AZ BS Thread 4²0

A good friend who grew up in Phoenix and has since passed away was a very successful coues deer hunter. He gave the same advice as you.

 

So I saw the guy who chopped the back off of his landcruiser and had a quick chat.

He’s pretty much built a new frame, long travel suspension, putting a 6ft bed on it and the wheels/tires I saw him rolling into the back of his RAM were 42’s. Apparently the build will be ready in a couple of months… watch this space!

 

Finally got it buttoned up. This things is a beast. So much wheel torque. It's using 5th and 6th gear again. I can already see an improvement in fuel economy. Tried 4LO and it's like a turtle. Now we’ll see how it tows in a few weekends.

 

KDMax was the biggest upgrade for towing. The gears just brought it all together now.

 

Gears is one of the best mods you can do. Way above a tune in my opinion

 

The KDMax tune is good enough that I put off gears for almost 2 years. I started out on 6.0, am now on 10.0 and have tried everything they released in between, along with tons of other various maps. They continue to upgrade their maps and their support is great. I do agree that gears are a huge upgrade but for the money, a tune is always my first recommendation to anyone. My friend just got a 2023 Access Cab 4x4 and was completely disappointed with the power and drivability compared to the old 4.0L V6 4Runner he came from. Tuned him and now it’s a little rocket ship.

 

Interesting read about the various tunes available…
https://overlandtailor.com/truth-be-told-dyno?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

 

Dyno numbers and drivability are two different things. Transmission tuning is honestly more important with these trucks. A naturally aspirated engine will only make so much more power with ignition, fuel and cam adjustments. You can’t just turn up the boost like a turbo engine.
I’d rather have a little more conservative engine tune than less reliability. I tried Nexus and had to get a refund because I could audibly hear detonation in a few scenarios. I haven’t tried OTT but I’ve heard similar issues here on TW.
At the end of the day, you just have to try some different tunes and see what drives best for you.

 

Compare your stock tune with gearing to your kdmax without and you’ll agree with me. I have probably the worst “normal user” custom trans tune imaginable paired with 5.29 gears. And I’ve done every combo in between. Gearingis 6x more beneficial than a tune as far as drive ability goes. And I used to tow a 6200lb trailer on 33’s before tuning but with gears for years

 

I said for the money. A tune is around $500. It cost me $3,000 to re-gear. Big difference in price and no downtime with a tune. Plus, if someone is still on stock tires, then re-gearing may not be optimal. You also have a 2nd gen which drives way better out of the box. 3rd gen drives like shit off the lot.

 

Yea if you want to hand me the money to hop and try all the tunes. Sure. But I got tuned by Eddie already a few years ago and it’s been fine since. Unless upgrades are free I have better places to drop $500 in my truck every 6 months

 

I'd agree here. Eddie also got me squared away with the tune, and it suits me fine while I sit on 33's.

A promotion or two away from the 35+ and re-gear jump, but it's all on the list at some point or another. Hell, I'm still under 20K miles on her, there's time.

But to add, I think an upgrade tune from Eddie is cheaper - just throwing it out there. I'd still rather drop $250 toward something else though while the current tune suits me well.

 

Yeah time to push the taco to get ready. I had my white tail hunt near wilcox. Went out glassing and saw them everywhere. Then went out and didnt see a single one or hear any shots taken the whole time we were out there.

 

Couldn't agree more. I'm heavy AF and I still have no tune, just 5.29's, and ECT, on my 33's. I'm just not convinced a tune is worth it for me.

Driving with 5.29's for the first time was like climaxing. The truck instantly became much more drivable.

 

I have a stock 3rd gen and towed a 5klb TT 8k last year and didn’t really ever get frustrated like I hear people complain. I did however reset the ECU before the trip so the transmission learnt how I drive whilst towing.
Even whilst towing over Wolf Creek pass (10k+ elev) I had no problems, 2nd gear at 45mph on the last ascent with approximately 30% power loss due to elevation.
I typically cruise in 5th at 63mph and she trucks on just fine.
The time I do complain is towing into a headwind, that sucks.
Even recently towing from Goodyear to Flagstaff I got 11.5mpg for the trip.

I had thought about getting the OTT tune about 6,500 miles into the trip but couldn’t justify the $500.

I’d be interested in trying the tune if there was a money back guarantee.

The biggest improvement I could gain would be if I could get 3rd gear to lock up fully, power is fine.

 

Thank you! Although it is an old picture, truck doesn't look quite the same anymore. I feel you though...Just had a kid a month ago and there was no wheeling with prego wife so its been a while since ive been out as well

 

Congrats! We’re a little late to that party but hopefully I won’t be wheeling for a while too

 

preach dude!

 

I dont even have time to sleep how am I suppose to wheel!