what is the best chip and or turner for an 2003 7.3l. If anyone has suggestions they would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

 

DP Tuner. I've got an Edge Juice with Attitude on my truck right now. It's good, but DP is better from what I hear...


ETA: No matter what chip you do, GET GAUGES!!!!!!

 

that was my next question what guages do i need and where is the best place to get them....what is the bets style/kind does everybody like....not for sure i would know really how to read them.....i need help

 

I am partial to Hypermax. I tuned my 2002 with their 330 chip and it was quick. I averaged 630 degrees at 65 mph all day at worst, but mostly at 600 or less. The one time I blew some punks doors off, I hit 1300, but it was for a very short time. Backing out and running it easy for a second brought it right down. Hypermax makes safe reliable power. They will tell you you can run their 300 chip all day without gauges. I did in my 2002 for about 6 months before I installed gauges, and then reburned the chip to the 330. No problems. My dad ran the 300 in his 1997 and 2000 trucks - both well past 100k miles each with no problems. He pulled trailers pushing 7,000# (not daily) and wasn't running gauges ever with no problems. he never exhausted a truck either. I ran 4" from the turbo back. Try www.gohypermax.com - I think it's their site.

I run Innovative Diesel now in my 2007 6.0L. I drive it easy, but it will give about anything (short of a Vette) a good run for it's money if it doesn't smoke the callouses off 'em. You could call Eric at Innovative and see what he does for the 7.3L.

 

DP tunes have a good name, but I don't have any experience with them. I prefer something less extreme ie off-the-shelf tuners. I run a Hypertech "Max Energy" in my 7.3 but like Dad's Superchips Max Microtuner better. These are both on the very low end of diesel performance but again, I like to stick to the safer, basic stuff. Any chip or tune is going to make a huge difference. A low end tune in a diesel will yield more gains than a great tune in a gasser.

As far as guages, you need exhaust temp (most folks go with a post-turbo), boost, and either trans temp if you have an auto or oil temp if you have a standard.

 

Few things need to be pointed out. While the off the shelf programmers and chips out there are at the bottom end of the power ladder, but in no way are they safer. In actuallity they are actually more dangerous, and this goes double for any 7.3L built after 2001 due to the PMRs. The whole concept of a one size fits all program is not a good one as each truck reacts differently. You are better off with a custom tuned chip, as it takes into account any other mods you have and can be tweaked to your particular driving style and needs. You can have very tame programming on these chips and still get the custom tuning if thats what you want. The other kicker is that a tuner is the same amount of money or more than a good 4pos chip. I have had an Edge Evolution programmer, Juice with Attitude, and currently have a custom DP Tuner chip, so I can speak to the off the shelf vs. custom.





PLEASE PLEASE don't say that post turbo is the preferred EGT probe location. That is the typical place that most uninformed people put them because they have no idea what they're doing. The pyro NEEDS to be mounted pre-turbo. The whole truth of the matter is that you have no idea what the temp drop across the turbo is. It is different on each truck as to how much it can be, and on top of that the temp drop can vary based on atmospheric conditions (ambient temp, relative humidity, etc). The temps downstream of the turbo are of no concequence so there is no reason to monitor it. The temps preturbo (ie what is coming out of the cylinders) is what you want to monitor to avoid melting the pistons and melting the fins off the turbo impeller.



For gauges you want a pyro (mounted preturbo), boost gauge tapped into the intake X pipe, and a trans temp gauge if you have an auto. If you don't have an auto then you can simply buy 2 gauges. I wouldn't worry about monitoring oil temp. Since this is for an 03 you might thing about adding a volt meter. Oh, and if you say that you already have a trans temp gauge in the dash cluster, well its nothing more than a glorified idiot light. It won't even read warm until the trans has passed 300* (damage starts at 250*). Isspro makes some very nice gauges that are close to factory match. DiPricol Optix gauges are also very nice. I have Isspros since the Optix trans temp gauge with the 270* needle sweep was not released at the time. If you can find a trans temp gauge that has a full 270* sweep of the needle so you can more easily see the temp when its below 125*.

 

How is an off-the shelf tune unsafe, with or without PMR's? Keep an eye on exhaust temps and boost levels and all will be right in the world. Even with my hypertech OTS tuner in the "stage 3" tune, I have never seen EGTs or boost levels even close to harmful. True, you could have a custom tune that is not agressive as well, but what is the advantage here? How is it safer? You also do not get the benefit of having a code reader with a chip.



Correct, that was a typo on my part. You never want to see EGT's in excess of 1250-1300. I have never seen more than 1100.


It is a nice guage to have, telling you when the motor is fully up to temp. But true, is not neccesary, but if the OP has a six-speed it is what I prefer in place of trans temp.

Very true.

Agreed. My father has a set of ISSPRO's and I have the DiPricol Optix. My guages match perfectly to the OE dash cluster. Green backlighting and red needles are a nice factory match. When Dad bought his ISSPRO's several years ago they did not have the red needle, but I've heard that they do now.

 

so where is the best/cheapest place to get these gauges. Also where do you mount these new gauges. Are they hard to install? How much time would you all say it would take to install the gauges? Thanks again for all the input.

