Hey all,

I have a 1997 F350 with the 7.3l in it, it has about 90,000 miles on it but I wanna get a little more power out of it and was wondering what was the best tuner or chip for it, I'm looking to spend around $600 to do so.. I want to know your experiences and where I can buy.. I'm getting a little frustrated and confused

I bought it Last year to be a work truck for my landscaping company but I'm falling in love with using it as mine and wanna upgrade it a little and by the crew a little bang around... Its too nice of a truck...

Thanks in advance for the advice,

Steve..

 

We can get you setup with a chip if you are interested. Feel free to check out our website HERE.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

 

I don't know what PCM you have in your truck but assuming it's compatible for a chip or tuner...

If you want a chip, I'd suggest you find someone locally who can put your truck on a dyno and adjust it to what you are looking for and burn a chip for that specific dyno run.

As for a tuner, I think your truck could work with a Quarterhorse and if you go that route, be prepared to learn about tuning. It can be a lot, but it's also fun.

 

I need some advice guys!!

I have a 2002 F250 Super Duty XLT Ext Cab, with the Gasoline 5.4L. I was wondering which programmer chip everyone thinks would be the best to purchase/install in my truck for better Fuel Economy? If anyone can give me some info/advice I would GREATLY Appreciate it. I was wondering if I should maybe install something like a Cold Air Intake on her too if it would help me out some as well. Right now my MPG's are 8/City and 12/Hwy. I'm hoping maybe I can get it to 10-12?City and 15-17/Hwy because my Father has a 2002 E250 4x4 Van that is getting about that MPG's. (Which if I might add, his Van is AWESOME). Below is all the info about my truck..

2002 F250 Ext Cab
XLT Super Duty 4x4
5.4L N/A
4:10 Gears
315/75/16 BF Goodrich A/T's
Flowmaster Dual Exhaust
Roll-n-Lock Bed cover
Auto Locking Hubs
102,768 miles

I'd appreciate it GREATLY though if anyone can help and give me some advice on which route I should go to see a little change in MPG's without messing with my Gear Ratios!! Thanks guys!!

 

Hey Steve

Congratulations on the purchase and welcome to the club! Check out the 1994.5-1997 7.3L diesel forum and do a little searching there is a lot of information on this subject and much much more for our trucks.

As for chips/tuners, most guys are using either the F5 or F6 chip from DP tuner or Tony Wildman's chips over at Total Diesel Performance. There is also a similar one available from TS Performance. Just depends on the specific tunes you want, budget, etc. Personally I like the tune's and set up of the F6 from DP tuner. I think they have a little better choice in tunes and I've heard they have great customer service. Personally that's what I plan on purchasing as soon as I get my supporting mods (intake, exhaust, gauges, then chip in that order) installed.

Whatever you do don't go with Edge or Banks. They are designed like an umbrella to cover lots of things instead of being custom matched and tuned to our trucks like the ones I mentioned above.

Hope this helps a little.

~Leon

 

I bought a F5 from DP Tuner and could not be happier. My truck is a stock 1997 F350 7.3 with 90,000 miles. I pull a 38 ft 5th wheel that weights around 10,500 lbs. You won't believe the difference the chip makes. I installed it myself and when I finished, the truck started right up. Nothing to installing it. Biggest problem was getting the computer out, its not that hard if you follow instructions. Talk to Justin at DP, you will not be sorry. Excellent customer service. Power was up and mileage increased about 2 or 3 miles per gallon. You have to be careful about the fuel mileage because with the added power, its hard to keep your foot out of it.

 

Hey guys will a tuner work on its own or will I need to add things as well

 

You can put a tuner on a bone stock truck and it will work. However, it is recommended to add gauges and upgrade the intake and exhaust. This enables you to keep an eye on the vitals and get the air in and out quicker with less restriction.

 

Any Recommendation on a exhaust and intake for this 1997 7.3 4x4

 

A lot of guys run the NAPA 6637 filters, you just need to add a 45 degree elbow to make it work. It's pretty easy to DIY or there are kits out there from retailers such as Riffraff. Here is a link or two to what it looks like: http://s331.photobucket.com/user/97Beast/media/Trucks/97%20F-250/P1130467.jpg.html
http://www.riffraffdiesel.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RRD&Product_Co de=RDP6637&Category_Code=FOBS-IN-6637

Personally I went with the AFE "Big Boost" It costs a little bit more but it's a washable filter so reuse it once or twice and it's paid for itself. Also has an open top so it has just a bit more surface area.
http://www.riffraffdiesel.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RRD&Product_Co de=24-91042&Category_Code=FOBS-IN-AFE

Either of these filters work great and are easy to do, it definitely helps bring out that turbo whistle!

As for exhaust you want a 3" down pipe minimum followed by a 4" exhaust with a nice 4-5" or even 4-6" tip if you're into that. Some guys go 3.5 or even 4" on the down pipe but that requires a lot of hammering and bending of the firewall.. Others even go with a 5" exhaust as well but you don't get any performance gains with the 5" just a deeper tone.

Look into Diamond Eye a lot of guys like these pretty well however MBRP and AFE are also good options.

I already put in a 3" down pipe but this spring when I do the rest of my exhaust, I personally plan on going with Diamond Eye's 4" SS Turbo Back Single system and straight piping it.


Just my 2 cents

 

A little update since my August post. my wife and I have gone on two camping trips pulling the fifth wheel camper, about three thousand miles total. No problems at all. Truck is getting around 13 to 14 itself and when I hook the camper up it will get between 10.5 and 11.5. Truck has much more power. Before the chip the trans was constantly shifting from overdrive to direct when I hit a pretty good hill. I usually just pressed the little button on the gear shift and kept it out of overdrive. However, since I installed chip I leave it in overdrive, set the cruise on about 75 and it hardly ever kicks out of overdrive. Very pleased with the DP chip. Jason was very helpful if I needed him, however everthing went smoothly and I had no problems with the install. I called him once with a question about switching tunes while underway.