Nexus Collaboration: YWNexus Blackhawk

My 3 week review - Nexus +P is the way to go. The shifting and extra power is good. The shifting points are where they need to be. In fact, sometimes I'm not even thinking about the shifting.
It's fun to drive. With ECT mode it's even more so. I think this may be the last tune I'll need.
This weekend we rented a 2019 Micro Minnie 2306BHS(4,800 lbs with our gear). My truck is running 33" tires and 5.29 gears. In S4 at 60 mph the tach is right at 3,500 rpm. The truck pulled fine in 4th going up hills. I was able to push the pedal enough to keep speed without the trans downshifting on its own. I was a little concerned that I would need the gearlock version of the tune so I could keep it in the best gear range. But, in ECT mode it behaved very well.

Hats off to all ya'll that helped with this tune. - Billy

 

Thanks for the post tow trip review. I have been relatively happy with KD Maxx, it is definitely better then stock tune. I haven't upgraded to the KD Maxx Pro/Pro+ because I'm not sure if KDMP is really what I want. I still find myself thinking about shifting way too often with KD Maxx. Downshifts are usually well timed when beginning a climb or passing. I find KDMP holds gears too long and I have to completely let off the accelerator to entice the tranny to shift into a higher gear after cresting a hill or passing. I feel KDMP is too much of a "performance" tune aimed at more aggressive drivers. I also find the tip in is rather unpredictable. I run the SLT and when trying to slowly move forward sometimes it just sits there, others it lurches forward. I am currently on 33s with stock gears, but plan on a re-gear later this year or early next year. I also tow an off-road trailer for all our family adventures, and your review definitely gives me hope for the Nexus tunes. Appreciate your reviews, keep us posted on your thoughts. I am planning a 30-40 day cross country trip this summer from SoCal to NC with the family. May have to pull the trigger on an upgraded tune before departing!

 

33's on stock gearing here as well, switched from KDMax Pro to Nexus +P and I think it performs much better. Nexus doesn't hold gears as long, has a much lighter tip in, and shifts back up after cresting hills instead of just getting stuck in gear like KDMax does. Nexus also holds 6th gear a lot more on the freeway. Definitely more low end power under normal driving, and a lot more top end power when you get on it.

 

Why no order link in first thread?

 

Once the website is fully operational, a link will be added. Until then, everyone is going through AJ (@Mooseditty17) as he's handling all the online sales.

 

I wanna tow my buddies little 12ft Jayco again and see how she performs. It was fun. This has me excited! I already weigh in at 6k lol

 

Met up with @Netaco4 for a +P tune this afternoon.
So far I've only driven home (80ish mostly highway miles).
What an incredible difference.
I can't compare to any of the other tunes, as I was running stock before, but this is so much better than stock.
Throttle response felt great. Not too aggressive, but responsive.
Shift points are ridiculously better than stock. No hunting for gears. No fluttering back and forth between gears. It just shifted like you would expect it to (which it doesn't do stock, at least according to me).
I only tried ect power once at a stop light. I came closer to rear ending the car in front of me than I would have liked, so I'll have to play with that a little more when I have some more space.

I don't get on the highway much, so my fuel mileage is generally pretty bad. When I left the house today I started at 18.8 according to the confuser on the tank average. When I got to the meet up spot I was at 19.3, so it had gone up by 1/2 a MPG over 80 miles. By the time I got home it was up to 20.2 (or 9/10th an MPG) over the reverse 80 miles.

So much more drivable.
So much.

 

Awesome! So glad you like it! It was nice meeting you

 

Nice meeting you as well.
I'll also mention that @Netaco4 was very easy to work with in scheduling and location.
I showed up at the meeting spot something like ~15 minutes early. He was there less than 2 minutes after I had arrived.
I was pulling out of the parking lot at like 2 minutes after the agreed up meeting time.

So far it's been a great experience with a great result.

 

This thread is confusing, is the tune done or not? After years of development and R&D it’s not done?

 

Don't be a whore, dad

 

Tune my truck dude!! Also we should go camping

 

LOL

 

4 development vehicles/persons is a very small sample size. We expected as we begun to roll out the tune that changes would take place. Every tune, including OV, has had updates as feedback rolled in.

 

Alright, I've had the tune installed for a couple weeks and driven over a thousand miles so I can finally provide some feedback. I'm comparing this tune to the factory tune WITH ETC ON. I'm not using ETC with the nexus tune though.

First tank of gas after resetting values felt like shit. Second tank slightly better. By the third tank we were finally getting somewhere. Fast forward to yesterday, I drove 600 miles and hot diggity damn this thing feels good.

Couple things to note.

Those of you claiming a MPG increase.. I don't know what you're smoking but I'd like a hit of that. I've seen 0 increase in my fuel economy, even with a damn tailwind. I'm driving the same as I always have and getting the exact same fuel economy as stock(15mpg highway, 13 city). Also, I've not really noticed any power increase. My 0-60 is about the same as before. ETC mode is kinda unusable. It has such a touchy tip in and holds gears too long so I've stopped using it. Cruise control is still shit unfortunately. Slightly better than stock but still holds on to gears when it doesn't need to.

Now on to the positives. The shifting is so silky smooth, it's magical. My AGM batteries have never been happier and my Baja lights no longer cause my voltage to drop. Tip in with ETC off feels pretty much perfect. I'm no longer limited to 92MPH. Truck did 105 yesterday and had room for more, and that's with 35's and and a hefty hefty weight of 6000lbs. And then the absolute best part of the tune, 5th and 6th gear. It's actually incredible. This truck used to hate going over 70mph, with tons of unnecessary shifting. Now this thing feels amazing on the highway. It holds 6th on slight inclines and its just a damn pleasure to drive. I can't believe how much better it feels on the highway.

Hats off to the team on this. I still think some people are throwing some bogus claims around, but overall this truck has never felt better and I'm loving it.

 

Off the line WOT throttle doesn't seem to be more powerful...but there's a huge increase in low end usable power, which is why it holds 6th gear so much better on the freeway. Even with the KDmax Pro tune my truck could barely hold 6th gear on the freeway on flat ground and couldn't even hold 5th gear up slight inclines. With Nexus +P it has the power to hold 6th gear even up slight inclines, and I've had it accelerate uphill in 5th from like 40mph at 1.5k RPM all the way up to 75 without downshifting to 4th. Top end WOT power is definitely improved as well. ECT is definitely more of a true sport mode vs just increasing shift points a tiny bit with stock tune.

 

tunes are never done, always improving

 

The CC stuff we have on the radar for sure. ECT tip-in We have played with a bit and can tne that down for you if you wish. Shift points are more pointed towards keeping RPMs high and in a useful powerband. If you can log and shoot that over we'll have a look.

MPG is highly subjective. I get about the same mileage you do on my heavy ass truck. No loss is nice. Terrain, weight, driving habits, mechanical setup, and such are all factors that impact fuel economy. Which is why there are so many mixed reports on gains/losses. Is it possible to see a gain? Sure. On a heavy rig in terrain... Probably not. Driving like a fool like I usually do... Certainly not, but that what doing regular WOT pulls and living in the mountains will do for you. Lol

Not much we can do about the 0-60. It's still identifies as a Tacoma and has the aerodynamics of a barn. Lol

 

let us know when a tune is available for the 2.7Ls