Changing lifters in an MDS engine to accomodate cam lift is 12 months out of date. What newer cam requires new lifters? Comp 268, Crane 216, Fri Hellfire, these cams are as aggressive as they come and run just fine on MDS lifters. Everybody and their brother has MDS lifter friendly grinds now days.

A tuner is the only reasonable way to disable MDS. The real question is: Cam or no cam? If you have future plans for the internals, then go Diablo. For a stock motor with a CAI and catback, go superchips.

With all due respect for Dog, how can you say that diablo has better shifts than superchips? SC has the tcm buttoned up while diablo has barely cracked the surface of the 06+ tcm's. They provide no tcm support for 05 down.

I've had both tuners and I preferred SC for a stock motor. I'm not all that stock anymore so I run diablo now.

 

I have just heard alot of crying about the superchips shifting patterns and that there are very spiratic. I have an 08, so no issue's with Diablo's issue's for the prior 05's. I just know that the Diablo on my truck has proven to myself that the shifts are smooth and nothing like Superchips owners were grumbling about. Also, I bought mine when it was onsale 3 weeks ago for $319. I really only bought it for the MDS disable, but it has far outweighed the benefits of only having mds disable. The gas mileage is so much better than I ever anticipated or imagined could be. I think 2mpg solid all around is fan-freakin-tastic for a big truck like mine for just a tuner. Now I just wish I had a diesel and could see 7-9mpg increase from a tuner and 200hp increase..???

Also, I would imagine that most cams are lifter freindly to cut down on costs to the owners so it's more appealing to buy and have installed as well as cut down production costs. Many techs can slide out a cam and slide a new one in without removing the intacke which cuts down time and expenses dramatically. In order to get the cams that way, they just simply have smaller profile cam lobes to accomodate the factory lifters. That's what I gather from all of that. It makes sense anyways. I haven't been in the scene of aftermarket cams because I wanted to keep my engine stock.

 

I've always been of the opinion that the smoother a transmission shifts, the more "slip" is built into it for ride quality, building more heat and shortening the life of the unit as a trade-off. May not be that way anymore, I'm old school. But I kinda like the firmer shifts of the SC, again, just my opinion.

I'm going to go with the SCT when I finally get my finances to where I can finish the truck and do the cam job I've wanted since day one. I'm basically one mod away from the usefullness of the Superchips' canned tunes anyway.
Taking care of my folks for basically two years has me off track with everything from finances & career on down, so I don't know when I'll finish.
SCT is doing very little on the tranny end right now, concentrating more on engine side things like torque management, etc. Maybe by the time I get around to doing the cam, they'll have the tranny shift codes written and tested.

 

Why couldn't he just drive with Tow/Haul mode on? That's what I do on my 08 and it disables MDS and changes shift patterns, nothing major.

 

That's what I did dor a while until I purchased my tuner. The only issue that I have myslef with going that route, is that the gears tend to whine right out and it gets a bit annoying. I do like the fact that the truck downshifts when you even slightly touch the brakes when in tow/haul mode. That helps alot when your going downhill and slowing down. There's a big hill on the highway and has an exit ramp at the bottom. Everyone always rides their brakes and hetas the crap outta them. When I used the tow mode, all I would do is tap the brakes and the truck would downshift and maintain the speed slowing down with the rest of the cars.
Also, Tow/haul mode allows all of the gears where as O/D off eliminates the overdrive gear that is really needed on the highway. It was just annoying for the need to hit tow/haul mode every stinking time I turned the ignition over. But, it's $375 cheaper than buying a programmer

 

Thanks for the great info. I'll likely lean towards a tuner pretty soon, and CAI, as of now I do hit the tow/haul when running around, it eliminates that resonating buzz in overdrive.

 

Like the 'Dog said, Tow/Haul mode is great, especially when pulling a load in the hills. There is no substitute for "engine breaking" when going down a steep grade. Really saves the old brake pads. But there are times that is a disadvantage and is not a long term solution like just disabling the MDS would be...

 

I averaged 18.2 across North Dakota in 2wd at -15 but still have the MDS enabled. I'm interested in what numbers will show up when it's warmer.

 

Hi All,

I have a 08 with a hemi I put flow masters on it. How does it sound with the mds off in OD.

 

If you have a stock or fairly stock truck I would buy a SC. Diablo has a lot of good features for people with modified engines but if you are close to stock you can't beat the SC. There have been some comparisons that I have read that show the canned tunes on the DSP and SC to be very similar in power gains. And don't forget that you can get a used SC for about $200 which is much less than the DSP. As far as shifting goes, I love the shifts I get with the SC.