GDE Eco-Tune...first impression.

dritchie · **Posted:** Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:38 pm

Hello all, and HAPPY EASTER!

I was up in Michigan last week and met Keith to get the eco-tune. The tune took all of 1 minute to install through the OBD port. My goal was 2 fold, disable the egr and better mileage. I have had the MAF sensor unplugged since new, but thought it would be a good idea to be able to know when there was a real "check engine" light. I really was not that concerned about extra power, but hey, more power is always a good thing! :mrgreen:

The first thing I noticed was that when letting off of the accelerator, it seems to "coast" instead of slowing down. this should help with the mileage. Other than that, things seemed pretty normal. When passing at highway speeds, you can definitely feel more power and a quicker gain in speed.

One thing that I noticed is that my cruise control seems a little squirrely. Used to be, when I pressed the Accel/resume button, it would gain 2 mph, if I pressed it 3 times, it gained 6 mph. Now it doesn't seem to work reliably, most of the time when I press it, it does nothing,...then it might work. Never had any problem with it before...anyone else notice this?

Mileage:
I pretty much got 23-24 mpg's all the time pre-tune, didn't seem to matter if I was driving 60 or 75. I have gotten 26-27 once or twice, might have been the fuel, I don't know..this is after 42,000 miles. On the way up to Michigan, I got 24-25.5 mpg's. On the way back (1300+ miles) I got the following:
All is hand calculated, miles adjusted 3.8% to match GPS All driven yesterday (LOOONGGG DAYYYYY, 21 hours)

After I got the tune, I filled up the tank and did mostly driving on back roads and several trips into town, probably 70% at 30-60 mph and 30% highway...this was my best mileage at 30.2 mpg

Miles driven .... Gallons used .... mpg's
172.57 .... ...... 5.712 ....... 30.212 .... 70% back roads, 30% hwy, several trips to town (25 mph)
387.6466 .... .... 14.77 .... ... 26.246 .... All hwy, 72-74 mph (GPS) some storms in Indiana..Windy
419.0406 .... .... 15.879 .... ... 26.38 ..... All hwy, 72-74 mph (GPS) Clear and windy Indiana, Ill, MS, Ark
517.443 .... ..... 18.042 .... ... 28.6799 .... All hwy 200 miles at 72-74, the remainder at 67 (Texas is 65 after dark)

Although I did gain some mpg's in Highway driving, it appears that the biggest gain is with the lower speeds/rpms. I know that seems obvious, but pre-tune it didn't seem to make much difference with my mileage in my CRD, and I had never gotten 28 or 30 MPG's like some of others on here have reported...even with going 60-65 .

Dave

stoutdog · **Posted:** Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:49 pm

That seems about right. Slow it down to 60 for a full tank and you'll get low to mid 30s, if you don't die of boredom

In regards to the cruise control issue, I haven't had that problem. Maybe talk to Keith, but it could be that your cruise control system is on the fritz...

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Sun Apr 04, 2010 1:50 pm

dritchie wrote:

Hello all, and HAPPY EASTER!

I was up in Michigan last week and met Keith to get the eco-tune. The tune took all of 1 minute to install through the OBD port. My goal was 2 fold, disable the egr and better mileage. I have had the MAF sensor unplugged since new, but thought it would be a good idea to be able to know when there was a real "check engine" light. I really was not that concerned about extra power, but hey, more power is always a good thing! :mrgreen:

The first thing I noticed was that when letting off of the accelerator, it seems to "coast" instead of slowing down. this should help with the mileage. Other than that, things seemed pretty normal. When passing at highway speeds, you can definitely feel more power and a quicker gain in speed.

One thing that I noticed is that my cruise control seems a little squirrely. Used to be, when I pressed the Accel/resume button, it would gain 2 mph, if I pressed it 3 times, it gained 6 mph. Now it doesn't seem to work reliably, most of the time when I press it, it does nothing,...then it might work. Never had any problem with it before...anyone else notice this?

Mileage:
I pretty much got 23-24 mpg's all the time pre-tune, didn't seem to matter if I was driving 60 or 75. I have gotten 26-27 once or twice, might have been the fuel, I don't know..this is after 42,000 miles. On the way up to Michigan, I got 24-25.5 mpg's. On the way back (1300+ miles) I got the following:
All is hand calculated, miles adjusted 3.8% to match GPS All driven yesterday (LOOONGGG DAYYYYY, 21 hours)

After I got the tune, I filled up the tank and did mostly driving on back roads and several trips into town, probably 70% at 30-60 mph and 30% highway...this was my best mileage at 30.2 mpg

Miles driven .... Gallons used .... mpg's
172.57 .... ...... 5.712 ....... 30.212 .... 70% back roads, 30% hwy, several trips to town (25 mph)
387.6466 .... .... 14.77 .... ... 26.246 .... All hwy, 72-74 mph (GPS) some storms in Indiana..Windy
419.0406 .... .... 15.879 .... ... 26.38 ..... All hwy, 72-74 mph (GPS) Clear and windy Indiana, Ill, MS, Ark
517.443 .... ..... 18.042 .... ... 28.6799 .... All hwy 200 miles at 72-74, the remainder at 67 (Texas is 65 after dark)

Although I did gain some mpg's in Highway driving, it appears that the biggest gain is with the lower speeds/rpms. I know that seems obvious, but pre-tune it didn't seem to make much difference with my mileage in my CRD, and I had never gotten 28 or 30 MPG's like some of others on here have reported...even with going 60-65 .

