I've never much cared (or should be, I've never been able to afford) to do a lot of performance mods to my autos...they either ran or they didn't, sometimes better than others. I've always been under the assumption that tuners only worked for diesel. I know Ebay is FLOODED with "performance" chips just about everything, internal combustion or not.

Are these re-programmers engine/model/make/VIN specific? I thought I read somewhere on here about VIN number matching to the programmer.

I'm assuming since they are described as "flasher" there is no on the fly modification of the program?

If you buy a used one what are the chances it would not work for your engine/truck? Obviously you wouldn't go out and buy a Ford mustang SCT and try to plug into a V8 Magnum, would you? If it's for a "Mopar" product does it have to as specific as model?

Thanks. By time I've got all this 2nd gen shtuff fingered out I'll have another truck and still won't want to sink a large amount of $$ into it.

 

They are specific to model/engine/year. If it works on one 96 Ram with a 5.9 auto, it will work on the next one as well.

A lot of the stuff you see on Ebay though is snake oil. Take a look at their claims. If they are boasting 50+ horsepower, and better gas mileage, you can bet the product will NOT deliver what they claim. Anything that has a two wire hookup, and makes any claims at all, is just that. Claims. There will be ZERO real world gains.

The PCM's in our trucks are (for the most part) OBDII. That means that there is no chip to replace, you reflash the computers memory, with a new set, and pick up some performance that way. Keep in mind, the factory tune was designed for low emissions, and fuel economy, (sorta) and tend to be rather conservative.

If you are interested in re-flashing your PCM, pm/email Hemifever, on this site, and he can set you up with a 'canned' tune, for around 275. It is reputed to be better than what is offered from other companies. If you have some serious mods, (which is doesn't sound like you do), he can do a custom tune for an additional 100.

If you want to tinker with it yourself, you will need a laptop, communication cable, and the right software, that is capable of writing to the PCM. According to popular theory, there are some good free apps out there in the world for this, but, most of them will want you to pony up with some cash. I have no recommendations on software.

 

interesting...I've done other "flashings" of chips in the past, but hadn't thought of doing the same for the truck pcm. So long as I can make a backup of the original code so as not to brick my pcm this might be something worth playing with.

Oddly enough when I'm searching hack solutions, Dodge Ram never seems to enter my train of thought.


Also, theoretically you could buddy up with another with the same truck and take turns using the flasher? Or did I just fall off the boat?

and no, I don't have many mods on my truck. Electric fan, 14x3 and I think that's it. Thinking about doing the fastman while I do the plenum. I've got no idea if the PO fixed the plenum or not...never said anything, I'd assume not. Other than that it's not likely I'll be sinking any serious cash into the beast unless I have to to keep it running. I'd like to do gears, but I'm more apt to wait for someone selling their front and rears on CL for a discount.

 

Also, theoretically you could buddy up with another with the same truck and take turns using the flasher? Or did I just fall off the boat?

Yep, you can do that.

How did you like the electric fan conversion? Notice any differences? Power? Fuel Economy? Anything at all?

 

unfortunately I don't drive the truck often enough to notice much...other than the shifting in my NV3500. On the way out to SD last summer (back end loaded, 4 kids 1 wife and hauling 2 quads, one a kid size) we averaged 10mpg (at 60/65mph). In Jan I think I averaged 13 mpg(72/75mph) empty heading to N. WI and back. But I froze my butt off cause my Heater core is FUBAR.

I mainly did the e fan conversion for better operating temps. The only time the dash gauge comes close to 200f is when it's 100f outside and I've got a load.

Once I do the fastman and plenum fix...Rockers will do in a year or so......maybe? I should have a pretty good idea what kind of fuel eco I am getting. If the plenum is shot and I have a death flash...haven't looked into the flash yet, that would account for some lower mpg's and the lack of ping when under a load. I'm hoping I'll get some power back at highway speeds, cause if it ain't standing still I ain't passing it. LOL.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I was perusing B&G.com and noticed shift points...obviously the NV3500 has no shift points to program for. Are the specific programs for auto vs. manual transmissions? I keep forgetting that most modders are driving auto and only a small % of light vehicle drivers have manual transmissions.

Just think how desolate and lonely the manual trans section of the 2nd gen forums would be if there were such a thing.

 

For the little tools that just flash the PCM, yes, they are different. I think that needs to be specified when ordering.

If you get the software for a laptop, it will be something that you configure with the mask used to read the datastream/eprom.

Custom tuning yourself is a science in and of itself, with an extreme learning curve. Quite rewarding though.