• April 7, 2024
• By: Steve

Ever since buying by 2014 Stingray, I have been annoyed at the exhaust quieting down to nothing when accelerating at a normal pace. It ruined the natural progression of the exhaust notes, plus it contributed to transmission shudder since 4 cylinders shut down with the application of Active Fuel Management. I left it alone because, in theory, I liked AFM since it is supposed to help with gas mileage, especially on the highway. I always wondered about how that can be good for 4 cylinders of the engine just being an air pump. Wouldn’t that foul things up with the lifters and valves not being used as much?

I did some research and found out that it is indeed the most hated thing by GM v8 owners. There are a lot of problems with fouling of lifters and valves, and sometimes it can even help contribute to torque tube failure. All of these things are expensive fixes! Enter the AFM disabler by Range. Yes, it is expensive at $230, but it does what it is supposed to; disabling the AFM so you stay in V8 the entire time. There are cheap knockoffs available on Amazon, but I didn’t trust them since the last thing I want is a device zapping the ECM and causing a whole slew of problems.

I installed the Range and was immediately rewarded with a more linear exhaust note and it took the shudder of the valve closing out of the equation. The car stays in V8 mode consistently and makes the driving experience of a performance car much more enjoyable. I get why GM had to do it, but there should be a way to disable it in the car’s setup function within the infotainment screen. Let it be an option and not a requirement, GM!