[jimmyg]

Well heres a question that I haven't seen on the forum.
Does anybody have any first hand info on the computer chip overrides that are supposed to give you more power? The one that I was interested in is sold by Pittsburg Performance Products and according to them it will give more power with the flip of a switch. I guess that was a simple explanation but it does intergrate with the original ECM .
What I do is trash hauling . The gross weight of the unit is 100,000 lbs going over the hills in northern N.H. and Me. I don't expect no mircle but I don't want to waste money on it if it doesn't perform !
Thank's Be safe

[Jumbo]

I had the chip that you put in your pickup and that worked. But, I have some reservations about doing that to a big engine. Wouldn't doing something like that void a warranty or decrease the life or the engine? If you give more power at one end I would think it would go down to the weakest link and BAM. Drive shaft on the ground. Or worse.

[jimmyg]

Yes there is such a thing as to much power particulrly when I am off road in the landfill. driveshafts and rears can and do explode. I would not be juicing it while I am on site.

[PackRatTDI]

The key to high HP is to realize you don't have to "work it" like you did with a lower output engine. Gentle throttle action with a 600hp beheamoth because the massive amounts of torque are going to propel you at lower RPMs than you needed with your 350hp "weakling".

[allan5oh]

I've never bought the higher hp = better fuel mileage and more reliable engine.

As you add fuel, the engine becomes richer. If you have the turbo maxed out and add more fuel, the engine becomes really rich. Both are not good for fuel mileage.

Take one engine at 400 hp and turn it up to 600 hp, if you use that 400-600 hp you are stressing the engine more then it was originally (capped at 400).

There may be exceptions, one I can think of is cat engines. As soon as you go to 550 hp, you get TWO DPF's I believe. This could help out in the MPG department.

[Teal 95 KW]

Basically, it's not a chip, it is a computer box with 6-7 different settings. The higher HP truck will get better fuel mileage based on variables such as the fact that you are not having to "work" the truck to get the same load moving and keep it moving. You can't use the thinking "you're dumping more fuel into it" because in order to get the maximum efficiency out of the set-up you have to step-up to their aftermarket turbo, and 8" exhaust. Moving that kinda air in and out of the motor it is going to breathe easier and have to work less to do the same job. Most guys with the set-ups aren't romping on their trucks all the time...have you never dropped 45k lbs behind a truck with a 400 hp cat, and had to use a lot of pedal to get it going? Then, drop that same load behind a 625 cat and you have to use very little pedal to get the same effect. My truck at the factory 475 setting wouldn't move loads as easily as it does now, nor did it do it as efficiently as it does it now.

If you put the Pittsburgh Power Box on a 475 Cat, and set it at the maximum setting using the stock turbo and exhaust, you're going to get full power for about 45 seconds before the computer begins derating and you begin losing power. Just like you don't put just a big cam, or a set of big heads on a stock displacement 302, and get any improvements, you have to have everything matched together to get the most out of the upgrades. For instance, I've taken stock Mustangs, and done heads/cam/intake on them and had them in the 11-second zone, and they get just as good of fuel mileage on the highway than they did before the swap...you use a LOT less go pedal to get up to speed than you did in stock form, and don't have to turn the same kinda rpm to get the same effect as it did in stock form.

[allan5oh]

Originally Posted by Teal 95 KW

Basically, it's not a chip, it is a computer box with 6-7 different settings. The higher HP truck will get better fuel mileage based on variables such as the fact that you are not having to "work" the truck to get the same load moving and keep it moving.

Horsepower *IS* work, if your engine is making more horsepower, you are working it harder. Just because you're pressing on the pedal less, doesn't mean that you are getting better fuel mileage. Look at hondas as a perfect example, you pretty much have the pedal to the floor all the time because they're gutless. Yet they get great fuel mileage..

You can't use the thinking "you're dumping more fuel into it" because in order to get the maximum efficiency out of the set-up you have to step-up to their aftermarket turbo, and 8" exhaust.

If it's a good turbo designed to help your engine be more efficient, recapturing the exhaust heat better, then yes I agree completely. But if it's just a chip that changes how much fuel you're putting in(the only thing you can change electronically, without opening up the engine), then no. Most engines come with a turbo too small, and dumping more fuel in it really isn't a good idea.

Moving that kinda air in and out of the motor it is going to breathe easier and have to work less to do the same job.

Yes, more air = more power. But more power = more work.

Most guys with the set-ups aren't romping on their trucks all the time...have you never dropped 45k lbs behind a truck with a 400 hp cat, and had to use a lot of pedal to get it going? Then, drop that same load behind a 625 cat and you have to use very little pedal to get the same effect. My truck at the factory 475 setting wouldn't move loads as easily as it does now, nor did it do it as efficiently as it does it now.

Again, how much you press the pedal has nothing to do with the fuel mileage. Besides the OEM could've just changed the "feel" of the pedal, and you'd swear you have more power. Mechanical engines feel like they have more power, but they don't. They're just crisper on the throttle. I prefer a softer feel, like my volvo. It's easier to shift. By your logic it should get less fuel mileage, yet I got 7.6 MPG last month.

If you put the Pittsburgh Power Box on a 475 Cat, and set it at the maximum setting using the stock turbo and exhaust, you're going to get full power for about 45 seconds before the computer begins derating and you begin losing power.

There's a good reason for that too. High EGT's are very hard on pistons, and aren't good for fuel mileage. You have to match the whole system.

Just like you don't put just a big cam, or a set of big heads on a stock displacement 302, and get any improvements, you have to have everything matched together to get the most out of the upgrades.

Yes, but we're talking about diesel engines.

For instance, I've taken stock Mustangs, and done heads/cam/intake on them and had them in the 11-second zone, and they get just as good of fuel mileage on the highway than they did before the swap...you use a LOT less go pedal to get up to speed than you did in stock form, and don't have to turn the same kinda rpm to get the same effect as it did in stock form.

Apples to oranges. 302's were never refined to the point that our diesels are. The stock heads are anemic. The stock intakes are anemic. The stock cams are anemic. The stock headers are anemic. The pistons have too much compression height, and not enough compression. I could go on and on.

[Teal 95 KW]

Allan that is basically the point I was trying to get across...doing jus tthe power box isn't going to yield alot of gain, you have to do everything that goes with it. Kinda the point behind me talking about doing heads/cam/intake at the same time. I guess my explanation wasn't clear enough, but I'd like to think you got the point of it which it seems in a round-about way you did.

[jimmyg]

Well now... I got the feedback that I was looking for..Thanks
I should have noted that I would be putting this device in my pete that is powered by a n-14 cummins. A lot of seasoned drivers ( and owners ) would say that there is not much hope for the cummin because it just doesn't deliver the torque that the cat does. The reason for that is the cat has bigger jugs ie: there is no replacement for displacement. But I like my cummins for the simplicity of the design and the motor parts are cheaper. I was hoping that there might be a quick fix to get a little more oomph out of the motor. Maybe I might reconsider my opinion on cummins and move onto a cat motor.

[special k]

I run a Pittsburg box on my 550 CAT.I've had it on for 3 years and wouldn't take it off. I gross 138,000lbs get 5.5 mpg. On cruise I run with tandem up and down hills all day long. My truck got 5.5 when it was a 475 /1650. The throttle response is so much better that we put the soft cruise back on. We had changed it to hard cruise and bumped the motor to a 550/1750 so I didn't have to split gears on small rolling hills. After all that I still wasn't happy. So we went to the box and I run it on the third setting have no black smoke or high pyrometer issues. Same fuel mileage, more power I'm a believer.