Well it's been a week since i installed my hydra, I have to say once i got the right tunes it has been flawless!

Ran this week with 40hp daily driver, was not impress with mpg, but i am sure i had my skinny pedal mashed a bit

Truly completely different truck!

going to run a week with the 65hp sipper and see how that works, See if i can easy up on the lead foot !

I have noticed it seems noisier then it used to , might check my downpipes for leaks couldn;'t hurt right

 

If you haven't tried the latest cps from riffraff already, that helped quiet my truck down quite a bit

 

Unfortunately skinny pedal syndrome is a common byproduct of running tunes.
Not sure your mileage will improve from stock but the truck is definitely more pleasant to drive when tuned.

 

I had not considered that but it might not hurt

 

lol yea I am sure of the much better feel from the light the getting around traffic , I fully enjoy the better feel , kinda wish I had taken the time to shim the injectors!
mpg isn’t any worse actually, just that I had a 99 f250 and got 18 + on the freeway this one I get maybe 15

 

Hey Listor,

Been about a month since I installed the Hydra. I have settled on the plain old 65 HP for all around daily driving. I like it better than the 65 HP sipper. Seems to give me a couple more mpg's since I learned to not be such a lead foot, but when I need the power it's there. Tranny shifts quicker and keeps the rpm's down too when what I call normal driving. LOL....Really didn't notice an increase in engine noise though but man that turbo spins up a lot faster. Good luck!

 

That was one of the things I didn't like about the PHP tunes: the increased engine noise. Especially in the colder months. Didn't know how loud it was until I got custom tunes. Both Jelibuilt and 1023 run much quieter on my truck. Still not as quiet as stock, but much quieter than the PHP tunes. My main issue was the PHP tunes don't lock the torque converter in 3rd gear which isn't fun. Apparently, that's just how it is for my pcm code which is an XLE4. I forget who told me that, but it was somebody on this site.

 

@Jo7.3 , I can definitely tell a difference between 1023 and PHP idle noise level. Each truck is different though and my truck is smoother and just a bit quieter on the PHP tunes. This is with 255,000 OEM AD injectors. 1023 medium tow was my go to tune when I had my modified Garrett turbo, but after installing the SXE, even the 1023 Street Shredder was not getting the job done.

I tried the PHP 65HP in my ZF6 truck and it is spot on for my heavy tow uses. I am grateful because I did not want to search for new tunes after installing the SXE.

Regarding your PCM code and tunes, @brokestroke might be able to offer some advice because he has spent some time testing various PCM code tunes.

 

thanks for the advice from everyone, i was thinking about Shimming the injectors , but i went to the stock position and ran it for a bit, i did realize the tunes are making the noise, really only at idol, think it's just something to get used to because i sure do enjoy the extra Umph i get with the skinny pedal!

 

That is one thing I've noticed about 1023. Compared to other tunes I've used, it seems like 1023 doesn't use as much power as other tuners I've tried. For example, the daily tune from Jelibuilt seems noticeably stronger than 1023's daily tune, especially when the torque converter locks in 3rd. That's when I can really tell a difference in power. That being said, Jelibuilt tunes are a good amount smokier than 1023. The daily tune from 1023 is almost as clean as stock unless you really get on the pedal. Now I will say that 1023's "Cummins Killer" tune is about the same as far as power with Jelibuilt's "Hot Street" tune. So maybe the cummins killer tune would have enough fuel for the SXE, but idk. And since you're happy with the PHP 65 hp, I see no reason to start trying a bunch of custom tunes.

Sorry to kind of hijack your thread @Listor , but I guess if you ever start thinking about custom tunes, here's a little bit of info on a few options. Glad you're liking the hydra. It's a big improvement over stock tuning.

 

Problem I had with PHP was that they don't write tunes anymore and I have different injectors. Did you tell PHP about your issue and see what they can do? Just curious. I haven't tried 1023 yet but Jelibuilt was a waste of $80. Sent a tune and when there were problems with it, suggested changing every sensor and didn't want to try to datalog or diagnose. Gearhead seems to be delayed temporarily because of Covid 19 so waiting for a tune.

 

This is my point... A specific tune can run great on one truck and that same specific tune can run like dog crap on an identical truck. They have each lived their 2 decades differently and they are no longer the same, so they perform differently.

I used to tout 1023 tunes because they made my MST truck run well. Granted I had to be in 4th or 3rd gear and boosting at 30+ PSI at near 3000 RPM when towing heavy uphill. With the SXE, the 1023 tunes were not cutting it. Since the PHP library was already paid for, I tried the 65HP Performance and that tune runs great. Now, I am in 5th gear and boosting at 20 PSI at 2000 RPM on the same, exact roads as I was towing heavy with the 1023 tunes.

I would not say that it us a fuel thing, because my MPG's went up .5 MPG towing heavy and unloaded on the same exact roads. Remember though, that I changed my turbo and am now running much lower RPM. The tuning difference is in the ICP and FiPW based on my experience, but I am wrong everyday of my life.

Some of the tuners like to play games with the TPS and throttle application. For example, the go pedal is at 20%, but the tune makes the PCM see 80%. This is a fact and the main reason I did not run 1023 tunes for a long time. The first set of tunes were just that and I told Dusty "thanks, but no thanks".

Vaughn is doing the tuning for 1023 now and I think he is doing a pretty good job, but the 1023 tunes do not work on my truck since the turbo install and the PHP tunes work great.

I guess what I am saying is the same tune will behave differently on two identical trucks. Seek out what works for you in regard to throttle application, running/idle noise and EGT/performance.

 

Yeah I emailed them a while back and told them what was going on. I do have a locally built transmission and I asked PHP if they do custom tunes and got the same answer as you, that they don't write tunes anymore. The guy that answered me recommended Jelibuilt or Andrew Arthur. Brian at Jelibuilt worked with me and I got a LOT of revisions from him. The most recent set are pretty close to what I want, but the shifting still isn't the best. However, I only live like an hour or two away from Jelibuilt, so if/when I do more mods that require different tunes, I'll probably go with him and see if he'd be interested in live tuning.

Ideal tune for me would be if I could combine Jelibuilt's power and throttle sensitivity with 1023's shifting and low smoke. But I don't think that's gonna happen lol. I mostly drive on 1023's daily tune though. Good shifting, low smoke, pretty good power, and on the last revision I got, the throttle sensitivity is just about where I want it.

 

That is totally different than what I got. I didn't do a dyno tune but Jody did have me scan the ECM with his Infinity unit and made adjustments. At this point, it seems to be the best I have gotten.