Bully Dog on Altima

[zmayhew3]

Does anyone with an Altima have any experience using a Bully Dog GT Tuner? Or any kind of Bully Dog? I know of 1 user that had the Bully Dog Power Pup, but I don't think they even make it anymore. The GT tuner seems to have a lot more to it anyway. I'm thinking this needs to be my next mod but I want to talk to someone who knows what to expect.

[Hussain]

don't know how it is on a 3.5 but mmx23z has it on his 2.5 (with a bunch of other mods) and he says it made a huge difference.

[dangeris]

I have it on my 3.5 and I love it. It's not like a real tune but it does the job. Obviously, I have a lot of other performance mods that enhances it but on a stock 3.5 I couldnt tell you. But on my 3.5 that has JWT cams and lifters, racingline Y pipe, full fast intentions exhaust and light weight pulley...yeah, it makes a diffrence.

[zmayhew3]

I have a few questions if you don't mind. I do have a few mods (intake, Y pipe, cat back ehxaust), so I think the BD tuner would be beneficial.

1. How is the install? Where did you mount the unit and which fuse did you tie into? I don't think I need the control unit to be visible at all times and I don't like the idea of using the glorified suction cup attached to my windshield at all times.

2. Can you switch maps "on the fly"? Say hypothetically, I'm on a road trip and I have it set to the ECON map. Then some fool in a Honda pulls up on the side of me revving his engine. Can I go to the control unit and switch is to Sport or Extreme mode?

That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Ranga14]

1. It's really easy to flash the ECU with the BD. And equally easy to flash it back to stock if you want to take it into the dealer. In all, it's probably a 10 minute process. The fuse I tapped into was a 15, can't remember the exact name, I can look later.

2. No, you have to have the car in park with all electronics turned off and the ignition in the "on" position.

[zmayhew3]

1. Great. That's one of the reasons I'm considering the Bully Dog approach instead of the UpRev way. My car is still in warranty. And I'd love to know exactly which fuse, that would save me time with the install.

2. Bummer. Does it instantly switch maps or does it have to take the time to reprogram again before starting?

[nismogxs21]

Is the setup the same thing for the bullydog power pup? i've had it for a while and never installed it

[Ranga14]

No, you have to go through the flash over again.

[zmayhew3]

I've gotten the bully dog, downloaded the update, installed it, have power to it... It's telling me that the battery isn't charged. I'm assuming that's the battery to the bully dog. Do I just need to let it sit for a little while and charge?

[KnoxCoupe]

The battery its talking about more than likely is your car battery. You have to make sure you have disconnected any aux that may drain battery. I had the same problem with mine and had to unplug the remote wire for my subs before it would complete 100%.
Hope that helps.

[zmayhew3]

I got nothing. It says 'battery voltage is low! Please charge the battery before restarting the download."

[el_blacky06]

You can always charge the battery at autozone and try it again.
Or you can get a portable battery charger and tune it at the same time.

[zmayhew3]

I borrowed a portable jump box and hooked it up while doing the install. Worked first time. I advanced the timing +2, ran 6.1 in 0-60 and 14.4 in the quarter mile. My tires were spinning all over the place though, so I think I just need to pratice my launch and I can do better.

What's the deal with the premium tune? Can I just put it on the premium tune and continue running regular octane? Or should I run premium gas with the premium tune?

[zmayhew3]

Just answered my question by reading a few other posts. Thanks for the help guys. Gotta burn a quarter tank then go to premium.

[sc20]

Aside from advancing the timing, I would go into the coaching menu and set acceleration sensitivity to HIGH. gets rid of lots of acceleration lag. You can also tweak with wot acceleration and your rpm and speed limiters.

[YoungCoupe]

Would the bully dog be worth getting if you're just going to go with the regular tune?

[zmayhew3]

What is wot acceleration? The sensitivity change is a good idea too. The rpm was set to 6,750 and that's high enough for me. I don't want to damage my engine. And the speed limiter was at 132 and I upped it to 157, though I'm not sure I really want to go that fast. I've brought I up to 125 and that's enough for now. Although Eibach springs, sway bars, and endlinks may change my mind.

YoungCoupe, I really like the performance testing. If you're into maximizing performance and concerned with tenths of a second, it's worth it. I live out in the country and its not like I can just run to the track every weekend.

[AlexN09]

Wot means wide open throttle.

[Ranga14]

You can't change the rev limiter nor WOT with the BD.

[zmayhew3]

I was able to change the rev limiter but chose not to. I haven't been able to figure out anything about WOT or throttle sensitivity. I just put Premium gas in my car yesterday but haven't downloaded the Premium tune yet.

[Jlor1002]

I just installed this a few days ago. Process was a little bit of pain in the a$$ but wasn't too bad. The latest update didn't include my stock code (or whatever it is), so I had to have them create a file for me. Then when I went to install it told me it already detected an aftermarket tune, which was clearly incorrect. So, I had to call them again and they had me update again, and then it worked.

Can't say I notice a difference (premium tune, timing +2, w/ 93 octane). I also can't say I'm disappointed because how easy is it to detect a small bump in HP? Hypothetically, let's say the y-pipe and tuner collectively add 20HP (being generous), that's only a 7% increase in HP. Seems to me that would be tough to detect with the butt dyno...

[jandalismx]

I have it on my 3.5 and I love it. It's not like a real tune but it does the job. Obviously, I have a lot of other performance mods that enhances it but on a stock 3.5 I couldnt tell you. But on my 3.5 that has JWT cams and lifters, racingline Y pipe, full fast intentions exhaust and light weight pulley...yeah, it makes a diffrence.

Hey Dangeris, im interested in the set up youre running, ive been trying to find JWT mods like cams/ cam gears, etc online but cant find some for sale for the V6 altima coupes. Where did you happen to purchase them? May you lead me to some websites pls. thanks!

[MetallicSlate]

WARNING:

The website I'm about to throw up here has a horrible reputation with this community. BUT, here are the JWT Camshaft as requested.

http://www.speedforceracing.com/index.p ... ductID=931

Now if you'll excuse me, before I get horribly flamed.

[mrmikemtr]

Just installed on my 2010 Maxima. I must say, qualitatively, the car performs better. Smoother idle, no "lag" or hesitation time that happens when you punch the gas. Just linear, progressive acceleration. I did run a performance test using the included function but I'm a bit dubious of the results. Using the premium tune, it returned a 12.9 quarter mile @ 82mph. And a 0-60 of 8 seconds. Hmmm. I did the 'ol 1 1000, 2 1000, counting and got 5 and change as it should be. So that part of the equation, I'm not 100% sure of the information displayed as that is on par with the 370Z performance. Other than that, I like it. Only other mods I have is an Injen shorty tuned ram intake. Total of less then $500 invested and I'm happy. Not sure how much more you can do to add hp for that cheap. I know it's old but someone mentioned "only" 7%. 7% is a lot for a few hundred bucks. On a 290hp Maxima, that's 25$ per hp. Put another way, I bought this car used for $24k 4 years ago. 82$ per hp. For the performance vs money spent, these little add-ons are cheap and good relative value. You could easily spend a few thousand on a turbo or super and prob add 25% hp safely without breaking anything. That's $50 per hp roughly. I think for the money, intake, exhaust, chip will make most casual performance folk happy. I'll try and do some more performance tests using this equipment but may have to find an iPhone app.