Vehicle Performance Chip

ginwoman

Well-Known Member
If I remember correctly he ran some type of scan and said there were no changes to be done. The test cost something....I want to say $90
 

ginwoman

Well-Known Member
Yes...I guess I dropped the ball after the pricey tuneup and computer scan. I threw in the towel so to say. Now camper season is here and got us thinking about it again.
 

Crewdawg141

IYAMYAS!!!!!
Somebody help me too with my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, Sport, Quad cab, 4x4, 5.9 V8. Has got 12mpg since I got it. Uggghhh!!!

You my friend are SCREWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:buddies:

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500/2500 QC 360 4x4. It has 265,000 miles on it, I bought it new in 2001. I have added a few things to my truck and tried many different little things to improve her mileage. When I bought the truck new I was getting 12.5 MPG or so and it did not matter at what speed I would operate at. The Best that I have gotten was 17 MPG but that was while driving it through western Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (FLAT LAND). I currently get around 13.5-14.5 MPG (the lower mileage is caused by the exuberance of having my V-8 under my foot). I bought a 2001 VW Jetta with a 2.Slow to commute in and you can see why I get less mileage at times. By driving responsibly and keeping my foot out of her I get @ 14.5 MPG.

Here is the list of my changes -1) MSD 6A, 2) MSD/Accel Coil (I have used them interchangibly) 3) MSD Wire Set 4) I have tried different types of spark plugs currently there are Bosch +4's installed 5) High flow cat and 3"Cat Back Exhaust w/ a Flowmaster 40 6) K&N Filter in Stock Air Box 7) Helix Power Tower TBI Spacer (only thing that I noticed from this is a little improved throttle response and a cool whistling sound as the throttle opens that irritates my g/f and makes me laugh everytime she B's about it) 8) Powerchips Programmer 9) All Synthetic fluids (Engine, Trans, Tranfer Case, both axles, and syn grease in everyplace that it can be placed). I have not noticed a difference MPG or durability-wise in the different Synthetics I have tried Mobil1, Royal Purple, and am currently using Amsoil.

I have not noticed a great difference in the Programmer setting level and MPG in my truck. I am currently running BFG AT/TA KO's 285/75-16, the truck came stock with 265/75-16 but when I modded the drivetrain I went to a bigger tire. The only things that have dramatically changed MPG was tires. Once upon a time I put MT 34" Baja Belted tires on and that dropped my to 10-11 MPG. Once those tires wore out I went to Bridgestone AT Revo's. My truck is my Tonka toy and an ongoing experiment. Feel free to ask me about other things that have happened or were changed/altered on my truck.
 
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Crewdawg141

IYAMYAS!!!!!
I would look at gearing maybe? If the "sport" appelation meant performance, the gearing might be slanted towards accelleration, not cruising. My 425 hp, 4100lb, 6.1 liter car gets 15 or so around the pax river area, 21 or so straight highway. But it has a five speed auto with ball bearing internals.

The Sport Package in these trucks was all Aesthetics, taller appearance by taller blocks and different plastic on the bumpers. Mechanically speaking the trucks are the same. The gearing that was available was 3.55 or 4.10, most Dodge Ram's came with the 3.55 gearing. His rear is the Chrysler 9.25 and front is a Dana 44. His tranny is the 46RE/RH, as long as he has the Automatic. The Manual would be the NV4500/NV4500HD. His Trasfer case is the NV231HD.
 
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Baja28

Obama destroyed America
You my friend are SCREWED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:buddies:

I have a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500/2500 QC 360 4x4. It has 265,000 miles on it, I bought it new in 2001. I have added a few things to my truck and tried many different little things to improve her mileage. When I bought the truck new I was getting 12.5 MPG or so and it did not matter at what speed I would operate at. The Best that I have gotten was 17 MPG but that was while driving it through western Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois (FLAT LAND). I currently get around 13.5-14.5 MPG (the lower mileage is caused by the exuberance of having my V-8 under my foot). I bought a 2001 VW Jetta with a 2.Slow to commute in and you can see why I get less mileage at times. By driving responsibly and keeping my foot out of her I get @ 14.5 MPG.

Here is the list of my changes -1) MSD 6A, 2) MSD/Accel Coil (I have used them interchangibly) 3) MSD Wire Set 4) I have tried different types of spark plugs currently there are Bosch +4's installed 5) High flow cat and 3"Cat Back Exhaust w/ a Flowmaster 40 6) K&N Filter in Stock Air Box 7) Helix Power Tower TBI Spacer (only thing that I noticed from this is a little improved throttle response and a cool whistling sound as the throttle opens that irritates my g/f and makes me laugh everytime she B's about it) 8) Powerchips Programmer 9) All Synthetic fluids (Engine, Trans, Tranfer Case, both axles, and syn grease in everyplace that it can be placed). I have not noticed a difference MPG or durability-wise in the different Synthetics I have tried Mobil1, Royal Purple, and am currently using Amsoil.

I have not noticed a great difference in the Programmer setting level and MPG in my truck. I am currently running BFG AT/TA KO's 285/75-16, the truck came stock with 265/75-16 but when I modded the drivetrain I went to a bigger tire. The only things that have dramatically changed MPG was tires. Once upon a time I put MT 34" Baja Belted tires on and that dropped my to 10-11 MPG. Once those tires wore out I went to Bridgestone AT Revo's. My truck is my Tonka toy and an ongoing experiment. Feel free to ask me about other things that have happened or were changed/altered on my truck.
Thanks, I thought so. Mine has 110,000 and it gets the same mileage whether I'm pulling the 6500 pound boat or going to the dump. Hell, it's been paid off for years and I'm not spending $40-$50K on a new one when this runs great.

