Bully Dogs GT Tuner
Now that the holidays are over and I am starting to get a little caught up with ongoing projects, I thought I would take a little time to talk about the newest tuner from Bully Dog. The GT Tuner was initially released at the SEMA show in 2008 but we dealers didn’t have them in our hands until around January of 09. Over the last year I have had the opportunity to be involved with many installations of this product and all I can say is “congratulations Bully Dog, you hit it out of the park with this one!” Bully Dog has always striven to be the ”first to market” with their products and in the past my opinion has been, although they were the first, they were not always the best. This one, however, is both first and best.
The first downloader / monitor combo Bully Dog released was the Triple Dog with Outlook Monitor Combo. To my knowledge this was the first product that offered multiple monitor capabilities, on the fly horsepower adjustment (with Triple Dog) and automatic de-fueling if your pyrometer temps get too high. When these worked, they worked decently at best…. The single “joystick” style control was clunky and difficult for larger fingers to control and the durability of these units wasn’t the greatest either; we saw many warranty issues with these units (which I will add Bully Dog took care of with out too many hassles).
The next “hot” product Bully Dog released was the PMT (Performance Management Tool). This really revolutionized the tuner market, being the first downloader and monitor all in one unit! There were a bunch of new features with this unit which included many more de-fueling parameters, monitoring capabilities and design features. But as with the Outlook there are some issues. We have had multiple harness and OBD2 plug warranties as well as issues with the cradles and monitors. In my opinion there are just too many connections with this set up that are way too fragile for the environment they live in.
The latest release from the master minds at Bully Dog is the GT Tuner. As I said earlier I really believe Bully Dog did their homework on this one. The packaging of this unit is very retail friendly, it looks good and it allows the customer to preview the functionality at the counter while the product is still in the package. The installation of the GT Tuner is like no other. On 08 and up trucks with DPF (Diesel Particulate Filters) the install is as simple as suction cupping the unit to your window, running one wire to a fuse tap and plugging into the OBD2 port. For earlier trucks without DPF you will just need to add the optional pyrometer kit. Now for the functionality: once again this unit is like no other! It is a downloader and monitor all in one which means you get all the functionality of the PMT but in a smaller and in my opinion more rugged package. On top of all the normal features Bully Dog has also added their all new Driving Coach Software to the GT. This software allows you to grade your driving style and show you how to drive more economically and in turn receive better fuel economy. The GT works on MOST trucks, Bully Dog will tell you it works on all light duty diesel trucks from about 2003 to 2009 but I know from experience the 2008 and 2009 are still hit and miss especially on the 6.4L Fords. The GT, like their other models is internet upgradable so if it doesn’t work for your vehicle initially, eventually they will have a tune for you!
All in all the GT Tuner is one of the best products that has been released from Bully Dog in a while. If you are looking for a good reliable downloader with monitoring capabilities then the GT Tuner is the unit for you!
Check all of these products at www.dwperformance.com
