After a long couple of days, I'm finally back from BTS with my new goodies!! First thing I want to say, it the BTS crew is awesome. They did stuff that I wouldn't have expected any shop to do. Extra stuff, like feed me lunch, install the 6.0 trans cooler I had, shim my carrier bearing, change the transfer case fluid, replace a wiring harness plug, stay until 11:30 pm working on my truck, & running it on the dyno. I can't thank them enough for everything they did for me, especially Brian, Patti, and Cale.

The trans is incredible. Shifts are firm and solid, but not harsh. I can tell now just how much my stock one was slipping. I also noticed that it doesn't downshift as often as it used to, which is very nice. The trans came right out, and they went to work on it. When Brian started tearing apart the trans, I was amazed that it was even still working. The clutches in it were thin & black. Brian said they were in pretty bad shape. The trans housing and tailpiece got fully cleaned and a fresh coat of paint. He assembled the trans with some new pieces, putting his touches to it as he went along. New torque converter went on, and the trans was back in. I couldn't be happier with my transmission.

Now, for the little something more. Since I won the trans, it did free up some funds that were previously earmarked to pay for it. I decided I may has well take another step toward my quest for more power. So, while I was down there, I had them put in a BTS Dual HPOP. That's correct, I now have Big Oil. Cale went to work on it, and I watched as for the first time someone else was working on my truck. As he got into it, I was more than happy to let him do it. It was nice to know that I was having someone who knew what they were doing working on it.

The dual hpop does gain some power with stock injectors, but I put in in there mainly as a step for bigger injectors in the future. However, the power curve with stock injectors is now flat, and doesn't fall off at higher RPM like it used to. Check out the links below to see the difference in power curve graphs.

It's well after dark when we fire it up, and by this time Brian, Cale, and myself are the only ones left at the shop. Imediately, there's an SES light. Brian pulls out the scan tool and finds the problem. The plug that connects the injectors and glow plugs on the top of the passenger side valve cover has a loose wire. It's damaged beyond repair, so Brian promply get a new one and Cale replaced it. Problem solved.

I take it for a drive & love it. We get back in and put it on the dyno. We ran one run with inertia only, no load brake, to get a baseline of power difference. Last time I was there, HP was 289. With the new trans, it jumped to 303. A gain of nearly 15 HP, mostly from a slipping stock trans being upgraded. Then we put the load to it. A small load netted a solid 350 HP & 680 Torque. I wasn't seeing boost numbers as high as I do while driving it, so we loaded up the dyno a little more. This time, it threw down 375 HP and 731 lb-ft of Torque. And the horsepower curve is flat as a table.

To sum it up, I'm pleased as I can be, both with my truck and the service I received while at BTS. I would highly recommend that if you're on the fence about getting some BTS work done, you should cross that fence and head down to Arkansas.

Here are some links to a few pics.
Trans install: http://community.webshots.com/album/551171183
Dual HPOP: http://community.webshots.com/album/551171470
Dyno Graphs: http://community.webshots.com/album/551170888

 

You aren't looking to adopt anyone are you?

All I can say is.....damn. Very happy/jealous for you, you deserve it.

 

Wow. I mean WOW. That trans was really a POS. I suspected that you were losing some in the ol slushbox but this? And this with the old turbo back in correct?

If you don't mind, could you refresh us on the differences (hardware) from your first pull and this one aside from the obvious BTS goodies. Really curious.

Congrats. Sounds like a great trip.

BTW, I guess that big oil just might help answer the optimum pressure questions too, did you have the reference port working during the dyno runs? By chance did you note the fuel PSI?

 

wow. do you want to adopt a child?

 

Very envious JT! Truck looks great and the new HPOP is very impressive. Looks like you're about ready for the new injectors.

 

Go JT!....Nothing like big flow and great shifting.

Nut

 

That is an excellent write up. Awesome.

 

Wow, I'm jealous.

 

Dan, I hope you mean you're jealous of the HPOP - I'd hate to you think you'd even consider switching from a 6-speed to an auto trans!

 

The truck turbo is back in, but with the 1.15 exhaust housing, same as before.

There only hardware differences from the first pull to this one, aside from the BTS trans and HPOP, is the fuel bowl being replaced with the Y-block. The modified truck turbo was on for the first pull, same as it was for this last one. The other thing different was using the boost reference port on the regulator, and I doubt there's much of a peak HP increase from that - especially since I did note peak fuel pressure while on the dyno, and it was right around 80 psi. Not that much different from the 70 psi or so I was running before. I'm guessing that those twin oil pumps are allowing the injectors to use enough fuel that the stock pump can't keep pressures up due to the volume of fuel flow. But, I don't know for sure, it's just speculation.

Yes indeed. But, that will be a while down the road. I was originally planning on injectors next month, but I think I'll wait and do a bunch of stuff all at once. Like pull the motor and upgrade some internal hard parts while I'm at it. I've always been a HP junkie, but this truck has gotten me really hooked on not only the HP, but the torque as well. So, I'll probably wait for funds to build, and just do a bunch of stuff all in one shot.

 

That is correct. I would have to lose my left leg first!

 

SWEEEEEEETT is all I have to say.

or for the old timers, BOSS.

 

Funny thing about that - I hadn't owned an automatic for 30 years. Bought my truck with an auto because it was available, in excellent mechanical condition, and the only 6-speed I could find when I NEEDED to buy was a rag.

6 month later, ripped a couple tendons out of my left knee. On the 550 mile trip home (after doing the damage), I was soooooo happy that I had an automatic.

Now my knee is fine - and I sure wish I had a clutch to push.

 

That is very impressive. Was this with the chip tuned for the oil, or has that been done yet?

What did Brian and Cale think of the reference line for the regulator?

 

The chip was tuned for big oil. I overnighted it back and forth to and from Jody's so he could re-burn it and get it back to me in time. Jody actually got it sent out the day he recieved it. I had it by noon the next day. Oh, and those runs were on the 100HP setting of the chip. There's still a 120 setting that we never ran with the load applied to it. No telling what may be left. A trip to the drag strip on a test & tune night, plus a few runs down the stip should give a clue to what may be left.

Brian didn't mention anything about the boost reference, but Cale did. Cale mentioned he's seen several guys running it before. I'm pretty sure that Brian would have seen it though. And, if either he or Cale thought it were a bad thing, they wouldn't have let me leave the shop like that. Heck, Brian wouldn't even let me leave that night until he had cleaned all the bugs off my windshield from the trip down!! Truly a class act down there in Lead Hill at the BTS shop.