SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE
One of the first tuners Brendle tried on the LMM came from Pacific Performance Engineering. The PPE Xcelerator increased engine output over 80 hp and made for a very impressive daily driver. With 350-plus horsepower to the ground, things were looking good in the performance department for the new shop truck and style and speed were all wrapped up in one package. PPE's tune made the truck extremely fun to drive and really made that stock variable-vane turbo sing. Even with the 37s under the truck there was plenty of pep to keep Brendle happy, at least for a while.
After running the PPE tuner for a month or so, Brendle was ready to test out the new Bully Dog PMT. He was more than impressed with the PPE tuner but when you're in the business of selling performance programmers, a little hands-on experience with each one only helps the sell. Bully Dog's new PMT module is one of the first of its kind. With a cab-mounted touch screen, which offers fully functional gauges and shift on the fly adjustability, it's quickly becoming one of the most popular programmers on the market. Working in conjunction with the AEM intake and Diamond Eye exhaust, the Bully Dog PMT bumped rear wheel horsepower up into the 400 range. Again, the ability to adjust the tuning software with just the touch of a finger makes going from a Friday night street king to a Monday morning workhorse easier than ever.
Brendle has now started tinkering with Custom Auto's EFI Live tuning software to further fine tune his current setup to release every ounce of power the motor still has hiding within. Tweaks in the tuning through EFI Live have resulted in yet another 40-50 hp improvement on the otherwise stock truck. The LMM has now laid down more than 450 hp on the dyno, all through stock 3.73s and 37-inch tires.