I have been trying to find flow rates with not much luck. Of course Banks says they are the best but without flow numbers.

 

I sent an email to banks and they are going to get me their numbers on the dry filter element.

 

So the engineers at Banks say their oiled filter flows 939CFM @ 4.29" of H2O and a cumulative efficiency of 99.6%. They claim their dry filter flows 890CFM but they don't have efficiency numbers. Those seem like great flow numbers but I don't like that they don't have an efficiency of particulate filtering on their dry element.

 

Started tearing into the Excursion today to start all the repairs.

 

They are good filters. The problem is, there replacement filters are twice the price of S&B kit. around $90. dollars. They will bring the price of there kit down if you ask, but not there replacement.

 

I go over 1000 SCFM with my setup... but I can't remember the precise number.

 

So I got everything put back together and took it for some runs with the Hydra with Gearhead tunes. I still think I have high EGTS and not a lot of power but maybe it is just how the 7.3 runs. It is my first 7.3 and am not familiar with how they run. With the tuner on the lowest 2 settings the EGTS would stay around 950 running 65 up a 6% grade no matter if the trans was in 3rd lockup or 4th.

 

I would check for boost leaks first and foremost. Do you have a detector?

On this rig, I noticed that I would build boost really well until I hit about 22 psi and then it would sort of plateau with slight continual rise to about 27.

So, when I tightened everything up, I found that I had evidently not tightened one of the lower IC boots sufficiently initially. It only takes one of the twelve connection points to screw things up.

Now, the engine easily sees 27-30 psi on grades with a load. EGT's came down some too.

Next, since it is a recent rebuild, exhaust leaks are possible. Make sure the turbo to baby's butt/collector fitment is correct.

How are your up pipes? It is difficult to tell whether I am seeing shadow or soot on the firewall.

 

I will double check all the connections. Yes I have a leak detector that's how I found my plenums leaking previously. The highest boost I have seen is 25 but that is with the wastegate hooked up. It was running about 20 psi during that 65MPH run.

 

20psi on flat ground not towing at 65mph, that's not right. Something is dragging. Brakes maybe?

 

I have to agree with Bonanza here; unless you're saying you hit a Max of 20psi on flat ground on a wot run to 65mph. In that case 20 would be high, untuned and probably low with a tuner.

But if your sustaining 20psi with no grade or trailer, then something is definitely dragging. Like on fire dragging. But I suspect it's the former, as that kind of drag would feel like you left the parking brake on. You, uh, didn't leave the parking brake on, did you?

 

As stated in post 37 these runs were sustaining speed up a 6% grade. 6% being the max of the grade.

 

Boy, having never gotten a CDL or lived in a mountainous state; I honestly have no idea how % grade works or what it means. Is 6% pretty steep?

Minnesota is for the most part pretty flat. So my closest experience is hauling a dump trailer with my skid steer ( 14,000 lbs trailer weight) around at 70-75mph on the freeway. Don't think I ever broke 15 psi sustained going up what we call hills. That was in stock form, with some leaks. Egts we in the 1000s. With the tuner on I stay at 3-6psi at 65mph, and 9-10psi at 90mph. Which is a real treatment to the squared power wind resistance.

 

6% climb vs distance traveled. 5280 feet per mile times 6% = 316 ft elevation gain per mile. Vantage grade is 6% and it's 10 miles long - that's over 3000 foot elevation gain on 100 degree days with the wind in your face. That's about the limit for most of the interstates I've been on, but there are more intense grades that I pull my boat through.

 

A 6% grade is about as steep of a grade as you'll see on any interstate in the country. The length of the grade matters too. A few thousand feet of a 6% grade is a lot different than 5 miles or more of it.

9% is pretty close to off the chart.