My truck is a 1999 F-250 SD with a 7.3 TD and I want to upgrade the ECU? I want one that has different settings that I can change inside the cab! What ones do you guys use or have used and didn't like. I bought the truck used. It has a hypertech label on the drivers door. I was told if it was tuned it would smoke a lot while I got on it but it doesn't. It already has three guages in it boost, exhaust temp, and tranny temp that I don't think works,it never goes above 100 deg.It has a straight pipe for the exhaust and I think the tranny has a shift kit in it because it slams into gear. It will even squak the tires when shifting from 1-2 with the 35 inch tires.

 

Take a look over at the 1999.5-2003 forum.. Here is the link...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/f...splay.php?f=31

Do some searching, by clicking on the Search with the arrow facing down. Then type in "DP-Tuner". That seems to be the most popular of the tuners. I have it and love it. However, there is a few things you'll need to do, to prepare the truck for increased power.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...confusion.html

 

edge makes some bad A$$ units for the diesels..... my buddy has one on his dodge, and the unit has 5 seperate settings.... you can even pay more money to unlock setting 5, and then you can get even more HP, but twin turbos is needed to support the air needed. tuning and smoking arent always directly related. smoking is usually a sign of not enough air. so if it was tuned to a high setting, and you had a stock turbo, you would smoke when you got in it, since you are supplying too much fuel for the air that is pushed in (running too rich). just think of it as blowing money out the exhaust !!!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrjwaqZfjIY

 

Check out DP-Tuner that Kris mentioned. It's one of the best chips you can get for the 7.3L's. www.dp-tuner.com

 

and im curious just what you think is so wrong.....

 

No they don't, they are generic tunes for any PCM code. A good chip will have tunes written for your specific PCM code.

Wow, I'm so ready to do that! Oh wait, I can order a good chip and get any power level I want, and I don't have to pay "extra" for a higher HP setting. All settings are the same price.

Snow White ran 11.12 @ 128 mph on a single turbo.

Not always. In the case of the Powerstroke HEUI injection, low ICP pressures also cause excessive smoke.

Any time you add fuel a diesel will smoke at low RPM's until the turbo spools, even with Edge programmers. Those will smoke like a freight train like any other chip until the turbo catches up. Once the turbo lights up, smoke clears. Stock turbos will handle most trucks running simple mods such as chip, intake, and exhaust. Once you go bigger on the injectors or go with a dual HPOS, you need a bigger turbo or you'll chance destroying the stock unit from overspooling.

As for the link, I was just being a late night smart-***. Couldn't resist.

 

if you have never dealt with edge units, they are actually pretty damn good... especially for the diesels. the reason that you have to pay for the power level 5, is so that you intentionally have to be aware of loading it into the truck. without a turbo sufficient of this, then you will definately be lacking air. sounds to me that is better than any other tuner... its above and beyond the "standard" advantages offered by others. and as for snow whites run.... was that a stock turbo, my guess is not. and if edge makes generic tunes, i find it interesting that they ask what engine you have to order the correct unit... maybe they just like to be nosey and want to find out about you more... again, my guess is not.

 

I've dealt with Edge, too much in fact. I was like you once, knew very little about tuning. Bought the Juice/Attitude because at the time i didn't feel comfortable doing gauges. Then stacked it with the evolution. I was not really impressed. Sure it had more power but the transmission tuning sucked. Then i sold them, went to a TS performance chip. OH hell yeah this thing is awesome! i thought, compared to the edge stuff. This chip was for my PCM code and not just a 7.3 any year. Then sold it and went to the DP tuner. Nothing can touch it, it's amazing. Go to the 7.3 forums (not literally, please don't,) and see how many people switched from a generic tuner, BD , bully dog, Edge juice, evolution, diablosport, and now have a DP tuner based on what the other memebers said about their DP Tuner.

Oh,and by the way when i had the juice, it wasn't really that smokey, and i didn't need to pay to use a tune that i already should have had. And how much did he pay for it? $500-600?

