Hey guys,

My WIFE is complaining about the gas mileage in the Q, and we've only had it 3 weeks..........not like it gets a whole lot worse than the vehicle it replaced, going from about 18 avg down to 15, but whatever...........I'm not gonna fight that battle. We need the space, whatcha gonna do? :)

She put regular unleaded in it today, and said she thought the car felt more sluggish........(ya think? Or her imagination?)

I want a tuner that I can download software to the car and forget about it. I don't WANT a slick LCD display with readouts..........been there, done that with other cars and dont want that. I also want to be able to return it to stock if I ever have to take it in for service. My primary goal is MPG, not power. (first time THAT's ever happened in my life, lol)

The question is, I have a QX56, which has a slightly different tune than the Armada........

1) SuperChip or Bullydog? Or, something else? I need to cost-benefit this within a year or two, so something in the $300-400 range...... Will I get the 2 degree advance with the programmers, or is that something I need to look specifically for? As I said, I am after MPG....

2) The tuners are listed as interchangeable between Armada and QX. True?

3) No need for recalibration of tires, top speed limiter, etc.

I may also get a CAI, if it gives significantly more benefit than doing the airbox mod, which I have not checked into yet.

Thanks for any help.

mBot, I dont know much about all the differences between the QX & Madas, but for the most part the tuners are intercangable between the two.
Ill be honest, I havent seen much difference with the tuner & CAI on. I have a Bully Dog GT (LCD) & K&N CAI. I get about 12-14MPG city & around 16-18MPG hwy (I dont baby her, but I dont always drive pedal to the floor, though I do have to test it to make sure here & there), you will find a wide range of MPG, most of the lower values (8-10MPG) come from the guys with 6" lifts & 325/60/18s & added weight from mods, most of the rest of us range from 12-18MPG city without any real difference (more than 1-2MPG) for the 4x4 models, & as far as I have seen no real cause for the difference in range.
The BD TD GT gives you the opt of 2* advance, ability to recal tires & speed limiter (I know you dont need the later), & gives you a noticeable change in HP & TQ, but apparently not as much as the SC & UpRev, but Im not sure what they do for MPGs.
I did the airbox mod before I did the CAI, but didnt feel any change in HP, or notice any difference in MPG. After installing the CAI I did notice some change in HP & a slight increase in MPG (usually offset by more enjoying the new HP). I dont know that this really helps you any, & hopefully some of the other guys, with real numbers can chime in, this is just my own personal experience by personal feel of the truck.

I have the Superchips Cortex 4950 and Banks Ram Air on my 2010 QX56. You can go to Superchips Forums and read more about the programmer. I am very satisfied with the Cortex 4950. Easy to use and the programmer is nicely built.

Talked to my wife, she is nervous about putting a "programmer" in the Q, for warranty reasons, but she's OK with CAI or 2* advance.

I've got a Nissan dealer about an hour from home, the nearest Infiniti dealer is a 3 hr drive. The Nissan dealer, I am 100% sure, will refuse to do the mod, as I've dealt with them before and they're a PITA to deal with on any level.

SOOO........if I were to buy /borrow a BullyDog JUST to do the 2* advance, could the dealer see that the change was done with a BD, and not a Connect3? Ie, it was done aftermarket vs with a Factory tool?

LMK:)

Thanks! Ben

mBot, I know that most of us who have a programmer on our Armadas just return them back to factory flash before taking them in for service, & even when I have forgotten to do so, they have made NO comments about them or void of warranty. Some one posted on here a while back that unless the dealership could without a doubt blame the issue they found on the programmer, legally they could not void the warranty, I dont know if this is limited to state or nationally or what. If you bought a BD or a SC or a different programmer, you could do the 2* advance or any other program mod on the vehicle & return it factory before service. I think they can see that the ECU was flashed on a certain date, but I dont think they have any way of knowing what flashed it (ie After market programmer or Factory).
As for the CAI, I know for a fact that K&N has a dedicated dept & number for dealerships who claim that the CAI voids a warranty & they will take care of fighting the battle for you if the claim arises.

