Just thought I would enter a few statistics from a series of Dyno Runs yesterday afternoon. Some of the data is pretty cool while other parts of the data are disappointing.

First, a little surprise. I have had an XCAL2 in my truck for about three months now. I thought is was pretty quick being very responsive from about 30 MPH up to and thru the 100 MPH range where it tends to bog down. Please understand that my truck is oversized when compared to stock. It is a supercab with tons of mods including a 6 " Pro Comp Lift, 4.10 Gears, 35" Pro comp Xtreme All-Terrains and Detroit Tru Trac Lockers front and read. Of course, I also have an intake, headers, electric fans, SIDO, and the XCAL2.

Here's the surpise. I met my wife, son, and future daughter-in-law for dinner one night last week. It was an extremely windy and cold day. My wife has a 2006 F150 Supercrew bone-stock. On the way home, heading straight into the wind, I attempted to catch and pass her and could not. This hurt real bad even though my son and I rationalized the crap out of it. I am much higher was carrying 1000 lbs + over her truck, etc. Still, I now had questions.
I drove her truck for the first time, Monday morning and realized that from 0 to 50 MPH, it is easily more responsive and faster than mine with all of the mods. Beyond 50 MPH, my truck screams; but, not enough to catch her into a head wind.

Now, for some statistics. I was scheduled to make 9 runs, 3 with each of the tunes loaded. I had so much trouble with the livelink dataloging software that I finally called it quits after an hour and 5 runs. I will get the issue with the livelink software resolved and go do it again. Mike requires the datalogging before he will make any changes to the tuner.

1st run 2nd Gear Only: 242.49 HP, 280.75 Torque, Air/Fuel: High 14 / 1
2nd run 2nd Gear Only: 241.39 HP. 284.02 Torque, Air/Fuel: High 14 / 1
I had several other runs that were the same. Then...
Last run 3rd Gear Only: 225.04 HP, ??? Torque, Air / Fuel: 15-16 / 1
This run caused heads to turn. My son, and the three guys from the shop watched as the recorded speed on the Dynojet hit 140 MPH. I backed out of this run before it was complete as I got a little nervous.

So, while the Air/Fuel ratio looks too lean, the truck did scoot pretty good and certainly turned their heads. In the real world, with the resistance offered by the road and the wind, this speed will never be realized; but, it was kinda fun.

Since, I was having so much trouble with the software, I didn't ask for the output in tabular format. Next time I will. The HP numbers were a little disappointing as I expected them to be higher. Clearly, the tuner needs some adjusting; but, I need to get this stinking software to work before I can get this done. I also have AutoEnguity software. I think I will set this up and use it. The trouble is, Mike requies Mass Air Flow Volts and this is not reported under the Generic Powertrain data. We'll see.

 

Well...I'm not sure what problems you had with the software. I have a laptop with XP loaded, the software recommends XP. I did a dry run "no load data logging" in my driveway to get a feel for the options, software etc.

The only problem I had was it would stop data logging after 20 sec or so. In reading that this was a common problem, here and on the SCT web site, I disabled the "Rapid Packet" option under module.

My vehicle is somewhat different that yours;

2005 Lariat Screw 5.4
Volant CAI
Magnaflow Cat Back
305.55.20 Wheels and tires (33")
3.73 Gears
2" leveling kit

That's about it. My runs were fairly consistent.
Run 1 Stock tune 219 hp 240 torque
The rest of my five runs averaged around 245+ hp 295 + torque with the best being 251 HP and 300 torque.

I finished with the "NO Load" data after my dyno runs.

Again just for comparison.

Jon

 

TSchaid;

Running 35" tires... and only having a 4.10 setup... I imagine it is a dog at anything under 50MPH.

Im running 4.10s on 28.5" tires.. If I had it to do over.. I'd prolly had gone with 4.56s..

If I was you, I'd look into getting 4.88 gears MINIMUM...