 

The real problem with PMRs and off the shelf programmers is cylinder pressures which you can't measure with any kind of gauge in the cab. I know that Jody has invested the time and money with his programs and done pressure testing to keep them lower. Thats why a few years back TS had their original Fuel 7 program and while they wouldn't own up to it alot of PMR trucks started launching rods through the side of the block. You can have a weak program, but if its making high CPs (mainly from the writer not know what the heck they're doing) you can lunch an engine real quick. Additionally the gains, not only in power but in economy, are better on a custom chip. I know my Edge stuff made the truck rattle (ICP way too advanced is what we determined it to be) quite a bit more than the DP chip. The power is much smoother through the rpm range as well. I don't track fuel mileage much anymore since I moved out east since the speed limits are so slow (TC doesn't lock) and you can't drive straight for more than 100yds at a time. I will tell you this, my 80hp economy setting on the DP chip is stronger than the Evo set on 100hp race and the Juice stacked on it in 5/5. The 120hp race on my DP chip will roast tires clear through 2nd gear and into 3rd at times.


Now heres where it comes down to choice. The code reader function is nice, but I hardly ever used it on my Evo. Also with a programmer you must stop and reprogram your PCM each time you want to change to a different power level. With my flip chip I can change on the fly. I just back out of the throttle for a second and turn the dial. This part is preference. I determined that I wanted the ability to change on the go, which is REALLY nice when towing through the mountains. For a code reader I opted to go with AutoEnginuity on the laptop as it reads codes as well as does almost any diagnostic function you want. For $200 I decided that it was a better deal due to all the extra functionality. I haven't bought one yet as I didn't need one at the time and then decided to go Cummins.





For a good place to order gauges from look at www.dieselmanor.com Dave is a real good guy and his service after the sale is exceptional. You can order the gauges as well as a pod to hold them in. It should be roughly $300 for a 3 gauge set and pod, a little more if you want him to assemble them in the pod and paint it to match your interior. Dave also has VERY good instructions on installing them in a SD on his site. All told it took me about 3-4 hrs to install my 3 gauges on an A-pillar mount. I already had my exhaust manifold drilled and tapped so that saved about 15-20min. I also removed my X pipe to drill and tap that for my boost gauge (don't tie into the MAP line), so that added some time as I had to fight a little to get all the boots back on.


FYI, there are 2 types of pyrometer probes, clamp on and drill/tap. The clamp ons are easier because they're mounted in the DS up-pipe and held in place by a hose clamp. You'll just have to check them occasionally as they tend to loosen over time. The drill and tap is a better choice, but it is a little harder as you must tap the hole in the exhaust manifold. Its pipe thread, so you have to watch your tap depth.

 

thanks man, I checked out those gauges looks like that’s pretty good deal, I am going to call the folks at DP tuners today and see what they say and check for prices, from what I am hearing DP is the way to go. Do know if they make tuners that display the temps and boost kind of like an all in one? One more question, do I need to install a cold air intake before I get a tuner or gauges? I have already straight piped my exhaust just didn’t know if I needed to do anything else with my air intake before I started this other. Thanks again for all your all help.

 

The only things that have a display like that for the 7.3L is the Edge Juice and the Banks 6 Gun. You don't want either. If you want an all in one you can get the Bully Dog Outlook monitor or the BD X Monitor. I like my analog gauges since if one goes I replace just that gauge instead of a $400 one.


You don't have to do an air intake, but its worth your time. If you already have an AIS in the truck then you're set. If not you can do a DIY intake for less than $100. A 4" exhaust will help you keep your EGTs down, but you can get by with the stock exhaust.

 

dp tuner is that way to go. jody really knows what he's doin. its not just the boost/egt's that can be harmful as was said before. the shift points and firmness on my chip are d@mn near perfect. it shifts good under normal driving and when you get on it you can't hardly feel it shift. an off the shelf tune is not ever gonna be as good in any way jody custom tunes each chip for your truck and your mods if any. my egt's have never gone over 1400 and that was runnin the **** out of it on the interstate and cuttin donuts. i did the homemade intake with the napa filter i forgot the pn but it works good,alot better flow. i found a kit on ebay with a filter,elbow,boot and good clamps for like 140 or so which is what i'm goona get when its time for a new filter since i'm still using the factory intake tube and it doesn't work as good as that one will

 

You want *firmer* shifts at WOT. Some of this is of course personal preference but quicker, firmer shifts are better on the trans.


1400 pre-turbo is *too hot*!! If this is post turbo that is way, way, WAY too hot!! You should never see more than 1300-1350 tops. I get uncomfortable at anything over 1100-1200.

 

I prefer the slightly softer shifting when driving around, but at WOT firmer is definetly better. The line pressure has to stay up there to keep the clutch disks firmly engaged or they slip. I wouldn't really worry about it unless you're running at WOT alot, or under heavy load.



I wouldn't worry about 1100-1200*, it'll run there all day long. 1250* is the max sustainable temp it can handle. The down side with running it that hot is you're fuel economy is circling the bowl. I wouldn't be bashful to run it up to 1600* preturbo, but ONLY in short bursts. Everything can handle that kind of heat, but I wouldn't go for longer than 30sec. at most. The best analogy I've heard for this is when you use a torch (which operates above 1600*) you have to hold it over the metal, allow it to glow red hot for awhile before you can start cutting. Now yes, running above 1250* for a sustained period can and will damage the engine and turbo, but I wouldn't be TOO concerned about short WOT runs. I've seen 1400*+ before.

 

thanks again for all the info. I have talked with Jody at dp-tuners and will probably be ordering in the next few days...I have also been looking at gauges and I am trying to get up enough nerve to drill and tap my manifold, not sure I can do this....but anyway thanks again!!!