- Staff
- #1
***Actual Time is about 1 Year from posting date***
I just recently borrowed a predator for a little bit of testing to see how the predator really was for $300.
I've been running the Bullydog on my truck since I bought it new. So I figured it was time to try something different.
Installation thoughts:
Installing the Predator was a bit more complicated than the Bullydog. With the predator you have to scroll down and adjust each perimeter to your needs.
The Bullydog was a bit easier to understand just being a series of YES and NO questions. All in all its no big deal though, both are SIMPLE to install.
Performance Thoughts:
Bullydog:
I've always been impressed with the Bullydog performance. I originally started out on setting 1 (Tow/Econ) mode, then gradually going to the Performance (#2) setting, along with moving on to Extreme race mode (#3).
Tow/Econ give's you some noticeable horsepower over stock. But doesn't seem to "open" it up as the higher levels. I never did notice any MPG improvements on this setting.
Performance really wakes the truck up. Its like a different animal with this loaded. The truck takes a different start as to where your really giving the go-go juice to get it going. The tune has a smooth shift to it after you've ran it for a couple of days, I've always been happy the way it shifts. I never did testing on MPG increase over stock...Who drives stock?
Extreme Tune is really fun to drive. But you can tell its a tranny killer if not careful. It runs good off the line, but kicking it up in the higher gears it really has a bad defuel to it. I've kept it on this level for around 6 months. Its a pretty decent smoker to. Here's a couple of videos I've made back in the summer running the extreme tune.
Predator:
Every since the predator hit the market for $300, it's made me want to give it a shot.
I ran the predator on one level just for MPG testing to see if it had a increase over the Bullydog. I ran the Econ Performance setting (85HP) for 3 tanks. 1 of the tanks being 70% Interstate at 75MPH and 30% In town driving. I averaged 17.0 MPG at that rate.
1 Tank i ran around mostly in town, Got 16.0 MPG out from that tank, That was being pretty easy on the throttle. The last tank I had soild highway driving with the interstate speeds averaging around ~75MPH and sub highways 65MPH. with 17.5 MPG.
Some things I noticed with the Predator:
-Touchy throttle , I like it though...
-Seems to smooth out its shifts fast, Once it learn's the shifts, It shift's better than stock, overall very, very smooth..
-Has great power, its close on power between the Bullydog Performance and the Predator 85 Setting
-The 85 setting doesn't hardly smoke, I had to go WOT to even notice smoke at all..Bullydog on performance smokes twice as much ..But not as much as the extreme tune...
EGT's
Some people say the Predator is hot on the EGT's. From my viewing i find the Bullydog 200-300 degrees hotter on some occasion.
Flat land the Bullydog and predator keep the EGT's about the same...Predator was ~100 cooler in different scenario
Max EGT's on WOT:
Bullydog: 1450
Predator: 1300
Hopefully this will benefit so guys considering each of the two tuners. There both great products IMO...For the money, the Predator is hard to beat. The Predator has built in diagnostic functions with make it handy to view certain aspects of the truck. The LBZ version does not support the function to check balance rates..
Enjoy!
I just recently borrowed a predator for a little bit of testing to see how the predator really was for $300.
I've been running the Bullydog on my truck since I bought it new. So I figured it was time to try something different.
Installation thoughts:
Installing the Predator was a bit more complicated than the Bullydog. With the predator you have to scroll down and adjust each perimeter to your needs.
The Bullydog was a bit easier to understand just being a series of YES and NO questions. All in all its no big deal though, both are SIMPLE to install.
Performance Thoughts:
Bullydog:
I've always been impressed with the Bullydog performance. I originally started out on setting 1 (Tow/Econ) mode, then gradually going to the Performance (#2) setting, along with moving on to Extreme race mode (#3).
Tow/Econ give's you some noticeable horsepower over stock. But doesn't seem to "open" it up as the higher levels. I never did notice any MPG improvements on this setting.
Performance really wakes the truck up. Its like a different animal with this loaded. The truck takes a different start as to where your really giving the go-go juice to get it going. The tune has a smooth shift to it after you've ran it for a couple of days, I've always been happy the way it shifts. I never did testing on MPG increase over stock...Who drives stock?
Extreme Tune is really fun to drive. But you can tell its a tranny killer if not careful. It runs good off the line, but kicking it up in the higher gears it really has a bad defuel to it. I've kept it on this level for around 6 months. Its a pretty decent smoker to. Here's a couple of videos I've made back in the summer running the extreme tune.
Predator:
Every since the predator hit the market for $300, it's made me want to give it a shot.
I ran the predator on one level just for MPG testing to see if it had a increase over the Bullydog. I ran the Econ Performance setting (85HP) for 3 tanks. 1 of the tanks being 70% Interstate at 75MPH and 30% In town driving. I averaged 17.0 MPG at that rate.
1 Tank i ran around mostly in town, Got 16.0 MPG out from that tank, That was being pretty easy on the throttle. The last tank I had soild highway driving with the interstate speeds averaging around ~75MPH and sub highways 65MPH. with 17.5 MPG.
Some things I noticed with the Predator:
-Touchy throttle , I like it though...
-Seems to smooth out its shifts fast, Once it learn's the shifts, It shift's better than stock, overall very, very smooth..
-Has great power, its close on power between the Bullydog Performance and the Predator 85 Setting
-The 85 setting doesn't hardly smoke, I had to go WOT to even notice smoke at all..Bullydog on performance smokes twice as much ..But not as much as the extreme tune...
EGT's
Some people say the Predator is hot on the EGT's. From my viewing i find the Bullydog 200-300 degrees hotter on some occasion.
Flat land the Bullydog and predator keep the EGT's about the same...Predator was ~100 cooler in different scenario
Max EGT's on WOT:
Bullydog: 1450
Predator: 1300
Hopefully this will benefit so guys considering each of the two tuners. There both great products IMO...For the money, the Predator is hard to beat. The Predator has built in diagnostic functions with make it handy to view certain aspects of the truck. The LBZ version does not support the function to check balance rates..
Enjoy!
