Tomorrow’s Festivities

7.3L Chip Shootout

Posted November 4 2009 01:28 PM by Mike McGlothlin
Filed under: Reviews, Diesel Truck Parts

For the better part of a year I’ve been testing out several custom chips for the 7.3L Power Stroke…

And now a trip to the dyno will conclude the testing. Although I wasn’t particularly interested in how much horsepower each chip could lay down on the rollers, I know that is an important aspect to showcase to our readers. Throughout the testing, I evaluated each chip on its driving characteristics (especially its mannerisms on the street on the hottest setting), tune uniqueness, how the truck started, idled, managed EGT, and allowed the transmission to shift. I also took note of each chips smokiness, or lack thereof, under full, partial, and light throttle. It’s been fun, but as stated, tomorrow ends the testing.

Here are the chips I’ve been evaluating:
-Total Diesel Performance: six-position chip
-DP Tuner: F5 16-position chip
-Brian’s Truck Shop: six-position chip
-Elite Diesel: six-position chip

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Reader Comments:

1. Sounds like a very thorough testing proccess. This kinda info is golden! A company can advertise anything they wont, backing there claims up is another thing completely.

SmokenGun - Posted November 4 2009 05:33 PM

2. So... Why were such off-the-wall names chosen? I sure would have liked to see Bean's, Gearhead Automotive, and Diesel Innovations tested.

theSLEEPER444 - Posted November 5 2009 05:14 AM

3. Total Diesel Performance and DP Tuner are household names when it comes to the 7.3L. BTS is underestimated if you ask me—it made the most horsepower. Not all aftermarket companies wanted to participate.

Mike McGlothlin - Posted November 5 2009 03:42 PM

4. This isn't the truck that you have the Stg. 2's on is it?

theSLEEPER444 - Posted November 6 2009 09:15 AM

5. I'm sorry. I did not mean to be rude with the "off-the-wall" comment. I check DPM.com early in the mornings a lot of the time, before I had my coffee! LOL

It's my belief that the reason the TDP chip is very sought after, is actually because of the higher TQ. Obviously it makes the truck feel "stronger" off of the line.

Tony's good with the OBS tunes!

I guess this is why you don't often see tuner wars at the lower capacity injector levels, because once you tweak a few parameters, it's easy to get the maximum HP out of them.

What's the specs on the truck tested? Stock oil, turbo, fuel?

theSLEEPER444 - Posted November 6 2009 09:24 AM

6. Stock hpop, stock Garrett. Should be spot on (hp-wise) with the stage 1's. TDP was a little smoky, but makes great power low, gets you off the line pretty quick.

Mike McGlothlin - Posted November 6 2009 10:04 AM

7. Sounds good! Good job Mike!

Keep us informed. I always look forward to your articles. I'm no expert, but I'd love to help you should you ever need any.

You can find me in the forums.

I'd like to see a HPO system shootout. Or maybe the Adrenaline, vs. Stealth Stg.1, and Adrenaline with Overdrive.

theSLEEPER444 - Posted November 6 2009 10:40 AM

8. Shootouts are tough to do. However, I'll be trying out an Adrenaline in the coming weeks, or month.

Mike McGlothlin - Posted November 6 2009 12:34 PM

9. Awesome news!

theSLEEPER444 - Posted November 9 2009 07:14 AM

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