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Old 09-26-2006, 11:51 AM   #1
gherman49
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BullyDog Chip

I have a 2003 Duramax and recently installed a Bullydog download with the hopes of increased mileage/power towing. I am running it in the economy/towing mode. I have logged about 1000 miles towing and I see an increase in power, but did not see an increase in mileage -- in fact, may have been a couple of tenths less -- hard to tell as headwinds, etc are a factor; however, the two miles a gallon story I bought into didn't materialize. Does anyone have experience with this or other chips giving a significant increase in mileage while towing? I do not have much data yet on whether I will see an increase overall.

Glenn Herman
 
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Old 09-26-2006, 02:18 PM   #2
Glass Guy
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some of the diesel forums are reporting a 1 or 2 mile per gallon improvement with chips and programmers but the biggest increases are the earlier powerstrokes and cummins, I installed a 4 inch exhaust and gained 2 1/2 miles per gallon that also included a 3 inch down pipe and lost the kitty. Roman
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Old 09-26-2006, 03:21 PM   #3
old turbo
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Simply putting in the power chip will not give you all you want. A large unrestricted stainless steel exhaust system will help. You also have to change the air system,not just the filter, the entire air flow system .This may or may not get you more mileage. More power may put a strain on your torque converter. You cannot beleive all the mileage claims.A subscription to Diesel Power Magazine will help you figure out what works and what is sales hype.
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Old 09-27-2006, 10:23 AM   #4
Glenn and Lorraine
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And 1 or 2 mpg is not enough to justify the cost of such changes. As far as increased HP my old 2003 with 300HP and my current 2005 at 310HP has all the power required to pull my Monty and it isn't creating any additional strain on the torque converter or any other part of the powertrain.
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Old 09-27-2006, 11:24 AM   #5
gherman49
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I drove today from Houston to McAlester, OK -- not towing. Got 20.0 mile per gallon. That is a 2-3 mpg increase over my previous unloaded avg; however, my towing mpg was about the same as I previously saw before the download. I agree that the added hp would be a strain if I was running a more aggressive setting. But, I think with the least agressive setting torque converter problems, etc. should not be a problem.
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Old 09-27-2006, 12:27 PM   #6
Dave e Victoria
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No experience with Bullydog but had Hypertech on our 2003 2500HD D/A. Saw incredible power and torque improvement and about 2 mpg increase (from 9.5 to 10.5) when towing but no change unloaded (17.0 mpg).

There is not a lot of experience in the field for the 2006 LBG Duramax and Allison has advised against exceeding the 650 ft lbs of torque which is stock so I guess we will stay stock. We are getting 10 mpg at 60 or 9 mpg at 70 with the 3500 dually. Would like to see better.
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Old 10-03-2006, 03:27 PM   #7
Montana Rog
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I have a 2003 Dodge 3500 diesel 4wd with a Bully Dog chip and 4 inch exhaust. I gain mileage..(I think) because it recovers from hills faster and then goes back to cruise. If I have it turned off, I can feel the pedal going further to the metal on hills. I did notice that with the increase in HP..the cruise does not act fast enough and the engine seems to hunt. The pedal goes up and down continously. I don't usually use the on position unless I am going to pass, or pulling the Montana. Then mostly on the center position which would maybe be the 50HP setting. Hope I didn't confuse you..And YES, I do like the chip/exhaust combination. It is a little louder though.
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Old 10-04-2006, 02:00 PM   #8
Cat320
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I'd be very careful making any kind of mod to the truck, here's what my owner's manual says:

"Modifications made to the engine, xmsn, exhaust, intake, fuel system of your vehicle or the replacement of the original tires with those other than those of the same Tire Performance Criteria (TPC) can effect your vehicle's emission control systems...(more similar wording here)...Modifications to these systems could lead to costly repairs not covered by your warranty."

The last five words got my attention.
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Old 10-05-2006, 12:57 PM   #9
Native Tex
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I put a chip in my last Ford 7.3L and was not that thrilled with milage. I did get performance and it did as advertised by Banks, but have considered on since. The investment does not match any payback.....there wasn't any payback to speak of. You would be better off to invest in a cold air intake and possibly a larger exhaust system.
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Old 10-05-2006, 05:14 PM   #10
ols1932
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In the four years we've had the Banks Power Pack we have been very happy with the increase in power and the increase in towing mileage from 7 to 9 mpg to 9 to 11 mpg, depending on conditions. The cost has almost been recouped through the savings in fuel costs. If you don't run a lot of miles/year, then the Banks system is not going to pay for itself. But in our case, we run 18,000-20,000 miles/year. So you can see that there has been some savings based on our 2 mpg increase. Maybe it's just me but others I've talked to personally have experienced the same but we all agree that you have to travel a lot of miles/year in order to make it pay.

Orv
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