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ECU Tune - Calibrated or Gilomen?

robertdmerrill99

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Hello - I am considering upgrading this to increase HP/Torque, as I am in the process of making my vehicle street legal. Has anyone had experience changing this out - is it difficult to do - are there any opinions about the calibrated product vs. the Gilomen product. Gilomen is $300 vs. $500 for Calibrated and you get an extra 5hp out of the Gilomen tune supposedly. Any thoughts or warnings to heed? I am not a natural wrench turner/gear head - more of a novice but want to learn. Thanks for any feedback!
 
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WillysJeep

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Check out Diesel Freak. Wade is great to work with. They are probably more expensive however the tune does come with a booster valve that costs around $30 included. Also check out their intake connection kit. Big increase in efficiency. If you are planning on deleting your Roxor (and budget allowing) I would also get their intake tube. Makes installing the intake connection kit easier. Check out Roxasaraus’ video in the “all Roxor leak boost” thread.
 

robertdmerrill99

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I will check it out. I did see their offering as well - I just have no real way to compare outside of feedback like this. I appreciate it. Do you have to have any of the additional mods you mentioned (ex. booster valve, intake, etc.) above for a stage 1 tune? some of what i was reading suggests the stock Rox is fine with a stage 1... just curious. thank you! **just watched the video, thanks. makes sense to have the intake mods... **
 
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Vinny

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I paid $500 for the Vivid Stage 1 on my 2018. We bought a second Roxor, a 2019, and decided to go with Gilomen. It was only $300. I just got it back today. After l take it out and test it, I'll give my review.
 

robertdmerrill99

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I paid $500 for the Vivid Stage 1 on my 2018. We bought a second Roxor, a 2019, and decided to go with Gilomen. It was only $300. I just got it back today. After l take it out and test it, I'll give my review.
Great, I really appreciate it. Also any feedback on your purchase experience with Gilomen - and how long, etc. would be much appreciated! Good luck with it.
 

WillysJeep

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I do have all four mods on mine. Stage II tune, intake connection, booster valve and intake tube. I am extremely pleased with all the products and especially the customer service. I would do these mods if I had the stage I tune as well. They tighten up many inefficiencies. The down side is that I have read with more horsepower you may have clutch issues. I have not. However I am not hard on my vehicles. No rock crawling etc. Also, I live at 5000 feet elevation and regularly go up to 8000. So for me the extra horsies are nice!
 

Vinny

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Took it out for a couple of hours and tried different areas to test it. First of all it is a different machine! Hills that made me stay in second can now easily be in third with no lugging. Traffic light to traffic light, much quicker. Got it up to 70mph so the 55 max problem is gone. Like others have said, throttle response is much better. So what's the difference between Vivid and Gilomen?......$200. Didn't mean to be a smart a__ but really, I can't tell a difference. Vivid was great. I sent in th ECU, two days after they got I got it back. Exactly the same with Gilomen. As far as customer service, I never spoke to anyone at either company. I'm sure you'll be pleased whichever way you go.
 

PineCreek

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I did the Gilomen stage 2, booster valve.
I have a 2019 w auto trans. It has a problem that it doesn’t shift correctly, there are numerous others that have auto w same concern.
if you have the Auto trans, GO DIESEL FREAK!

They have it figured out.
When I have extra $ I’ll send mine to Wade to have it redone.
 

wpatter

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Gilomen stage 2 on a 2020 manual here with no issues what so ever. I have not put many other accessories on it but it will run 70mph all day and has no issue being stagnant in any gear that I've observed. I'm planning on 33" tires soon, straight pipe and probably all the intake stuff in a year or so. I do believe that diesel freaks is the best in the business but I was on a tight budget and it seems to be working out for me.
 

robertdmerrill99

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Took it out for a couple of hours and tried different areas to test it. First of all it is a different machine! Hills that made me stay in second can now easily be in third with no lugging. Traffic light to traffic light, much quicker. Got it up to 70mph so the 55 max problem is gone. Like others have said, throttle response is much better. So what's the difference between Vivid and Gilomen?......$200. Didn't mean to be a smart a__ but really, I can't tell a difference. Vivid was great. I sent in th ECU, two days after they got I got it back. Exactly the same with Gilomen. As far as customer service, I never spoke to anyone at either company. I'm sure you'll be pleased whichever way you go.
really appreciate the follow up and feedback. It has definitely helped my decision!
 

robertdmerrill99

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Back in June, I did a review of the Gilomen Stage 2. You can search for it.
I may have been one of the first ones to install and run the Gilomen Stage 2 back In April 2020. Now, after about 700 miles with the ECU, I can still recommend it. Caveat: I can only speak for manual tranny.

