How to Drive a Tuned 68

Long time member and 2nd gen owner but I’ve only recently dipped into the 4th gen market. I’m looking to eventually tune and am fairly well set on ez-lynk. With that in mind though, I still have quite a few questions, some of which I’ve searched and found mixed responses so I’ll try to be as specific as possible.

It’s a 2018 with a 68 and my intentions are to do supporting mods and keep it as close to stock (minus tuning) as possible until I break something. It’s mainly a work horse and needs to be reliable. When the vgt fails I’ll probably go 464/1.0 and maybe a fleece exhaust brake.

If this has already been covered in a sticky then please ignore the post but I ask that you kindly point me in the right direction.

- How long has the relearn been for most
- If I plan to be towing a good bit should I put some weight behind the truck during the relearning period
- Obviously with higher line pressure comes a different driving style, how should I handle driving with a trailer after it’s tuned (forced manual downshifts, lugging, lock up, etc.)
- Downshifts, any issues or notable situations when tuned
- Is it best to avoid switching levels while the transmission is relearning
- Once the transmission “learns” a power level is it not defeating the purpose a little if you’re constantly changing levels

Please feel free to share anything else that any of you have found to be helpful and or necessary after tuning.

Are you tuning it yourself and asking from that standpoint, or just how should you expect it to drive after you get it tuned?

The relearn is 250 miles I believe.
Don't worry about much after the learning. The learning is really focused on the transmission figuring out how much clutch material you have left so it can actuate shifts quicker/more efficiently.

Just drive it like normal and it'll take care of the rest. When I'm towing heavy, I put it into the TOW tune, hit Tow/Haul mode, and turn exhaust braking on. Then I just tow like a normal person. Most of the time in cruise control at ~78mph. It locks up the TC, upshifts, downshifts, holds speed all really well. Put simply, they made it so my wife could tow heavy and not miss a beat.

As for the VGT comment. I'm a little over 200k on the stock VGT. They're not as bad as must say. They don't make big power, but they are great for DDing and towing.
When mine goes, I'm going to bug Zach Taylor to toss bigger wheels in it at most. I never want to lose that VGT on this daily driver/family hauler.

The relearn can be done in 30-50 miles. Truck should be gone through all the beers up and down and nothing over 30% throttle. It’s learning and hard driving can have negative effect.

I’ve got everything to do my delete on my 16. Just waiting for cts3 to show up. I went with efi live. My focus was more on a tuner I wanted and then the platform he offered. I wouldn’t have chose ez link regardless. Jmo.

I plan to use a tuner, I’m not 100% committed to any one at the moment though.

I just about expected that everyone would have a different opinion on relearn and that’s about what I’ve read.

Just to be clear, I don’t have any issues with the vgt right now but In the future when it comes time I plan to go to a fixed vein setup.

What reservations do you have with EZ?

Ezlynk is great. It's not the best for using as a full time monitor/gauges but really a great tool that is easy to use. And it has a transmission quick learn function built into the app.

My main issue with ez lynk was cloud based files. The tuner could remove whatever or what happens if they disappear. And I had read issues with linking to the phone. I just didn’t want those problems. Granted they are probably few and far between.

One of the most economical mods to keep that 68 alive is to modify the valve body, so you can tune for 225psi. The stock 165 just won't hold, especially the OD clutch (which is used in 4th,5th,6th). Personally I like to build the VB using a DNJ billet channel plate, ream the SSV bore, swap in billet accumulators and use the Transgo kit. That would be money well spent. If you wanted a cheaper option to just modify for higher line pressure, BD sells a kit to do just that.

Does anyone know, will the 19-20 year model valve body produce 225lbs of line pressure unmodified. Sorry to derail, just heard some rumblings.