I've recently received a Hypertech PPIII programmer and have been playing around with it. I installed a 180 degree thermostat and am running stock heat range NGK plugs. My plenum gasket seems to be good - no oil usage and I've never heard my truck ping. I just put 10 gallons of 89 ocatane gas in a nearly empty tank and installed the Hypertech premium power setting, where you are supposed to use 93 octane gas. I just wanted to experiment and see if I could get away with a slightly lower octane gas with this setting. I've run the truck about 30 miles and haven't heard any pinging, although I only went to WOT one time on a nearly level stretch of road. So far, it seems to be working out OK.

Since I seem to have gotten away without pinging so far, and I've read that programmers seemed to help some truck better than others, I'm wondering how much our trucks may vary in their base timing. I've never checked my timing with a timing light, so I don't know where it is set. I don't think my truck has had the death flash, I haven't seen any sticker inside the engine bay indicating that the PCM has been re-programmed, although I might not have looked in the correct place. I initially set the programmer to the 87 octane setting and noticed a slight, but not great improvement in performance. Others who have had the death flash have noted a very good improvement right from the start.

I know that the base timing is set with the crankshaft position sensor, and was wondering how much trucks can vary in timing due to small variences in tolerance. For my truck, I wonder if the timing was slightly retarded, which is why it seems to be running fine using the 89 ocatance gas. Even though the programmer supposedly advances the timing, I can still run the lower octane gas without pinging. I might run into problems with pinging in the future when I drive in hotter temperatures. If that's the case, I'll just switch back to the 87 octane setting.

I was also curious if others with the Hypertech have been able to get away with using 89 octane fuel on the performance setting? I'm impressed so far with the seat of the pants feel using the performance setting. There is a definate difference over the stock setting. I'm just hope I can continue to get away with the mid-grade fuel since it is 10 cents to 20 cents more than regular versus premium which is 40 cents higher.

 

I was never able to get away from the 91 octane using the 93 program. if I went any lower it would ping. How hot outside is it when your experimenting...? I had issues in the past using a 93 octane chip (really aggressive chip) with 91 octane fuel, I had to do some tricks to richen the mixture up some. it all worked great once I was done. 110 deg outside, 4 people in the car and zero ping plus it ran like a bat outa hell.

 

My first run was yesterday around noon, when I first put in the gas and the performance program. I ran easy and probably didn't get past 1/2 throttle. The temperature was around 90 degrees. This morning I brought the truck to work and stomped it one time after everything was warmed up, but the air temperature was probably in the low to mid 80's. I'll give it another run when I go home tonight and hit it hard going up the mountain, assuming I don't have someone in front of me. The temperature is in the low 90's outside right now. I am a little concerned about it pinging. I've been running with the windows up and no radio to reduce the noise so I can hear better.

I am a pretty mild driver, so that is one reason why I thought I could get away with a lower octane fuel. I rarely stomp on the throttle, but I do want to give it a few more tries at WOT to see if it would ping. I love the smooth acceleration I am getting with the performance setting. I actually towed my pop-up camper home yesterday with this setup, although it was only about a 5 mile trip with a few hills and I ran easy with it. But even towing I didn't have any issues. What I am hoping for is to be able to stick with the 89 octane for most of my driving. It would be great if I can even tow my camper without going to 93 octane. But that is why I want test it out with the truck empty to see if I have problems.

I might also have an advantage due to my elevation which is between 500 to 1000 feet above sea level. I know that higher elevations can reduce engine performance, but I'm not positive if it will have an effect on the octane level and whether or not the engine will ping as quickly.

Thanks for your reply steve. Now that you upgraded to a newer truck with a diesel, I was wondering if you are going to change you login name? Of course no one will know you then. BTW, what did you do to richen up the mixture? That knowledge could come in handy if I find that I only need to raise the mixture or octane level if I am towing.

 

The base timing between one truck and another can vary quite a bit. That is one of the reasons you can drive 2 of the same make model and mileage vehicles of the showroom floor and one will always be faster than the other and one will get better gas mileage than the other. I recently did the crank sesnor mod on my truck while replacing the transmission and I have now gone for a steady 12mpg to 15mpg city hwy mix. I also have the hypertech set on the 93 setting and am still running 89 octane gas with no pinging.

I guess the point of my rant is all vehicles and engines react differently you just have to try it and see what happens. What is best for one 318 or 360 engine might not neccesarily be good for another.

