Bartender,

Another round of Shiner Bocks, please. Oh, and be quick about it!

:cheers:

 

I guess you are not above 3rd grade reading level, or is that you feel that you spent your money on a POS and now want everone to suck up and share the pain. I did the search and it happens that my suspicions are correct. Without wideband O2 sensor and dyno, you get what you paid for. Get a life. Adios

 

See you proved my statement as true :troll , now that you have identified your self, have fun :troll .

 

To get this thread back on target, I also am interested if the Predator will help compensate for the gas we have to run in California.

James at Runnin With The Devil, http://www.runninwiththedevil.com/predator.htm , has been extremely helpful in answering these types of questions. He has linked the manual for the Predator to his website. This may help you with some questions. It appears that the Predator is more help to automatics than to manual transmissions. However, for the beginning DYIer this tool makes more sense than the LS1 Edit. As I understand it, the LS1 Edit is more complex and can get you into more trouble if you don't possess the knowledge about how the LS1 PCM is programed.

To dperretti1, I apologize on behalf of your forum brothers for this thread getting off track. :cheers:

Thanks for raising this question, the answers aren't always as obvious as they may seem.

John :seeya

 

John,

You are right about LS1 Edit. It is not for the average person, and should be used by experienced tunders with access to a dyno and a wideband sensor - period. Bad things can happen fast in the hands of the wrong person.

The Diablo is, IMO, a step up from the Hypertech Power Programmer, in that it gives some limited diagnostic ability. Since the program is fixed no doubt it is better in the hands of a rookie DIY type no doubt. Like the Hypertech you gain more from an automatic than a manual, and like the Hypertech you can get custom tuning, though the Predator again seems more flexible.

But lets be clear, there is no substitute IMO for a good dyno tune in the hands of a professional, using LS1 Edit or equiv. The cost is several hundred dollars more than a Diablo but, IMO, worth every penny if you want to squeeze the maximum performance out of your car.

Going back to the original question about running 91 Octane in California. Unless you plan to have the Diablo (or any tune for that matter) detune the car and lose power why do you care? The car has a knock sensor, and when/if you get detonation the ECM will pull a bit of timing to compensate. The alternative is to pull timing all the time, that seems counter-intuative to me. 91 octane is probably fine 90% of the time, with detonation only being an issue in extreme heat conditions. I certainly wouldn't pay $400 or $600 jest because I could only run 91 octane fuel.

Peace

Les

 

AR- I'm with you on this, I think these guys need to settle down alittle bit. I don't believe your behavior is anything troll like. :cheers:

 

well thanks and appreciate the support through the IMs as well....
BTW Z06les your explanation is very much appreciated and sort of confirmed my original suspicions....as there is probably very little substitute for a the dyno pulls and real time broad band tuning...thanks for your insights

 

AR,

Actually I am not a fan of any "mail order" tuning, and that includes Ed Wright. I have seen too much variation car to car let alone different areas of the country for a "one size fits all" solution. My strong preference is wideband dyno tuning. The Diablo is kind of a cross between a new and improved Hypertech and a mini version of Autotap, at least as I see it.

As far as the other matter, if you agree to not call something a "toy" that others have put down their hard earned cash for I will promise to behave too - deal? :) I am maybe overly sensitive to people running down the purchase decisions of others, there is too much of that on this board IMO. As it happens, in this instance, I am not a fan of the Diablo but I respect the right of others to disagree and that not everybody looks at things like I do.

Peace

Les :cheers:

 

man...the word toy was used to describe the sense of size vs the full blown dyno. Like I said,I do not have a reference point and was dubious of it. I had no intent to bust the product I did want to know more about it. Again, toy was meant to as description for its size and not what people spent their money on etc...and as far as I am concerned, I will not opt for the predator and I will get heads and cam and headers come this winter and real dyno tuning...later

 

Have a 02 Z. Last month I installed the basic Predator but no other options that it allows you to change. It ran much better especially in the lower rpm's. Last week I again modified it because I don't like to the temp.at 210 degrees. I set both fans to come on at 180. The temp only gets up to 194 now. That's good enough for now. If I want cooler then I can put in a 180 thermostat. I also increased the timing and the gas as far as Predator allows.Yes, I,m glad I installed it; works OK with the 91 octane I'm forced to use.

 

Les, Thanks for your insight on the Predator and your preferred choice LS1 Edit. My problem is that there are only a couple of tuners in Northern California that have shown some expertise in using LS1 Edit. All are over 100 miles from my home. One of the disadvantages of living in paradise is that you can't get anywhere from here unless you want to drive for a couple of hours. :lol:

Regards,
John :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

 

:grouphug: Now thats a little better. Peace Y'all.


I am doing alot of experimenting with my Preadator. I'll post info as I find it.

 

Thanks Silver JD and to everyone else that help get us back on track. I appreciate the input from those of you that are running 91 Octane. I will be ordering a Predator some time next week.

 

I live in Ca and received one from the first batch last year. At that time I didnÕt know if the extra power I was feeling was coming from the Predator and other minor mods I had done or the cooler air we were getting into (Sept. and Oct.). Last April I de-tuned the car (it was going into the dealer for minor stuff) and left it that way until June. When I reprogrammed the car and took it out for a long ride I could definitely feel a difference, and by this time we were back into very warm temps. Is it worth the money? Well thatÕs up to the individual. To me the ease of use and what it can do is worth the money.

 

Peace, never no more :troll .