Diesel chip: worth putting in?

[little kid]

One more question for the diesel guys... the truck is a '97 F-350 with the 7.3 diesel and 240K miles. Everything works fine and dandy, but have heard some interesting stories about putting a performance chip in to boost acceleration, or dial in fuel economy. Are they worth putting in? Does it harm the life of the engine/transmission? Are there other parts that need to be "beefed up" before adding the chip?

I am totally clueless, so any advice would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

[Scott K]

Power chips can add a lot of power, and increase fuel economy by a lot. As I have told everyone that I have sold power chips to, the chip wont break anything, your foot in the gas is what will break the stuff. On some models, and chips you can add upto 150hp just by a chip, the driveline, and powertrain wasnt designed for the extra power. If you can handle having all the extra power, without beating on the truck, go for it, if you plan on using all the power it adds, plan on many repairs. And with that truck, you can start with a tranny.

[TravP]

Chips are a waste of money. A custom tune is half the price and you can get a whole lot more out of them. There's a company in San Diego that did mine and the difference is amazing. Pull your PCM out, ship it, back to me five days later.

[nobody05]

I have a 05' Chevy duramax which has a PPE Chip in it, turbo back exhaust, k&n air filter, egr blocker plate. And I tell you what 25 mpg on the road and that is no lie. With $4 diesel I can come out of the $2500 I stuck into it from the stock 18 mpg.

[TravP]

I shouldn't say there a waste of money, but you get a lot more out of a custom tune for a lot less money.

[blakeb]

Trav P is spot on, dont do a hand held tuner, get a custom tune, most of these companies will send you a pcm that is optimized and then you install it and send your stock one back.

[Ufatz]

Let me be blunt. Nobody is getting 25 mpg with a diesel pick up truck. The Power Stroke 7.3 engine is a good, dependable solid diesel engine that will run a whole pile of miles with reasonable care. You can tow big loads, drive long miles, work that truck in mud, slush, slop and grit and it will keep on going.

It will do ALL of that, and more, without adding anybody's fancy chip or tune-up. If you have money to waste and want to put loads and stress on engine parts NOT designed for them stick some fancy stuff in there....its your money.

If you just want a good truck....give it normal and careful maintenance...clean filters and good fuel and laugh all the way to the bank. Thousands of guys work the m#$@#$% out of that engine every day in heavy duty situations....without anybody's cute little chips added.

Been there.

[waterfowler10]

There are alot of people getting over 25 mpg with diesel trucks, i get 24 avg when i figure out the mileage myself not watching the mileage computer. but back to the question i would say in your truck i dont think a chip would be worth putting in that truck for mileage purposes in my opinion

[dukhntr]

TravP: What company did your custom tune? I have an 05 Dodge with the Cummins.

Thanks,

dukhntr

[TravP]

Black Bear Performance did mine, but they only tune GM vehicles. Look in to Nelson, Wheatley, or PCM's for less. Im sure one of them could take care of you, and there all reputable companies.

[Powerstroke]

For arguments sake, if you only average 22mpg, then your increase of 4mpg would take you 15625 miles to recoup the cost at $4 a gallon. If the average is 25mpg then the increase of 7mpg would take 5952 miles to recoup the difference based on the same calculations.

So, in theory it is possible to eventually recoup the costs of the upgrade. However, that should not be the motivation for the upgrade. There are many great upgrades that can be made by having your truck tuned. Diesels are undertuned to meet emissions and other requirements for noise etc. A factory chip or a custom tune can unlock power in your motor, change tranny shifts and shift points and also help you do other things like adjust your speedo for different tires.

The truck you have can benefit greatly, unfortunately the auto tranny in the early powerstrokes cannot handle the increased power. 4wanderingeyes is spot on in his comment.

The first thing I would buy BEFORE a chip is a set of gauges. Adding a chip will increase your EGT's and you need to monitor EGT's and boost and tranny temp. Oil pressure is also a great one to have.

After that, I would perform all routine maintenance if you haven't been through the whole thing. An oil change and new fuel filters will do wonders for an older truck and even more if you can get through the tranny and gearcases.

After that consider an intake and exhaust. After all that, then you can consider a chip. After a little research it seems the Tony Wildman chip is considered the best for your truck. It is a custom tune and you don't have to remove your PCM. A good resource to check is CT Performance. I found this on another forum I use for Powerstroke information. Its a .org.

I think a custom chip is required for every diesel truck since stock trucks are designed to meet gov't standards and not the needs of their owners. The key is to do it for the right reasons. Saving money is not usually one of them.

[Scott K]

One more thing to add to your list Powerstroke, is to have the rest of the truck checked out as well. Tranny, most important, axles, ujoints, brakes, differentials, front end parts. Extra power wont due you much good if the other parts break while using it.

[TravP]

Powerstroke, a chip is in no way a custom tune. Even getting a mail order PCM is not a "custom" tune. To be truly custom, it has to be done either in person, or through a scan cable such as EFI LIVE. There's a big difference. I had my PCM tuned, and right now I'm in the process of getting my true custom tune done, via EFI LIVE. An in person or scan cable(data log) tune will be tuned for your specific vehicle, as every one reacts different when pulling timing, etc.

