In the market for an LBZ and have heard some people say you should try to stay away from diesels that have been chipped. What do you guys think on this subject?

Thanks,
Luke

I bought mine "chipped". It came with the stuff in my sig. I drove the truck for a whole day and ran it through the gears. My only problem I have is the 4 wheel drive. It works, just when I return to 2wheel it sometimes grinds at the driver wheel. I would see if you can drive it for the day, dont see a problem buying something already chipped. Most are going to chip it anyway right?

Mine was programmed when I bought it. The programmer was actually part of the deal, I wanted it to come with the truck. I sold my old D-MAX with the chip as part of the deal.

That's something that people who have no idea what they're talking about would say.

As stated above, find out what programmer is on it, and do your research.

The chip doesn't hurt it. It's the driver and how it was driven.
A chipped truck driven sanely is probably no different than a stock truck.
The chip just makes it easier for a wild driver to tear the truck up.

The chip doesn't hurt it. It's the driver and how it was driven.
A chipped truck driven sanely is probably no different than a stock truck.
The chip just makes it easier for a wild driver to tear the truck up.

X2.... it's not the chip that's the problem. It's the yahoo that just couldn't get the truck to go fast enough stock so they chipped it. How much "too slow" was it and how much did they beat on it with the chip? You'll never know.

One thing you will learn from hanging out on internet forums is that 95% of more of the people that have crazy unexplainable problems have modified their trucks. And don't get me wrong I'm not against chips. I think you just have to be realistic if you have one. Plan on having more problems with your ride. Lots of guys love working on their trucks. Honestly, I'm jealous... I wish I had the time. For me, this truck is an awsome daily driver with an insane amount of power that tows/hauls anything I need it to.

I purposely avoided lifted, chipped or otherwise modified trucks when I was shopping just so I didn't have to wonder (more than you have to anyway with a used vehicle).

Depends on what tuner they add on it. Hypertech, Diablo, Banks, I would buy it because they aren't too ridiculous. PPE, Edge, or EFI Live, probably would not, they are more extreme and the stock trans is on its way out. Also, don't say chipped.

ha well by chipped it was suppose to type programmed :)

and thanks for the input guys

yeah its not chipped...its tuned.

i have bought two previously tuned dmax trucks and both have treated me well. however, i would really take into account what tuner and who the owner is. if its an old guy with a tuner and he had never had it over level 1 then grab it up...no problem. if your buying from a 20yr old kid then i would walk away if he was running a tuner. im 20 and i know how i drive my truck and i wouldnt lend it to any of my buddies with a tune on it.

if your buying from a 20yr old kid then i would walk away if he was running a tuner. im 20 and i know how i drive my truck and i wouldnt lend it to any of my buddies with a tune on it.

the guy that bought your old one obviously never saw this forum lol. So does that mean im not allowed to drive yours?? id let you drive mine :D

the guy that bought your old one obviously never saw this forum lol. So does that mean im not allowed to drive yours?? id let you drive mine :D
yeah he definately didnt know how i treated it or i highly doubt he would have wanted it. you can drive mine all you want. i know that if your break anything you will fix it.

yeah he definately didnt know how i treated it or i highly doubt he would have wanted it. you can drive mine all you want. i know that if your break anything you will fix it.

with your cash :p:

just go with your gut and see what impression the owner gives you. and guess how they drove the truck

i agree i aM 22 and run the crap out of it, but just do your research on the truck and watch for leakin tranny lines, i actually blew my uncles tranny up in his truck after drivin for about 10 miles amd the next week he had to get it rebuilt. but old guy with a tuner yeah , young guy walk away like said before.

i agree i aM 22 and run the crap out of it, but just do your research on the truck and watch for leakin tranny lines, i actually blew my uncles tranny up in his truck after drivin for about 10 miles amd the next week he had to get it rebuilt. but old guy with a tuner yeah , young guy walk away like said before.

The fact that you're still physically able to post on a message board after blowing up his tranny means you have a MUCH nicer uncle than I do :)

10 miles and a blown tranny? I'd have been dead :)

I would consider how old the seller was! 19..i'm not buying it

Programmer is the one of the most common things people do to there trucks.
The owner is going to drive the truck the same way with or with out a programmer.

Besides the hack who is going to beat the truck you have to understand that the modded truck is worth less. Just think of it , you question if it was beaten or not and that brings doubt and reduces your feelings if it is a good truck for you at all. Therefore the market for that truck has shrunk and will be reflected in the price. Same goes when you sell it. Also if it has less then 100K then the warranty is shot so then again it is worth less. Clean and stock always gets the best price and we have all learned that!

Programmer is the one of the most common things people do to there trucks.
The owner is going to drive the truck the same way with or with out a programmer.
i disagree. i know personally that i drive my truck different when on a hot tune as opposed to when on stock tuning. it is just more fun to abuse it when its tuned up. you dont see guys running the quarter on stock tuning. they run the 1/4 with a hot tune on. trucks that have been previously tuned are just astronomically more likely to have been abused. it is a fact that tuning will shorten the life of the vehicle and will cause premature parts wear. that is just the nature of the beast when it comes to tuning. of course if you treat it right it will still give you great service for a long while.

knowing that diesel performance is generally (not always-there are always some old guys that still like to play) a young guys game if the truck was previously tuned then the chances are good that it has been abused. therefore, meeting the original owner when buying is always nice because when buying from a dealer you have to guess how it was treated.

also, with all the young guys in juiced up diesels that i see running around and looking for races i know personally that i would take a bone stock truck over a tuned truck anyday as long as the prices were comparable.

if you are looking at a truck that could still have a factory warranty i would not do it (if you want the warranty) if warranty is not a concern then i would find out the tune and hp levels ect and if you really want to check into it take it to a good dealer and have them scan the truck/trans and see what they say. it might be a little cash to do it but if the thing has been thrashed it might be worth it. consider the cost of a new trans or major engine work. better yet ask the owner to pay for it. if they claim it has been well maintained it should not be a problem.

Programmer is the one of the most common things people do to there trucks.
The owner is going to drive the truck the same way with or with out a programmer.
I disagree as well. When my truck was stock I drove it like I stole it since it was quiet, didn't smoke, and couldn't do anything fun. The way I have my truck now, I can barely use 1/4 throttle around town for fear of getting pulled over, so it gets driven like a grandma drives it.

All I can say is this. I am one of those old guys..I dont drive my truck like I stole it, but from time to time will push my banks up to Level 5..but do so knowing that even at that level, I'm not about to tear up my engine..cause the Banks 6gun is a Mild type of programmer. Similar as noted previously to Hypertech/Diablo.

However the comment that EFI Live is a "HOT" tune is misleading at best. EFI Live is not a "canned" programmer, rather it is a software suite that if you know what you are doing, you can essentially tune each and every aspect of your truck. If it has a sensor or is electronic...which seems to be just about everything on the truck, EFI Live can see it and likely adjust it. So in this instance, it is not the software that does it..it's the person doing the programing. Can you generate a HOT tune with EFI Live... absolutely .. just as you can tune an engine for Economy.

EFI LIve is for those that truly know and understand our Duramax engines. I wish I knew more...

Still learning..

Stk

its like buying any truck have to look at what kind of shap its in , its thare rubber build up in the back, how well of a job did they do putting parts on and how the wireing looks.

you can beat on on a truck and still have it be a good truck, all depends on how it taken care of it.

Moved to Buying a new truck...