Any tune / ECU from any vendor should be about equal in performance and reliabilty by now. Some early adopters wrote about issues with their ECUs, which are now a thing of the past (e.g. rough idle, smoke, hard starts). As you read just the replies to your post today, there is no negative feedback (except one on auto tranny).
The companys that did not fix their tunes no longer offer Roxor tunes. (e.g.. anyone heard of Hardcore Tuning from back in 2018 / 2019?)

You will probably never notice a 5hp difference between tunes or 10 ft-lbs torque.

I don't know if Gilomen still offer that you can buy an ECU so you keep your stock unit. That is a factor if you want to keep the original ECU handy.

Personally, I think its almost impossible to go wrong with any ECU offered these days.

ECU INSTALL - CAUTION
Some had issues with the connector on the ECU. One member busted the locking mechanism. I got the locking mechanism caught in a zip tie that is too close to the lock (at least on my machine).
Best you use TWO HANDS when you unlock the connector. Carefully pull up the lever and pull on the slider at the same time. Make sure nothing gets caught.
When you replace the connector, use again TWO HANDS to close the lever and slide the lock.

INSTALLING THE BOOST VALVE
To get the length of hose on the boost valve perfect, I have removed the rubber tube about a dozen times (on two different Roxors).
When you remove the rubber tube from the waste gate valve, don't lever the tube left to right. Slide the clamps along the tube. Take a utility knife and score the hose so it loses its grip. Then pull straight. There have been cases where the plasric nipple on the boost valve broke off. The other side of the tube is mounted on a metal tube. It is robust.

When you install the boost valve, make sure you point it the correct way (instructions will say). Make sure the hose does neither kink nor rest on the engine block. That's why I pulled off, cut, and reinstalled the tube several times. On my Roxor, I left the tube between the boost valve and the waste gate longer. The boost valve will likely come mounted with equal length tubing on each side. I trimmed the tubes to be asymmetric.

When pushing the tube back on the waste gate, push straight. A drop of water on the tube will make it easy and leave no residue.

Good luck and just ask if you need anything clarified.
Great information. For the stage 1 is the EGR closed issue you mention below as important? Are there any drawbacks to having it closed all the time. This question coming from someone who doesn't even know what the EGR is... just curious. Thanks!
 

Vinny

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I agree with AZROX. Companies that are doing the Stage 1 ECU flash are all about equal. So if that's the way you want to go on your Roxor, it's about the price. Stage 1 is the easiest to do and probably the best bang for the buck. Nothing mechanical. Just send in the ECU, get it back and plug it in.
 

AZROX

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? Do NOT stop driving your Roxor because you have not done the EGR delete. Do not panic! ?

EGR: Exhaust Gas Recirculation (your car has it, too)

Here is an explanation from Machinerylubrication.com
They talk about high mileage, high hour diesel engines: Semis, generators, construction equipment, etc.

"...EGR essentially sends the emissions back to the combustion chamber creating a multi-pass opportunity for soot to ingress to the lubricant. An EGR valve regulates how much exhaust gas is recirculated. At idle, about 70% of the exhaust gas is recirculated, while only about 10-20% is recirculated at full load.

While EGR does effectively reduce NOx and soot emissions to the atmosphere, soot loads in the lubricant can be expected to increase dramatically, causing increased temperature and viscosity, dispersancy failure, fouling, deposits and wear..."

On a semi that runs +100K miles per year, soot in the engine matters. The more soot, the more often you need to change the oil. Each oil change on a semi can take 15 gallons of oil ($300 for just the oil). That adds up when cost per mile performance is measured in pennies. On a semi it also makes a difference (in a driver's income) if the engine lasts 800k miles or 1 million miles.
Fleets will do oil sampling to measure remaining oil quality at certain intervals to reduce number of oil changes: $50 oil sample vs hundreds for an oil change.

