What's my next power mod?
 

Hi FTE...first post here I think...been lurking a while since I got my 02 Excursion in summer 2017. Still loving it! I want to add a bit more power though but I'm not sure what should be next.

I haven't modded my truck at all...when I got it, it had a lot of hot rod parts already on it. It has an air raid cold air intake, Banks exhaust, Banks Big Head wastegate actuator, some kind of billet compressor wheel (only had the intake pipe off and looked in the inlet, didnt take the compressor housing off to look closely), Banks set of gauges with trans temp, boost, EGT and stock everything else including injectors and the rest of the fuel system. My boost gauge hits 27psi which I understand is not the best for the stock turbo and will eventually fail it and the truck makes good power but it would be nice to have a bit more if I could without spending a bunch of money. Is my next move a set of stage 1.5 injectors? A ported turbo compressor housing? Upgraded turbo? Where am I supposed to go from here??

Thanks!

you didn’t mention what or how you are getting 27 psi boost and what if any DTC it is setting.
maybe the biggest consideration to making your next step is how have you built the transmission to handle additional power and how are you cooling it, the stock 4r100 is marganially adequate for stock power.

your 2002 7.3 has Powdered Metal Rods so bigger injectors are not the best idea even though many people do it.

that said, with some sort of PCM tuning you can get to 350 or so HP with your stock AE injectors. PHP is a convienient PCM interface because you can load programs that have been emailed to you from the tuner of your choice

Also, are you located in an area of the country where it has to been inspected?

Thanks for the replies! The PO must have had a tune of some kind flashed on the PCM because it makes good power and barely smokes just the tiniest bit at WOT. But I don't know what it is or how to find out. I also have a Banks chip I've used a few times that's +80hp that builds 20psi boost.

I live in Augusta GA so no inspections at all. My Corvette doesn't even have cats so all good here.

Trans is stock I suppose...it shifts a little stiff sometimes like the PCM is ramping up the line pressure but it's pretty comfortable. It doesn't shift like a stock trans I dont think. Next year I'd like to ZF6 swap it though.

Power is just for fun. I tow under 10k a few times per year but never thought it needed more to pull the racecar.

Oh, additionally, I have AD injectors not AE. I cant seem to find if that matters or not. I read they are factory replacement injectors?

Your next mod should be the H&H with Racor120 if it hasn't been done. Then worry about the go fast goodies

Good info guys I appreciate it. I had to look into the H&H mod but turns out I've read about it before in passing.

After that, is my bottleneck injectors or turbo at this point usually?

You cannot force feed these motors too much air, fuel (injectors) however can cause excessive EGTs without enough air. The current must have turbo is the SXE T4

I've heard of PMR rod motors grenading at 300 WHP, then again, I have no idea what that person's mods or tuning were. Some say they are good to 400 WHP. These trucks have been around long enough now that I'm sure there is a good recipe out there for one with PMR rods.

well it sounds to me that the previous owner has already done a bit to your EX, welcome to the relm of the 7.3 your wallet may want to go run and cower in the corner now....just sayin.....anyways lets throw the breaks on and hard here for a second, I didn't read to see every thing already done BUT if your going to want to get more "powah" out of that nearly 20 year old 7.3L your going to want to keep a few things in mind (cue both Cautionary tails that are me and Tugly I suppose here?) first thing your going to want to do is decide on your HP level, if your looking to make 400+ your going to be getting into a world of hurt and I mean for your poor wallet, your rods in that 2003 are the PMR rods most likely (IIRC by 2003 all 7.3's were switched to being produced with the PMR) how ever your going to want to consider the forged rods, typically found in pre 2003 7.3L trucks, which will lead to the injectors needing to go bigger, and if your wanting larger injectors you need to look at getting two more things done, more air to move and more air to escape, remember an engine (no matter what it is) is a glorified air pump that makes combustion. Lets also not forget tuning, you are going to need to make sure that any tunes you get for your EX also are tuned to take advantage of your mods (injectors, ect, ect,ect)