 

I wrapped the fuel rails with insulation tape and installed a fuel cooler. this dropped the fuel temps coming out of the tank, cooler fuel = denser fuel = a slightly richer mixture (fractionally). plus the squirt of colder fuel vs hot fuel helped stop pinging.

 

Thanks for the info steve00ram360.

I tested the truck out on the way home again last night by flooring it going up the mountain. Its a short but steep run. I had it running about 4200 rpm in 2nd gear and it didn't ping at all. So I might be able to get away with the lower octane fuel. I also did some more research and found that the PCM had an authorized upgrade. I just didn't know where to look for the sticker. So I guess my truck did have the death flash. I'll keep testing it out to make sure everything is working properly. If I don't seem to have issues with pinging, I might try adjusting the crankshaft position sensor to add a little more base timing. To my way of thinking, if it runs ok on 89 octane with the Hypertech premium setting, then the timing still isn't advanced enough to get the maximum power out of the gas.

Has anyone else done this crankshaft sensor mod? I've looked for the sensor and it seems kind of hard to get at, not sure if it is easier to get to from the top or bottom of the truck. Plus, if I add too much timing and need to take it back, it seems difficult to be able to adjust. I've done some reading on this topic, but it doesn't seem like too many guys have either done it or discussed it.

 

I think you should be fine becuase you are running the 180 thermostat, Just dont go any lower on the octane, also couldnt hurt to add a 104+ fuel additive from autozone every once in a while,



BNB

 

It's good if you can get away with running the mid grade, and still get the performance out of the tuner. I tried running high octane on the high octane setting, and had pinging when the ambient air temp was over about 90 F. I switched to the mid grade performance setting and mid grade fuel, and that was better, but still had a small amount of pinging when I was under a load and at altitudes above 7000 ft. I switched to premium fuel, and stayed on the mid grade setting, and that seemed to take care of it. In the winter. I almost always ran mid grade, and never pinged.

I used to always carry a can of octane booster just in case I was towing up in the mountians or out somewhere during a hot hot day and had excessive pinging. Never needed to use it, so I can't say if that would have help anyway. Now I just carry my stock PCM in case my performance PCM starts acting up.

 

The crankshaft sensor is fairly difficult to get to. I think the best time to do it is when you either have the tranny out or the intake off but you can get to it with both of them on and you have to do it all by feel. Remove the cps slot the holes so you can move it towars the top of the engine (slide towards the driver side) and pull the little rubber piece out of the bell housing so you can slide the cps. then reinstall the cps and you are good to go. If you ever need to adjust it all you have to do is loosen the screws up a little and slide it back. If you have large hands you might have some trouble.

 

Yeah, I do think the altitude has something to do with it. I noticed when I was out in Denver that the octane ratings are 2 points lower than we have here in the east. I was a little confused when I read over other posts about the Hypertech and members talked about the mid-grade setting. The manual said that this setting was for 87 octane fuel but that is our regular or low grade fuel type. But I guess for someone who lives in higher elevations that would be mid-grade fuel.

That's a good tip about carrying an octane booster. I was thinking ahead about when I will be towing the camper, what should I do if I get into the mountains on some hard climbs and it starts pinging. I thought about keeping the programmer in the truck and just switching to the lower octane program, but boosting the octane through an additive makes more sense. I know Silver_Dodge says that it takes some time for the PCM to adjust to the new program, a few hundred miles, so it seems kind of futile to keep switching programs.

I want to keep running the truck back and forth to work a few more days. I'm not sure, but I hope the performance gets even better as time goes on. I was a little disappointed this morning when I hit the mountain, driving with the normal light foot, and the truck still had to drop into second gear halfway up. It pulls great on the top end, but since I have to keep my speed down at the base of the mountain, I couldn't get enough rpm's in third to stay in that gear all the way up. Of course the ambient conditions were pretty poor this morning, nearly 80 degrees and high humidity at 7:00 in the morning. The truck runs much better in cooler temps.

Thanks for the input Magicdssman. I figured it wasn't easy to get to. A few more questions: What is the best tool to slot the holes? I was looking at the sensors at Advanced Auto to see what they looked like. I really don't want to just enlarge the holes using a drill bit. I only want to slot them on the lower side in order to advance the timing, that way I can take it back to its original setting. If I make an oversize hole, I run the risk to sliding it back too far and retarding the timing. I was thinking a small, circular grinder bit on a drill or my air grinder would work. Also, do you reinstall the rubber grommet after moving the sensor? If you do, does the grommet need to be shaved off on the upper side or will it flex enough to allow the movement of the sensor? Thanks.