Dave

I have noticed the cruise control difference as well. I think he was tryiing to engage the cruise more efficiently so it gradually increases power to get you to the set speed adn maintain speed. Basically everything on the cruise seems more gradual. If you press set it takes longer to feel engaged. Also seems to be at a slightly lower speed, but that could be it lagging just a bit for efficiency. I now have to hold the gas a bit when and after pressing the set button for a smooth engagement more than I did at stock setting.

I never thought The accel button was meant to be a +2mph button (like the 1mpg per press on the GM car curise controls). It's just a bit slow to react, even from factory. It seems it accelerates AS LONG AS YOU HOLD IT and same with decel, as long as you hold it, it decel's then picks up after you let go. Either way, I don't think this was changed from factory. Just takes a bit of getting used to after the tune, but the advantage is that for small hills, it lets the speed drop just a bit and gradually increases it back to set speed rather than spooling turbo and fueling excessivly. This wasts less fuel than maintaining exactly the exact set speed and allows for a margin of error. Unfortunately it is causing the delayed reaction when the cruise is set as well.

Either most people don't notice this, or it is a new addition to the tunes. I just got mine tuned this last week.

Keith at GDE could verify this, I think it is basically what I described, but just guessing here.

-Mark

dritchie · **Posted:** Sun Apr 04, 2010 2:07 pm

kapalczynski wrote:

I have noticed the cruise control difference as well. I think he was tryiing to engage the cruise more efficiently so it gradually increases power to get you to the set speed adn maintain speed. Basically everything on the cruise seems more gradual. If you press set it takes longer to feel engaged. Also seems to be at a slightly lower speed, but that could be it lagging just a bit for efficiency. I now have to hold the gas a bit when and after pressing the set button for a smooth engagement more than I did at stock setting.

The accel button was never meant to be a +2mph button (like the 1mpg per press on the GM car curise controls). It's just a bit slow to react, even from factory. It accelerates AS LONG AS YOU HOLD IT and same with coast, as long as you hold it, it decel's then picks up after you let go, this was not changed from factory. Just takes a bit of getting used to after the tune, but the advantage is that for small hills, it lets the speed drop just a bit and gradually increases it back to set speed rather than spooling turbo and fueling excessivly. This wasts less fuel than maintaining exactly the exact set speed and allows for a margin of error. Unfortunately it is causing the delayed reaction when the cruise is set as well.

Either most people don't notice this, or it is a new addition to the tunes. I just got mine tuned this last week.

Keith at GDE could verify this, I think it is basically what I described, but just guessing here.

-Mark

I did notice that the cruise control is more "gradual" than before, a little slower to pick up speed, and coasts a little going down hills. Before the tune however, mine would gain 2 mph for every hit of the resume button, and drop 1 mph for every hit of the dec, button. I could hit it 5 times in a row rapidly, or slowly, and it would speed up exactly 10 mph.

Dave

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:30 pm

dritchie wrote:

kapalczynski wrote:

I have noticed the cruise control difference as well. I think he was tryiing to engage the cruise more efficiently so it gradually increases power to get you to the set speed adn maintain speed. Basically everything on the cruise seems more gradual. If you press set it takes longer to feel engaged. Also seems to be at a slightly lower speed, but that could be it lagging just a bit for efficiency. I now have to hold the gas a bit when and after pressing the set button for a smooth engagement more than I did at stock setting.

The accel button was never meant to be a +2mph button (like the 1mpg per press on the GM car curise controls). It's just a bit slow to react, even from factory. It accelerates AS LONG AS YOU HOLD IT and same with coast, as long as you hold it, it decel's then picks up after you let go, this was not changed from factory. Just takes a bit of getting used to after the tune, but the advantage is that for small hills, it lets the speed drop just a bit and gradually increases it back to set speed rather than spooling turbo and fueling excessivly. This wasts less fuel than maintaining exactly the exact set speed and allows for a margin of error. Unfortunately it is causing the delayed reaction when the cruise is set as well.

Either most people don't notice this, or it is a new addition to the tunes. I just got mine tuned this last week.

Keith at GDE could verify this, I think it is basically what I described, but just guessing here.

-Mark

I did notice that the cruise control is more "gradual" than before, a little slower to pick up speed, and coasts a little going down hills. Before the tune however, mine would gain 2 mph for every hit of the resume button, and drop 1 mph for every hit of the dec, button. I could hit it 5 times in a row rapidly, or slowly, and it would speed up exactly 10 mph.

