Injector Time - Help Me Spend $$
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 217
From: North East Ohio
Fair enough - I've been away from the 7.3L books a little too long. I got my history of the 160 transposed, but the nozzle information I received was from an injector rebuilder about 5 years ago. Maybe things have changed in the last 5 years, maybe my info was bad to begin with.
For the readers that haven't yet tinkered with upgrades and tuning...
The quicker the fuel gets in there, the lower the EGTs at higher power levels - with the caveat you don't compromise atomization. The single-shot 160 is a big upgrade over split-shot stock 140 for addressing this, but the stock nozzle holds you back. 30% nozzle is an improvement, 80% more so - but it's not until you get to the 100% nozzle that you get the full dump of the 160 injector in time to burn it all at higher RPMs.
Think of a spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle and a stopwatch. For an exercise, squeeze the spray handle as hard as you can for exactly one second - tightening the nozzle between each attempt. After a while, you find you can't compress the handle completely within one second - that's akin to the limit the nozzle places on the injector. Saying that, the better atomization occurs with the tighter nozzle, for a cleaner burn. The balance of controlled flow, better atomization, and max power with the 160 single shot occurs right around the 80% nozzle. 100% delivers more power at high RPMs, but the tuning is just a little tougher to balance across all scenarios - like cold idle at high altitude vs hot & heavy towing at sea level. I've had live tuning with 80% and 100% nozzles - 80% is easer to tame.
Saying that, live tuning needs tweaking when you change things under the hood like I have. I blew the original HPOP last summer while towing heavy - so new IPR and ICP sensor was installed with the replacement HPOP. There went my custom tuning - I'm burning a little rich now.
For the readers that haven't yet tinkered with upgrades and tuning...
The quicker the fuel gets in there, the lower the EGTs at higher power levels - with the caveat you don't compromise atomization. The single-shot 160 is a big upgrade over split-shot stock 140 for addressing this, but the stock nozzle holds you back. 30% nozzle is an improvement, 80% more so - but it's not until you get to the 100% nozzle that you get the full dump of the 160 injector in time to burn it all at higher RPMs.
Think of a spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle and a stopwatch. For an exercise, squeeze the spray handle as hard as you can for exactly one second - tightening the nozzle between each attempt. After a while, you find you can't compress the handle completely within one second - that's akin to the limit the nozzle places on the injector. Saying that, the better atomization occurs with the tighter nozzle, for a cleaner burn. The balance of controlled flow, better atomization, and max power with the 160 single shot occurs right around the 80% nozzle. 100% delivers more power at high RPMs, but the tuning is just a little tougher to balance across all scenarios - like cold idle at high altitude vs hot & heavy towing at sea level. I've had live tuning with 80% and 100% nozzles - 80% is easer to tame.
Saying that, live tuning needs tweaking when you change things under the hood like I have. I blew the original HPOP last summer while towing heavy - so new IPR and ICP sensor was installed with the replacement HPOP. There went my custom tuning - I'm burning a little rich now.
But for 99.99% of the rest of us, we don't care about max high power, we need good daily and towing manners. And this is where the nozzles go backwards from your theories. It's way easier for the tuning guys to tune a stock or 30% nozzle to be clean and efficient when towing (what most of us use our trucks for.) The 80% and 100% nozzles absolutely suck for towing anything at all. The theory sounds fair, though, empty it quicker and lower EGT's. But when towing you need atomization, which the 80% and 100% lack drastically. And when towing you are not - ever - at your high rpm, high power level.
So people need to keep that in mind and decide what power, and where in the rpm range, they want to be, and size the nozzle accordingly. 80% and 100% have no place for daily and towing use (IMO), they are high performance nozzles meant for a fun hot street truck or toy.
And no, things have not changed with nozzles or injectors in the last 5 years, it's been that way at least since I started 19 years ago.
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'96 7.3 F-350 Reg Cab 4x4 - bought new.
'04 6.0 E-350 custom 4x4
'08 6.4 F-550 Reg Cab 6 spd 4x4
'17 6.7 F-250 KR ccsb 4x4
'96 7.3 F-350 Reg Cab 4x4 - bought new.
'04 6.0 E-350 custom 4x4
'08 6.4 F-550 Reg Cab 6 spd 4x4
'17 6.7 F-250 KR ccsb 4x4
PREMIUM SPONSOR
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 217
From: North East Ohio
???
I just said most of us are never AT our highest RPM and highest HP levels. One can only achieve this by having ones foot pushing the skinny pedal hard to the floor AND be in one's highest hp chip setting.
Daily driving (for most of us) and towing, this simply doesn't happen.
__________________
'96 7.3 F-350 Reg Cab 4x4 - bought new.
'04 6.0 E-350 custom 4x4
'08 6.4 F-550 Reg Cab 6 spd 4x4
'17 6.7 F-250 KR ccsb 4x4
'96 7.3 F-350 Reg Cab 4x4 - bought new.
'04 6.0 E-350 custom 4x4
'08 6.4 F-550 Reg Cab 6 spd 4x4
'17 6.7 F-250 KR ccsb 4x4
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