But I do agree with you about the bogging down at 100.. In 4th gear (OD), when it shifts into 4th... my truck bogs down a bit to.. feels like it isnt pulling at all for a second..
I also have an XCAL2 from Troyer..

I plan on making a trip next door to Virginia and puttin it on his new set of rollers sometime soon.. maybe we he get it worked out there.

 

Hi tshaid,

First - I suspect those A/F numbers - that isn't correct to have 242+ RWHP but have 15:1 A/F's on any kind of accurate dyno pull - unless maybe it was done at 30 degree temps!

Nor do we *ever* see any 15-20 HP drop between 2nd & 3rd gear runs, either - we don't see more than a 3-5 HP difference at most - so it appears something isn't right there - but of course, without proper data, we can't diagnose anything. And it's really frustrating when people make these kinds of posts about their data when we have yet to see any of it, or have a clue what equipment was used, what kind of dyno, testing methodology, etc.

Additionally, it's also not normal to see a leaner A/F in 3rd gear than in 2nd gear - it should be just the opposite due to the increased load, it should be RICHER in 3rd than in second - another reason why I suspect those A/F's - or a very small exhaust leak (and I mean tiny), perhaps, as that can easily cause that kind of result when the HP numbers are good.

Speaking of which, those 242+ RWHP numbers are nothing short of *excellent* for that kind of configuration - remember, any time you add any weight to the rotating mass (meaning your wheel & tire assembly), you will put down LESS power to the tires, and that shows up on the street, at the track, and on a dyno. One of our employees 2004 5.4 3V SuperCrew 4x4 lost 15 RWHP just due to slightly heavier wheels & tires - and they were only 33", not 35's!

And of course a truck like that would be a bit of a "dog" both off the line, and at high speed, with a big lift and 35" tires even if it made another 20 HP at the rear wheels, as it's having to overcome far too much load to be comparable to anything other than another identically configured truck. It being 1000 lb heavier than the other truck is a HUGE difference all by itself - add the fact that it's lifted, the fact that it has 35" tires with only 4.10 gears, etc., and it all puts it at an *extreme* disadvantage that you cannot possibly overcome going into a headwind like that - that doesn't surprise me in the least - we do this for a living, of course, but I'm sure it was an eye-opener to you. Now you have some idea of just how much of a disadvantage you are at when you lift a truck, under gear & over-tire it, etc. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking your truck, it sounds very nice! I'm just trying to give you some perspective here, and I think these posts will help others to understand this better, too.

And of course, when you hit Overdrive, it's not going to pull like it did in the first 3 gears - that should be obvious why, too - you are in OVERDRIVE - so not only do you not have any torque multiplication , you actually have torque REDUCTION taking place, because you are in a 30% OVERDRIVE configuration - that's a no-brainer - to say nothing of the aerodynamics of even a non-lifted F-150 at triple-digit speeds.

Last - if you are having a problem with LiveLink, let me know - LiveLink up thru about 2.36 requires a powerful laptop, it doesn't like older Centrino's or P3's, etc., it requires a P4 running Windoze XP to really have extended datalogging time - I can send you LiveLink 218 or a later version that takes care of that, if need be. Just so you will know,. Live Link does indeed record MAF Volts, MAF A/D counts (either of which we can use, as we point out in our datalogging docs), and it also gives the standard flow rate data.

And there is no reason why you should not have the tabular data, especially from a Dynojet, that is so easy! The tabular data is extremely easy to get, the dyno facility gives that to you - all they have to do is a simple export of the data - in other words, they simply do the following in this order: "File," "Export Data," "Preview," and then simply "Print." It doesn't get any easier, really. Also, you can get a copy of the run file from that dyno facility, and I can play it back here, along with your LiveLink data.

The bottom line is, and of course as you already know, we'll need to have correct data for us to be able to tell if any adjustments are needed, and if so, exactly where & by how much, etc., as without that data, it's guesswork.