The plastic lens on the headlights clouded up so I replaced the entire headlight assy. with an aftermarket brand and the lights are very dim. Can I just get new bulbs from Auto Zone?
 

Crewdawg141

IYAMYAS!!!!!
All I want to know is should I invest in a chip and if so, what brand or type. :howdy:

To best answer your question, first (I am not being snotty so please do not take it as such) a Chip mod was utilized in OBD I vehicles since 1996 everything is OBD II. The ability to go into your ECM and swap chips became very hampered with the change to OBD II. The tuning industry went on to Programmers, the advantage to the programmers is you have a much lesser chance of screwing up your ECM (think static discharge and how bad static is for computer chips).

After doing different things and working on a lot of other vehicles I would either look into a Diablo Sport tuner or go here - Wester's Garage Custom Performance Tuning

I have heard of better results with these 2 options over the other programmers that are available for your 6.0. Have you looked into a gearing change?
 

Crewdawg141

IYAMYAS!!!!!
Thanks, I thought so. Mine has 110,000 and it gets the same mileage whether I'm pulling the 6500 pound boat or going to the dump. Hell, it's been paid off for years and I'm not spending $40-$50K on a new one when this runs great.

The plastic lens on the headlights clouded up so I replaced the entire headlight assy. with an aftermarket brand and the lights are very dim. Can I just get new bulbs from Auto Zone?

Yes, Autozone has the 9004/9007 bulbs for our trucks. How bright do you want to go? I use the Sylvania Silver Stars.
 

bcp

In My Opinion
Gearing for sure. I'm @ 2krpm at 70mph. (03, F150 Super Crew 4x4)

Unless he drives alot of highway vs in town, changing the gearing wont do much for him.
Mine is taching around 15 at 55~60 just under 2k at 70. Never see it go over 25 unless Im pulling a steep grade with the trailer on it.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
The plastic lens on the headlights clouded up so I replaced the entire headlight assy. with an aftermarket brand and the lights are very dim. Can I just get new bulbs from Auto Zone?

Don't waste your money on the Silverstar bulbs. For around the same price, you can get HID headlights. Brighter, last longer, limetime, no BS warranty, etc.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit

I've put DDM HIDs in every one of my cars, and even my beater car. The light output is amazing compared to even the best halogen bulb. The only issue (if you want to call it that) is that they ran into some issues with US Customs, and they now have to drop ship straight from China, so it can take a few weeks. If you have any questions regarding 35w vs. 55w let me know.

As far as your lenses, I can clear them up if they aren't too bad. $40, and I'll come to you, or we could meet somewhere in the middle. I use professional grade products not that cheap ass "Headlight lens repair kit" you can get from Autozone that doesn't work.

Shoot me a PM if you're interested.
 
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Crewdawg141

IYAMYAS!!!!!
Don't waste your money on the Silverstar bulbs. For around the same price, you can get HID headlights. Brighter, last longer, limetime, no BS warranty, etc.

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/Apexcone-Raptor-HID-Kit

I've put DDM HIDs in every one of my cars, and even my beater car. The light output is amazing compared to even the best halogen bulb. The only issue (if you want to call it that) is that they ran into some issues with US Customs, and they now have to drop ship straight from China, so it can take a few weeks. If you have any questions regarding 35w vs. 55w let me know.

As far as your lenses, I can clear them up if they aren't too bad. $40, and I'll come to you, or we could meet somewhere in the middle. I use professional grade products not that cheap ass "Headlight lens repair kit" you can get from Autozone that doesn't work.

Shoot me a PM if you're interested.

How much heat is put out by these lights? Also did you have to make any modifications to the harness to run them?
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
How much heat is put out by these lights? Also did you have to make any modifications to the harness to run them?

They can get pretty hot (150* of so at the lens) so make sure you're not installing these in a small housing (like a small fog light).

The only modification you'll need to make is if you get the 55w. Typically, mfr's use small guage wire to power the stock, halogen bulb. The 55w HID kits have a pretty high inrush current that needs a larger wire than what the mfr installs. DDM makes a relay harness that basically powers the HID lights via a SPDT relay straight from the battery. 35w HID's are literally plug and play.

The only problem I have with the DDM relay harness is that it's only 1 relay. If that relay were to go bad, you'll lose both lights. So, when I had the HIDs in my old truck, I built my own relay harness with 4 relays (one for each low beam, and one for each fog light) all on independent circuits so if anything were to fail, it was limited to only one light.

At one point, I had 55w low beams, 35w high beams, and 55w fog lights, and modfied the stock Hi/Low beam relay so that all the lights came on at the same time...talk about BRIGHT! I don't recommend putting them in your high beams, as they take some time to "warm up" to full brightness.

Color temperature (in Kelvins) is another issue. Right around 5000K is what I recommend. Anythign over 6000K and it's turning blue, and you lose useable light output.
 

Softballkid

No Longer the Kid
Unless he drives alot of highway vs in town, changing the gearing wont do much for him.
Mine is taching around 15 at 55~60 just under 2k at 70. Never see it go over 25 unless Im pulling a steep grade with the trailer on it.


Your running a diesel though aren't you?
 
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