like how hot the EGT ran on the tow tune with only 10k behind me at freeway speeds, but not a lot can be done without deleting when you tow on a hotter tune with your emissions still on.

I am trying out DP tuner because I know they have a decent reputation and Jody has been helpful so far and is very confident in his tunes. He only tunes diesels and ive honestly found that companies that only tune/deal with diesels are generally better in the customer service/friendliness/family feeling department, just because "they get it".
 
#4 ·
Right on, keep us updated on the DP tune. I have heard of the issues you speak of so fingers crossed that mine will be good. My previous truck was fully dele#$d and tuned so I don't have too high of hopes for these "D**-On" tunes but I will give them a try. What kind of EGT temps were you seeing with 10K hooked up?
 
#6 · (Edited)
I also tow a 10K fifth wheel with 5* Daily Tow and never tow faster than 65 mph as that is all ST tires are rated for. I typically see more like 600-700 flat towing and up to 1100 pulling grades. I get regens every 500 miles whether I need them or not which seems the way the 2015 is programed. I also get 12.5 mpg towing vs 10 mpg with my Ecoboost on premium gas so that cuts the cost of towing even more.
I am glad to hear reports of other DPF on tunes for the SCT.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
10k hooked up with 3.55 gears I would see about 900-1000 running a flat ground 75 and to keep speed up any incline I tried to keep it below 1000 but it would jump up to 1100 at times...mind you this is at stock EGT #1 so it's a ways from the manifold so I factor in 300+- degrees on top of that reading. I did not like the truck running that hot. It also ran about 210-218 on the coolant 230 on the oil 200 on the trans (normal for trans and oil and prolly coolant too). It pulled the load just fine but I didn't like the high temps. I usually pull a 16k gooseneck that has the aerodynamics of a brick and I pulled that for a very short trip up some 7% hills and the EGT jumped fairly quickly. But I was able to manage them and keep speed. I don't know as I really want to delete but just can't for a few years. I also don't really have any temperature readings pulling on a stock tune to compare to either. I never paid attention...if the performance tune from DP does what it's supposed to, I'll probably order their heavy tow tune as well and replace the 5* tow tune. A little less HP than 5* but it's worth the sacrifice if it keeps the EGT cooler. As if the truck didn't have enough power to pull anyway.

I will say the performance DPF On tune I ran from 5* (when it actually did run) really woke the truck up and I was impressed for a DPF-on tune and its power. I just couldn't use it because it wouldn't complete a shift. It also ran hot enough on the freeway to literally never regen. I went almost 1000 miles without a full regen. (It tried at the 500 mark like it automaticly does but my soot gpl was so low that I just pulled in the driveway and didn't even let it get hot enough to regen.) considering I was getting 100 miles a regen in the stock tune, I was thrilled with that.
 
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#8 ·
Thanks for the info on the DP Tuner program, I'm gonna give it a try, my 5 star performance tune gave me fits again yesterday coming up a long grade, started to shutter really bad, thought I toasted the turbo, put it back to stock and its fine.
 
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#9 ·
I am REALLY loving these DP tunes. Power is right where it should be, shifts are firm, MILAGE has come up SIGNIFICANTLY. Was getting 11.5 stock, same driving habits and same routine, hand calc 14.1 MPG today. No regens, soot GPL frozen as expected. Runs just hot enough to keep it at bay.

I have noticed between the DP hot tune and the 5* hot tune is, the 5* ran what seemed to be WAY too much timing. I could literally hear each little click as the fuel detonated. Not the case with DP tunes.
 
#10 ·
Glad you are enjoying the tune! Jody has invested a lot of his time with the 6.7L platform to ensure the tunes are dialed in. It is his primary focus now, and as you stated, he is currently working on getting the EX LYNK stuff all setup so he can expand his 6.7L tuning.

Let us know if you need anything or have any questions. We would be happy to help you out.
 
#11 ·
Not to derail this thread but I just received my SCT X4 today and would like to load some tunes on it, the only problem is I do not have or have access to a PC computer to download the SCT Updater program. Can tunes be loaded without the Updater Program?
 
