KDMax-Pro Tuning--NOW YotaWerx Tuning

Quick little (apparently not as little as I first planned) review after getting upgraded to the standard PRO by @Magiriano when he took the time to stop in on his way home from Moab. I was previously on KDMax 6.0 which I got last fall. Bone stock 2020 OR Double Cab with an ARE shell. I'll do it in bullet form for a quick read:

- Improvement in shift points
- Better in town fuel mileage (getting 13 l/100km or 18mpg)
- Power is linear
- Mild when I'm conservative on the throttle, but pulls HARD when needed, especially north of 3500 RPM.
- Throttle is predictable
- Feels OEM (more below)

I've been driving tuned vehicles for over a decade (VW GLI, Subaru Forester XT previously) and this tune is like Cobb or APR good. You want a tune that's predictable and gives you the "this is what the truck should have from factory" sort of feeling. It's been almost a year since I left the stock tune and while my memory of stock has faded, this tune just feels good. The shift points are excellent for in-town driving. The 6.0 would kind of hang around the 50 km/h (30 MPH) and not really want to shift when motoring around town. Now, it shifts nicely into the higher gear and allows you to just cruise. I'm less than half a tank into the tune, and I know it'll do some "settling" but I really like it.

Huge thank you to Alex for detouring my way with a banged up 4Runner and upgrading me. We live about 800 km away from each other so I really appreciate it. There will be some extra $$ coming his way soon for his customer service.

 

I honestly think resetting tcu and ECU learning values is a joke . Now I do believe if your running into some very odd shifting that it does help fix that . I haven't done a reset in long time . Why? Cause of crap fuel mileage, truck runs tarded , and don't get to feel updated tunes as well.

 

I'm not gonna name names here but there was a developer that said his shift logic was very different from everyone else's tune and that tcu had to be reset if coming from another tune. This i honestly don't know . I did as asked though.

 

I reset my truck once…..ONCE!

 

After reading the stories about the changes to the ACC, I’m really hoping that my tuner is trolling me and getting a tune ready for my truck.
Not gonna name any names..............

 

So is there still "learning" or is it disabled as the other poster mentioned?

I'm still not sure what this supposed learning is or how it happens. You would think a shared vehicle would be confused if learning happened over hundreds of miles. My wife now drives my Outback but on the rare occasion when I drive it still drives like I remember. It's certainly not like, "what did you do to my car!?"

 

Perhaps “settling” is a better term than learning. After a flash, there is a degree of settling. For example, trim and idle. Timing is also “settling”, but this is constant as it’s based on fuel grade.

These tunes no longer “learn” that you drive like a grandpa and limit it’s output as such.

 

interesting, so there is no need to do any wide open throttles runs as suggested previously for the truck to "learn" now? Just a flash and go?

 

The WOT pulls help “settle” the valving. This isn’t required but helps accelerate the settling process.

 

I had a 3hr drive today, all Hwy, and I found that the ACC does indeed work very nicely with Pro+XT. Once set at Hwy speed it will find OD6 and if required will do any down or upshifting very smoothly. Same as when in regular CC. So I’d say that the ACC is using the general tune settings.

Quick note about towing with Pro+XT, holds 4Th gear up overpasses or bridge approaches, almost to the point of what I’d expect from a gear lock tune. It does feel like there is more torque in 1 thru 4 (vs KDM6) making towing my 3300# camper pretty effortless. Good upgrade.

 

@wiljayhi that was my impression to from my 500 + mile trip. Both Standard and ACC worked the same and pretty smooth in my opinion. It is a welcome benefit of whatever changed with KDMAX Pro XT or VF Tuner software.

 

HUGE shout out to @PapaRee
Pulled the trigger on the pro XT file. Just flashed the normal version and took it for a short ride.
I had 2800 miles on the previous pro file and must say it was butter all around.

Very much looking forward to the XT version. I have a 6MT so I am a sort of unicorn.

I need to fill up the tank and will report back after the first tank.

 

Bwahahahaha!!!!!!!

 

Do you have the KDMAX tune at all? If not, even the pro is absolutely worth it!

 

After reading all these reviews on the new version, I guess it’s time to upgrade from the pro+ to pro+XT

 

You’ll love it it makes the truck AND shifting fun again!

 

I am seriously considering the Pro+XT tune on my 2018 Sport 6-speed. Several years ago I went with the OV Tune 2.0, and it was a huge improvement over stock and the TSB tune. My biggest complaints with the stock truck were inconsistent throttle response (sometimes everything felt "normal" and other times it felt like the truck ingested a wet rag after shifting, poor gas mileage regardless with how gently I drive, and hesitation during acceleration - especially when the engine is not fully up to operating temp). Over time, it seems to have reverted back to some of its old ways, similar to what is described by phdog. Has anyone else experienced this with the KDMax tune?

 

I may or may not have the most unique trip on the new Pro+XT tune (flatlander edition?). My local tuner did the update for me over a week ago, immediately before heading to TN to restart a portion of the TAT trail. I don’t remember what version I had before, but the “Overland” tune had just come out, and I didn’t get it due to the lack of knowledge from my tuner. He’s awesome, but didn’t know much about it and didn’t make me feel comfortable adding it to my new-to-me 2019 TRD O-R with 19k miles. I rode that tune from bone stock, to 3” lift, 33”s, racks, RTT, Decked, winch, and bumpers. About 15k miles over a few months. I loved it, but the MPG sucked immediately. I went from 21MPG on the highway to never achieving over 18MPG, and that’s before I changed anything.

On that tune, I built out my rig, made a few trips from Orlando to TN, GA, KY and did from WV to GA on the TAT. I averaged about 16MPG, had zero issues, and the truck was flawless. I decided not to re-gear because the tune made up for the weight and tires. It was awesome other than mileage drop, which did go down (to 15-16 MPG) with the tires and lift.

Now, the new Pro tune…. The shifting is AMAZING, the power is meh/unnoticed from the previous tune, and overall feels better. BUT, there’s a serious issue. Previously I stated that I upgraded and left for the TAT again, this time for GA, TN, MS, AR, and finished on the OK border. 3498 miles in total on just this trip with 3792.1 miles since I got the update. So what’s the “problem”? Regardless of altitude, driving up and down hills, whether paved or not, leads to clanking and rattling due to what I believe to be extreme lean fuel. This has not occurred on the previous tune.

Anyone else driven in a hilly area experience this? I’d love to keep the shifting, but I’m not interested in burning the valves in my truck for this tune.

Help?

 

Ah ACC!!! I almost forgot. On the previous KDMax tune I got around 14MPG with ACC.

On the Pro+XT, I’m much more manageable. About 15.5 MPG while only getting 16-16.5 MPG driving myself around. The RPMS do hang a bit in the 4K range when going up long hills, but I found pressing the gas a little will drop it back down to 2k(ish) once you’re going back downhill.