before adding any power anything you will want to make sure your air intake and exhaust are up to par and even before we go there we will need to ensure your truck is healthy as adding more power can possibly exacerbate hidden problems that wont manifest them selves until your getting up in the power numbers/band...and that is not mentioning ensureing your fuel delivery system is up to par to ensure that your getting the properlevel of fuel to the engine, remember the whole AIR, FUEL, and HEAT thing? yea we need to ensure were getting the correct amount of each, that is where tooning comes into play, see how your wallet may want to run and cower in the corner now? yea were just breaking the tip of the iceberg here and we arn't really done yet...so I would suggest here dropping your fuel tank (when the tank is nearly empty) and doing the H&H mod, it is not a matter of IF but WHEN the fuel pick up foot breaks and leaves you stranded with a quarter tank of fuel left on the side of the road some place....just get that done asap and have peace of mind.


as for any K&N air filter or similar I would suggest NOT using it (or at the very least check your turbo for signs of dusting) because if there are signs of dusting on your turbo I can be certain your engine internals are also scored and dusted and possibly worse! (no bueno), I would get the AIS which not only is a stock air box, but is going to allow the engine to move way more air then it will need, unless your going to exceed (correct me if im off here) 500HP, then you may want to look into an AFE or ask one of the members who are in that area of the power curve what they use, my truck is using the AIS and it works well for me, however im not making my truck a HP monster, its a reliable tow pig that does its job.




next thing your going to want to consider in the way of helping you make your truck healthy is gauges (seems like you may have some already) these trucks have sensors on just about every thing but fuel pressure and exhaust temp, so I would get a good set of gauges for those so you can monitor the health of your engine and fueling as well, for the rest using an OBD reader that can blootooth to a tablet and torque pro is plunty and all you would need, plus on the odd chance something isn't working correctly and making your truck sick torque pro can assist with diagnosing.


I think I more or less covered it but im sure others will also chime in with more ideas, and thoughts (cue @Tugly ) on this whole matter. Remember for more power you need three things, AIR, FUEL and HEAT (these are diesels mind you).

Oh sure, bring in the battle-scarred guy. On Game of Thrones, I'm the Hound. I always win, but my wallet looks like his face.

1. Your previous owner was all about air, but he chose the most expensive and least effective way imaginable. I don't have Banks anything, but I was able to get over 30 PSI boost on stock injectors, turbo, elbow, intercooler, and many other things. The only mods I had at the time was a Ford AIS intake, a 4" turbo-back exhaust, and a hot tune. Oh... and the red line mod and 7-turn mod on the wastegate.
2. I blew the seals on my intake plenums with this pressure, so I had to buy billet intake plenums from Riffraff Diesel to prevent a repeat.
3. When I amped up the injectors, the Ford AIS was not up to snuff, so I had to get a bigger intake - this is one thing already under your hood that allows for bigger injectors.
4. A bigger wheel in a modified housing is a piecemeal approach to more air. You want to huff and puff and blow those sticks down - so a bigger turbo is on the Riffraff gift registry.
5. Your stock transmission is NOT up for bigger injectors, particularly the torque converter.
6. When you get over 300 HP, the rear suspension doesn't hang in there when your foot is too heavy to keep off the floor. I had to add traction bars to protect the rebuilt driveline and rear end that I bent and damaged at 400 HP.
7. Oh... and I covered gauges a bit in the Custom Tunes link in my signature like this [[url=https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1236017-chip-chasers-prospective-buyers-read-this-first.html]LINK]

Gotcha. Thanks for all the detailed info! Sounds like I really need more air than more fuel. At this point I'd rather not work on the transmission since I plan to go to a ZF6 next year (which then I understand I need a better clutch than Ford put in). So I guess I shouldn't plan to go for more power on the stock transmission...assuming I'm already at the max for it? I wish I knew what kind of power I was making now. From what I've read around maybe I'm around 300whp? I think I'd probably be happy with another 50hp. I just want a little bump. But that sounds like I need a bigger turbo to get any more out of it. Hmmmm

ZF6 is a great transmission, you will enjoy it!

If you are looking for the best turbo available for our trucks, check out the link and video below.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...been-made.html

Hands down better than anything available, and not much more work or coin than you would already be committing if you are doing the job to completion.

If you don't want to read through 18 pages or 700 messages, you can go right to the video which will give you a good idea of the task at hand.