I have the Superchips Cortex 4950 and Banks Ram Air on my 2010 QX56. You can go to Superchips Forums and read more about the programmer. I am very satisfied with the Cortex 4950. Easy to use and the programmer is nicely built.


Does the SC unit do the 2 degree advance?

Does the SC unit do the 2 degree advance?

You can add 3 degrees on the 93 tune and 0 on the other tunes.

Let me tell you about them. The BD can do a 2* AT on any truck and gas grade and you can make some money on the side. The SC you can only get the 2* AT on 93 grade gas and you can't do it to no one only to your truck.

Hey guys,

My WIFE is complaining about the gas mileage in the Q, and we've only had it 3 weeks..........not like it gets a whole lot worse than the vehicle it replaced, going from about 18 avg down to 15, but whatever...........I'm not gonna fight that battle. We need the space, whatcha gonna do? :)

She put regular unleaded in it today, and said she thought the car felt more sluggish........(ya think? Or her imagination?)

I want a tuner that I can download software to the car and forget about it. I don't WANT a slick LCD display with readouts..........been there, done that with other cars and dont want that. I also want to be able to return it to stock if I ever have to take it in for service. My primary goal is MPG, not power. (first time THAT's ever happened in my life, lol)

The question is, I have a QX56, which has a slightly different tune than the Armada........

1) SuperChip or Bullydog? Or, something else? I need to cost-benefit this within a year or two, so something in the $300-400 range...... Will I get the 2 degree advance with the programmers, or is that something I need to look specifically for? As I said, I am after MPG....

2) The tuners are listed as interchangeable between Armada and QX. True?

3) No need for recalibration of tires, top speed limiter, etc.

I may also get a CAI, if it gives significantly more benefit than doing the airbox mod, which I have not checked into yet.

Thanks for any help.

Putting regular in the QX56 will make it seem sluggish, the ECU is tuned from the factory to run on 91 octane.

Now on to the tuners, the BDPP and BDGT are basically the same tuners, except in that the BDGT gives you a nice LCD screen with number on your truck, AFR, 0-60, and so forth, they both have the ability to do the 2 degree advance, and 3 degree on high octane tune, and also disable WOT, which is basically allowing the throttle to be fully opened at take off. If your wife is doing most of the driving with this truck, then get the BDPP. With the superchips cortex, it does all of the same features that the BDPP does, it also has a very sensitive setting for the throttle, the throttle becomes ultra sensitive.

As for dealers finding out if you installed a tune on your truck, yes they can, since it leaves an empty space in the processing ROM, I as well as many other members, have had different tuners installed on our ECU's, which we unistall when going in for service. Do you risk having a claim being voided cause of the tuner, yes and no, depends on the dealer servicing your vehicle, some can be anal about it, and others just look the other way. If you do have a problem with your engine, then they can fight you for it, and deny the claim; if it is something else, no, but like I said, depends on the service agent.

Doing a timing advance on it will not hurt it, and the dealer will not bother you about it.
As for using a tuner for MPG's, some will tell you it helps, others will tell you it doesn't, the best MPG you can get from a huge vehicle like ours, is staying off the pedal.

Some of the members have simple mods, and other have more in-depth mods, I have headers, aftermarket exhaust and intake, and a tune specific for my mods, and I can honestly tell you that I on occasion suffer in the MPG's and other times I gain MPG's depends on my mood, if I want to hear the roar of the exhaust, or want to listen to my music peacefully, and of course the other driver's on the road.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask and I and other members will be able to guide you.

Guys, thanks all for the input...........my daily driver (08 F250 PSD w/ 125k on it) is in the shop right now so we're down to the Q and a beater spare, so I've got other things pressing.........I'll keep you posted!

