Tuner for towing on a 7.3L Powerstroke

[Kevin_O_]

Just wondering what some of you 7.3L guys are using for a tuner to improve towing performance and fuel economy?? What's good and what should i stay away from? Thanks..

[Kevin_O_]

Thanks for the info!!!

[cummins2014]

Kevin O. wrote:
Thanks for all the info! I think I'm going to get the Edge Evolution. It comes with a temp sensor for the exhaust and mounts right on the dash so i can keep an eye on everything. Is anyone using this??

You would have a better tuner going with custom tunes like a DP tuner, and a ETG, and transmission gauge.

[TXiceman]

Another good forum for Ford diesels is www.thedieselstop.com

Ken

[mudfuel07]

You may want to look at getting custom tunes with seperate guages. Go over to powerstroke.org and check out the 7.3 section. Lots of good info over there and ford-trucks.com.

[Kevin_O_]

Thanks for all the info! I think I'm going to get the Edge Evolution. It comes with a temp sensor for the exhaust and mounts right on the dash so i can keep an eye on everything. Is anyone using this??

[cummins2014]

Kevin O. wrote:
Just wondering what some of you 7.3L guys are using for a tuner to improve towing performance and fuel economy?? What's good and what should i stay away from? Thanks..

Ran a superchip for a few years on my early 99, then went to custom tunes by DP Tuner, night, and day difference in performance from the Superchip, can't say it improved my mileage, but I was after more towing power. The 7.3 is a dog stock. I added 4" exhaust ,gauges ,and an AIS air filter. The truck ran pretty good, but still lacked a bit in power towing heavy, but upgrades did help.

[RedJeep]

TXiceman wrote:
I used a Superchips Microtuner on my 2003 7.3L F350 and ran it in the "tow safe" mode. It really woke the truck up on performance. n Never could see any MPG gain. The truth is to get more power out, the engine requires more energy and that is in the form of more fuel.

You may see a slight increase in fuel economy due to the programmer will ley you stay in a better overall performance map area.

When running any tuner of a diesel, you do need to get a set of gauges....exhaust temperature (preturbo) and turbo boost pressure. On the 7.3L fords, it is also goo to have a transmission oil temperature gauge.

X2 on the gauges

[TXiceman]

I used a Superchips Microtuner on my 2003 7.3L F350 and ran it in the "tow safe" mode. It really woke the truck up on performance. n Never could see any MPG gain. The truth is to get more power out, the engine requires more energy and that is in the form of more fuel.

You may see a slight increase in fuel economy due to the programmer will ley you stay in a better overall performance map area.

When running any tuner of a diesel, you do need to get a set of gauges....exhaust temperature (preturbo) and turbo boost pressure. On the 7.3L fords, it is also goo to have a transmission oil temperature gauge.

[hotpepperkid]

I have the Banks Stinger kit on mine. Its 68 HP and 128 lbs torque. It makes a big difference in towing, not much for fuel mileage. Up Vail pass stock and to the tunnel stock and 8,000 lb trailer was 2nd gear at 35 mph. Same route 12,000 lb 5th wheel with stinger kit 50 mph in 3rd gear. Have had the chip since 30,000 miles. If I were to do it today I would research the tuners

[campigloo]

On my 2000 7.3 I added a Banks EB, tuner, trans control, exhaust upgrade, Intake upgrade, performance turbo wheel and waste gate actuator. Made like a whole different truck and added 2 mpg towing. Before you add very much tune, adding air flow is important because you will also be dumping more fuel. I installed most of it myself which was time consuming but not TOO hard. It was total cost @ 3500.00 but well worth it.

[RedJeep]

Edge CS on my 7.3L dually. It makes a huge difference in power. I leave it set to power level 2 whether towing or driving around town. The edge folks are also easy to call and questions. I do have a 4" exhaust and a 6L transmission cooler. Fuel mileage always sucks. 16 mpg unloaded freeway, 8.5 mpg towing.

[George_H]

I've got 10 years on a Superchips, tow safe mode, with K&N filter and Walker BTM, made several trips across the Rockies towing 13k.

[VoodooMedicineM]

The first thing I did was put a 4 inch exhaust and eliminate that pinched turbo down pipe. That increased my fuel mileage by 2 mpg.

[Wadcutter]

I had a Hypertech programmer on my 1999.5 F-350 with 7.3L. The Hypertech reconfigured the computer and there was no boxes or wires to install. Simple operation. Plug in the Hypertech box and follow the instructions on the screen. When done just unplug the Hypertech box. Your trucks original computer settings are stored on the Hypertech box so if you ever want to go back to the factory settings just plug it back in and follow the screen prompts. It claimed a boost of 50 hp and 135 ft/lbs. I never ran a before/after dyno but it definitely made an improvement. The Hypertech also had the option of modifying the transmission shift points and torque converter lock up. That also made a major power improvement. I got about 2 mpg increase in mileage. I changed out the air intake to an ATS and installed a Walker Big Truck muffler. Hypertech claimed the increase I was making was not enough to require changing any other thing on the truck. It was a great pulling truck. I just sold it.
There are other programmers that will do a lot more and claim more increases in hp and torque. Some of those require larger intake and exhaust and can cost several thousand dollars. The Hypertech was a couple hundred dollars and did everything I wanted.

[Trackrig]

I have a tuner on a different Ford Diesel. I can't say it improved the mileage at all, but it is fun to drive and provides extra power when passing.

Bill