Well, after reading about the wonders of the Predator for the 6.0 for MONTHS I finally decided to pull the trigger just now. From the comfort of my office, I placed a call to THE place to buy from- Motorhaven- and my Predator should be here in the morning.

Now, I have done my best to read 75+page threads about using this thing and try to pick out the needed info. I am hoping that one of the more knowledgable users here could help me get started "correctly" with my Predator. I would like to program the 60hp program when it arrives tomorrow.

So, a few questions:


1- My truck is otherwise stock with no gauges yet. I will be looking to add these before going to the 100hp level. From what I have read on Diablo's site, this should be fine. What do you experienced guys think?

2- I read a few little blurbs about transmission relearning, etc. Is this thing going to make my truck shift poorly when I program it? Is there are "learning period" or some kind of special sequence I need to perform?(The last thing I want to do is take my perfectly running truck and foul it up tomorrow)

3- Any other "hints" to make this go smoothly and avoid any driveability problems?

Thanks in advance for your help. And thanks for giving me this "bug"....

 

Welcome Tampa250 !!!

And get ready to grin !!!!!

Let me try:

1) I ran mine stock for a long time witht eh predator... now have over 44K miles and no issues... Eventually did do a turbo back exhaust just to get a little more Ummph outta the engine and help evacuate the exahust a little better to keep egt's down...
and to those that say they NEED back pressure - Bah Humbug Seat of the pants - 20 more horsepower from just that !

2) Yes, the tranny does have to "learn" the new horspower... typically about 5 stars cycles should do it... some have not had any issuess...
but let me stress that the ONLY time you REALLY will notice a tranny shift issue is if you first install it and start your truck and go FULL BORE THROUGH 3rd gear with power braking to 2K rpm from a dead stop... THEN you may have a slipping 2nd to 3rd gear shift....

but please understand that you are putting a LOT of new HP and toraue in front of an adaptive tranny that is "used to" a certain load and driving style....

Let's compare it to this....
I dump 2000 lbs in your pockets and ask you to jump to a full speed run without warming up at all for a 100 meter sprint..... Bet you'd be throwing muscle parts all over the track !!! just give the tranny a chance whenever you change the tune and it will do fine...

3) Be patient the first time you load it and
don't ASSUME you know what it is going to say or do....
and may be best to do it during Diablo's normal customer service hours until you are comfortable with it...(keep this number handy 1-800-531-5484 for Diablo Customer support....)

 

My short opinion....

If you are running around in a light (unloaded) truck and NOT pulling any trailer, I feel you will be fine on the 65hp setting, with the possible exception of running flat out up a mountain (more than 7% grade) for more than a few minutes.

I have not seen any excessive/bad EGT's on my truck at the 65hp setting on any of my 0 - 100mph sprints, or while running 75+ on whatever hills the interstates dish out.

I strongly discourage any towing at increased settings without gauges to monitor exhaust and/or tranny temps.

If you're running light, have fun. It will bring a grin to your face for sure!

 

Not a manly thing to do.....BUT....make sure you read the directions before you install.
If you get an invalid liscence .....don't panic....just call Diablo and they will walk you through the reset.

 

Thanks, guys! Keep those responses coming.

I definitely will be "running light". No towing at all right now, so things sound like they will be okay. I know I need to do gauges one day, but I'm just having a little trouble doing them. I want to avoid making this look like a race truck with s%*t bolted all over the place. I've had race cars, and didn't want to carry it over to this truck.

About this potential trouble with the reprogramming- is it so bad that I shouldn't try this tomorrow when it shows? It'll be Christmas Eve and I assume Diablo will be closed. IS there that much of a chance of a problem? Luckily, this truck is my weekend vehicle so if I have a problem I am not without wheels for the weekend. However, I would like to avoid the hassle if possible.


JDAdams- thanks for your very detailed response! Point taken and understood on the tranny. So, just driving the truck for 5 or so keycycles should do fine? No need for a special driving pattern or anything?

Thanks again, everyone. I look forward to reading more replies here. I'm excited like a little kid at Christmas right now!

 

Well Tim Taylor the tool guy comes to mind.....like a kid getting his first gift....just take it easy and read through the install....no problem with what day it is.

Remember you asked for hints....this is one of them

The other hint is try not to smile once you load the Predator

 

Hey Tampa, I would recommend the x-monitor for your gauges. It is unobtrusive and provides tranny temp, EGT, and boost pressure in one gauge. I installed one on my Excursion and really like it. It is mounted on the A-pillar, and I can keep the grab handle. There are pics of it in my gallery if you are interested. I haven't got the Predator yet, but soon. I wanted to install the gauge first and run it a few thousand miles so I could get an idea what numbers I get from stock. Another 1000 miles and $400 and I'll be another one of those grinning Diablo owners! Good luck and post the outcome!

 

Thanks for the idea..... I checked out your gallery and it looks like you take great pride in your rig. Looks great!

{still doing the pee-pee dance here!}

 

I installed the Predator a few weeks ago, unfortunately I misunderstood the 5 cold start thing, and hit the accelerator hard a few times and I have a hard shift in gears 2 and 4. The response from support was good, they said to reinstall the 65 hp mode, and do not hard accellerate for at least a week, then the tranny will learn it correctly. So probably my fault.

 

Got the 65 program installed this morning!

Everything went great, and the truck is driving fine. I have not really laid into it yet, but can feel some strong midrange pull and notice it feels quicker off the line with part-throttle takeoffs. The transmission was shifting very hard under normal driving right after the flash, but it is already smoothing out nicely.

I think this is going to be a LOT of fun!

 

Don't smile.....cause the grin is hard to explain ... ..glad you got along with the install. Many people forget the little things when installing, so give it a few days and put your foot into it........

 

Oh,
one thing we forgot to mention.......

You will NEVER be satisfied with the stock truck once you get used tot he new power !!!

Sorta liike trading in your Pentium 4 for an XT

 

I'm already feeling that way, and shopping for exhaust and gauges so I can go with the 100hp program!