Dyno Testing The Bully Dog BDX With Ian’s Truck Shop

Earlier this month, we received in BullyDog‘s newest handheld tuner in their lineup. In this handheld comes with industry-leading characteristics that will allow you to improve your diesel trucks performance to the maximum potential while still containing the factory emissions parts. The piece that will make everyday tasks easier to do with the additional horsepower and torque, the BullyDog BDX.

These days, with truck manufacturers having to crack down on emissions, it is a struggle to get the most out of your truck while still following the rules of the emissions laws. With the BDX, you’re now given the chance to keep all of your emissions, monitor a wide variety of crucial engine and transmission parameters, and unlock a new level of performance resulting in greater towing ability and off-road potential.

With the help of our friends over at Maverick Diesel, in Royalton, Illinois, we are going to put the BDX to the test and see what it’s really capable of. We are going to install the BDX on a 100-percent, bone stock, 2018 Ford F-250 with the 6.7-Liter Power Stroke to test the levels of performance the BDX comes equipped with to show you why the BDX is for you.

The BDX 

This handheld serves as a monitoring and data logging system for your truck’s engine and transmission. You’re able to monitor your coolant temperature, transmission temperature, intake air temperature, boost pressure, engine RPM, and so much more.

With your emissions systems still intact, you can lower your soot accumulation in the DPF by manually regenerating the system while at highway speeds. Also, if you have changed the gear ratio of your truck, you can correct the speedometer which will result in more accurate fuel efficiency calculations.

Most vehicles come programmed with a speed limiter. With the BDX, you can change your maximum allowed top speed to allow your truck to go faster without limiting the power. Once you have installed big wheels and tires, you can now correct the speedometer to fit the desired wheel and tire sizes as well as changing or disabling the tire pressure monitoring system.

Pre-Tuning Dyno Results

Thanks to our good friends over at Maverick Diesel in Royalton, Illinois, we have a dyno close by to do our testing. Paul Cato, owner, and operator of Maverick Diesel was excited to see what these new BDX boxes had to offer. “I know a lot of people that are trying to get the most out of these new trucks,” said Cato. “After hearing about this BDX opportunity, I was excited to see what we could squeeze out of the truck.”

The best way to get the most accurate results in dyno testing like this is to test the truck on its factory settings. So, after we strapped the truck onto the dyno, we ran multiple tests to get an overall average of power quantities. After the stock power testing, the results were in. The truck, on average, made a whopping 416-horsepower and 875-lb/ft of torque.

Performance Numbers From The BDX

The BDX, once plugged in, immediately asks for you to connect to a Wi-Fi connection. Using the Wi-Fi feature, the BDX will start to update all of the files on the unit giving you the most up to date tune available in the BullyDog server. The initial installation takes some time because you’re flashing to a new truck and it going to want to pair up correctly.

Once you get the tuner updated, you’re ready to select from its provided pre-loaded tunes. Once we got the factory settings results, it was time to have some fun. After some fun bets between the group of us, the truck was tuned up and ready.

Again, after making multiple runs, we had our average for the BullyDog on the performance setting. Our end result was 495-horsepower and 1,001-lb/ft of torque. The truck was noticeably more aggressive sounding on the dyno pulls and would really squat the truck down.

“I am extremely pleased with this BullyDog BDX,” said Gebbia. “The fact the I can make nearly 500-horsepower and over 1,000-lb/ft of torque and still keep all of the emissions on my truck is what really makes it worthwhile.” With the BDX, you can have a truck off the showroom floor and without losing your warranty, have almost 500-horsepower.

Your basic small bolt-on items, like an air intake, combined with a BDX will push you straight over that 500-horsepower mark. Both Gebbia and Cato were very excited with the results and both say they are going to recommend these tuners for everyone that is in the market for a tuner that is full of great features and comes at a competitive price.

For more information on the BullyDog BDX and all of their other products, check out their website. What are your thoughts on the BDX? Let us know in the comments below.