Hemi MDS

[bob1459]

Is it or will it be an option to possibly program the MDS part of the engine. It would be nice to get the MDS to activate more often lets say during the work week. It seems that the MDS turns off quite a bit and if the level were brought up, the MDS wouldn't kick off with light throttle pressure. It just would be nice to get more mpg when I am just driving to work.

Thanks,
Bob

[powerbbs]

Is it or will it be an option to possibly program the MDS part of the engine. It would be nice to get the MDS to activate more often lets say during the work week. It seems that the MDS turns off quite a bit and if the level were brought up, the MDS wouldn't kick off with light throttle pressure. It just would be nice to get more mpg when I am just driving to work.

Thanks,
Bob

Amen to that Bob. I actually asked the same question - you'll have to scroll thru the thread to find the appropriate section/answer you want - about two months ago and got the reply that they would not be altering/reprogramming any of the MDS programming. They claim that with their tune that you will most likely get better gas mileage than with MDS. Although, I'm having heavy doubts that a V8 will ever get better gas mileage than a V4. I don't even think it's math matically possible as the feul flow thru the injectors would have to be double going from a V4 to a V8 just to keep the vehicle running/firing, so I don't see how that claim could be true, not without some physical hardware changes on the engine itself.

The only MDS options they plan on supporting are either leaving it as is, or completely disabling it. Here's a direct quote of their response to me asking that question earlier:

In reference to the MDS, Johan would have to describe the specifics, but it is similar to the DOD (displacement on demand) system currently used by GM in cars and trucks.

Thus far our experiences with that system so far have been interesting.
On the LS4 front wheel drive cars (Impala SS, Monte Carlo SS) we offer the user the option of the tune with or without the DOD enabled.

So far, overwhelming response has shown the non DOD tune to be the favorite, and they generally report up to 2 mpg gains over the stock tune with DOD engaged. It would seem that the benefits of a proper tune outweigh even these whiz-bang features from the OEMs...

We recently sent out a few tunes to some 07 GM truck owners to disable the DOD system, as the default tunes for those trucks leave it enabled. I do not knoow if we have heard back from them as of yet.

So for now, it is still too early to say for sure if this will be available in the Predator or not, but we will experiment with it.

As for your question about the shift modes, again this would appear similar to the GM tow/haul mode system, but again it is too early to say how these systems will work.

I will say that none of them will be disabled, so do not worry about that.

Thanks

_________________
Mike Litsch
Diablosport inc.
561-908-0040
[email protected]
------------------------------------------------------------

and johan followed up with:

He he, just tried that disable seat belt feature and it works, love it.
We will not disable MDS, we might have an adjustable parameter to disable it if deemed necessary.
The tow/haul, od/off settings will not be altered either, we will not be doing tcm support initially so shift settings will remain stock aside from the torque management controlled by the pcm.

They have been asked a few times about the MDS, however it seems they dance around the question a bit. With today's gas prices it would be nice to get a programmer that actually offered an economical tune that actually enhanced the feul saving mechanics that came with your vehicle rather than disable/ignore them. Unfortunately, all the other companies who offer programmers (Hypertech, Hyperpac, Bully Dog, and SuperChips) do disable the MDS completely so you loose that money saving feature, unless you return to the stock tune.

I guess at least the Predator offers you the option of either leaving it enabled or disabled at least with their tuner - or so they claim it "might" offer that functionality. At least that's their claim.

I hope this kind of answers your questions. Most (actually ALL) of these programmer companies seem more interested in just get maximum horse power out of your engine, so they end up actually reprogramming the ECU and PCM to the point that feul pressure is actually increased and gas mileage actually goes down in most cases. However, a lot of people claim better gas mileage.