Dave

If that was the case, I do not believe that part of the programing has changed...but when you hit it 5 times, you may have hit it long enough to accelerate 10mph, and now with the mor gradual acceleration it may take more hits or held longer, etc. When you hit it repeaditly 5 times it is just like holding it for about the same amount of time. It may have worked to about that mph difference. I just tried pressing it once yesterday after the tune and it accelerated 2mph. It may only be 1mph up a hill and 3 mph down a hill though. I believe that is how it works, but idk. On my corvette, 20 times= +20mph, 1 time = +1mph, that was never the case for my jeep and is not now. Believe me, I tried it. I WISH jeeps cruise was like this, but alas, GM has a better cruise system. lol I did try rapidly 3 times and then slower 3 times and it ended up at a different set speed. I think this is due to how long it is pressed, not how many times.

Again, this is just what I have figured out trying it on my jeep before and after the tune. Keith would better understand this and could give you a accurate answer and not guesses like me.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:07 am

That's weird, both of my CRDs are +2/-1 for the accel/decel buttons.

JL Rockies · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 12:44 am

Mine too.... along with every other vehicle I've ever owned.

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:37 am

Me three on tapping (not holding) the accel button to add 2mph. I've got the eco-tune as well.

Still chasing down that annoying power loss issue, but it is getting better I think. I'm running out of sensors to change, and I know it is one of them.

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:49 am

Sounds like I need to try it out more...I'll do some more experiments. Could be when I tried it I didn't fully depress it when I was pressing it faster...I'll give it another shot.

grywlfbg · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:18 pm

Hmm... Hadn't heard of the tapping of the Accel/Decel button. i've always held it until I reached my desired speed and then let go.

I do know that GDE made the cruise less "sensitive" to allow a wider range of speed loss/gain in order to keep the xmission from shifting as much. I imagine that would translate into a less sensitive Accel/decel button.

dritchie · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:30 pm

Well, today I drove it for about 270 miles and it seemed to work fine. But then I got a check engine light, a "P0069-BOOST KEY-ON RATIONALITY" I cleared it and drove about another 20 miles and it hasn't come back on. Any one know what that is? That's the first real check engine light that I have ever had. Of course, I've had the MAF unplugged for about 40,000 miles, so if one came and cleared on it's own, I would have never known about it. I do check it with my ScanGauge every now an then, and this is the first code other than the one for the MAF being unplugged.

Dave

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:51 pm

Just posted a good tank (best to work and back ever) of 24.1mpg...after GDE Hot tune and 192* thermostat. I had 3 days of 24-26* mornings, 2 days of driving into a strong headwind (52 knots one day and ~40 knots the other). I only drive 15 miles to work and 15 more back and do not hit operating temp till about 5 miles in. My previous average was 18-20 winter and 20-22 summer. My best straight highway was 25 calculated, so 24 calc is pretty darn good for work and back! I'd expect to see close to 30 calculated on the hwy now I think.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:23 pm

dritchie wrote:

Well, today I drove it for about 270 miles and it seemed to work fine. But then I got a check engine light, a "P0069-BOOST KEY-ON RATIONALITY" I cleared it and drove about another 20 miles and it hasn't come back on. Any one know what that is? That's the first real check engine light that I have ever had. Of course, I've had the MAF unplugged for about 40,000 miles, so if one came and cleared on it's own, I would have never known about it. I do check it with my ScanGauge every now an then, and this is the first code other than the one for the MAF being unplugged.

Dave

Many times it's caused by that sensor on the side of your air filter box. Check and reseat the plug.

dritchie · **Posted:** Tue Apr 06, 2010 8:47 am

CATCRD wrote:

dritchie wrote:

Well, today I drove it for about 270 miles and it seemed to work fine. But then I got a check engine light, a "P0069-BOOST KEY-ON RATIONALITY" I cleared it and drove about another 20 miles and it hasn't come back on. Any one know what that is? That's the first real check engine light that I have ever had. Of course, I've had the MAF unplugged for about 40,000 miles, so if one came and cleared on it's own, I would have never known about it. I do check it with my ScanGauge every now an then, and this is the first code other than the one for the MAF being unplugged.

Dave

Many times it's caused by that sensor on the side of your air filter box. Check and reseat the plug.

Thanks, I'll check it.

Dave

kapalczynski · **Posted:** Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:23 pm

kapalczynski wrote:

Sounds like I need to try it out more...I'll do some more experiments. Could be when I tried it I didn't fully depress it when I was pressing it faster...I'll give it another shot.

So, it seems like you're all right...not that I was doubting by the time 4 of you chimed in...lol :ROTFL:

2 mph up, 1 mph down. Speed just floats around a little more with the slower/smoother engagement for economy purposes.

GDE Eco-Tune...first impression.

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