Chips, economy vs towing vs stock

[cowboy4123]

I'm interested in a chip for my 94 6.5 dually 4l80. I will probably go with a "towing" chip, but have noticed Heath and SSdiesel have a fuel economy chip (I haul 10k pounds on weekly basis). Any body running these yet? Just want to hear how everybody else is running. Also anybody running with these chips without gauges? I really don't want to spend the time or money on guages if 20 extra hp is gonna blow up my truck. I'm not the only one the that drives my truck, I know the other people driving wouldn't pay attention or read the gauges.

[More Power]

Adding power, towing heavy and not having gauges is a recipe for disaster, no matter who's driving.

Knowing what the boost pressure is and what the EGT's are can help you identify what needs attention - to achieve even higher performance levels. Without gauges, you'll be guessing...

When considering adding power, bite the bullet and install a free-flowing exhaust system and gauges first. Like a lot of good advice in life, this comes from the pain and suffering of those who didn't.

As far as fuel economy programming.... Ask the vendors for hard data. The more data the better (i.e. thousands of comparison miles with/without the programming or lab type "brake mean specific fuel consumption test data"). Anecdotal info based on a couple tanks of fuel could be an indication of a trend, but certainly no guarantee.

Jim

[DennisG01]

Yes, quite a lot of us have reflashed ECM's. Use the search engine on this site and you'll find more reading info than you'll have time to read. It's pretty much been talked to death. However, like was said above, towing the weight you're talking about, I would absolutely, positively invest in gauges/exhaust.

The main players in reflashing are Kennedy, Heath and Wester's. I forgot to mention Wester's once before and was kindly reminded about them!;) They're really the only ones that know what they're talking about.

[Big Green]

Being a '94 he won't have to do a re-flash. Since his ecm is removable, it can be swapped for the new chip.

I'll echo what More Power said with a few additions. Before you chip it a free flowing exhaust, gauges, good injectors (less than 100k miles), and a good injection pump are all must haves. A timing reset and free flowing intake will help maximize your gains. I'd also hope you are running 4:11 gears.

Just remember, adding hp WILL expose any weakness in your engine. Ask weak injectors or pump to do more and it just might be more than they can handle. The results can be expensive.

I'm running the Kennedy chip in mine and it has all of the above except for the gears, I have 3:73's. I'm getting 20mpg @ 70mph with the cruise control on when running empty. I pull in the 10k range from time to time and wish I had the 4:11's.

Good luck
Big Green
'95 K2500 6.5td 5spd
lots-o-goodies and wishing for more

[DennisG01]

Being a '94 he won't have to do a re-flash. Since his ecm is removable, it can be swapped for the new chip.


That's right, I keep forgetting that almost everybody has it easier when it comes to reprogramming:(. Even the newer stuff is easier as all you have to do is plug into the diagnostic port and hit a few buttons. Want to change it? Just hit a few more buttons. Anyways, I'm getting off subject so I'll stop now.:rolleyes:

[cowboy4123]

Yes i'm running 4.10s (?) in my 2wd but only achieving 9.6mpg towing and 13mpg running empty on average. Other than that, the truck runs great with no smoke!

As far as the "free flowing exhaust" I tried three different free flowing exhausts when i bought the truck and i couldn't take the terrible resonance in the cab. So i went with a quiet flow exhaust from Advance auto parts which i believe is oem style but i don't care, i can hear myself think now when i drive! Thanks for any input thus far.......................

[cowboy4123]

MY signature says aftermarket intake but, i used it for a little bit and i figured it was suckin in hot under hood air since it didn't have a shield and I got sick of hearing the damn turbo spool up and down when your traveling on a flat road?! I guess its the goofy vacuum setup? Whatever, I'm running stock air box again.....

[DennisG01]

No matter what type of turbo set-up you have (TM or Vac), you'll hear the turbo spooling more with an open element filter.

Does your air box have a flat filter? A good upgrade would be the OEM round style. You might able to find them at junk yards or from someone who has changed over to custom. Did you take the snorkel out? Here's a cheap mod that should help get more cool air in ***I think you have the same type of grill as mine***. I don't have any data to back it up, but I don't see how it won't help. Notice the black plastic that I trimmed away above and below the light to enlarge the opening.

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/519/Grill_Opening_-_After_-_small.JPG

That's a shame you didn't have any luck with exhausts. But, a good exhaust of sufficient size (3 1/2") and mandrel bent is really a key factor to making safe power and helping to keep the temps down. Whether or not it helps mileage to a point where it's noticeable - I don't know - but it certainly can't hurt.

There's plenty of good systems out there that don't drone. Kennedy, Heath and Pinnacle to name a few. Typically they come with a muffler that can be reversed 180* to make it either quiet or loud. I don't notice any drone on my truck - most importantly, neither does my wife:).