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6.0 on Blackbear 87 octane tune

24K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  SS350 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys, Been on here a long time posting about diesels. I completely overlooked the 6.0's when I went from a 1500 to a 2500. Well, the economy hit my business hard and events have happened over the years forcing me to sell my personal LMM and now I'm on my 3rd duramax and my second 6.0 gas. My shop truck is the LMM WT and my personal truck is the 6.0 !

I have posted on other threads that after having 3 duramax's from a pretty built one to a mostly stock one, and having two 6.0 that are used for towing, I am pretty impressed with the 6.0 package. For my personal truck, that rarely tows but can easily have 1500-2500# payloads regularly, the 6.0 is a pretty good option. My biggest complaint is the torque management. Seeing as how I have experienced it in my duramax's(lly predominantly), its not new to me but the 6.0 gas definitely drive's funky because of it.

So after research, I ended up lining up an in person tune with Justin from Blackbear performance. A pretty quick hour later I was tuned and on my way.

So the numbers so far: I have definitely picked up 1 mpg city driving(which I think is significant). The acceleration is much better, it drives better too.
Since there seems to be limited info on the internet:eek:nly times I have are not super scientific but I logged some 0-60 after the the tune and from a 5mph roll 0-60= 7.00sec, off idle 0-60=7.43sec, and power brake to 2000rpm 0-60= 7.11sec.

Truck listed in sig below. I think it's pretty fast for what it is, I might have to go run my LMM 0-60 to see how it compares. I think the 6.0 is faster ! I have read posts on other forums saying that even with long tube headers, cold air intake, and a tune these 6.0 vortec 6 speed auto 2500's run 8-9 sec 0-60 and I just didn't believe it.

May be some long tube headers going on this summer, see if I can hit 6's ! :HiHi:
 
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#2 ·
Good report. Many of the "hand-held" tuners don't remove torque management or help the 6-speed auto get it's head out of it's arse so that may be why many don't get much out of these trucks but they are capable of way to much HP to not be able to get the results you have when done right.

Vernon
 
#3 ·
Manic Mechanic & cbm.... great information and description of the 'feel' that the tune provided. I've been looking into this for our gassers for quite a few years off and on. I just sold my 200k mile LB7 rclb on friday night and am thinking it might be time to call Justin at Blackbear to tune my 2013 6.0.

I can imagine the TM, the hunting and the off-throttle & back onto throttle response is all a lot crisper... similar to how the PPE LB7 canned tune 'freed' up my 03 i'd imagine a lot of the improvement is going to be overall FEEL. These LS based motors are just TOO damn good to not get full enjoyment out of them.

Anything else to add after a year of having the tune in? Ive read conflicting information as to weather or not GM can see the ECM flash history. This would also help me when i go from the stock 245's to some 285 70R 17's on the stock steelies.

thanks,
 
#4 · (Edited)
Nothing much to add. I have put about 25k miles on the truck(tuned) without any issues and it pulls my boat great. I will say that after getting really used to this truck, I had to drive my LMM for a bit while my truck got a steering wheel position sensor replaced last month. My LMM is running an optimized stock tune with no DOC or DPF. I have always loved the way that truck drove but after a long trip in it for 3-4 days, I was really glad to get my 6.0 back. That really suprised me, but I have ended up liking it better. I am not out drag racing it, but in general it just drives better/faster feeling. And I have pulled my boat(6000lbs or so) with both and can't tell a big difference, both pull 75 mph no problem.
 
#5 ·
CBM, thanks for the details, sounds like it was well worth it to me, I'll have to get in touch with blackbear for a datalogged driving tune by email. Just picked up cognito ucas so the tune can adjust for the slight increase in tire size I plan too. Less torque management and crisper shifts/ holding geara a bit lobger would be great.
 
#6 ·
SS350, I had a local guy tune my '10 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0l, 3.73 gears. Its a 4x4 with 295/60/20 lifted/leveled with Cognito uppers etc, etc. It was pretty much a dog before he tuned it. Now, I won't say it was the greatest tune in the world as I have had a Nelson Performance Tune on my other gassers in the past. But I run a dual octane tune and found that it runs ok on 87, better on 89 and best on 93.

I typically run 89 in it and get decent mileage without sacrificing too much power. I usually run 93 when I'm towing heavy to get the little bit of extra oomph. Off throttle is good, no torque management is good too. My only issue was that he wasn't really able to dial in the transmission shifting. I plan on going to Nelson in San Antonio to have a tune done. Either Nelson or Blackbear would be WELL worth it.

I currently have a Cummins truck and am going to sell it and buy a GM 1500 gasser again. First thing I'll have done is have it tuned.
 
#7 ·
SS350, I had a local guy tune my '10 Suburban 2500 with the 6.0l, 3.73 gears. Its a 4x4 with 295/60/20 lifted/leveled with Cognito uppers etc, etc. I run a dual octane tune and found that it runs ok on 87, better on 89 and best on 93.

I typically run 89 in it and get decent mileage without sacrificing too much power. I usually run 93 when I'm towing heavy to get the little bit of extra oomph.
What are you getting MPG wise with this setup?
 
#8 ·
I'm getting about 12.5 on the dash and about 12.2 hand calculated. This is combo driving. We haven't been on a trip in a while. Last time we did, my wife towed our boat to Tenkiller Lake Oklahoma from our house in Texas and mileage actually went up to about 13~. I had also JUST switched over to Amsoil extended life oil and filter. That has ALWAYS helped in any vehicle I put it in.
I'm fairly certain that someone who can tune better than the guy I had do it could eek out better power and mileage. Not that he doesn't know how to tune, he was a lot less familiar with the new 6 speed transmissions and how they acted than the older 4 speeds. I think the way it drives and shifts has a lot to do with the mileage as it just doesn't seem to stay in the powerband like it needs to. But all that is in my other post about future mods.......
 
#9 ·
I should close the loop on this thread a bit, i ordered a Black Bear tune for my 2013 last year.

The truck is definitely more responsive as expected, the time between shifts was decreased dramatically so that i didn't have dead time waiting for it to drop a gear whenever I felt like overtaking on the highway. I also had the shift points raised in order to hold gears longer (as i would do this if i was driving stick).

It's not faster then my old PPE canned-tune LB7 rclb but it may be close once its up in the right RPM's. It doesnt sound as good as the LB7 either, but its quicker then our 05 yukon now (it wasnt before) and I dont have the "there's a potato in my exhaust pipe" feeling anymore. It feels a lot closer to my buddies' 5.7 Tundras now, it actually gets up and goes while using way less of the input range on the throttle pedal.

I've run it most of the year in 87/89 but I did run in 93 for a few weeks hoping to see more then 13 mpg in mixed driving in order to justify the $0.40 extra per gallon but I got the same mileage. It felt a lot better in 93 tune initially but then the 87 tune grew on me - this could have been the ECM learning (if it actually does that?) or myself simmering down and laying off the loud pedal as I got used to it.

Either way its mostly keeping me from wanting another diesel...:facepalm: but thats just me... almost classic car season here and i have a new Muncie going in soon so that should help :thumb:
 
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