My 2012 LTZ rides better in tow mode?

[joeblackavalanche]

so i put tow mode on one day to see what it does without anything in tow and the truck rides like a modern truck almost with a peppy quick and light feel instead of feeling like a heavy boat when taking off from signal lights and stop signs......the transmission runs cooler and the gas mileage isnt affected......so my question is: is it bad for it to be in tow mode without towing something?

 

[BainMan]

No, it is not bad for the truck. Tow mode adjusts the shift points of the transmission, keeping it in lower gear for longer.

I felt the same as you when I first bought the truck. I would accelerate in tow mode and switch back to standard once reaching cruising speed, changing back and forth a bunch of times on any given trip.

I ended up getting a custom transmission (and engine) tune which adjusted the shift points and made it not 'feel like a heavy boat'. If you want more information on that and are willing to throw money at the problem, let me know.

 

[joeblackavalanche]

No, it is not bad for the truck. Tow mode adjusts the shift points of the transmission, keeping it in lower gear for longer.

I felt the same as you when I first bought the truck. I would accelerate in tow mode and switch back to standard once reaching cruising speed, changing back and forth a bunch of times on any given trip.

I ended up getting a custom transmission (and engine) tune which adjusted the shift points and made it not 'feel like a heavy boat'. If you want more information on that and are willing to throw money at the problem, let me know.

so you can get the engine to act like tow mode without being in tow mode? how much would that cost? sounds interesting and do you get better gas mileage, as it stands now my truck says it is getting 15.1 mpg on the dash

 

[joeblackavalanche]

No, it is not bad for the truck. Tow mode adjusts the shift points of the transmission, keeping it in lower gear for longer.

I felt the same as you when I first bought the truck. I would accelerate in tow mode and switch back to standard once reaching cruising speed, changing back and forth a bunch of times on any given trip.

I ended up getting a custom transmission (and engine) tune which adjusted the shift points and made it not 'feel like a heavy boat'. If you want more information on that and are willing to throw money at the problem, let me know.

so my trucks transmission shudders a little under acceleration up hills but doesnt do that in tow mode......so maybe a tune would be the ticket

 

[BainMan]

I used Diablew to make a custom tune, https://www.diablewtune.com/index.html You likely have local performance shops that can do the same thing, so you may want to investigate that as well. I've also read great things about Blackbear tuning, but haven't used them personally.

For the Lew tune, I found a used Diablosport intune i3 (8245) on ebay and then had Diablew make a custom tune using that tuner. You can buy the tuner through him too or buy new direct through Diablosport or whatever, but I was searching for a deal.

What you do is make several log files from your vehicle using the tuner, email it to Lew, he sends a custom tune back, program that to the truck, make some more logs and he adjusts the first tune, program to the truck again, and make more log files to send back. It was worth it to me, as my truck just felt so bogged down before, but not after.

 

[joeblackavalanche]

I used Diablew to make a custom tune, https://www.diablewtune.com/index.html You likely have local performance shops that can do the same thing, so you may want to investigate that as well. I've also read great things about Blackbear tuning, but haven't used them personally.

For the Lew tune, I found a used Diablosport intune i3 (8245) on ebay and then had Diablew make a custom tune using that tuner. You can buy the tuner through him too or buy new direct through Diablosport or whatever, but I was searching for a deal.

What you do is make several log files from your vehicle using the tuner, email it to Lew, he sends a custom tune back, program that to the truck, make some more logs and he adjusts the first tune, program to the truck again, and make more log files to send back. It was worth it to me, as my truck just felt so bogged down before, but not after.

so does it ride just as good as in tow mode or better without the high rpm's?

 

[BainMan]

Yes. It's closer to the shift patterns of tow mode, but not quite as extreme. But the big difference is once you stop accelerating it upshifts to where it should be. Otherwise in tow mode, you might be doing 2500rpm at 30mph.