On a Roxor, one drives maybe 1000, 3000, 5000 miles per year? That is an oil change. If you drive 500 miles a year, that is an oilchange. You drive 300 miles in dense dust, that is an oilchange. Most of us change the oil because we come up on the once-per-year mark, not because we drive 1000s of miles.
My point is: less soot from EGR delete is not much of a faktor for a low mileage Roxor.

If I drive 1000 miles per year every year, I will be a 100 years old before I think my Roxor will need an engine rebuild. (Maybe, I will be a 110 years old if I have an EGR delete).

So, why did I select to have my ECU programmed so the EGR valve stays closed? It was free, did not cost me a second of my time, and does not hurt.

If you like to work on the Roxor (I do ?), remove every bit of EGR pipe.

If you like to drive the Roxor (I do ?), save yourself the time of an EGR delete and spend more time driving the machine.
 

Kake America

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? Do NOT stop driving your Roxor because you have not done the EGR delete. Do not panic! ?

EGR: Exhaust Gas Recirculation (your car has it, too)

Here is an explanation from Machinerylubrication.com
They talk about high mileage, high hour diesel engines: Semis, generators, construction equipment, etc.

"...EGR essentially sends the emissions back to the combustion chamber creating a multi-pass opportunity for soot to ingress to the lubricant. An EGR valve regulates how much exhaust gas is recirculated. At idle, about 70% of the exhaust gas is recirculated, while only about 10-20% is recirculated at full load.

While EGR does effectively reduce NOx and soot emissions to the atmosphere, soot loads in the lubricant can be expected to increase dramatically, causing increased temperature and viscosity, dispersancy failure, fouling, deposits and wear..."

On a semi that runs +100K miles per year, soot in the engine matters. The more soot, the more often you need to change the oil. Each oil change on a semi can take 15 gallons of oil ($300 for just the oil). That adds up when cost per mile performance is measured in pennies. On a semi it also makes a difference (in a driver's income) if the engine lasts 800k miles or 1 million miles.
Fleets will do oil sampling to measure remaining oil quality at certain intervals to reduce number of oil changes: $50 oil sample vs hundreds for an oil change.

On a Roxor, one drives maybe 1000, 3000, 5000 miles per year? That is an oil change. If you drive 500 miles a year, that is an oilchange. You drive 300 miles in dense dust, that is an oilchange. Most of us change the oil because we come up on the once-per-year mark, not because we drive 1000s of miles.
My point is: less soot from EGR delete is not much of a faktor for a low mileage Roxor.

If I drive 1000 miles per year every year, I will be a 100 years old before I think my Roxor will need an engine rebuild. (Maybe, I will be a 110 years old if I have an EGR delete).

So, why did I select to have my ECU programmed so the EGR valve stays closed? It was free, did not cost me a second of my time, and does not hurt.

If you like to work on the Roxor (I do ?), remove every bit of EGR pipe.

If you like to drive the Roxor (I do ?), save yourself the time of an EGR delete and spend more time driving the machine.
That was almost as good as Bill Pullman’s speech in Independence Day!
And I will now be doing an EGR delete. Thank you for making up my mind.
 

DAMCars

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I think you should strongly consider Diesel Freak. The owner Wade is awesome and has probably tuned 80% of the tuned Roxors out there.
 

robertdmerrill99

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To all interested, I went with Gilomen. Based on the feedback offered from everyone - with a stage 1, it seems to be a safe bet and a cost savings. I do love Wade and have recently ordered a few things from him. I will report back once installed. I'm excited to get it back in a week or two. Thanks for all of the information, much appreciated!
 

robertdmerrill99

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To all interested, I went with Gilomen. Based on the feedback offered from everyone - with a stage 1, it seems to be a safe bet and a cost savings. I do love Wade and have recently ordered a few things from him. I will report back once installed. I'm excited to get it back in a week or two. Thanks for all of the information, much appreciated!
Quick follow up on this post. I am very happy with my decision - runs great and I routinely exceed the 65 mph with no issues on the road. Cheers!
 

Skymarc

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Im looking at doing the Gilomen stage 2 tune And booster valve swap on one of my Roxor. If I remove the EGR can he program it EGR delete as im not sure if the Roxor will gave a code if you remove the EGR.

I have the KMS stage 3 on another Roxor and it been running fine With no change of the boost valve.
 
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