3rd Gen Tuner

I did not read through every post, but if this has not been mentioned, I will just throw it out there...

A lot of folks are saying the piggyback tuners cannot be detected and that it is like a ghost. This is very well true, but I highly doubt anyone here can 100% confirm this, unless you're a Toyota engineer. I am a software developer and have flash tuned GM's for past 20 years. I know some of the new vettes can detect just about any changes you make and void warranty.
It is very possible they can and do detect changes to the boost and afr, timing etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota is logging these things (boost levels and other telematic data) and can at least infer something was modified prior to a failure of some sort...

I'm just making some possible assumptions. I could be totally wrong, but just saying its not out of the realm of possibility.

 

Does the JB4 tune also increase top speed?

 

Negative.

 

But with these devices it doesnt know there is more boost. The device is only allowing the PCM to see the boost it wants. As far as the truck knows, everything is stock and it is just adjusting the fuel trims.

 

I had JB4 on my GTI. You are correct that the ECU is being fooled into making more power, and the OEM doesn't (didn't) look for a piggyback.

I think, if they wanted to, they could definitely determine if the vehicle had/has (via telematics) a piggyback. They could check acceleration rates and possibly traction control duty. The JB4 on my GTI made a huge difference in acceleration and it needed TC to be more active for longer than at stock levels. You could say those 2 metrics could identify a piggyback.
I know these ECU keep track of acceleration rates, even my old Nissan Titan ECU could display rates of acceleration when I had it tuned, my truck became about 1 sec faster from bolt-ons and ECU tuning, I was able to see the Delta improvement through the ECU time-stamping it's own speeds.

 

That would be hard to prove. What if you told them you had removed your tailgate, spare tire, and rear seats, and the truck was 500 lbs lighter?

 

Does the JB4 remove the factory governor while in use?

 

Does not

 

Ok, thank you

 

So a few of you have had the JB4 for a couple months now let’s hear some feedback! Y’all still like it? Worth the purchase? TIA.

 

I've had mine since mid March and I love it. I've added their ethanol sensor kit and have discovered I can go up to E50 blend and not run into any fueling issues. I dont keep it at E50 since the stock timing tables don't offer any advantage over E30 or around there so I keep a blend of E30-40 in my tank and use Map 5 on the JB4. Absolutely no regrets with the purchase. I've taken it off a few times to take the truck in for service/recalls and can get it done in 10 mins or less.

 

For me it is worth it. Love it. Can set certain MAPs with different drive modes.

 

If there is an updated MAP, does JB4 offer free updates?

 

All firmware updates have been free/downloadable and simple to flash.

 

This is good to hear. So we for sure know there’s no way the dealer can know we had the JB4 on there if we were to run into issues?

 

I suppose it could log how wildly far off the fuel trims are and maybe they could make the connection. But other than that the PCM is not aware of an issue otherwise I imagine you would get CEL's.

 

I've taken the JB4 off twice and took it into the dealer twice for those two recalls. No issues that I've run into. Same with my pedal commander. It's all plug and play.

 

anyone put this on a hybrid yet?

 

They can always pull the data but the truck doesn't know it's making more boost (JB4 intercepts that info and reports a lower boost level) but they will notice the wastegate command. The JB4 doesn't leave a footprint but that doesn't mean that the data left behind when a CEL is set off. For day to day stuff at the dealer it seems like it doesn't raise any red flags.

And this is assuming the fuel trims are off...which they're not even at E40. Once we get into E50, we start seeing the fuel trims rise in order to compensate for the extra ethanol. I've been testing with BMS and this has been what we've found so far. No real need for this high of a mix though since the oem timing tables probably can't take full advantage of the added E.

 

Still waiting on a speedo correction from Hypertech or another company. I'm not sure why it bugs me so much, but I'd like to correct it. More so for the mileage tracking, I guess.

 

Hypertech is working on a speedo calibration when I asked them back in June.

 

Also forgot to ask, people that are running this, do feel a big difference just normal-ish driving? I know the gains are significant at WOT but I'm curious if it's a noticeable difference just driving around town, up steep grades, etc.

 

Only feel a difference when boost kicks in.

 

Agree, but to piggyback on this you feel it less in normal city driving. If you drive up steep grades and such, you will definitely feel it more. So normal-ish driving, not so much.

 

I'm on 37's so I'm in boost probably more frequently than the next guy. So I'm thinking this will be perfect.

 

It'll drive like stock off boost and at very low boost levels but once it has some boost readings and it can trick the ecm into commanding more psi, thats when you feel the bump in power. Being that youre on 37s, youll likely feel the difference a bit more than me thats still on stock tires and doesnt go into boost as easily/early because of the low load on the engine. Consider throwing some E85 in the tank and really take advantage of the extra psi in their hottest map...the truck loves E

 

Love it. Used to run E85 on some boosted cars back in the day and damn it made a huge difference.

 

I got BMS' ethanol sensor kit when it came out and use that to get an E40ish blend. You get E content readings in the JB4 app and makes mixing easy since you know the actual E content in your tank now.

 

Question for anyones who's listening. You CAN run 87Oct with this, you’ll just see no results, right? Meaning, 87 won’t ping or mess anything up, I’ll just have no power gains form the tuner while using 87, correct? Thanks.

 

You have to understand what this box is..its simply a smart boost controller. It does not have different timing tables and does not control anything other than manipulating map sensor readings. Having said that, it COULD cause issues if you run a map intended for higher octane (AKA producing higher boost). If you run 87, you could leave the box in the stock map until you fill up with premium or mid grade, totally up to you. You wont see any gains on the stock map, obviously, but you might be able to run a map intended for a bit higher octane and I wouldnt think that the truck would hurt itself as it is still limited to its oem timing tables, knock retard detection and safety nets. I havent seen ANY pinging on any of the maps (No KR) I've logged, tells me that the map is safe and not pushing the limits of what the fuel can handle...but your results might vary.

Are you simply asking in case you ever have to run 87 or do you plan on buying the JB4 and just running that gas 24/7?