The other super annoying thing it fixed was when on the interstate using cruise control. When going up a steep hill on stock tune with cruise set at 75 (or whatever speed), the truck would lose speed on the hill and wait until about 70mph to shift all the way down to 3rd gear with RPMS over 3k and accelerate back to 75 before shifting back to 4-5-6. It would skip 5th and 4th gears completely on the down shift. Terrible on fuel mileage, but more aggravating to me was that it would wait so long before shifting, I'd be passing someone but the hill would slow me down enough that the slow lane is passing me before the truck decided to downshift. The customized tune completely fixed it, and the truck now uses 5th gear on hills in cruise control, and shifts sooner once it realizes it can't maintain speed in 6th gear.

Oh and the tuner can also disable AFM/DOD. Don't need the custom tune for that though, the tuner alone can do it.

Read some of the testimonials.. https://www.diablewtune.com/testimonials2.html/

Blackbear performance is a competitor and is also really good from what I've read. I struggled to decide between the two, but ended up going with Diablew. Guessing you can't go wrong either way, but just to give you more to ponder... https://www.blackbearperformance.com/

 

[joeblackavalanche]

Yes. It's closer to the shift patterns of tow mode, but not quite as extreme. But the big difference is once you stop accelerating it upshifts to where it should be. Otherwise in tow mode, you might be doing 2500rpm at 30mph.

The other super annoying thing it fixed was when on the interstate using cruise control. When going up a steep hill on stock tune with cruise set at 75 (or whatever speed), the truck would lose speed on the hill and wait until about 70mph to shift all the way down to 3rd gear with RPMS over 3k and accelerate back to 75 before shifting back to 4-5-6. It would skip 5th and 4th gears completely on the down shift. Terrible on fuel mileage, but more aggravating to me was that it would wait so long before shifting, I'd be passing someone but the hill would slow me down enough that the slow lane is passing me before the truck decided to downshift. The customized tune completely fixed it, and the truck now uses 5th gear on hills in cruise control, and shifts sooner once it realizes it can't maintain speed in 6th gear.

Oh and the tuner can also disable AFM/DOD. Don't need the custom tune for that though, the tuner alone can do it.

Read some of the testimonials.. https://www.diablewtune.com/testimonials2.html/

Blackbear performance is a competitor and is also really good from what I've read. I struggled to decide between the two, but ended up going with Diablew. Guessing you can't go wrong either way, but just to give you more to ponder... https://www.blackbearperformance.com/

i actually found a guy in maine today who does this stuff......ill call him and see what he offers.........did you know about the manual 5 trick which keeps it out of v4 but only good for riding around town as it doesnt shift into 6th gear and eats up gas on the highway.......but thank you for the help and glad you like your truck even better......i started using tow mode on my honda cr-v today and the gas gauge didnt even move......lol

 

[bpdutton]

Just to let you know, you can get improved shifting and performance without having to have a custom tune done as BainMan describes above. (Although I'm sure the custom tune takes it to another level.) I bought a DiabloSport Predator 2 Model 7202 tuner a few years ago for my '07 LT Z71. Got it for around $325. My main focus was disabling the AFM, but others on here had good things to say about the stock tunes that come with the tuner so I finally decided to give one a shot. I was skeptical at first that it would make much of a difference - but after flashing the 87 octane performance tune on my truck I was pleasantly surprised. It is noticeably more responsive to throttle input and the shift point changes work really well. Like BainMan, I used to have to bury my foot into the accelerator to get Bruce to move - especially on uphill climbs - and then I would get the 2 gear downshift which would send the RPMs screaming. Now with the modified shift points in the tune, it downshifts right when I expect it to - it's much more drivable. There is also a 93 octane performance tune that comes with the tuner, but I haven't tried that one yet since I already spend way too much on gas. There are other user-adjustable options like tire size, gears, shifting, and more, and it also reads/clears diagnostic codes. It is the single best accessory I've bought for my truck in the 7 years I have owned it.