#15 · (Edited)
Trying to load the Trans 5* Program and keep getting (SF Error) Load Failed. Anyone have this issue? Also Just tried to load a tune and got a Error code while it was saving the stock data from the truck. Any ideas. First SCT experience and it is proving to be a PITA
 
#16 ·
What you need to do is take the tuner and plug into the truck, and select read truck information. Then unplug and go update it on a Windows machine and load 5* tunes onto the device. Take it back and flash truck. That should take care of your error codes.

If it doesn't, then you need to contact 5* as it seems the code for the TCM is off or something.

And you can dual boot windows on a Mac very easially. It's what I did.
 
#21 ·
Yeah, I'm loving the tunes. They're perfect for me. Good power and good fuel mileage. I can't reccomend them more, they have been pretty consistant. I can see some getting annoyed in town with the very firm tq lockup but it is a race tune so that's why the tq lockup is so solid.
 
#22 ·
Wish they would ship to CA! I had a DP tune on my 7.3 and loved it.
My option is 5* as they will ship to CA.
 
#26 ·
I am running 5* 90hp tune right now and not having any issues. Before I ordered 5* I debated buying dp tuner I had dp on my 7.3 and it rocked. I am going to order dp performance tune tonight and give it a try. Thanks for the write up. I will update my results.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Are there any experiences with changes to regen interval with the DP tunes? I've had 500 mile intervals for 10,000 miles now with the 5-Star Daily Tow tune, but would be willing to try DP Tow tune if the experience is the same.
Edit: Just read the first page again and I see there is regen reduction, so I may try the DP heavy tow tune when I get some extra money. Just retired and am still making adjustments to my budget.
I am very happy with the 5* tunes, but my curious nature makes me want to experiment. I tried dozens of tunes with my Ecoboost and found you couldn't count on fan boys being honest or experienced enough to know what was good or not.
 
#33 ·
Haven't run my DP heavy tow tune yet but I expect it to keep regens at a minimum judging by how clean my DP 75hp performance tune is. Also got 500 miles between regens on that tune
 
#37 · (Edited)
I'll get on the wagon here.....

I opted for the 5 Star when I bought my SCT as well.... When towing my #8000 camper/quad setup, I only regen every 500 miles when running the Daily Tow Tune. I was hoping to just run the daily tow as a daily driver tune - as sitting in the truck for 15 mins to change tunes every time I get done towing is a hassle. Well, with the hills and speed limits involved in my non-towing daily driving with the daily tow tune in, she wants to regen about every 100-150 miles... sometimes even less. I contacted 5 Star about it, and they made some tweaks, but in reality, it hasn't made any difference.

Stock, when just daily driving (not towing), she never regen'd anywhere near that often. Typically I could go 400+ miles between regens.

I'm curious for pulling #8000 lbs up some New Hampshire grades would classify as a 50HP "Daily / Light Tow" or a 35HP "Heavy Tow" tune? Justin, am I reading your words above to mean that more frequent regens aren't part of any of your tunes REGARDLESS of towing or not?

Thanks!
 
#41 ·
For the 8K load, you would be good to go with the Daily/Light Tow tune. Anything below 10K for that tune.

The frequency for regens will vary depending on how you drive the truck. You should not notice anymore frequent regens than stock though.

I'll jump on as well. Not sure what I will do yet but also considering something different. I got the 5Star and was happy with the power and all but after reading some of this I started to watch things more. My soot gpl continues to climb even with EGT1 at about 700. Pulled 13k for 290 miles and gpl went from 1.4 to 2.6. This was all interstate driving at 64mph. I don't drive it not towing enough to really tell much.

So Justin towing just over 13k 5th wheel about 60% of the time would what would you recommend? Guessing that is the heavy tow tune. What are the HP/TQ numbers on yours and what would be the max boost it would allow. Also what about TC lockup?

Thanks.
For 13K, definitely the Heavy Tow tune. You may get away with daily driving in that tune the remaining 40% of time too, if you don't mind a little higher shift points.

Heavy Tow 35HP/74TQ
Daily/Light Tow 50HP/105TQ
Performance 75HP/160TQ

Max boost in the highest tune will be 28psi.

