Bully dog vs DAP tuning

I'm trying to get real information from people that have used these tunes or even maybe used both of these tunes. Is it worth spending the extra money on dap tuning remote tune? From what I understand it's around 600 for a file and no interface . And with bully dog there are multiple tunes and a nice interface to see what's going on with your trucks performance. Can anyone offer some actual facts of either? Thanks!

 

I'd be interested to know this as well.

 

I'm more interested in the mpg gains, I do a ton of interstate driving and with 12.3-12.5 mpg it's adding up and if I could get 2-4 mpg from either of the tunes would br great. Dap tuning says that 80% of the people with their tune gain 2-4 mpg but it is a single tune with no interface. Bully dog is a couple hundred cheaper with an interface and multiple tunes, but I haven't been able to find many facts about fixed shifts points or actual performance/mpg gains depending on setup

 

I will be getting the DAP tune on Jan 20th (shrek is coming to Austin to tune our group).

One of the guys in our group has had this tune for about 6 months now and I can personally attest to the results. His truck is on 35" tires (with no regearing) and it is much faster than my truck on 33" tires.

Here are the gains that shrek posted in FB:

• 15-20 hp peak gain at the wheels
• 20-30 hp low and mid range gain at the wheels
• gov eliminated
• first gear shift at WOT upped from 5200 rpm to 6000 rpm
• shift points set to 10% increased rpm at WOT
• shift times reduced by 60% and firmed up
• torque management deleted

having the torque management deleted is a huge feature. I cant tell you how many times that I tried to pull out onto the frontage roads and need to get quickly up to speed only to have the engine power cut the because there was a little body lean/bump on the turn.

also, this minimizes the power cut during a shift (its the lag you feel between shifts).

the only downside that I can tell is that you need to pay more attention to the throttle. you can totally smoke the tires and the truck wont cut the power. however, if you shift into sequential mode (S on your shifter), then the truck will behave as normal. The tune is applied only to "D" mode and not to "S" mode.

 

Is that with BD or DAP tune?

 

sorry, DAP tune. post updated.

 

What octane is this tune for? I assume 91 or 93

 

Right, sounds about what I discussed with them (dap tuning) via email. But is the bully dog gonna do the same thing ? It's way cheaper and has a interface with mutilple tunes?

 

Just installed my dap remote tune over the weekend. Very happy so far, and frankly think a $600 tune is on the cheaper end compared to what i've paid to tune other vehicles. I haven't seen anyone who has done both, but haven't come across anyone who wasn't happy with DAP, and yet some not happy with BD. That was enough for me.

Placed my order, had tuner here in 72 hours, emailed file...had new tune 48 hours after that.....

 

we should do a side by side dyno run with dap and BD. I can let you use my BD! I need to drive your truck one of these days.. we can swap and you can try out the BD. oH.. can you let us know how your mpg is affected during normal driving?

 

you can run 87, but shrek recommends that you use 93 to get the most out of the engine. the guy who has the dap tune that I mentioned runs 93.

 

I will. Off to Vegas so will get a read out when back. I’m probably the last guy that should give a mpg read out, lol

 

I installed the DAP tune over the weekend, and I have about 200 miles on it so far. According to DAP, the ECU needs several hundred miles to fully "learn" the tune. My experience thus far is limited, but I wouldn't expect to get any significant MPG gains out of these tunes. Maybe you'll get + 0.5 mpg or a bit more under ideal conditions. I made a 125+ mile drive the other day got the same mileage as I did on the same drive pre-tune.

I can tell you it is a whole lot more fun to drive under heavy acceleration with the DAP tune. From a slow roll turning on to the highway, I laughed my ass off as I punched it and watched the truck hold gears to about ~6000. By the time I glanced over at the speedo, I was already up to 70. Under normal driving (I drive like a grandpa around town), I haven't noticed much. I do have some heavy 70 lb tires (295/70/18 STT Pros). I wasn't expecting the tune to compensate for the sluggish feeling off the line under normal acceleration due to the tires. I will need to re-gear to address that (and I plan to).

I went with DAP because I also saw some of the negative BD reviews. I believe DAP did a comparison with the BD on the dyno, and the BD actually lost power. There are posts about this on one of the DAP pages on facebook.