Thanks:) Ben

mBot, I know this has been moved to the back burner for the time being, but I thought I would throw one more thought in that was energized by NYC's comment. The BDGT (idk about the BDPP or the SC) allows you to change how sensitive you want your throttle to be, & this can def help or hurt your MPG. I set mine to Gas Saver (which is the least responsive, one step below factory), but you have 4 choices, one which is more like the Xterra (kinda jumpy, very responsive, I think they call it Performance) & the most responsive (Extreme, VERY RESPONSIVE...barley touch the pedal & you are moving). Just another thought

mBot, I know this has been moved to the back burner for the time being, but I thought I would throw one more thought in that was energized by NYC's comment. The BDGT (idk about the BDPP or the SC) allows you to change how sensitive you want your throttle to be, & this can def help or hurt your MPG. I set mine to Gas Saver (which is the least responsive, one step below factory), but you have 4 choices, one which is more like the Xterra (kinda jumpy, very responsive, I think they call it Performance) & the most responsive (Extreme, VERY RESPONSIVE...barley touch the pedal & you are moving). Just another thought

ooooooh looks like I'll look into BDGT. I heard a lot of ppl say SC cortex is better but the extreme responsiveness that you mentioned I like very much. I rly dnt care about gas but i want tq & hp. I have a question though: Would it damage the car if you drive with WOT enabled?

-Ervis

The Superchips is the same way. It has various options you can choose. And you can make the pedal very sensative. Matter of fact, my wife doesn't like to drive mine now exactly because of that. She says it's 'dangerous' being that sensative. Needless to say, she's not much of a driver. I love the responsiveness!

There is no doubt the different tuner settings can affect your mpg. I've been playing around with the settings and trying to ck mpg, just as a fun project. Not anything scientific, but a decent real world test. I've got some older posts on here with info on my results. Also, just this w/e I had a 6 hour one way drive, over 12 hours total. Had the 87 Octane setting for about 3 hours of the trip Friday and got 17.1mpg. Changed it to the mileage saver tune and checked it on the way back and got 19.1mpg. Doesn't sound like much, but if you put alot of miles on a vehicle like I do, say 20,000 miles/year, that can save me around $500/year with gas here at $3.80/gallon now. So the tuner has the potential to pay for itself in gas savings in just the first 6 months. Especially since the OP was just interested in mpg.

Won't do that for me though, as I like the way it changes performance too much! But if gas keeps going up, I'll at least switch it to the mileage saver tune for trips.

The Superchips is the same way. It has various options you can choose. And you can make the pedal very sensative. Matter of fact, my wife doesn't like to drive mine now exactly because of that. She says it's 'dangerous' being that sensative. Needless to say, she's not much of a driver. I love the responsiveness!

There is no doubt the different tuner settings can affect your mpg. I've been playing around with the settings and trying to ck mpg, just as a fun project. Not anything scientific, but a decent real world test. I've got some older posts on here with info on my results. Also, just this w/e I had a 6 hour one way drive, over 12 hours total. Had the 87 Octane setting for about 3 hours of the trip Friday and got 17.1mpg. Changed it to the mileage saver tune and checked it on the way back and got 19.1mpg. Doesn't sound like much, but if you put alot of miles on a vehicle like I do, say 20,000 miles/year, that can save me around $500/year with gas here at $3.80/gallon now. So the tuner has the potential to pay for itself in gas savings in just the first 6 months. Especially since the OP was just interested in mpg.

Won't do that for me though, as I like the way it changes performance too much! But if gas keeps going up, I'll at least switch it to the mileage saver tune for trips.

So what is the difference between SC cortex and BDGT? Isn't BDGT a lilttle more expensive than SC cortex? Does SC cortex have the WOT ?

All Armadas and QXs come from the factory without any WOT restrictions. If you are buying anything for the purpose of just removing the throttle restriction you are wasting your money.

As Steve said. It is the Titans that have the WOT restriction. Armada's and QX56's do not.

What about the speed limiter? Lemme put it this way: why should buy BDGT and not SC? I rly dnt care about the monitor. I wont mount it to the winshield anyway. Thanks for your input guys

The BullyDog Power Pup will do the 2 degree timing advance, WOT mod, RPM raise, idle set, top speed limiter, and 2 performance programs (one for Reg, one for Premium).

I have one FS in the classifieds.