TQ converter locks in 2nd. Not sure if you were asking something else, just assuming you meant when does it lock.
 
#38 ·
I'll jump on as well. Not sure what I will do yet but also considering something different. I got the 5Star and was happy with the power and all but after reading some of this I started to watch things more. My soot gpl continues to climb even with EGT1 at about 700. Pulled 13k for 290 miles and gpl went from 1.4 to 2.6. This was all interstate driving at 64mph. I don't drive it not towing enough to really tell much.

So Justin towing just over 13k 5th wheel about 60% of the time would what would you recommend? Guessing that is the heavy tow tune. What are the HP/TQ numbers on yours and what would be the max boost it would allow. Also what about TC lockup?

Thanks.
 
#39 ·
You may find that GPL climbs faster in hot weather no matter if tuned or stock. Although I now approach the 3.5 gpl mark, it is still the % DPF Full reaching Full that triggers the regen. It is still better than stock as it was the GPL that triggered regens my first summer. Note that I rarely short trip and that any incomplete regens will trigger another much sooner.
 
#42 ·
Great info. I have some questions though. I had an edge cts and I hated it. didn't seem to do much. It looks like DP tunes may be the way to go but I would get an new tuner from them as well. does it make much of a difference which one I go with? (x4, livewire, or ez lynk). Also Justin can you give me a bit more info on your tunes and the recommended times to use each?

Thanks
 
#43 ·
We can definitely get you setup.

As far as the tuner goes, it does not matter which one you get. They all have different features, but our custom tunes can go on any of them. However, there is a slight difference between the tunes for SCT units and the tunes for the EZ Lynk.

With the SCT units, you cannot switch tunes on the fly. This means you have to shut the engine off every time you want to load a new tune. This takes around 10 minutes usually. That is the downside. The upside is that you are doing a full reflash, meaning the transmission tuning is redone each time you load a tune as well. This enables us to write more in depth transmission tuning for each individual power level. For example; The Tow tunes will have higher shift points to keep RPM's up, which reduces lugging. The Daily tunes will keep shift points lower to help with mileage. As you can see, the tuning can really be dialed in for exactly what you are using the truck for when doing a full reflash.

With the EZ Lynk, you can switch between tunes on the fly. This means with the push of a button, you are in another power level. No turning the engine off to do so. That is the upside. The downside is that you are not doing a full reflash, meaning the transmission tuning cannot be changed a whole lot. There are minor adjustments in the TQ tables when switching between tunes, but for the most part the trans tuning will not change.

The Livewire and EZ Lynk both have monitoring capabilities, and the X4 is meant to plug in, flash, then disconnect. You can read/clear codes with it, but using it as a monitor is not ideal.

The EZ Lynk is a cloud based system, so you can get our most up to date tunes easily. Everything on the system is done through Wifi. Pretty cool technology. It is still a new system though, so bugs are being worked out and updates are being done often. Android support should be coming soon.

As far as the tunes go... Heavy Tow is used for towing loads that are 10K+ lbs. Daily/Light Tow is used for everyday driving and towing loads up to 10K lbs. The Performance tune should not be used for towing at all, and is meant to give you a big power gain without getting into unsafe territory (remember, it is designed for max safe output with emission stuff intact).

Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
#47 ·
No problem.

I hope I was able to help you out through our PM convo. I believe I saw your order come through. If so, thank you and let me know if you need anything else.

GREAT information. Thank you Justin.
For sure! I am happy to contribute to this thread in any way I can. Thank you for starting it up and providing feedback.

Dagnabbit, it seems every time I put a lil money in my pocket, this truck pick-pocket's me and I'm left pulling out lint....

The good news is, I'm almost done...

Justin, thanks for the information. I'm gonna mull your Daily / Light Tow tune over for the weekend, and make a decision by Monday.
Yes, I have the same issue. These trucks sure like to take our money. At least they can put a smile on your face in return. :scuffy

Let me know if you have any additional questions.
 