I know DAP advises you to use 91/93 to get the most out of the tune. Maybe I'll notice more of a difference when I use a higher octane. However, I prefer to use ethanol free fuel, and I can only get it in 88 around me. To me, 91/93 ethanol blended fuel is a downgrade.

 

Really curious how your A/F ratio is. I've installed the bullydog but every time I head to Heber I get a CEL for running lean. If you ever head that way through Park City, I'd love to hear how it handles the elevation.

 

I've only been monitoring mine for the last few weeks. It has generally been at 14.53:1 before and after the tune. What is yours running at? I haven't had any CEL with the DAP tune thus far.

When I say I prefer 88 ethanol free over a 91/93 E10 or E15, that's because the ethanol blends cause my fuel trims to shoot up...which from what I understand means the truck is running lean due to the ethanol content. When I run E10 or E15, mileage drops 1-2 MPG's, and overall performance might suffer a bit. FWIW, my truck is FF, and it has had the ECU update to address the issue certain FF trucks have with the alcohol density reading too high.

 

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

Anyone running a BD? How are the tunes? The shift points? Mpg the claim to have a fuel economy mode how is that?

 

I could be wrong but I fail to see how a tune is going to pick you up 2-4mpg on highway driving. If you had it set at cruise at 75mph you're still running a 4.30 rear end and turning so many rpm's. Yes the air, fuel, etc. may change and you may pick up "something" like somebody else said but no way 2-4mpg. Don't buy into the hype.

When I had my '06 F-150 back in the day "Troyer" tunes were big at the time. I drank the cool-aid and bought a 93 performance package with a towing and Eco tune as well. I couldn't tell a thing between them aside from shift points and throttle response. I don't recall getting any better fuel economy. I will say it firmed up shift points and gave a tad more power but nothing earth shattering.

The other thing with tunes is typically they make the gas pedal a lot more sensitive/responsive where you are pushing it a lot more all the time. Increased smiles for sure, but not increased mpg in my experience.

If you truly want highway mpg slow down the speed and put like a 3.55 ratio in the rear end. I would think you'd pick up a 1-2mpg that way but it won't be fun.

 

@dirtydeeds sells them. Maybe he can chime in?
GL!

 

@UTTundra how different is the feeling from a stock truck pushing the tow/haul and turning off traction control?

 

I’ve tested both. I personally run a Bullydog.

 

In my limited experience, tow haul mode still feels more torquey off the line under "normal" driving due to the sensitive throttle. When you're mashing the pedal, I'd say DAP definitely gets up faster. Same with passing at highway speed. The way it holds gears when you get on it is nice. Going up steep hills, normal driving, I'd think the throttle sensitivity of tow haul would be better. I haven't tried tow haul since I installed the DAP. I'll give it a shot tomorrow. It's possible the tune might feel different after I drive it more, or if I drive more aggressively around town.

 

How does the BD perform? Does it fix shift points? Have u noticed any mpg on the economy mode? Have you had any problems with it or any of the tunes?

 

Haven't been able to check them with the tune as I had to remove it to have the truck serviced. Been a little nervous ever since to put it back on. I'll have to check to see if there's an ECU update for mine as I've got the wonderful FF also....

Thank you for your feedback

 

I’ve installed 30+ bullydogs. Of all those units I had one truck shift weird to second gear. But this was right when they first came out.

Bullydog really is a great choice for most guys.

I’m also working on another alternative as well. Will post as progress moves forward.

 

FF=Flex Fuel

Certain year FF models have an issue where the ECU/ECM inaccurately reads the alcohol density of the fuel being used. For example, you could be using E10 or E15 fuel, but the truck thinks your running E85 because the alcohol density reading does't reset properly...it keeps building and building. This then leads to performance issues such as hard starts, poor mileage, etc. There is an reflash that should take care of the issue, although some have said it didn't work. I want to say I read that the issue was resolved after 2015 models.

 

FlexFuel. Couldn't find the sarcasm smiley face. Flexfuel was a bad choice from toyota. They've since phased them out in my region.

 

How do I get in on this?