New user - what to do after AEM?

[berxleben]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and a first time diesel owner. I have a 2015 Laramie Longhorn with 60k that I bought used last year (48k at time of purchase). I love the truck, although its MPG has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I don't feel like I am getting what I should with this truck but perhaps my expectations are a bit high? In the summer months, if I baby it, I can get an average 22 mpg, otherwise I struggle to keep it around 20-21. In winter months, 18 mpg, most times less. Not having a ton of history with diesel engines, I thought it strange but whenever I would ask, I always got the answer of "that's not unusual and it's still better than most full size pickups". Frustrating, to say the least. Otherwise I've had zero issues with the truck other than the sticker shock value of the oil change I did back in December. No leaks or anything of the sort (yet).

The true nature of my post is more of a question of what to do after I get the AEM flash. I've been reading some of the posts here and it seems there is a wide array of experiences people have had after this whole class action "fix". I have an open claim and it's currently being processed, but I haven't scheduled my repair yet. I'm not hopeful based on some of the more recent posts that claim their truck is "new", and not in a good way. I drive 40-50 miles per day to and from work, and while that isn't a ton, I want to be as fuel efficient as possible. I've been reading a bunch of things and I think I've settled on doing the GDE tune after I receive the settlement amount. The problem is I don't have a clue what options to get or if I even need any of them. I'm inclined to just buy a new ECM from GDE so I can swap it if I need to go in for repairs, but I don't know if that's just a waste of money. I've also seen posts of EGR deletes as well as off road exhaust and really just a myriad of things that could be done. I don't necessarily care if I still have to put DEF in the truck but at the same time if it's better to remove it, I'd be curious for the pros and cons.

Really just looking for some guided assistance. Anything anyone can provide would be great for this newbie. I hate the thought of just using the settlement money to throw back into the truck but from what I've been reading thus far, I don't think I'll have much choice if I still want to get good performance on the MPGs on my truck.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[Ram For Life]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and a first time diesel owner. I have a 2015 Laramie Longhorn with 60k that I bought used last year (48k at time of purchase). I love the truck, although its MPG has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I don't feel like I am getting what I should with this truck but perhaps my expectations are a bit high? In the summer months, if I baby it, I can get an average 22 mpg, otherwise I struggle to keep it around 20-21. In winter months, 18 mpg, most times less. Not having a ton of history with diesel engines, I thought it strange but whenever I would ask, I always got the answer of "that's not unusual and it's still better than most full size pickups". Frustrating, to say the least. Otherwise I've had zero issues with the truck other than the sticker shock value of the oil change I did back in December. No leaks or anything of the sort (yet).

The true nature of my post is more of a question of what to do after I get the AEM flash. I've been reading some of the posts here and it seems there is a wide array of experiences people have had after this whole class action "fix". I have an open claim and it's currently being processed, but I haven't scheduled my repair yet. I'm not hopeful based on some of the more recent posts that claim their truck is "new", and not in a good way. I drive 40-50 miles per day to and from work, and while that isn't a ton, I want to be as fuel efficient as possible. I've been reading a bunch of things and I think I've settled on doing the GDE tune after I receive the settlement amount. The problem is I don't have a clue what options to get or if I even need any of them. I'm inclined to just buy a new ECM from GDE so I can swap it if I need to go in for repairs, but I don't know if that's just a waste of money. I've also seen posts of EGR deletes as well as off road exhaust and really just a myriad of things that could be done. I don't necessarily care if I still have to put DEF in the truck but at the same time if it's better to remove it, I'd be curious for the pros and cons.

Really just looking for some guided assistance. Anything anyone can provide would be great for this newbie. I hate the thought of just using the settlement money to throw back into the truck but from what I've been reading thus far, I don't think I'll have much choice if I still want to get good performance on the MPGs on my truck.

Thanks in advanced!

I was getting some times 27 miles per gallon on the highway before May 17, when I got the new AEM recall update on my truck. I am currently getting 25 to most of the time 23.5 miles per gallon. I have did a lot of thinking and talking to a lot of people. But I contacted GDE on yesterday . They were very helpful and very polite they said they have been getting a lot of calls about the terrible mileage that guys are getting after the new AEM recall. So when my money comes from the settlement with FCA I think I’m going to get the engine tune for my truck as well as a trans tune. Otherwise it defeats the purpose for buying this truck in the first place. This new AEM recall update from Ram Makes these trucks horrible.

 

[carlhenry]

Welcome tune it and u will b ok

 

[CanyonMan]

Those three special words.......Green Diesel Engineering. I have a 2017 and get 27+ mpg city and as high as 34.5 mpg highway. I even get around 16 mpg towing my 6000# travel trailer.
CanyonMan

 

[cds13ca]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and a first time diesel owner. I have a 2015 Laramie Longhorn with 60k that I bought used last year (48k at time of purchase). I love the truck, although its MPG has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. I don't feel like I am getting what I should with this truck but perhaps my expectations are a bit high? In the summer months, if I baby it, I can get an average 22 mpg, otherwise I struggle to keep it around 20-21. In winter months, 18 mpg, most times less. Not having a ton of history with diesel engines, I thought it strange but whenever I would ask, I always got the answer of "that's not unusual and it's still better than most full size pickups". Frustrating, to say the least. Otherwise I've had zero issues with the truck other than the sticker shock value of the oil change I did back in December. No leaks or anything of the sort (yet).

