Live-Tuning Event

DP Tuner Dials In Over A Dozen Power Strokes

Posted February 8 2010 03:01 PM by Mike McGlothlin
Filed under: What's New, Past Diesel Events

This year, more than a dozen 7.3L Power Strokes showed up to be live-tuned by Jody Tipton of DP Tuner…

On my ride-along, I witnessed a truck go from having an erratic idle, producing lots of black smoke, and running a bit rich to a truck that ran smooth, produced considerably less smoke, pulled lower EGT, and had great throttle response.

The diesel aftermarket is a funny thing. A lot of parts can be bolted onto a truck (injectors, turbos, chips, fuel systems, etc), but a live-tuning session really gets the most out of your setup. I’ve never seen anyone disappointed in the results, either.

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Reader Comments:

1. Man, tuning a diesel engines awesome. Very interesting stuff.

BTW-sweet black OBS 7.3L truck in the pic!

SmokenGun - Posted February 8 2010 08:33 PM

2. I have been looking into custom tuning quite a bit recently and was wondering how or what system(s) Jody uses to tune a Powerstroke diesel? Like custom tunes for a Duramax are done with EFI Live traditionally. What program does Jody (or anybody) use to change individual parameters of an electronically controlled Powerstroke diesel engine? Is the amount of control over engine function similiar to the control you would have with EFI Live on a Duramax?

Maybe im missing the party here..Just wanted some clarification if its cool :)

SmokenGun - Posted February 8 2010 09:30 PM

3. I believe he uses Tuner Pro software and Moate's Quarter Horse hardware. A vehicle communication module (VCM) is used to link his laptop to the trucks computer.

It might be similar to EFI Live, but one obvious difference is that DP Tuner was dealing with HEUI, which can be a little trickier to dial in than a common-rail fuel system.

The black OBS was actually the one that got tuned. It runs real nice now...or so I'm told. Has 250K on it and runs like brand new.

Mike McGlothlin - Posted February 8 2010 11:22 PM

4. Awesome, thanks for the info. I appreciate it!

SmokenGun - Posted February 9 2010 12:45 PM

5. If you're interested in learning more about tuning, let me know and I can point you in the right direction for hardware and lots of information.

theSLEEPER. - Posted February 9 2010 12:54 PM

6. I am interested in tuning, but I darn not use my 6.0L PSD until it has head studs and a full EGR delete. Dont want a 1000+ lb. frag grenade...haha..kinda.

It will have to wait until I have a 7.3L (OBS) or a Duramax.

SmokenGun - Posted February 9 2010 03:58 PM

7. Oh man, I just realized this is J.D. Donohue's truck (right??) and that in the same months magazine there is also an article that talks about Jody Tiptons live tuning sessions and what software he uses....

This isnt a proud moment for me....

SmokenGun - Posted February 13 2010 05:26 PM

8. Yep that's his truck. Oftentimes at events I snap a quick photo of the truck(s) I may want to write a feature on as sort of a reference point. Those stories were in the May ’09 issue.

Mike McGlothlin - Posted February 16 2010 06:47 PM

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