If you will tow anything get the SC


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I'm not towing anything. I just want the gears to shift at higher rpm and guys when going up a hill it makes this really loud noise. My escalade didn't make that. Is it supposed to make that noise or is something wrong? I feel like the car shifts in low rpms and i had a manual mercedes before and the power is noticeable when I shifted in 6300 rpm. Thanks for your help guys

Hey bigerv, sorry I havent gotten back to you sooner, its been a crazy week/weekend. I havent looked at the pm you sent yet, but I assume that its more of the same. I cant give much info on the SC, but the BDGT is pretty slick. I know you say you wont mount it to the windshield, but it is nice to have actual real-time data on performance. I would say that was the main factor that pushed me to get the BDGT over the other programmers, is that you could use it for keeping track of your real time info.
That being said, I think Pops used the SC (as did many others), but a lot of guys recommend the UpRev tune (I dont know much about it either, but I think its a mail off tune). As another poster said, you can definitely change the sensitivity of the gas (having a dramatic affect on your mpg & off the line speed & power) with the BDGT & SC. Other than having the small screen to leave in the truck, I really think the BD & SC are pretty close in options, no real advantages over the other.
As for your loud noise when down-shifting to go uphill...is this like a transmission sound popping or is it the added rpm with the throaty intake sound? I know you mentioned before that you though you had transmission issues, & if you are having anything more than what you would expect from down-shifting & higher RPMs & intake, you should probably take it in for warranty work. I would definitely do this before you add the tuner, since if the dealer wants to be a jerk, they can void the warranty due to the tuner, most wont, but I have heard of some dealers being jerks about them.
Summing up, if all you are wanting is more power, you may want to bypass both the BD & SC & look into a UpRev or other tuner (I dont know much about them, but you might get more responses or ask SCR or Pops about this).

Hey bigerv, sorry I havent gotten back to you sooner, its been a crazy week/weekend. I havent looked at the pm you sent yet, but I assume that its more of the same. I cant give much info on the SC, but the BDGT is pretty slick. I know you say you wont mount it to the windshield, but it is nice to have actual real-time data on performance. I would say that was the main factor that pushed me to get the BDGT over the other programmers, is that you could use it for keeping track of your real time info.
That being said, I think Pops used the SC (as did many others), but a lot of guys recommend the UpRev tune (I dont know much about it either, but I think its a mail off tune). As another poster said, you can definitely change the sensitivity of the gas (having a dramatic affect on your mpg & off the line speed & power) with the BDGT & SC. Other than having the small screen to leave in the truck, I really think the BD & SC are pretty close in options, no real advantages over the other.
As for your loud noise when down-shifting to go uphill...is this like a transmission sound popping or is it the added rpm with the throaty intake sound? I know you mentioned before that you though you had transmission issues, & if you are having anything more than what you would expect from down-shifting & higher RPMs & intake, you should probably take it in for warranty work. I would definitely do this before you add the tuner, since if the dealer wants to be a jerk, they can void the warranty due to the tuner, most wont, but I have heard of some dealers being jerks about them.
Summing up, if all you are wanting is more power, you may want to bypass both the BD & SC & look into a UpRev or other tuner (I dont know much about them, but you might get more responses or ask SCR or Pops about this).

The noise is a throaty deep noise in the 3500-4300 rpm. This winter I was driving with family to shawnee mt in PA and as i was going uphill the engine was making that noise. The transsmission needle was at C. I gave it more gas and when it shifted up the noise was gone. Idk if its normal or theres a problem

That sounds like a normal sound, sound like its just the higher engine rev, just before the gear change. If you were to do the AirBox Mod or change out to a CAI, it would be much more noticeable...I wouldnt be concerned with it if it is throaty & goes away with the change of gears...thats just the shear power of this beast probably.

That sounds like a normal sound, sound like its just the higher engine rev, just before the gear change. If you were to do the AirBox Mod or change out to a CAI, it would be much more noticeable...I wouldnt be concerned with it if it is throaty & goes away with the change of gears...thats just the shear power of this beast probably.

Hehehehe thanks for your help Taze. :bow: