LS4 Performance - Gauging Interest: DiabloSport Group Buy

I've posted a Group Purchase request for the DiabloSport tuners ( http://ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=658789 )...we'll see what happens with the LS1tech vendors. If none of them can help with this, i'd like to set something up myself. Right now, they're selling for about $319 through various internet retailers, and i'd like to get that cost down with multiple purchases. If there is a dollar figure that interests you, throw it out there and we'll find out what it would take to get there. I'm sure any of the retailers could expand the selection to NON-LS4 engine tuners as well.

Let me know if you'd be interested in doing something like this. I know many of you have already spent your Tax Returns, but i'm sure there are a few more out there that have mod money set aside for just this purpose :)

I may be in for a group buy if they come up with a good price.

Depending on price, and further knowledge of what this can offer me, i might be in.

I see them on E-Bay for $289.00 + $9.99 shipping. I hope we can do better. If so, I'd like to get one. Vendor's get these for like $179.00 - $199.00 per unit. I'd probably get one for $269.00 - $279.00, shipped. Of course with all current updates.

-Best Regards,

-Mike

Be careful with buying these off ebay. If it’s not an authorized dealer Diablo won’t warranty it. True you can download software updates, but if the tool itself has to be sent back it’s going to cost you. They also will only warranty to the original owner with proof of purchase. I’ve read about people selling them with out restoring the original backup which locks the tool and the new owner is stuck.

I'd be interested if it were less than $270 shipped. If sites on the web have them for $319, we should be able to get at least 15% discount for a group purchase. Otherwise I'd buy one locally from a shop that matches prices on the web and have someone local to talk to if there is a problem.

So have we gotten any prices on this yet?

I don't want to overstep LS1Tech vendors yet, but i haven't gotten any replies in that topic. I'm gone all this weekend, so i cannot do the legwork on finding a willing retailer, but i'll jump on this Tuesday. If anyone else wants to put out feelers over the next few days, go for it. I'm pretty sure there is at least one other willing buyer at NAIOA.com.

A good start would be the two retailers i mentioned above...seeing that they're pretty low, already. Someone said that Thoroughbred was an authorized dealer, not sure about Concours, though. We'd have to verify that through Diablo, but their "check authorized dealers" box sucks arse and doesn't find a thing for these two.

I agree you should verify that any are still authorized. I was able to verify Thoroughbred on Diablo’s site in the early fall, but had issues checking last night.

Good luck. I hope everyone who has one puts additional inquiries into Diablo to encourage them to expedite their efforts in adding the TCM control.

OK, i went around the forums that deal with the vehicles that the U7191 unit works on and posted the "proposal." At TrailblazerSS, i saw TByrne motorsports and checked them out. They still show $399 as their "low price" but i contacted them anyway about being the retailer we would work with on this. I'll let you know once i've gotten a response.

yeah, I doubt they'll come down below the $319 you can get it for from the Diablosport Authorized Warehouse Distributor though...

yeah, I doubt they'll come down below the $319 you can get it for from the Diablosport Authorized Warehouse Distributor though...

Who is that? ConcoursDirect?

Here's what i got from TByrne:

Hi Chris,
We currently have the Predator programmers on sale for the lowest price that DiabloSport allows. That is $399.99 and we are also including free overnight shipping. We are an authorized distributor for their products so the tuners we sell will include their warranty.

Thanks,
Tom

Yeah, concoursdirect.com... that's where I got mine from - and it is covered by Diablosport under their warranty. I've posted on their forum about it and have received nothing stating otherwise.

TByrne is an approved reseller/distributor, but not an approved warehouse distributor, I believe, so that would explain the price difference.

But I'm not 100% sure how that whole deal works, so don't quote me on that - I could be wrong.

Yeah, concoursdirect.com... that's where I got mine from - and it is covered by Diablosport under their warranty. I've posted on their forum about it and have received nothing stating otherwise.

TByrne is an approved reseller/distributor, but not an approved warehouse distributor, I believe, so that would explain the price difference.

But I'm not 100% sure how that whole deal works, so don't quote me on that - I could be wrong.

I got a response from thoroughbreddiesel this afternoon...$300/ea for 5 orders and he'll throw in a free PC Interface kit ($30) if we can pull together 10. It's something, i guess.

Bill from concoursdirect responded as well, but called me at work after i had left. I'm not near a phone right now and the cell is dead so i cannot call him back, but i did eMail a response asking for more info. I'll post as soon as i get something else.

Before i go any further, could we even scrape together 5 for the $300 price? Granted, it's not much of a savings right now, but if you were considering purchasing one anyway, does it make a difference?

I posted info on this GP at clubGP, NAIOA.com, NewImpala, and TrailblazerSS.com. I think the U7191 also supports the GTO and SSR, if anyone would like to hit up forums that are dedicated to them, feel free...i'll be busy packing for my trip.

So a $19 / piece savings plus a free $30 PC interface kit?

Nice work - nice deal! Should get people off the couch!

does that have free shipping and what does the PC interface kit do? I think I am in and I have one more form my local car club that should be in.

i would be in for the programmer and the cable connector kit for the $300, i am looking to get one anyways

does that have free shipping and what does the PC interface kit do? I think I am in and I have one more form my local car club that should be in.

The kit contains a DB9 to DB9 straight through serial extension cable and a 12 Volt 1 Amp power supply for the tool.

Without the special buy, Thoroughbred wants $32 for the kit (cable and power supply) and currently 319 for the tool. I don;t know about the group buy, but normally S&H is included.

The kit contains a DB9 to DB9 straight through serial extension cable and a 12 Volt 1 Amp power supply for the tool.

Without the special buy, Thoroughbred wants $32 for the kit (cable and power supply) and currently 319 for the tool. I don;t know about the group buy, but normally S&H is included.



Thank you, I am in on this deal. :)

Let me know also if this is gonna happen. I was gonna wait but if we can get a good deal on them then I might just have to come up off the money. (I'm in the process of coming up off of $3200 right now for a tranny for the 04 Comp G, so we'll have to see)
Tate

Count me in! :headbang:

The kit contains a DB9 to DB9 straight through serial extension cable and a 12 Volt 1 Amp power supply for the tool.

Can't complain about free, but my last 2 laptops didn't have DB9 connections. A USB 2.0 solution would be a nice option if available.

OK, no word back from ConcoursDirect about this since his initial response, but i'll call him from work tomorrow morning to see if he can do better than thoroughbred.

SO, as it stands now, I've got (4) interested here and (3) more elsewhere:

BuffaloSS
jjariabko
Compg
spaceman
CORNY40 (from NAIOA.com)
FizzikalJ (TrailblazerSS)
bwl101 (TrailblazerSS)


Ultimately, the free PC interface DOES bring the cost down to the $270 range i had hoped to reach. Guys, ask/post around! Let's gain some more interest and we'll see if we can save more.

I also have 3800GTX for the St. Louis club too, But I may what to see what they say about the DashHawk/Vector setup. I want to see what price he comes back with, and when it will be ready.

Yeah, i saw that post. Interesting, but IMO not what you'll get from Diablo.

Like i mentioned (asked) over there, you're going to get one tune and nothing more. WHile the dashhawk interface is nice and all, i'd much rather be able to choose the tune that's going to work best for the given moment. You gotta figure $500 for it as well...$300 for the unit and probably $200 for the tune. Vector's tunes are regularly $400, right?

You can count me in too if you get the 10 people and we get that PC kit included.

Yep, let try to hold out for 10 people.

I'm here now too. :wavey:

I check concoursdirect to see what their prices are and it's $319 for the programmer and $20 for the interface kit if you buy it at the same time.

The only problem I have is I don't have a serial connection on my PC. Does anyone know if there is a USB to serial adapter? If so, has anyone tried it? If I can get it to work with my PC, I'll get one.

Hey SJ -

I have a Dell XPS M170 laptop. I don't have a 9-pin cable attachment, do you guys have a USB method of updating the programmers?

Thanks!

Kaz

you can use a USB to serial adapter, make sure to install the driver software that comes with it. Check your com port settings and baud rate for the USB, and all will work fine.
Mike
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This is a message I got a while back from sprayjunkie ... should be able to get a solution at Radio Shack if they don't make a USB 2.0 kit.

Do we have any idea when the Diablo will support TCM?
Tate

Another good question would be if/when it will support the 2007 model-year vehicles...that would increase the popularity of this item.

I'll be calling Concours later this AM...i think he's on PST.

SO, if everyone were ready to buy today, we've got the 10. I've got (7) interested here and (3) more elsewhere:

BuffaloSS
jjariabko
Compg
spaceman
jabronie78
CORNY40
FizzikalJ (TrailblazerSS)
bwl101 (TrailblazerSS)


I eMailed Thoroughbred again to see if doing 15+ gets us a better deal. Will report.

OK. Here's the deal:

If we can get the money together for 10 purchases by Friday, March 2nd, the unit price will drop to $290, including the PC interface kit, but with all units shipped to me (this was not brought up during previous discussions). The distributor offered to individually ship the items for the additional $10, which i would think would be best for everyone. I figure my shipping would likely be close to the $10, depending on location, once you factor in the packaging materials i'd need to purchase. That brings the total to $300 shipped to your door directly from the distributor.

If we do not get 10+ units, the per-unit price increases to $297 (with free PC interface) plus $10 shipping, totaling $307 to your door from the distributor.

I will accept cashier's check, money order or paypay. Paypal orders would need to add 3% to cover the fees charged for PayPal transactions ($309 and $316.21, respectively).

Please respond ASAP if you're in or out. Obviously, we'd need to know who is "for real" on this purchase before we know what the final cost is to each of us.

For any of you concerned about my (lack of a) "trader rating" here at LS1tech, i am "1krs197" at eBay and carry perfect feedback. I'm also known by this screenname at every other LS4 community. Also, i was required to place a $100 non-refundable deposit with the distributor to make this happen. Not that that means anything to you, but i'm obviously serious about making this happen.

I'll be clearing this with the Admin tomorrow, and likely posting an actual Group Purchase thread at that point. In the mean time, please respond and let me know if you're IN or OUT.

This sounds like a great deal, and it will really piss the wife off. You can count me in:)
Tate

This sounds like a great deal, and it will really piss the wife off. You can count me in:)
Tate

A man after my own heart :jest: I feel ya on that one.

Hey Buff, you could use flat rate Priority Mail boxes at the post office. It's only $8.10 and they give you the box. I know it's only $2, but I thought I'd let you know. Come to think of it, w/insurance it would be more like $9.50...nevermind.

Anyway, I'm as serious as a heart-attack, :drool: and what the wife don't know, won't hurt her. :lol:

I'm down.

I'm in :)

Cool. That's five. Let's get some more!

Tell you what, educate me about the various tuning options, what this one would do for me better than any of the others and then I would be more than willing to get in on it.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601114&highlight=diablo

There's been so much discussed here about the diablo...it's tough to know where to start. HPTuners is awesome software, but requires a laptop.

The biggest "plus" in my opinion is that they have decent "canned" tunes that you can install right away. They can also be tweaked. With other tuners, HP included, you really need to know what you're doing to even start. The Vector & Westers canned tunes are great, too, but you're limited to the one tune and rely on someone else to reprogram it should you need to see a dealer and it get's a reflash. While it may be covered by the tuner, you're without your tune (or possibly your car if you need to ship your ECM/TCM to them).

The real negative about Diablo, right now, is that there is no TCM communication...so you cannot alter those settings. However, they ARE working on it and it will be a free upgrade when it's available.

Thanks Chris, I had read that post before and had more questions then before I started. Guess that means I have a lot more to learn.

Any sites that will start me off at the basics and let me work up from there? I have no problem with technical manuals and just need a starting place with the basics of what these tuners control, log, and such.

I am a mechanical engineer and I am very comfortable with the parameters for engine control (timing, fuel, etc), just not familiar with these handheld tuners. If that helps with any ideas for where I should start.

From what I gather, the unit is fine for non-DOD use at the moment, with perhaps some slight glitches with surging if the DOD is left on. Since the little car sees a lot of highway with me, I would prefer the DOD to be left intact. Pretty much means I will sit on the fence until the TM situation is fixed (not a believer in vendors claiming they will fix it in the future, like to see it before I buy it).

Good luck with your GP, the couple of bucks difference between regular price and the GP is not enough to have me jump in right now, unless of course I can get my learn on fast enough to feel comfortable with diving in soon enough to get in on the deal.

Understandable. I agree about that Diablo thread, though...still lots of questions to be answered.

I think I may wait as well, I dont know enough as of now, and the Vector looks good as well. I just dont like all the problems, and the fact that Diablo has not gotten the dod fix yet or the TCM is not ready yet. How long will that take them to get it ready?

silver, i just PM'd you...disregard it LOL

just sent one back befor I saw this, take 3800GXT off too, GXP as well

i am truely impressed with the diablo. i just got out of a meeting with one of their guys today. upside is, it can do almost everything i need, down side is. no 2005 for the ls4. different ecm. they are working on the tcm from what i understand. for the money and the ability to tinker with what you need to do, you can't beat it.


shamless plug from your happy sales guy

i am truely impressed with the diablo. i just got out of a meeting with one of their guys today. upside is, it can do almost everything i need, down side is. no 2005 for the ls4. different ecm. they are working on the tcm from what i understand. for the money and the ability to tinker with what you need to do, you can't beat it.


shamless plug from your happy sales guy


Change anyone's mind??? ;)

I've moved this group buy to NAIOA:

http://www.naioa.com/v2/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=12517&highlight=

Feel free to eMail me at cflynn233 AT adelphia DOT net with any questions.