If you get to a good quality auto repair shop with emission's testing equipment you may find one that actually will offer to hook up a testing unit to your engine and run with you down the street with a laptop to actually see the feul consumption rate on your vehicle. So far, everytime I've done this. With the performance tune of any of the programmers (I've tested SuperChips, Bully Dog, Hypertech, and yes a Predator personally - on a 2003 Ford F250 6.8 V10 - ya I know it's a gas hog to begin with, but none the less it's all I had to test), the computer and my wallet confirm it. I defiinately get more Horse Power (Up to 65 more HP), but I'm also definately getting less MPG (loosing up to 3MPG with some tuners). So I guess it's a question of what you want out of a tuner. More HP or MPG. Deciding what tune you install from the programmer will determine which you get.

Oh ya, I got rid of the V10... on average before tuning it got 8MPG highway or in town, didn't matter. With the Predator Tune installed, in town it still only got 8MPG, but on the highway, it did increase up to about 11.4MPG as long as I only traveled at 70MPH. At 75MPH it dropped back down to about 9MPG. The truck is just not made for highway or town driving - it's suppose to be a work truck - Lots of torque, towing, and hauling capacity. I should note that when I added the Predator (economy tune), I also installed dual exhaust, cold air ram intake with KN filter, so I can't say for sure that the Predator by itself was the cause of the highway mileage increases.

Anyhow, I support your request to also offer customization of the MDS settings, but since it's something they've ( and by "they" I mean every company that offers ECU/PCM programmers ) never done in the programmers they've offered so far, I'm highly doubting they'll offer it on this one. In fact, I'll almost guarantee it.

The demand for the 07 Dodge 5.7 Hemi programmer has been pretty high, Bully Dog and Superchips are the only two companies - that I could find - that offer an 07 Dodge Ram 5.7 Hemi programmer so far. So high in fact, that Diablosport will be offering it's initial release of the programmer for the 5.7 Hemi WITHOUT shift point control initially. Because of this, I highly recommend purchase the program download package with your programmer, else you'll be paying the dealer to re-program your Predator for you with the updated tuning features when Diablo releases it. My local dealer charges $50.00 for this service! So... I will be forced to order the programming package to save me dealer cost. (Programming package I think is around $24.00)

[mikel]

You will have the ability to disable MDS if you desire.
Like I said, we have seen mileage increases in the GM vehicles by disabling DOD and I would expect that the same will apply to the Hemis.
Mileage gains will rarely be seen around town, you'll likely need to get it out on the highway to see any improvements.

Now, through custom tuning you will have the ability to alter the MDS enable settings, but it is a bit too complicated of a table to make an adjustable parameter in the Predator.

Thanks

[AJ_Gil]

I had a Superchips and it DID NOT disable the MDS (I got rid of it because of surging issues) and I actually got better milage because the MDS was actually kicking in sooner. I'm assuming due to the added performance.

I hope the Predator has the same effect. It almost offset the added cost for premium gas.

[mikel]

I had a Superchips and it DID NOT disable the MDS (I got rid of it because of surging issues) and I actually got better milage because the MDS was actually kicking in sooner. I'm assuming due to the added performance.

I hope the Predator has the same effect. It almost offset the added cost for premium gas.

We will offer an 87 octane tue in the trucks as well.

Thanks

[AJ_Gil]

I had a Superchips and it DID NOT disable the MDS (I got rid of it because of surging issues) and I actually got better milage because the MDS was actually kicking in sooner. I'm assuming due to the added performance.

I hope the Predator has the same effect. It almost offset the added cost for premium gas.

We will offer an 87 octane tue in the trucks as well.

Thanks

I'm thinking about (and was talking about) the MDS remaining enabled with the SC 91 octane performance tune.
Your reply makes me ask, will MDS be available in the 91 octane tune? Mine is a daily driver and I can't run a tuner or chip that disables the MDS. Like I said, the SC 91 tune actually improved gas milage which kinda offset springing for premium gas. The 87 tune holds no interest for me at all.

[mikel]

The tunes will not alter the MDS setting unless you choose to disable it.

Thanks