Questions for L96/6L90E tuning

[Matt_]

Looking to do an autocal soon on my 2012 Yukon XL 2500 and have some questions...

Can the 6L90E trans also be tuned?

I was just going to have the 87 octane tune adjusted, TM removed, trans tuned, etc.... but the more im reading about the L96, the more it seems like this engine should really be run with a higher grade of gas; they basically spec it for 87 for fleet use. So is an 87 tune even worth it? Figure if the computer may already be pulling timing, there will be little benefit of tuning for that grade.

Any experience on which grade gasoline is best, going for an all around DD for now... not racing and not towing a heavy load. 89 or 91? I think the truck has seen WOT maaaybe once... its not something i like to do.

Anything i can do ahead of time with my scanner? Maybe looks to see if knock sensor is picking up detonation and bump up the grade of fuel until it doesnt? If I do that, and say its good with 89, would it be best to tune it for another grade higher, or is this something that you assess when I do the data recording with the autocal to send in for the tune?

Thanks!

 

[66nova]

Justin will be able to answer all these questions in depth for you, but I can give a short answer.

Yes the 6L90 can be tuned. As far as octane, Justin will recommend even in stock form going with 89+ with your motor. With 87 he sees a lot of knock retard with scans.

It sounds like you may be satisfied with just removing some nannys and cleaning up the transmission tune. I can't say whether it would be worth it to go with a 91 octane tune.

 

[PenguinLTZ]

Justin will be able to answer all these questions in depth for you, but I can give a short answer.

Yes the 6L90 can be tuned. As far as octane, Justin will recommend even in stock form going with 89+ with your motor. With 87 he sees a lot of knock retard with scans.

It sounds like you may be satisfied with just removing some nannys and cleaning up the transmission tune. I can't say whether it would be worth it to go with a 91 octane tune.

Yep, just removing the nannies makes a world of difference.

I tuned mine for regular octane, and it was just fine. I left the trans alone, and was plenty happy with my 6L90

 

[drperry]

Justin will be able to answer all these questions in depth for you, but I can give a short answer.

Yes the 6L90 can be tuned. As far as octane, Justin will recommend even in stock form going with 89+ with your motor. With 87 he sees a lot of knock retard with scans.

It sounds like you may be satisfied with just removing some nannys and cleaning up the transmission tune. I can't say whether it would be worth it to go with a 91 octane tune.

Yep, just removing the nannies makes a world of difference.

I tuned mine for regular octane, and it was just fine. I left the trans alone, and was plenty happy with my 6L90

The 6L90 didn't get hit with the inability to pick the right gear? Nice!

If the transmission is behaving, don't change it... Maybe up the line pressure a little, but otherwise if you're happy with it, no need to adjust it.

 

[PenguinLTZ]

Justin will be able to answer all these questions in depth for you, but I can give a short answer.

Yes the 6L90 can be tuned. As far as octane, Justin will recommend even in stock form going with 89+ with your motor. With 87 he sees a lot of knock retard with scans.

It sounds like you may be satisfied with just removing some nannys and cleaning up the transmission tune. I can't say whether it would be worth it to go with a 91 octane tune.

Yep, just removing the nannies makes a world of difference.

I tuned mine for regular octane, and it was just fine. I left the trans alone, and was plenty happy with my 6L90

The 6L90 didn't get hit with the inability to pick the right gear? Nice!

If the transmission is behaving, don't change it... Maybe up the line pressure a little, but otherwise if you're happy with it, no need to adjust it.

Yeah, mine was as close to perfect as I ever could have hoped for, for the mixed driving and towing that I did. Justin's engine tune was perfect for me. It was a damn good truck

 

[Matt_]

All good input, thanks!

I only put 10-12k miles per year, so the bump up a level in octane isnt a killer for me. I more so want to get the most out of the custom tune if im paying for it, and if there's really not much to do on the engine side of things, other than delete nannies, i feel like i'd be missing out on most of the benefit of a custom tune.

One thing I havent done yet is disconnect the battery to have the trans relearn my driving style. I'll have to do that and maybe run 89 my next tank to get a better baseline for how the truck drives so i know what to tell BB when i order.

 

[drperry]

All good input, thanks!

I only put 10-12k miles per year, so the bump up a level in octane isnt a killer for me. I more so want to get the most out of the custom tune if im paying for it, and if there's really not much to do on the engine side of things, other than delete nannies, i feel like i'd be missing out on most of the benefit of a custom tune.

One thing I havent done yet is disconnect the battery to have the trans relearn my driving style. I'll have to do that and maybe run 89 my next tank to get a better baseline for how the truck drives so i know what to tell BB when i order.

If you get an autocal, you can tell the transmission to relearn without losing radio presets, lol