Thinking Of Getting A Diablosport In Tune - Have Some Questions

[DarthXan]

Hi guys, so I have been mulling it over for quite a while, and I think I'd like to try a Diablosport In-Tune for my 2009 300C AWD. I currently have a K&N 57 Series Intake & Borla Extreme Catback Exhaust.

Before I buy it & install it though I had some quick questions for those that know.

1. Are there any potential dangers to my car, from using a tuner? Will it mess up my computer or engine? Etc...

2. In the owner's manual, it says the 5.7 HEMI requires 89 octane recommended, but with this tuner I would like to install the 91 Octane CAI tune. Will this damage my engine or cause issues?

3. Given the above 91 Octane CAI Tune, what kind of performance / fuel economy benefits should I expect? How much more HP / torque? How much more MPG. Faster 0-60? Etc...

4. Can I revert back to stock if I want to, such as in the event that I want to sell the car?

If you guys can give me some insight into those 4 things I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks - DarthXan

[Fisch]

I'll give you my two cents...

#1 - The first thing the intune will make you do is download your stock tune, then it stores it in memory. So no matter what tune you put in or however crazy you get with tweaking the parameters of a tune, you can always restore your stock tune. It's smart to save that stock tune file to a computer as a backup too. But nothing to worry about.

#2 - Those are minimum recommendations. It is safe to use fuel at or above the recommended octane. So you could put 93 in your car right now if you wanted - as long as it is at or above the recommended 89. And when you use the tuner and move up to a 91 octane tune, then you need to use 91 octane or higher. I use the 93 octane tune because it is readily available around me, but I know it's tough to find in some places. One more thing - before you move up octanes, I recommend running your previous tank pretty low to get all of the 89 out and even a quarter tank of 91 flushing through if you want, before you give it a full tank and tune it.

#3 - I'll let others put some numbers on that. Simply put, you will feel it. There are a lot of tweaks that help a little and combined together really open up these cars. But in the end, you aren't going to see monster numbers without other major performance modifications - and then the tuner becomes even a more useful tool with datalogging and custom tunes.

#4 - #1 should answer this.

Hope that helps! Make the leap - you won't regret it. I promise.

[DarthXan]

Thanks for the post, that's a start. Any other info from anyone else would be great. Also regarding the 89 octane, it actually says recommended, as for anything higher it says Not To Use. So that's y I ask if the tuner will be safe for my engine or not.

[MADDOG]

The tuner will be safe for your engine. They say not to use a higher octane as the stock tune doesn't require it. Once you install a tuner with a 91 octane tuner, you need the higher octane fuel to protect your engine as the fuel delivery, timing, knock retard and quite a few other engine operating parameters have been changed by the tune.

Stock to tuned HP & torque increases vary. For instance, you'll see a higher result with an aftermarket cold air intake and freer flowing exhaust installed with the tuner vs. stock systems and a tuner. As an example, my car stock made 348 RWHP. With the intake, exhaust and programmer, I netted 378 RWHP. With the addition of the CMR tune on a dyno, my RWHP is now at 411. Dyno results vary and RWHP measurements vary given ambient conditions, vehicle state of maintenance, variations in dyno systems and a few other parameters such as engine internal heat, tire and wheel combination weights, etc...

You can harm your PCM if you do not follow the instructions for loading a tune or modifying a previously loaded tune. Follow the instructions step by step and take NO shortcuts.

My SRT saw about a 3 MPG HWY improvement with the intake, exhaust and tuner installed.

I feel the tuner is one of the best bang for the bucks mods you can make.

[DarthXan]

Thx for the info Maddog. I'm not a pro tuner or anything, so I won't be messing with any parameters. I just wanna load up the 91 octane CAI tune for my 5.7L HEMI. As I said I have K&N 57 Intake & Borla Extreme Catback, so hopefully that should make a diff, from what you mentioned.

Lastly, I'm really hoping I can see some fuel econo improvement, coz I'm getting killed at the pump as is. I run 89 octane and its usually about 80 per tank, every 400 kms, once a week. 91 will be about10 cents more per liter, so I really hope there is an improvement so I can maybe save a bit if possible. More expensive gas & worse fuel econo would be terrible, so hopefully that won't be the case.

[MADDOG]

The inherent problem with tuning the vehicle is that it's more responsive and more fun to drive, hence, you can't keep your foot out of it.

[DarthXan]

One more thing which I'm still not sure about. Since the stock can't take 91, and is running on 89. How willl I apply the tune? Do I leave the tank near empty with 89, then tune it, then drive to gas station and fill with 91? Will it even run on 89? Or do I fill on 91, then tune?

I ask only because in the manual it says avoid 91 like the plague, coz it damages the engine. I though that weird since I always figured better gas should be better for all cars, just that its more appropriate performance wise for some rather than other. But to damage the engine?

[Northern Rider]

If you go to Advanced Search on the menu bar and type in Octane (with Octane in Thread title) you will get answers to your octane issue.

Here are a couple of threads:

What if I use 93 octane tune.....?

5.7 HEMI & 87 octane gas

[MADDOG]

You can fill it up with 91 right before you tune it. It won't hurt the engine.

[DarthXan]

Awesome, thx for all the info guys. I think I'll go ahead & get one. There's a local dealer where I got my exhaust & intake from, that's selling it for around $350 - $400 I think. Might be cheaper elsewhere but at least this way there's no shipping or import fees.

One more thing I was wondering about. I know the Diablosport InTune doesn't currently support the new gen 5.7L HEMI (2011+), however, is there any chance it might eventually? I only ask because when they release the 8 speed auto + HEMI combo, I plan on trading my current car in for a new Charger R/T AWD or 300 S V8 AWD, & I would love to have the InTune work for that too.