Why do the Hypertech and other programmers add 100+hp on a diesel, but not a gasser? Or is it bs? Just curious.....

 

diesels work totally different than gassers as im sure u know. the difference is that u can put more fuel and air into a deisel alot eiser than u can a gasser. and by the way if u use the 100horse setting ur way over fueling and are going to burn up a turbo. unless uther wise modded. but used properly they are real

 

the design differences make it easier to add HP to a diesel. By adding 100 hp & 200+ tq, you will definately need to upgrade the tranny and torque converter.

I have the edge controller which adds up to the 100 hp you mentioned. after reading alot of posts on programmers/upgrade boxes, i've decided to hold off on going any further than the level 3 setting which I think is 60 hp/150 tq setting (which makes the tank haul *** btw) until the trany/TC are upgraded.

one nice feature the edge box has is a de-fueling safety feature... too much boost or tranny slip and it'll de-fuel the motor reducing torque & hp. downside to the tranny slip feature is that once it slips, you've already scoured the clutches and future slips become easier & easier (IMO).

hope this helps...

 

Also, diesels are undertuned (is that a real word?) from the factory so they can tow large loads all day without damage. If you run those "race" box settings while towing, you'll cause the engine to meltdown. These programmers fine tune the pulse width and duration of the fuel delivery, allowing the low level settings to actually increase fuel economy. I have yet to use the "Crazy Larry 130hp" setting on my Bully Dog because I do not have the other upgrades installed to take advantage of the added fuel.

 

isnt that 230 hp?

 

See, some people say 230hp, others say 130hp. My kit says 130hp and it had an insert for the 04.5-05 engine codes that might get thrown with the programmer. I don't know if Bully Dog reworked the programmers or what, but 50-90-230 is a big jump, 50-90-130 seems more plausible.
I'm not the type of guy who tries to impress people with hp numbers that I haven't verified, so I try to understate what I have. I guess it an old street racing habit from my younger, crazier days.

 

Yep, they are detuned at the factory...this is the easiest way to explain it:

A gasser comes from the factory making about 100% of the power it is designed to do...the only thing that programmers, exhaust, intakes, etc do is change timing, duration, emissions, etc to get a little more tweak out of the engine...anything that claims more than a few ponies is full of it...

A diesel is detuned to say 75% of what they can do (or even less)...adding a box only brings the diesel up into it's near 100% power range...when you are at 300HP, that's 75% of 400HP for example...

It isn't about the amount of power it adds, but about the amount of restricted power it releases.

steved

 

when the Cummins 6bt was first put into the ram back in 88 it could push in excess of 600hp. Cummins engineers de-tuned the engine to a more conservitave 160hp so it wouldnt break things. now that 600hp figure I mentioned could only be sustained for short durations. maybe an hour or so under load before things went bad. but the engine could do it.

I know for fact now that these engines can pump out over 1100hp with some good tuneing and a large enough turbo. this is what give diesels the advantage, they are manufactured to produce and hold together at 1000hp, but then de-tuned to 325-350. gassers are manufactured to hold together at maybe 30-40% more power than what they produce now. anything over that and the engine falls apart

 

I actually am just now getting my feet wet in the Diesel market, but I can speak to the gas side of the equation. I own a WRX that I have tuned to a slight degree. Basically, it is a 227HP/227ftlb motor from the factory. The motor is used to running 3 inch exhaust in other markets. Most of the tuning options put the 3 inch unrestricted exhaust back on and the changes the turbo to spool up at a very low RPM. You get about 25hp/30ftlbs more out of it, but the real advantage is just that it comes on at 2000rpm rather than 4000rpm. It makes it feel like a gocart. From what I have heard, the diesel programmers actually add large amount of power.