 

[joeblackavalanche]

Just to let you know, you can get improved shifting and performance without having to have a custom tune done as BainMan describes above. (Although I'm sure the custom tune takes it to another level.) I bought a DiabloSport Predator 2 Model 7202 tuner a few years ago for my '07 LT Z71. Got it for around $325. My main focus was disabling the AFM, but others on here had good things to say about the stock tunes that come with the tuner so I finally decided to give one a shot. I was skeptical at first that it would make much of a difference - but after flashing the 87 octane performance tune on my truck I was pleasantly surprised. It is noticeably more responsive to throttle input and the shift point changes work really well. Like BainMan, I used to have to bury my foot into the accelerator to get Bruce to move - especially on uphill climbs - and then I would get the 2 gear downshift which would send the RPMs screaming. Now with the modified shift points in the tune, it downshifts right when I expect it to - it's much more drivable. There is also a 93 octane performance tune that comes with the tuner, but I haven't tried that one yet since I already spend way too much on gas. There are other user-adjustable options like tire size, gears, shifting, and more, and it also reads/clears diagnostic codes. It is the single best accessory I've bought for my truck in the 7 years I have owned it.

thats really kewl.......thanks for the advice

 

[joeblackavalanche]

Yes. It's closer to the shift patterns of tow mode, but not quite as extreme. But the big difference is once you stop accelerating it upshifts to where it should be. Otherwise in tow mode, you might be doing 2500rpm at 30mph.

The other super annoying thing it fixed was when on the interstate using cruise control. When going up a steep hill on stock tune with cruise set at 75 (or whatever speed), the truck would lose speed on the hill and wait until about 70mph to shift all the way down to 3rd gear with RPMS over 3k and accelerate back to 75 before shifting back to 4-5-6. It would skip 5th and 4th gears completely on the down shift. Terrible on fuel mileage, but more aggravating to me was that it would wait so long before shifting, I'd be passing someone but the hill would slow me down enough that the slow lane is passing me before the truck decided to downshift. The customized tune completely fixed it, and the truck now uses 5th gear on hills in cruise control, and shifts sooner once it realizes it can't maintain speed in 6th gear.

Oh and the tuner can also disable AFM/DOD. Don't need the custom tune for that though, the tuner alone can do it.

Read some of the testimonials.. https://www.diablewtune.com/testimonials2.html/

Blackbear performance is a competitor and is also really good from what I've read. I struggled to decide between the two, but ended up going with Diablew. Guessing you can't go wrong either way, but just to give you more to ponder... https://www.blackbearperformance.com/

thats good info thanks.......i rode my son in laws 2022 chevy truck and that thing is effortless engine-wise when it comes to driving around.......one question? if you disconnect the battery to do some work on the truck will you lose the tune?

 

[joeblackavalanche]

i decided to watch some youtube vids on the tuner......seems ok

 

[joeblackavalanche]

Just to let you know, you can get improved shifting and performance without having to have a custom tune done as BainMan describes above. (Although I'm sure the custom tune takes it to another level.) I bought a DiabloSport Predator 2 Model 7202 tuner a few years ago for my '07 LT Z71. Got it for around $325. My main focus was disabling the AFM, but others on here had good things to say about the stock tunes that come with the tuner so I finally decided to give one a shot. I was skeptical at first that it would make much of a difference - but after flashing the 87 octane performance tune on my truck I was pleasantly surprised. It is noticeably more responsive to throttle input and the shift point changes work really well. Like BainMan, I used to have to bury my foot into the accelerator to get Bruce to move - especially on uphill climbs - and then I would get the 2 gear downshift which would send the RPMs screaming. Now with the modified shift points in the tune, it downshifts right when I expect it to - it's much more drivable. There is also a 93 octane performance tune that comes with the tuner, but I haven't tried that one yet since I already spend way too much on gas. There are other user-adjustable options like tire size, gears, shifting, and more, and it also reads/clears diagnostic codes. It is the single best accessory I've bought for my truck in the 7 years I have owned it.

i bought that 70 dollar afm disabler on amazon......works fine......wish i knew about this tuner first, now ill have a afm disabler hanging around

 

[bpdutton]

thats good info thanks.......i rode my son in laws 2022 chevy truck and that thing is effortless engine-wise when it comes to driving around.......one question? if you disconnect the battery to do some work on the truck will you lose the tune?

Nope. I replaced my battery and didn't lose the tune.