Hi-all! I'm itchin to up the grunt in my 03 235 hp CTD and dont want to jeopardize my warrenty- Do you guys recommend an intake or exhaust kitor programming for thefirst step? I'd like to do onemod at a time to avoid to avoid the wrath of a pissed offhousehold accountant (wife). Which is the smartest money for the first mod and which product should I buy? Much thanks!! Russ

 

I bought my CTD back in November and in the start I was completely overwhelmed with all the stuff you can do to mod these trucks. One thing I have learned in that short time though is that the very first place you should start with performance mods is gauges. Get some gauges so you can start out with a stock baseline and see what your mods are doing. Boost pressure, exhaust gas temperature, and maybe tranny temp (do you have an auto trans? please fill out your sig) are a good place to start. Then, I guess the intake would be a logical place to go making it breathe well. I saw a homemade intake for cheap on another forum that I'm gonna build soon already got the parts on the way. Exhaust, that's easy, muffler delete and maybe the cat too, if you like a loud droning truck, which I don't. I'm still not sure what I'm gonna do on exhaust but I know I'll find something I like if I just search around for it one day. As for chips, well you'll need to have that auto trans upgraded for sure or if you've got a manual get a new South Bend clutch cause stock can't handle the power from these chips. Warning! The wife will not be happy with expenditures on tranny/clutch upgrades lol. To be quiet honest I don't really know much about chips/bombing and don't plan on taking that step until I get my driveline exactly like I want it. I know it's not much but maybe it gives you a little help. Just take your time and start with the little things. Read, absorb, and mod

 

I agree with 07, gauges would be the first place to start. As far as other mods, I just cut off the muffler and put in a piece of straight pipe, not nearly as loud in the cab as I thought it would be. I didn't notice anything performance wise as far as a gain goes. Maybe a little on the top end, overall the motor just seemed to be doing less work, which is good.

I just put in a Quadzilla Xzillaraider XZT and I love it. I paid $240 through ebay and in my opinion, the best bang for your buck. The module gives you 65hp and 165 ft/lbs of torque. I am on my first full tank with it and the overhead mpg gauge has gone from 16.5'ish to 20.5. We will see how it will hand calculate, but the miles on this tank are way ahead of where they are normally. Other than the muffler delete and the Qzilla, my truck is stock, airbox and all. I would definatly recommend the Quadzilla box. http://www.quadzillapower.com/produc...aider_xzt.html

 

i am in the same situation i want to up grade my ctd but i am on a tight budget.
o and i have heard things about the Xzillaraider changing fuel pressure or somthing on the lines of that and i was wondering if that is true or not.

please dont get angry at dumbness of questions. im new to this stuff.

 

Webasto heater or similar is a must where we have a winter. That's the first thing I'll get for my Ram. Then I'll always start a warm engine, and enter a warm truck with the snow melted away. Throw away the ice scraper.

 

1 - Gauges

2 - Gauges

3 - Did I say gauges?

Bottom line, don't mod it until you have a set of guages.

I kinda like the route I went with the Attitude monitor on the Juice module; has every gauge you could ever think of, except fuel and rail pressure. I think, <----notice that, I think that it's also the least intusive to install because it gets all the readings right though the OBDII port under the dash, with the exception of the pyro, which you have to drill and tap the manifold for. You don't need banjo bolts for the boost pressure, new lines for the tranny temp, etc. There are like 10+ different parameters that you can monitor and just as many that you can adjust with it.

Unless you want to go for bigger power upgrades, got with a free flowing exhaust and intake to keep the EGT's in check. That's your choice; everybody has their own level of comfort when it comes to noise. And geta box or programmer that is adjustable to meet future upgrades. One that will switch you between fuel economy and power will make for a better driving experience.

Have fun!

Rich

 

Thanks for all the input- I didn't even think about guages. I should have- I'm a pilot by profession andoperate a turbine engine every day ( a turbocharged piston engine is subject to similar operating limitations) Russ

 

Maybe one day I can have two CTDs. I cant bring myself to moding my work mule and making a dragster out of it. I want to, but Im not mature enough at 40 to have 500hp under the hood with 20k behind me. Id be rippin the driveline out of it at the sight of every ford. Maybe a second CTD is in the future to mod the S^%$ out of just for fun and not work all the time

 

I agree with the previous posters.
Personally, I installed a pyro and boost.
Soon to be done is Fuel pressure and tranny temp.
With the gauges, it will give you an idea as to how the engine is doing.
Both before any future mods and after.
Check Genos Garage. They have a good selection of gauges.
There are several other outlets that have gauges available.

 

the best programmer out there. . .Smarty from http://www.madselectronics.com . . .this thing will make that 03 a beast. or if you dont like the idea of flashing the rom on the ECM, TST from http://www.tstproducts.com is probably the safest performance box if kept on the low numbers. . .I personaly have a problem with that and have mine set to bring my clutch to its knees with only a blip of the throttle and smoke out a 4 lane highway on command, oh did I mention that I still get ~18mpg

but just as others have said. . .gages gages gages