We'll be happy to go over all of this with you, so please do give me a call when you get a chance - I will be out the rest of this afternoon picking up new computers for the new shop, etc., (and I've been out the last 2 days with the flu, unfortunately), but maybe we can talk over the weekend or sometime on Monday, etc., OK? I do want to speak with you before you do another datalogging session, to make sure you have what you need and we can go over any problems, etc.

Talk to you soon,

 

Mike,

Thanks. We'll get to the data part. It was; however, very frustrating taking time to set everything up and not being able to consistantly collect any data.

Tiny exhaust leak... Huh? You really have it together and have answered one of my questions. Yes Sir. I do have a tiny exhaust leak on the passenger's side at the collectors. I knew this going into the test. I have ordered a set of Magnaflow High Flow cats from you and will correct the exhaust leak when we have the cats welded into the pipe.

The data will be coming your way and we will be talking. I downloaded the new version of livelink and will install and test this weekend. It will be a couple of weeks before we do another dyno run. I think I will call you before I do this again just to be clear and how you want the runs to be done.

While I was disappointed, my son was oh so excited. He prefers to play around with 4 Cylinder cars; but, he has been involved with the "big truck" from the time I bought it and is just thrilled to see good numbers even if they are a little hard to explain.

 

Good stuff. On Thursday, April 6, I have more dyno runs scheduled. I will get the datalogging software working today.

Since the last round, I have added a Plasma Ignition Booster and yesterday had installed a pair of Magnaflow High Flow Cats. The Cats made a big difference in mid range and at high end. Instead of pulling pretty hard from 50 to 100 and bogging down there, we now pull hard all the way through 115.

The tiny exhaust leak and I mean real tiny exists on both headers. No visible signs exist; however, we were able to hear it with a stethoscope (sp?). The leaks were not; however, audible with the ear without this assistance. This I will work on today as well and I think I will call Troyer tomorrow to discuss.

I am very pleased at the performance improvement feel with the addition of these two mods. Next up is the installation of a true dual exhaust. That is next weekend.

More to follow.

 

4.10 gears with 35" tires ????? That is very bad dude, you need at least 4.88 gears, at least !!!

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 4.10's on 35's. Running that combo puts it just a hair steeper than 3.55's with the stock 265's. Closer actually to 3.73's. But with the extra weight and rolling mass I'd put it pretty damn close to 3.55's.

I've been in a few trucks running that same combo and they all felt pretty strong, even ones with a 4.6.

 

If you are not looking for performance than that would be fine, but talking about 1/4 mile and 0-60mph times that it's still a bad combo.

 

Are the high-flow cats worth having them added? And what do they typically cost?

Also, when I crawled under my 05 I swear I only saw 2 cats...not the 4 some were talking about. Does this sound right?

 

The 05 & 06 F150s only have 1 on a side. The 04 F150s had 2 on each side. As to the cost, I bought them from Troyer for around $80 a piece. I may have been able to save a few pennies elsewhere; but, Mike has been so good to all F150 owners who appreciate extreme skill, I will always patronize Mike first unless the cost delta is significant. In my case, installation was a pain in the keester and while I haven't paid the shop yet, I expect around $300 for the install. This would likely have been higher; but, my son provided a lot of assistance in getting the job done. In your case, I would suspect it to be much simpler and cheeper since it appears to be a cut and replace. A lot of custom work was required to fit the single in where two previously existed. Are they worth it? We will know more on Thursday from the dyno tests; but, from a feel standpoint and noise volume standpoint, you bet

As for the 4.10s, 4.56s, or 4.88s. People need to remember that these trucks, in most instances, are daily drivers as well as toys. My truck came with 3.73s and 32s. Doing the calculation quickly shows the 4.08s with 35s brings the truck back to stock. So... if this truck was just for play, I would have put 4.56s in it; but, since I also drive 35K each year, fuel economy remains a factor. I simply need more HP to overcome the "stock" gears.