The true nature of my post is more of a question of what to do after I get the AEM flash. I've been reading some of the posts here and it seems there is a wide array of experiences people have had after this whole class action "fix". I have an open claim and it's currently being processed, but I haven't scheduled my repair yet. I'm not hopeful based on some of the more recent posts that claim their truck is "new", and not in a good way. I drive 40-50 miles per day to and from work, and while that isn't a ton, I want to be as fuel efficient as possible. I've been reading a bunch of things and I think I've settled on doing the GDE tune after I receive the settlement amount. The problem is I don't have a clue what options to get or if I even need any of them. I'm inclined to just buy a new ECM from GDE so I can swap it if I need to go in for repairs, but I don't know if that's just a waste of money. I've also seen posts of EGR deletes as well as off road exhaust and really just a myriad of things that could be done. I don't necessarily care if I still have to put DEF in the truck but at the same time if it's better to remove it, I'd be curious for the pros and cons.

Really just looking for some guided assistance. Anything anyone can provide would be great for this newbie. I hate the thought of just using the settlement money to throw back into the truck but from what I've been reading thus far, I don't think I'll have much choice if I still want to get good performance on the MPGs on my truck.

Thanks in advanced!

Congrats on the truck! It's pretty normal not to get the same mpg in the winter. Diesel engines are a LOT of metal which takes a lot longer than a gasoline engine to get up to operating temps. So when they are cold, they drink more diesel, once you get them up to operating temps, it is possible to get good mpg. YES - get GDE as soon as possible. You won't regret it. Better fuel economy, much less REGENS which happen behind the scene quite more frequently than you could ever imagine. If you have an obdii reader and torque pro, you'd notice that regens are happening every few days. I just got GDE about a month ago, and now I'm having a regen once a month instead of every 2-3 days! During REGEN's, the truck uses more fuel to get the DPF up to 1200-1300F. Less regens = less unburned fuel being dumped into the cylinders = less oil contamination with fuel.

I opted out of getting the extra ECM when I got GDE. It depends where you live. If your dealer ever reflashed your ECM, it's only $50 to get GDE put back on. I figure, that's still less $$ than buying and ECU, and having it programmed which could cost $700-800 just to sit around and never be used.. But that's your personal opinion as to what works best for you.

Since I've had GDE, my avg fuel for ALL city driving for over a month has been around 9.2 L / 100 km. Prior to GDE, my fuel was around 10.6-11 L / 100 km.

Save yourself a lot of $$ and learn to do your own oil change if you're comfortable with it. It's pretty easy and there's lots of great videos on youtube on how to change it on the ecodiesel.

Other than some basic maintenance, enjoy the truck!!

 

[SofaKingTuned]

If you use "JUNEFULLMOON" you'll get 20% off everything in our store. Tonight until midnight.

SFT Engine and Transmission tune. ALL 100% OBD2 tuning, means nothing to remove, no waiting etc. Want a change, we can make it right there and then, no hassle. Rumor has it the AEM is going to have a follow up flash/recall since vehicles are doing so horrible (on average). If this is the case you can send us back your new files, and have them back within hours. Elsewhere, well, you'll wait several days (physical mail).

Just ask anyone using the SFT tunes what they think/why they those to switch to SFT from another company etc etc...

 

[Patrity]

SFT Is the way to go 100%. Simple install, no ECM swap or downtime for your truck.

Ontop of that, Jimmy is super easy to work with! Very responsive.

Truck feels great post-tuning. I opted for only the stage 1 but a little curious to see what a full delete and stage 2 feels/sounds like

 

[Ram For Life]

SFT Is the way to go 100%. Simple install, no ECM swap or downtime for your truck.

Ontop of that, Jimmy is super easy to work with! Very responsive.

Truck feels great post-tuning. I opted for only the stage 1 but a little curious to see what a full delete and stage 2 feels/sounds like

Did you every consider GDE tune, if not why.

 

[Patrity]

Did you every consider GDE tune, if not why.

I did not simply for the convenience of OBDII tuning. No need to have a second ECM or wait in the mail to reflash every time I need warranty work.
Also supposedly SFT focuses more on low end performance for GDE is more top end. I do mostly in-town driving and no towing. It seemed like a better fit for me.

I did a write-up on another forum, I'll post it here as well.

 

[berxleben]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I might have to look at SFT, I mainly saw GDE come up in my brief research. I would be curious to know the difference and if the ECM tracks how many times it's been flashed or, and perhaps more importantly, do dealers care about such things?

 

[SofaKingTuned]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I might have to look at SFT, I mainly saw GDE come up in my brief research. I would be curious to know the difference and if the ECM tracks how many times it's been flashed or, and perhaps more importantly, do dealers care about such things?

You get a flash with Bench and OBD2, however ask yourself when's the last time you read someone got denied for having a flash count? I We have not witnessed this. With SFT tunes we are tuning YOUR ECU.

Bench flash vs OBD2 flash...final result is BOTH are 100% detectable to the dealership. That being said

OBD2 is worth considering safer as you disconnect nothing in the engine bay.

With swapping your ECU/removing and installing your tuned or a new one, you risk wires being shorted, pulled out etc when messing with the ECU/glow plug harness. Also the Air box removal, or tire well peeled back, MAF sensor wires/MAF harness easily breaks etc etc...

If you strip or over tighten something. I'd consider ECU removal/install to be a bigger risk than simply plugging a connect to the already installed factory OBD2 port.

Ultimately it's what you're comfortable doing.

 

[Arkie 16]

As for Mine it will STAY STOCK FOR THE FULL TEN YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD.

 

[carlhenry]

Good enjoy all your free trips to the stealer!!!!!!!!!!!!