#50 · (Edited)
As said, reading these threads can get expensive. After watching a PowerstrokeHelp video about a blown 6.7 and Bill talking about too much timing and then recommending DP-Tuner, I came back to this thread. I've been happy with my 5 Star Daily Tow with no issues whatsoever. I have also played with the Innovative tow tune only to find it was just a street tune and hope I didn't cause any engine damage with an extremely tough situation where that tune was always in too high a gear for the job. The one thing I noticed is that the IDP tune is quieter than the 5* and that seems to go to the remarks about timing that Bill talked about. I also noted that DP-Tuner's light tow tune has less HP than the IDP tow and the DP Heavy tow has less (5 HP) than 5*. Since DP-Tuner seems to have substantial experience in diesel tuning, I assume there is good reason for that, possibly that adding too much power for towing is a bad thing. I am thinking of trying DP-Tuner and tow a 10K fifth wheel in the mountains so I am border line between heavy and light tow tunes. I am guessing the light tow might be more fun than the heavy tow while unhooked, but the heavy tow tune would be safer, and I can only afford one tune for now. My towing season is over until spring. What do you recommend?
 
#51 ·
HIGHLY reccomend only running the heavy tow tune pulling 10k esp. in the mountains. EGT gets hot QUICK when towing in the mountains tuned or not, don't know how fast you pull but reguardless I would stick to the heavy tow. I have gotten a couple hundred miles on my DP heavy tow tune and I am loving it. Nice little power bump, shifting is spot on, EGT is in range, and so is EOT and ECT. Seems to also be just as clean of a tune as the performance tune, produces very very little soot, GPL meter actually rarely moves from 0.89 (my 0% dpf load in my truck). I love it. I would not reccomend running the light tow. Too much load, mountains will be making it too hot too quick.
 
#54 · (Edited)
I got my DP-Tuner 35HP Tow Tune and put about 10 miles on it this afternoon. Sweet! The normal (unhitched) shift points are spot on and shifting is quick and precise. After topping off, I left the service station like a kid with a quick punch to 1/3 throttle and it surprised me with an unexpected burst of acceleration. Nice! I am very aware of shift points as I went through about 10 iterations of another tune to get it to this point. Up shift to 6th was at about 47 mph so this tune won't be choking your engine at 40 mph in 6th like stock does.
We are having a 70 degree day and I went out a few hours ago on a quick errand so the engine wasn't stone cold. When I cranked it up with the new tune loaded, it went right to 600 rpm in a smooth, quiet idle. Driving is similar to 5 Star Daily Tow, but shifts are a little quicker so this looks to be my preferred tune.
Towing is over for the season, but I expect to be as happy with that as everyone else is.
 
#56 ·
After more driving, I have to say this is the best tune I've ever tried with my truck. It is obvious that it was extensively tested by someone who knows this platform. Smooth, timely shifting combined with the right application of power make it a pleasure to drive. The comment about tolerating the holding of gears longer with the heavy tow tune is an unnecessary warning as shifting just seems on the mark. I love this tune!
 
#57 ·
I'm glad you like em...this pretty much sums up my opinion on these tunes too. i've put over 5k on my 75 hp performance tune in the last two months and am getting my all time best milage out of the truck on the freeway and the best shifting and a really nice bump in power...and next to zero regens. Only at the 500 mile mark, every time.
 
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#58 · (Edited)
Since I plan to keep this truck a long time, I rarely go beyond half to 2/3 throttle, but I did for the first time a few days ago just to see what would happen. Surprisingly, not a lot. Seems the tow tune is programmed to bring all of its horses into play at lower throttle and RPMs. It is great at leaving a stoplight, just not for 1/4 mile runs. For a heavy tow tune, this is as it should be. Still loving the smooth drive-ability of it.
 
#59 · (Edited)
I'd agree with this statement.

Thinking of switching to my DP tow tune as the performance tune is starting to shift a little sloppy especially in town. I've put about 7500 miles on it without changing tunes last few months. It could be because I was drag racing some people on the freeway doing 5th gear pulls. Who knows. It shifted beautifully for a long long time. Probably the transmission tryin to "learn".

I won the drag btw, twice. LOL...55 mph punch to 110 then I let off...its a quick SOB on 75 added horses.
 
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