GotMyAlly
Well-Known Member
I bought a Bully Dog Triple Dog GT for my truck last week. It's a programmer, a digital guage, and a OBDII reader all in one. I was skeptical.....I had a Jet chip or similar in a Ram with the 5.9 360 some 10 years ago. All it did was make it ping when pulling hills, even with premium fuel. But I know Bully Dog works wonders in the diesel arena so I picked one up for my Hemi. I dropped the performance tune on there and filled the tank with 93 octane. It definitely gave it a boost you can feel in the seat of your pants. Off the line, I'd say the difference is negligible but in the mid range you can feel it when you're running 40MPH and step on it to pass. Feels like the throttle is just more responsive. Supposed to get better gas mileage too.....but I've had my foot stuck in it too much to say at this point. I'll see this weekend how it does towing.
The digital guage is great. It reads a ton of info off the vehicle. Trans temp, air intake temp, throttle %, air flow, fuel flow, load %, etc. Amazingly.......you'd be suprised how hot a transmission gets just idling in park. Mine runs at 150-160 degrees in this 100+ temps, but sit in park for a few minutes and it creeps up to 190.
The best thing I got out of it though is the code reader. My engine was actually throwing a code. No check engine light, just a code. Now....I coulda got this without the reader using the digital odometer, I just never thought to check since the check engine light hasn't came one. But the code I got was for oil viscosity. Dodge recommends 5w20 in these engines. Since it's been so hot, and I tow a lot, I've been putting 10w30 in it. Figured a little thicker oil would give me a little more protection. Plus.....mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30 is what i've ran in my vehicles for 15 years, so that's what i stuck with. Well, this hemi has the MDS system on it (drops 4 cylinders on the highway or at idle to save gas). Apparently this system requires 5w20 and if the engine senses thicker oil, it disables the MDS feature. I knew my trucks gas mileage hasn't been as good as it was when I bought it.....part of the reason I was looking at the programmer. Now I know why.
The digital guage is great. It reads a ton of info off the vehicle. Trans temp, air intake temp, throttle %, air flow, fuel flow, load %, etc. Amazingly.......you'd be suprised how hot a transmission gets just idling in park. Mine runs at 150-160 degrees in this 100+ temps, but sit in park for a few minutes and it creeps up to 190.
The best thing I got out of it though is the code reader. My engine was actually throwing a code. No check engine light, just a code. Now....I coulda got this without the reader using the digital odometer, I just never thought to check since the check engine light hasn't came one. But the code I got was for oil viscosity. Dodge recommends 5w20 in these engines. Since it's been so hot, and I tow a lot, I've been putting 10w30 in it. Figured a little thicker oil would give me a little more protection. Plus.....mobil 1 full synthetic 10w30 is what i've ran in my vehicles for 15 years, so that's what i stuck with. Well, this hemi has the MDS system on it (drops 4 cylinders on the highway or at idle to save gas). Apparently this system requires 5w20 and if the engine senses thicker oil, it disables the MDS feature. I knew my trucks gas mileage hasn't been as good as it was when I bought it.....part of the reason I was looking at the programmer. Now I know why.