[Valv]

The first thing that will take a beating from custom tunes, tuners, or chips is your transmission.

Your foot will be the only way to regulate it, and I guarantee you when you feel the difference from stock, you will have hard time keeping your foot off the pedal, and......there it goes the tranny.

Custom tunes are ok, if you have a truck that doe not need any warranty work or any factory checks, otherwise you'll be SOL since the dealer will find the variations as soon as they connect a scanner. Your warranty will be voided and/or any simple check will be impossible since the parameters will be different.

A chip or a programmer are more useful IMO, you can do whatever you like and bring truck back to stock if you need.

The best Dodge Cummins tuner is still the "Smarty".

I've heard many claiming mileage to be over 22mpg, with a 7000lbs or more truck, I haven't found any that can back it up with me in the passenger seat, they all "back off" at one point and revise their previous readings.

Follow Powerstroke suggestions to save and give your truck a longer life

[TravP]

The dealer doesn't know about any tune if you keep your PCM and get a different one to be tuned. Swap it out when you bring it to the dealer. Problem solved.

[TravP]

By the way, the only way your going to see an increase in mpg's is if you keep your foot out of it.

[little kid]

First of all, thank you for the great responses... both pros and cons. I think I will hold off at the moment on the custom tune/chip and bank the money in the event of other issues: tranny, front end, brakes, etc...

The newfound power that the custom tune and/or chip could provide is tempting - as it would be A LOT of fun, but my foot would not have the discipline to hold off. The truck currently pulls the horse trailer and boat just great, and I personally would be best off leaving well enough alone - as we need a reliable pulling truck.

Thanks again fellas' - your experience and knowledge are much appreciated!

[Ufatz]

Attaboy.

[blakeb]

Ufatz is slightly off base, while the trucks do a good job from the factory, they can do much better, its all about efficiency and when the computers optimized they perform there task much better. The parameters that the factory uses to control key engine and transmission features are sloppy at best.

TravP how do you like your tune? I use Nelson out of TX and i couldnt be happier, i am on my second truck that he tuned and will never go without.

[TravP]

I love my tune. I'm almost done with the EFI Live scan cable tune process and I'll get even more power and better shifting. I can't imagine driving my truck without a tune anymore, don't really want to. I love how after a shift my truck doesn't fall on it's face, it just keeps on going. It idles smoother and just runs better in general. To top it off, a 1-2mpg increase on average is what I get on the highway.

[Wildabeast]

The dealer doesn't know about any tune if you keep your PCM and get a different one to be tuned. Swap it out when you bring it to the dealer. Problem solved.

Not so true with trucks new enough to still have a warrenty.

[Scott K]

Travp, the dealer I worked for wouldnt deny any claim, but when Ford gets involved into claims, they will, and do deny claims. Unfortunately, they can tell if you have swapped out the pcm, they can tell if, there is more then one pcm that has been configured to the other modules, they can also tell you if the millage on the pcm corresponds with the millage on the IC. But, in most cases, they dont bother to check with that stuff, unless there is repeat repairs on items that are common to go bad with modifications, such as tuners, chips, and other items. Trust me, they have the technology, and they will use it, when they think someone is taking advantage of them, and the customer will loose, 100% of the time! Dont think for a minute, the manufacturers dont know that a lot of trucks are running around with mods, they are just selective, on the ones they address, and deny. Such as repeat headgaskets, transmissions, broken axles, burnt pistons, will get you a Ford rep involved pretty much everytime.

Trust me, once a rep is involved, and you had a mod done, and you want to fight it in court, you are wasting your money. They will inspect it for everything, over sized tires, wheels, plow mounts, oil analysis, fuel samples, among checking for any reprogram, pcm swaps, etc. I know most of the time they will turn a blind eye, but dont bank on it.

[Mike_Top]

I have a question for the diesel guys on here. Gas vs Diesel. I'm shopping for a new used truck, and I originally started out thinking I'd get a half-ton chevy. Now I'm getting set on looking for a duramax. I won't haul anything a half ton couldn't do, but I want a diesel for the mileage, re-sale potential, durability, cool-factor...etc.

I feel like I've got the pros down, but I'd like to hear about the cons. Like maintenence costs etc. Just looking for some knowledgeable opinions...thanks in advance

[Scott K]

If you don't have a need for a diesel, save your money and buy the gasser.

[Ufatz]

Absolutely! If you do not have a clear need for a diesel don't buy one. When something breaks (and eventually it will) it will cost you plenty. There is no reason to put 12-14 quarts of oil in at oil change time if you don't need to. Upfront cost will be $4-5000 more. Some people find they don't like the smell and the noise. Truck will more stout and stiff.

Just sold my P'Stroke, which we used for 15 years to pull 30' Airstream. Always got 13-14 mpg, had few troubles and really loved the truck for a variety of uses. No more trailer. No more crossing the tundra north of Tok.....so truck went.

Driving nice little Silverado crew cab shorty with Allison trans and other options and it is a NICE, NICE truck.