Anyone tried a disabler for active fuel management?

[DeadheadNM]

Curious if there’s a benefit at all with use of one of these diablers. Has anyone tried these or similar?

https://www.rangetechnology.com/prod...-dfm_disabler/

[Thealien]

I have had 1 in my 2012 chevy Silverado since buying it new.No problems and it doesn't go into cylinder deactivation.

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks Mark. Did this improve performance at all or impact gas mileage?

[jweb]

I bought the Diablo tuner instead. Not much more money and several more features. You can get them refurbished at a good price, see the link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RFB-DiabloS...STRK:MEBIDX:IT

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Thanks Mark. Did this improve performance at all or impact gas mileage?

All it did was disable AFM and that is all I wanted it to do. It has worked for 8 years without issue or causing problems.

[Thealien]

Originally Posted by jweb

I bought the Diablo tuner instead. Not much more money and several more features. You can get them refurbished at a good price, see the link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RFB-DiabloS...STRK:MEBIDX:IT

When I bought my Range AFM disabler my Silverado was under warrantee for 6 years so I didn't want to risk any issues with warrantee. I know you can load the stock map back in but all I wanted to do was disable the AFM and I think I got mine for $60-80 on sale.

With that being said the Diablo has tons of great features. I would probably destroy something messing with the wrong file.

[jweb]

Originally Posted by Thealien

When I bought my Range AFM disabler my Silverado was under warrantee for 6 years so I didn't want to risk any issues with warrantee. I know you can load the stock map back in but all I wanted to do was disable the AFM and I think I got mine for $60-80 on sale.

With that being said the Diablo has tons of great features. I would probably destroy something messing with the wrong file.

I'm trying to be careful with the settings. I have been running one of the preset tunes with the AFM turned off and adjusted for tire size. I plan to get a custom tune from https://www.diablewtune.com/ sometime soon. Just trying to decide if I want to add headers and exhaust first.

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks guys. My 2019 burb is still under warranty so am mindful of that.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Thanks guys. My 2019 burb is still under warranty so am mindful of that.

Pete, I know a lot of the Camaro guys who aren’t cammed or tuned run the range unit. Mine still has afm and I actually get better mpg with it disabled than with it active. On the Camaro’s when you use the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, the computer automatically disables AFM so I’ve been able to test the mileage against each other pretty frequently.

That said, the day is coming sooner than later that I’m gonna cam it and be done.
I’m sure you already know but on the direct injected gen 5 engines, you gotta watch the carbon buildup on the intake valves. They have had some troubles there. A catch can is a great investment to help keep the valves clean.

[DeadheadNM]

Tyler that helpful info. Thanks. If it’s the case I may get better mpg or save wear on the engine than I’ll jump on a disabler. I know next to nothing about this gen motor. I’ll check into a catch can too.

[57taskforce]

In my opinion your money ahead to get it disabled. I haven’t messed with any of the Gen 5 stuff but I know the lifters in the Gen 4 AFM systems are notorious for failure, often times wiping the cam with the failed AFM lifter.

[DeadheadNM]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

In my opinion your money ahead to get it disabled. I haven’t messed with any of the Gen 5 stuff but I know the lifters in the Gen 4 AFM systems are notorious for failure, often times wiping the cam with the failed AFM lifter.

Yep. Last week I spoke w a guy who had similar first hand experience w this and that’s what sent me along this path. You’d think after many decades of engineering experience BS like this wouldn’t happen and a motor could reliably clock 300k miles.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Yep. Last week I spoke w a guy who had similar first hand experience w this and that’s what sent me along this path. You’d think after many decades of engineering experience BS like this wouldn’t happen and a motor could reliably clock 300k miles.

Yes sir, I know exactly what you mean, it’s a gimmick and nothing more in my opinion. We’ve been looking at newer suburbans lately and I’m dreading dealing with it too. The Camaro only gets a couple thousand miles a year so it’s not a huge hurry to get it resolved. My wife is going to get the Suburban when we pull the trigger and it’s going to be her daily, so there will be a lot more haste in getting it disabled or deleted. I’d like to just delete it but to get to the lifters, the heads have to come off.

[oldwagon]

Needing to replace a vehicle that was totaled out. Looking at purchasing an older Tahoe if I can find one in my price range. I want to stay away from the afm if can.

[jerry moss]

we have seen several AFM lifter failures at the shop where i work, usually right around 100 K and yes it wipes out the cam too-permanent cylinder deactivation is what we call it. Jasper sells a calif legal engine with normal lifters on all 8 cylinders, it comes with a program to download in the vehicles computer so the CE light wont come on, it comes with an executive order number (calif smog legal crap) so it will pass cali emissions test. our smog machines will pick up any tune that has been installed-even if it has been removed it still leaves a "fingerprint" on the vehicles computer. you guys that live where you can still have fun with your vehicles are lucky.

[DeadheadNM]

Thanks for the follow-up. I never went ahead with an AFM bypass and maybe I should re-visit this issue soon. I'd like the burb to last for a long time.

[DeadheadNM]

At 58k miles I finally got a catch can installed. Thanks Tyler.

[pamoffa]

Afm delete works but I would think the mechanism should be exercised once in a while. Although not using it is the goal.

[jerry moss]

we have another one in the shop right now- 15 tahoe 5.3- disabled #7 the hard way but it made it all the way to 136K before it failed . we're installing another jasper with AFM deleted.

[DeadheadNM]

Earlier in the year I picked up one of the Range brand disablers and ran it while on a two week road trip and will continue to do so when I start daily driving it again come winter.

[Keith Seymore]

(subscribed)

K

[biketopia]

I had my 16 yukon tuned by blackbear performance. They disabled the AFM, changed up the trans programming, and added a little pep to her, don't think I lost any MPG. Mine just hit 60k over the weekend, also have a catch can. The lifters typically fail while in AFM mode and then don't pump back up. A quality PM routine with quality air filters, not a K&N, will go a long way in the longevity of the system bypassed or not. I had an 08 Sierra that had 205k on it and had no issues with the AFM before I did a cam, headers, and tune on that one to avoid future problems because I was planning on keeping it for a while.

[leddzepp]

Honda has a similar thing called VCM (variable cylinder management) they use on their V6 engines. It serves no purpose other than to cause engine problems. First thing I did was get a tuner and have it deactivated on my Odyssey.

[1970cstblazer]

On my 2017 Sierra 5.3L, I tuned it on day one to eliminate the AFM using a Diablosport tuner. I am at 45k miles, and zero issues. I run Amsoil 5W30 and an Elite Engineering catch can, also since day one.