Hello all!
Well, it's been quite a while since I last was on the list. Glad to see
things are still going strong :-).
Anyway, quick introduction: my name's John Bell, and I live/work in the
Austin TX area. This fortunate circumstance allowed me the opportunity to
visit Bernd at Speedtweaks last Saturday
for some needed tuneup work. The receiver of the TLC in question is a 2000
Dak QC 4x4, SLT+, 360, all the goodies you could get from the factory at the
time. It's a great truck, love it.
After 23000 miles though it was time for a tune. So, I figured what the hey,
Bernd's shop is open,
I'll take it there.
Best thing I could have done to it. Let's just say the truck runs much,
*much* better now. I just
got back from taking my family on a trip to Sea World in San Antonio. The
Blue Beast got over
15 MPG after the tune (where it would get 12 before) running at 70 MPH with
the A/C on for
the whole trip. Given that it's a 4x4 with 3.92 gearing and a 360, I am
mightily impressed by the
results.
So, what did I have done that would hand back an extra 3 MPG to me?
- New cap and rotor w/ new 8mm plug wires
- Colder plugs
- Coolant service w/ some Radiator Relief thrown in (I tell ya, it's nice to
be haulin' down the
road in 95+ degree weather at speed with the A/C on and see a nice steady
180 degree
engine temp.)
- 180 degree thermostat (of course)
- "Performance Tuneup" package from Speedtweaks (TB clean, injector clean,
etc.)
Btw, that nasty "ping" problem I always used to have when hauling or running
up a hill with
cruise control on is *gone*, period, end of story. I loaded up on Chevron 87
octane and
ran at WOT, cruise, up a hill, you name it, *no ping*, nada. Excellent work,
Bernd.
One nit to pick - I keep hitting the rev limiter going from a standing start
at WOT. She doesn't
want to shift before that happens, so I have to pull back a little bit. I
figure that's part of the
throttle adjustment that I requested to have done, so it can always be
pulled back a little later.
Oh yeah, and that Viper Bernd was working on when I came to pick up my truck
looked sweet.
White with blue race stripes. Slick :-).
Have fun,
-- JB
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