Ha dude you are SO FAR OFF on your assumption that a tuning company wanting to know your PCM code is "nosey". actually that made me almost fall off my chair at 7:30 in the morning after i just got up. You crack me up. No, snow white is using a GT45R turbo, that flows about twice or three times the stock turbo. Yes he was using an azz-load of nitrous, but he still only had one turbo. When you say that they have to be "aware" of the tune they are loading into the truck, the box and instructions say right there, using this product could void warranty and damage the truck. And how is it above the "advantages" of other tuners? How about more power, torque, custom tunes designed for your truck which provide more drivability, smoother running, less smoke and more mileage an advantage of the Edge junk when the DP Tuner surpasses it? Don't try to tell me otherwise, as i've had the Edge before, and now you see where i am. I am still looking for a "better" tuning combination, and yet again, im stuck with DP Tuner. Edge asking for the correct engine is probably the most basic question. Sure if you have a Duramax, would they send you a tuner for a cummins that doesn't even have the same connectors, or sensors, or setup platform? DUH if you have a 7.3, they will send you a fueling box for a 7.3. But see, between 1994 and 2003 several things have changed, but the edge accomodates all of them. Cool huh? Not really, because they can't specifically tune for one truck, which means other years won't run as good as others. And if i recall correctly, most tuners change three or four different parameters to create a "performance tune". DP tuner massages and modifies over 75 different parameters to give you a much nicer, smoother and refined custom tune.

So in the end, do you really know what you're talking about?

 

I've messed with Edge and I was not impressed. Here's why:
- You want to get all the power that Edge has to offer in their tuning? Well to do that, you have to buy the Edge EZ, Juice with Attitude, and the Evolution. All that in combination stacks to give you a total of 100 hp. Or, I can buy one chip and have all the proper tuning combined in a single module, for much less money and get up to a 140 HP tune. Plus with DP-Tuner, I can have up to 15 tunes, not just 5 like the Edge. Also, DP-Tuner's programming is way beyond Edge's. My truck will run with more power, better shifting, and cooler EGT's than any truck running Edge.

No it's not. The stock turbo can easily handle Edge's highest setting because the Level 5 programming from Edge is not really that strong.

HAHAHA. Drop down to the Diesel forums and good luck getting anyone to agree with you. What's that in your sig? Oh wait, it's NOT a diesel. You don't have one do you..... So what experience do you bring to this discussion, other than running an Edge tuner on your gas truck?

Of course it wasn't a stock turbo. But you said that in order to get enough air in a diesel, you must run twins. I brought up the Snow White truck to show that you don't need twins. It's nice to have two turbos, and we'd all love to, but Edge programmers don't run nearly enough power to be capable of pushing two turbos. Plus they offer no tuning for upgraded injectors or other high power modifications.

Yeah, they ask you the engine, but the don't ask you for the PCM code. So again Edge has nothing more than generic tuning. Shift patterns for a VDH5 truck are completely different than a PMT1 (by the way, VDH5 and PMT1 are PCM codes). Nothing like adding more power, but then having a truck that shifts terrible.

So let's look at the big picture here and compare Edge power and cost vs. DP-Tuner:
- Edge: up to 100 hp, does include gauges, $1500 for everything (Juice, Attitude, EZ, Evo)
- DP-Tuner: up to 140 hp, does not include gauges, ~$350 for the same number of tunes as Edge (you get to pick which tunes you want, anywhere from 20 hp to 140 hp, high idle, valet, etc. Edge doesn't offer that). Buy a set of gauges for $300 for a total of $650.

That's an $850 price difference. You pay $850 more for less power, less options, and inferior tuning. Just FYI, that Edge EZ module that goes for $350, it's nothing more than an 18K mod that can be built for $10 with parts from Radio Shack.

 

Great minds think alike curtis.

 

My buddy has a newer cummins... he had to take it back to the dealer several times for bad injectors. Eventually figured out it was because of the Edge controller. Of course, Edge denied it and wouldn't provide support. So, we used it for target practice. Truck is back to stock and running normal now, my buddy is trying to decide whether or not to try a different tuner.

My $.02, Edge sucks.

 

I have 2 friends who have the edge with attitude setup on their 7.3 PSDs and they do just fine. Both trucks have over 150k on them, with 50k+ tuned and a whole lot of towing. They add plenty of horsepower and torque, and their transmissions are doing just fine. While the guy bragging on the edge is wrong about most of what he said, one thing is right: Edge makes a nice piece.

 

like said above, nothing better than dp-tuner for the 7.3! It has proven itself to work better than the rest. 6.0 is not my field.

 

Do it once, do it right. Kris and pocket know what they are talking about. I had a Superchip in my truck and low and behold, after I installed my DP-TUNER I will never go to another tuner, unless something better comes out for our 7.3.

BTW welcome to FTE

This tuner is only for the 7.3. Do take a look in the 7.3 fourm and look at all the sigs.