Upgrades

[workin' diesel]

Hey,

Need some advice from those of you that have experience with tunners and such. I am looking at adding a tunner for my truck for tha first time and I'd like some input. I am not looking to blow the socks off everyone else(not yet anyway), and I do not have a ton of money laying around. I was thinking about going with the Hypertech Max Energy. Also, I want to create a little more boost. Should I go with a bigger waste gate or the PPE inline boost increaser? Let me know what you think.
Thanks!

 

[GeneralTJI]

The Boost valve will help you get more boost...

Honestly EFI live / HP Tuners is 20 times better than any simple "plug-in programmer". But, if you are bent on getting something quick and simple to tune the truck with, my advice would be PPE or Edge Evo (comes with gauges)... (NOT juice w/ attitude)

 

[smarquis]

I don't know how much the max energy tuner costs, but a PPE is about $600 and it is probably the best of the canned tuners. I would say spend a few hundred more on EFI Live and you will have it as long as you own your truck. Otherwise, you may end up like me (trying to sell your tuner once you decide to buy EFI Live). By the way, if you want a canned tuner, check out the for sale forums to see if anyone has a good used tuner. I sold mine for about 1/2 of what I paid.

 

[Evan@InglewoodTrans]

i have a banks six gun with speedloader if your interested. However if i was you i would just save for a little while and get EFI live with tuning to fit what your looking to do.

 

[jraymer]

If you never plan on buying a built trans and a bunch of other supporting mods then efi might not be for you. If you are just looking to add a little more power and not mess with anything the I would just add 100 horse with a cheap canned tuner and be happy.

 

[LWATSON]

If you never plan on buying a built trans and a bunch of other supporting mods then efi might not be for you. If you are just looking to add a little more power and not mess with anything the I would just add 100 horse with a cheap canned tuner and be happy.

What he said, PPE economy, predator, Hypertech, these are all reasonably priced. The Hypertech will add about 100 hp the other two will add a little more. For what your looking for I would just see what I could get cheap and not worry about it. Also I would'nt worry about boost, your stock boost is plenty for the level of power you are after.

 

[Skyhigh4by]

Dont really know why this is in the trans section but anyways.... Probably the best/cheapest tuner you will find is the diablosport predator. If you are open to second hand I found my PPE standard for $400 and there are more deals like that to be had.

Since this is in the trans section it should be mentioned that your stock trans can handle about 80-110 horsepower over stock without modification. I use level 4 on my PPE (180 crank hp) but it will limp on the 4-5 shift if I dont back out of it, level 3 (120 crank hp) is fine at WOT through all the gears.

A built trans will cost in the $4000 range but will hold more power than a canned tuner can supply.

 

[smarquis]

Dont really know why this is in the trans section but anyways.... Probably the best/cheapest tuner you will find is the diablosport predator. If you are open to second hand I found my PPE standard for $400 and there are more deals like that to be had.

Since this is in the trans section it should be mentioned that your stock trans can handle about 80-110 horsepower over stock without modification. I use level 4 on my PPE (180 crank hp) but it will limp on the 4-5 shift if I dont back out of it, level 3 (120 crank hp) is fine at WOT through all the gears.

A built trans will cost in the $4000 range but will hold more power than a canned tuner can supply.

I just had a shift kit and torque converter installed by Mike L (about $2500 4 years ago), and it handled everything the standard PPE could throw at it even after I installed by Cheetah 68. Now I have EFI with tuning by Idaho Rob, and it is putting even more power out than the PPE standard ever could have provided and I still haven't made any additional trans upgrades. (That said, I am hoping to take it to Trent the beginning of 2011 to get twins and the trans upgraded!!!) Anyway, my point was that the shift kit can allow you to handle quite a bit more power, expecially if it is combined with a better torque converter.

 

[408.Luke]

I just had a shift kit and torque converter installed by Mike L (about $2500 4 years ago), and it handled everything the standard PPE could throw at it even after I installed by Cheetah 68. Now I have EFI with tuning by Idaho Rob, and it is putting even more power out than the PPE standard ever could have provided and I still haven't made any additional trans upgrades. (That said, I am hoping to take it to Trent the beginning of 2011 to get twins and the trans upgraded!!!) Anyway, my point was that the shift kit can allow you to handle quite a bit more power, expecially if it is combined with a better torque converter.

If he had a six speed alli, i noticed he has a 5 speed, my shift kit did nothing for my 5 speed.

 

[jraymer]

If he had a six speed alli

X2

 

[Skyhigh4by]

Sometimes I think that I want to sell my truck to get an LBZ with 6 speed mainly for that reason. Trans Go just doesnt do enough in the 5 speed.

 

[3cylinder]

tuner

I run a PPE Economy set on 90hp. I installed a Transgo Jr kit from Mike L. I'm perfectly happy with performance and fuel mileage.

 

[workin' diesel]

Thankyou all for the input. I am hoping to just add alittle more hp and tq without getting carried away. I really do not have to moola for a upgraded tranny right now. Maybe down the road when (not if) I get a newer dmax I might look into some heavier upgrades. My truck has 166,000+ on it right now, plus I plow snow with it. Who knows, might be forced to upgrade my tranny some day!