Can anyone tell me the best settings to program into my 7.3 f 250 2001 such as timing,fuel, shift point etc thanks

 

Not to be nit-picky, but there is some inaccurate information here regarding the Edge products for the 94.5-03 Ford trucks.

The JUICE is what you don't want as it is not a programmer. The Attitude monitor is used with both the Juice and the newer Evolution programmers.

The Evolution IS NOT switch-on-the-fly regardless if you get the Evolution 2, the Evolution CS, or Evolution CTS.

You CANNOT recalibrate the speedometer on the 7.3L (or 6.0L) Fords using the Evolution programmers as the speedometer is controlled by the ABS module.

The Juice DOES give you the switch-on-the-fly capability, but on a Powerstroke, doesn't give huge power increases.....and is not recommended for automatic transmission-equipped trucks.

The Evolution gives you three power levels above stock that adjust all main fuel and "timing" parameters in the tuning. It adjusts shift pressures and shift points. The Juice does nothing for the transmission and simply skews the PCM input from the injection control pressure sensor.

Most data can be read from the PCM and displayed on the Attitude monitor (or CS/CTS monitor), but you will still need to install a pyrometer thermocouple to see EGT. The early trucks as well as most '99 models will not display transmission fluid temperature, so that is another consideration to make.


Hope this helps.

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That's completely up to you and your personal tastes.

 

I had the Edge Evolution and, though as you say it is economical and has gauges, it had weird quirks for shifts and the Boost read low and the EGT read super high! Once I installed stand alone boost and EGT gauges and ran it I was making more boost with less EGT than before -- still drove funny.

Then I went to DP and have been happy since.

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He may be asking about a programming tool that allows the user to get into the timing/Fp/Trans parameters like Diablo or something. I don't know exact parameters for diesels.

 

I would go with neither! I would find a Flash tuner and somebody qualified to write programs for what you need. Chips are old 80s technology and having a selector feature Makes them hard on vehicles. The piggy back systems only boosts signals. There is a lot going on that no Basic tune that a chip and piggy back could mach compared to a solid Flash.

 

I had a few comments regarding this post but I chose to delete them. As the saying goes, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all."

 

Regarding PHP's comment...AMEN!! In my mind, finding someone who's played with tunes alot and can do what you want/need, and get one from them. I like it when I can send a TS chip to a respectable writer (Swamp's, Wildman, ect.) and within a few days I can put it back in the truck getting the performance I want.

 

Rustin,

Now that I have had a chance to mull over a few thoughts:

I wasn't really upset, and I don't feel that you were stepping on my toes. You have just as much right to be here and just as much right to express your opinions as I do.....and my opinions are just that; opinions. The following is just information. That's all it is, nothing more. I'm not bent out of shape by it, and hopefully it gives you a little more information that you can take with you and pass on later.

But to say that flashing a PCM makes more changes than a chip or programmer can is not true. What do you think a programmer such as Hypertech or Edge's Evolution do? They reflash the PCM in the same manner (and in the same parts of the PCM's memory) as any "legitimate" tuner can do.

To say that a PCM "flash" is better than a chip though is totally debatable. In one instance, there is less likely to be a hardware failure once a flash has been written to the PCM. Getting to the "fully-reflashed" point is hard for some people and due to electronic or customer-induced programming failures, can result in a dead PCM (trip to dealer to force a reflash) and the cost of "unlocking" the programmer.

Secondly, flash programmers use the base binary code in the PCM to "build" performance files. For instance, if your truck happens to be a NVK2 box code, then the flash device will use that base binary and add in programming specifically for that vehicle. It changes all of the parameters, maps, and functions that control fueling, "timing", shift points, shift pressures, etc. It then reloads the altered binary to the PCM's internal memory. The EEPROM in the PCM has successfully been reprogrammed. However, due to the fact that your more powerful tunes were placed in NVK2 binary, your torque converter clutch still releases when you hit the brakes. That is just one of the "quirks" of that code that can't be changed with a flash programmer.

A "chip" can take this even farther. The EXACT SAME programming can (and is) put on the memory chip of the "chip" (damn trade names are annoying). I will speak for modern 4-bank chips. They have the capability of replacing the entire operational characteristics of any given PCM code. Using the NVK2 example from above and the one of many operational characteristics of it, I will compare it to the trade standard PMT1 code that would normally be used in an NVK2 box. The chip allows tuners (the people) to make the NVK2 PCM use PMT1 binary, thus eliminating the TCC release when the brakes are applied.

Add in the bonus that we as 7.3L owners have of actually using a multi-position chip that can be switched on the fly, and there is no reason to choose a reflash or programmer over a "chip" unless you want the functionality of a gauge display or don't want to pay for more (or need) than one program that a simple reflash can afford.

Switching a chip on the fly does nothing to the PCM. None of the switching actually takes place IN the PCM. It is all done on the chip; modern chips use a microcontroller to instantly switch addressing banks in a memory chip. This is all done much faster than the request/fetch cycles in the PCM, so 99.99% of the time, the PCM doesn't even know that the programs have been changed. If there is a loss of memory for that instant, the PCM simply hiccups and recovers or it says "screw it" and waits for a reboot (key off/on cycle). If this were damaging to the PCM, then the live tuning equipment we have would have killed thousands of PCMs by now since they are notorious for causing PCMs to "freak out" and require a reboot at certain times when data is changed while the engine is running.

When people call or email asking what is best for their 7.3L, I usually always recommend a "chip" because it is switch-on-the-fly and usually it is more of a bargain (more programs, equal or lesser price). The calibrations on programmers ARE NOT switch-on-the-fly. The truck has to be not running and a series of key on/off cycles (as well as a couple minutes) are required to change tunes. As I stated earlier, the likelihood of programming errors is very small with today's flash programmers, but there is always a chance of low battery voltage, kicking the OBD-2 connector while programming, electrical interference, operator error, etc. that can leave you stranded if something happens while programming is taking place. Modern chips are not affected by any of these things and the only time we really run into problems is when the customer didn't clean the contacts sufficiently or the chip isn't secured properly and it gets kicked/pulled/knocked loose while the vehicle is running.....which can damage both the PCM and chip. These problems can be avoided but obviously, things do degrade over time and can cause problems.....nothing is foolproof.

 

Thanks for the info phpdiesel very usefully..... !

 

Sure thing.

Sometimes, the "forum facts" that get spread around make me .

I am not saying that I know it all....far from it. I just figured out how to write simple formulas in an excel spreadsheet .

I also don't claim to know any more than 50% of anything super high performance-related about the 7.3L...as I am happy with near-stock stuff.

But I do know a good bit about how these "power adders" work, so I will make myself dizzy writing books about what I do know .

 

Thanks for the info. I appreciate the tact that you used to convey it. Does calibrating a chip the same as flash tuning?