I kinda was cruisin around the classifieds and that poor guy on there wants to sell his Vortech setup cheap- got me thinking. $1200 for used boost is not bad, but how is a Vortech in a mid-west winter? I read about needing a block heater or heated garage always with temps going below 25. I want boost in the worst way but am a little concerned about the cold. Any input from those who do this? Thanks.

 

why be concerned? If your tune is good its nothing to worry about.

 

^^^+1, it's all about the tune. Mike Troyer from Troyer Performance is one of the best at tuning these trucks. You might want to give him a call if you decide to get it.

 

+2!
I'll go out in 15* weather and after the motors warmed up and I have a little heat in the tranny and rear,,,look out,,it's ***** to the wall.
All in the tune!

Phil

 

I heard from chucks_bp that he saw18* iats with his Vortech charge cooler and meth injection, a few days ago. No problems, Mike's tuning.

 

Blowers love the cold dense air. I've run mine in -20C before and it didn't bother anything. I always make sure to let my truck warm up to operating temperature first and I take it easy when I first take off(the tranny is still cold) I also try and avoid heavy throttle applications when its really cold out, but having the blower bothers nothing when its cold.

 

I am going to get a good tune with it, I already have a Superchips chip done by Sean Hyland Motorsport here in Ontario. I just really got interested in this guys Vortech and like I said, it got me thinking. I figured when the temps are that cold and the engine itself warms up she'd scream, they always do, but was concerned maybe about a cold start on the compressor. Seems like a go anyways, I want boost.

 

HI!... SEAN HYLAND?????Run! Run very fast and very far away from them. I wouldn't let them tune my RC car. I could tell you many horror stories of those fools.

 

When Neal runs out of stories, I can throw in a couple of my own.

 

Yup, Sean Hyland. I do like the chip though, they did it in fall 2000?ish for me and I like it. My thing is I don't want to **** a chip away if this one can be retuned, even by someone else. I'm assuming others can re-tune a chip I got from SHM, correct? My dad and I have gone to Paul's High Performance in Jackson MI, him for a tune on his Cobra, me for other parts. His car runs good. There are more people too I've heard good things about locally in Michigan but I probably will stick with Paul's. Anyone know what I can do with my chip or do I need a totally different approach. Remember, this is my daily driver too so nothing outrageous is needed.

 

HI!... Scrap the chip and get into a x-cal2 or x-cal3. Mike TROYER is my guy but any of the other big tuners out there can sell you one and tune it for you. I've got like 4 chips sitting in my desk here. Just paper weights now.

 

My truck is my daily driver used for work 7 days a week in all weather. Mike Troyer has done all the tuning on the truck. I have had several re-tunes done to the truck because of upgrades. I can only say that Mike's latest tune is just perfect in any weather. We have had some cold weather this year and the truck runs as strong and as dependable as any one would want. The most fun one can have with a supercharged truck is in cold weather!!! Cold start-up and drive ability are perfect!! The correct tune is the most important part of the set up!!

 

Hi Chuck!

Good to "see" you again, & thanks for the props!

Chuck's truck is an excellent example of what can be accomplished with a combinaiton of proper TUNING and DATALOGGING - there are many setups where we do not need the data, but there are always some we do - and Chuck's has been one of them, and he's been great about getting us that data each time he's made changes, so he's been a lot of fun to work with.

Today we are easily able to take the newer generation 2004-2008 F-150's (and soon the 2009's) to power levels seen usually only in signifcantly modified Lightinngs (meaning 450+ RWHP on an HONEST dyno), and make them live on the stock motor - so yes, we can deliver the power that virtually everyone wants (and 1500+ Hp for those who want to pony up for the powertrain & other parts required!), and that it takes to make the heavier 04 & up trucks really move out with authority - and do it right. No, we do NOT do it on teh cheap, that is one thign we have always refused to do, as that NEVER works long-term - big power and cheap never work together, people are better off reevaluating their goals and talkign to a true F-150 speciaoist before takign someone's word that they can deliver big-HP turbo's, blower, etc and do it on teh cheap - they can't, and we have many broken motors sitting inside our shop to attest to that fact, motors that we have had to replace for vehicle owners who took teh cheapest way out and learned the hard way. And there are those who call us every day that we tell "no, we aren't going to do that because it's not going to live like that, it's not even remotely correct to try that" - or others who we have to tell "no, we are not going to help you do that in any way,shape or form, not even to tune it", because we KNOW what the result is going to be.

It's easy to make good power and make things live - but you HAVE to use quality parts, a proper configuration, and you MUST KNOW what you are doing - which is precisley what we do, and why so many tens of thousands of members of this web site alone are among our customer base - for which we are very grateful.

Anywa, I just dropped by and saw Chuck's post, and wanted to say hello - if there is anything we can do for anyone, please just give us a call at (540) 965-7123 & we'll be happy to help, as always!

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

I run my truck all year around here in alberta. Temps here are +30~ to -40C and my procharger works great. I put it on the middle of december last year so its been 2 winters with no problems.

Thing about having a S/C truck in the winter, the incoming air is heated so it makes your truck warm up faster.
When i'd start out in the morning at -30C weather it would take a while to warm up but with the supercharger it took a third off of the time it takes to warm up when driving.

Get a remote start!
The power steering is a little noisy in the cold on initial start, and the blower is almost silent since the oil is quite thick until it warms up.

 

Troyer Tuned Procharger. Big difference over local tuner.