KPE 3.6L ECU and TCU tunes installed
My review of the KPE ECU and TCU tunes for the 3.6L DI engine. I’ve installed both tunes on my 2014 CTS Performance Coupe AWD at about 6800 miles and these are my thoughts on the installation after a few days of driving.
I’ve mostly driven around town with some highway driving and after a period of me getting used to the tune, I can honestly say I like it. It seems to me that it took about 40 miles of driving to realize the full effect of the tune, but I might be hallucinating. The most noticeable improvement has been off-idle acceleration which is much better. The engine pulls well through 1st and 2nd gears with less of a power drop off at the top of each gear with nice firm shifts. The only other change I’ve made is the addition of a K&N filter in the stock air box and a change to 93 octane gasoline. Let me be clear, this modification will not turn your car into a fire-breathing, tire shredding monster, but it absolutely will make it feel much more powerful and responsive. My seat of the pants dyno convinced me that I’ve added real horsepower and torque. The car is just plain more fun to drive. The TCU tune makes some subtle changes in shift firmness, shift points and kick down all of which I like. I believe the rev limiter has also been modified upwards.
The installation is straight forward, but the documentation is a little difficult to follow. Andy at KPE was extremely helpful throughout and should be commended for his dedication to his customers. A word of advice - you will have to disable your firewall in order to upload and download the tuning files. Your original OEM tunes and the modified tunes are permanently stored on the KPE servers. You download a tuning file to the IPE flasher and then upload the tune to your car. It’s pretty easy to switch between the tunes for comparison if you want to.
I have not checked my miles per gallon since I installed the modified ECU & TCU tunes but since I have not driven like an adult over the last few days, I’m certain my MPG is lousy right now. Once I get calmed down, I’ll report if my mileage is improved or not.
The bottom line is, for me, the KPE modified ECU and TCU programs are well worth their cost. Kudos to KPE for their support of the 3.6 platform.
, but the software will yield much better performance and a cleaner burning engine with premium fuel, we recommend it and so does Cadillac. Also with low grade fuel you do run the risk of detonation.
