Bullydog gets it's tunes from Cat?

No it connects to Bully Dog to get the correct program for your engine.

 

I had to go look at the webdsite myself to see what was being asked.

Bully Dog downloads the System Settings from the CAT ECM. Then you plug the Bully Dog downloader into a laptop or PC with an Internet connection to Bully Dog website, so Bully Dog can load the correct file into the downloader to reflash the ECM. The reason this is being done is to bypass the CAT password system. Bully Dog is downloading the modified file into it's downloader after it reads what the original Personality Module Part Number and Personality Module Code is stored in the ECM. By doing this when you hook the downloader to a PC and the Internet/Bully Dog website............Bully Dog then downloads the file needed for your truck without having to use CAT Factory Passwords into the downloader. The main reason they do it this way is.............when they sell the downloader to you...........they have no idea what stock file is in your truck. Step 1 is to plug downloader into ECM to read the PMPN and PMC.........step 2 is plug downloader to Bully Dog website to read these System Settings............step 3 is to download the correct file into the downloader so that CAT Factory Passwords will not be needed to flash the ECM with the modified file.............step 4 is to take the Bully Dog downloader to the truck and download the modified file into the CAT ECM. Once the downloader is set up to work with your truck ECM the tranfer of files will take less time than the first time you set the downloader up. This will also make it where you can't use the downloader on another truck without contacting Bully Dog. If they really want to make it hard to tranfer between trucks.........they can make it where it's strictly engine specific by recording the engine serial number and ECM serial number and locking the downloader to that.

 

They also offer re-tuning untill your satisfied with fuel milage gains. I would hope so after paying 2800.00
Seems to be a convient simple way to go rather than swapping ecm's

 

I'd sooner have Mr. Haney redo my ECM and save $2000.00.

 

i second that

 

I guess being able to switch between programs is nice but not nice enough to justify the price difference between a Bullydog downloader and a PDI flash. Pullingtrucker seems happy with his though. If it was more like their pickup downloaders that one unit would do 3 brands of engines would be a big plus, maybe in the future.

 

One advantage of Bully Dog over PDI or anyone else is if your program gets accidentally wiped out or ECM takes a crap you don't have to buy the tune again. I think you can even resell it later if you desired to do so. Even so I went with PDI. Couldn't face spending $2800 on the Bully Dog.

 

I was told by bd if you custom file does get reflashed at a dealer, you do have to buy the tune again