Station Wagon of the Day - Silverfox's

That's another thing....I don't understand why we have to get some kind of an account to store our pix. Why can't we just store them in the "My Pictures" on our computers?? I HATE looking at pix on those storage places. They are slow, full of ads and have a zillion pop ups when trying to view pix. The best one of those places that I have ever seen was the one KK has. When he sent me the Subie pix they were all in one place and easily viewed without advertising interruptions.

 

While that is a great place to keep them for your own viewing, it is quite inaccessable to the rest of us. The old photo album on my book shelf is nice for storing my printed photographs, but is out of reach to distant friends.
You would have to have run your own web-server at home. For the average user, Internet hosting services are a much simpler and secure option.

 

Sorry for the delay - crazy weekend!!! Justin is in Virginia somewhere. He did the whole thing for me by mail. Sent me the program and the harness to plug into my laptop. He had me do 3 or 4 different runs, and then give him info on what I wanted out of the car. He took all of this, programmed the PCM and sent it back to me. I swapped them out, and away I went. The truck ran beautifully, pulled much harder, got better mileage, shifted better, etc. I was really happy with it.

Here's a link to him: http://www.blackbearperformance.com/

If you look through the Z71SuburbanTahoe forum, you'll see many happy customers - me included...

 

Whoa...That sounds really interesting, 442! I've never heard of anyone sending a harness and program to record the cars issues and then sending them back. Usually, we just tell the guy what we changed from stock...like the cam, etc and then give him the numbers. Then tell him how we want to drive it. Sounds like this guy gathers more info from the actual car! Did you have any problems performing the tasks he required? How did you send him the info you gathered? Thanks for the link!

 

No, it was pretty easy. He does all of his tunes custom like that, because each car is a little different. I'm not super savvy about this stuff, and it was pretty easy. I do recall there was about a six week wait to get in the queue for the harness, but that was the only issue.

He shipped the harness (which connects the car to your laptop) along with a computer program. You load up the program, then plug the harness into the car and laptop. There is a "record" feature that basically takes all the data from the car and stores it in the laptop. Justin had me do 2 or 3 different runs (cold start, in town, interstate, hard acceleration, etc.) to collect the data on what the Suburban did stock. I could see everything on the recording (even putting a window down - talk about Big Brother...)!

After recording the data, you ship the data back and he custom programs the PCM specifically for your car. He ships you the new PCM, and you do the swap. Once you're sure everything is to your satisfaction, you ship back the harness and the old PCM (which gets used for the next guy).

I didn't have too many mods done on my Suburban, but the tuned PCM made a HUGE difference in the truck. Justin adjusted up the shift points up slightly, and the truck just pulled harder. It was a noticable difference immediately...

Justin (and his wife Jenna) are really nice, and are straight shooters. He will tell you honestly what to expect, and will stay with you to be sure it is right. I was nervous doing this online/long distance since my only knowledge of this was from a forum, but it was a great experience start to finish.

You might also look into the corvette servo upgrade for your tranny - I never got around to doing this, but hear it's a nice easy upgrade...

 

Thanks a lot for this info, 442. Very interesting. I appreciate it very much.
I am under the impression that the 96 wagon 4L60E came with the Vette servo.

 

It might be - I'm definitely no expert, and I have forgotten 1/2 of what I knew... Its he!! getting old...

 

Tell me about it....There was a time that I could answer most all mechanical questions here but it now takes me a week or more to remember what I used to do to solve the problem! 2 strokes layered with old age is not a good formula for the memory!
Thanks again for this info....I am going to pass it on to my buddy who may want to get one of the units for his shop.

 

Oh...one more thing....you say Justin is in VA. The company appears to be on the west coast in CA. Do they have different guys around the country? How did you find Justin in VA?

 

You shocked me, so I had to go back and dig through the Z71 forum. I'm not sure when, but they used to live in northern VA and are now in CA... But it's just Justin and Jenna, unless they have hired help. I think he started doing this on the side, and has grown it into a fulltime business. It looks like they have done a lot of business since I did my Z71, which was in '08 sometime... Jenna used to help with scheduling, etc... I met them both on the Z71 forum in '08...

 

I love this post - really funny...

I dont think its fair, BLACKBEAR, Justin or Jenna, never explained that I would have this problem..

Ok, so I left the location at about 10:00pm!! after spending some time with Justin. On the way home I was not expecting to have a brand new truck..
HOLY CRAAP, I drove it like it was stolen all the way home and went past my house twice..

The passing power is amazing.. I began looking for cars just to pass..I was taking all the back roads and hills and just felt it pull like a locomotive on steroids..

My 2003 has stock wires, stock plugs all from 2003 when it rolled off the line. Stock muffler and a semi clean air cleaner..Needs an oil change and a wash I might add.

Justin was awesome. During the tune we took several passes and expressway on ramps etc, he even checked my MAF as it was pinging real bad.. Once he was done, it drove like a brandnew truck..


So BUYER BEWARE !!!!!!! If you do not want a truck with tons of power, smooth idle,and great on ramp/passing power, then save your money...If you dont like to feel pushed into the seat and things starting to go past you in the driver and passenger windows then by all means, dont do it..


For the rest of you, GET R DONE..... Its the best 250 dollars I have EVER spent on any of my cars that has made me smile as much as this... (Although once when I lived in Las Vegas I went to a massage..nevernmind)


JUST DO IT

 

LMAO
Did you write that post, 442?? That's funny as hell. And a good testimonial for Justin. Wish he wasn't in San Diego now!

 

442....that post about the amazing difference after mods and then the PCM update is RIGHT ON! I drove my wagon for awhile before the PCM programming to coincide with my new engine & mods and it, of course, ran terrible. I had Alex at PCM Performance do the PCM for me and ALL the things stated in your post are TRUE! This wagon now has snort! What a difference! Like night and day! I was really disappointed when driving it after I did what I thought would give the wagon a little more gusto. Now, after the PCM programming, I realize that my thinking was right on! I did a lot of work on the wagon and was so disappointed when I cranked it up and drove it after I did all that work. It make a HUGE difference in those OBDII cars when the PCM reads the right signals! I'm a happy camper.

 

KEWL!!! I had a 96SS Imp. but have always LOVED the Caprice Wagons too!! Sweet ride! Maybe I oughta find one....How's the rear frame? I want to tow my Daytona...

 

You should have NO problem towing that rig. Or a larger one, for that matter. They are set up from the factory to tow 5000 lbs with the tow pak.
Thanks for the kind words, Ring. Much appreciated.