Mods: Fact or Wishful Thinking?

Keith Browning · October 28, 2008

You read in public forums about modifications owners make to their trucks to make them faster. Some of them just don't sound like they could make a difference. Since most of us dont venture into the wild outside our comfy dealerships I thought it would be interesting to discuss some of these.Ever hear of the Zoodad mod?How about the Air Intake Heater Delete?

wow i did the air intake heater delete and that heater really is big and cuts of your inter-cooler intake in the "y" pipe and i definitely noticed a kick in the pants ,at leased 50 degrees cooler and stop cool down is quicker i would suggest the mod to every one for a 11 dollar plug and remove the wires and heater that block cool air intake in the "y" pipe its worth every penny

GregH · October 28, 2008

Some of these driveway mods are pretty ineffective... The zoodad mod is where you cut out some of the baffles so the air coming into the air filter has a straight shot. The upside is a "ram air" effect when travelling down the road. The down side is the air filter catches all the bugs, dirt, and water that would normally get dropped from the air stream from the two 90 degree turns in the normal air flow path.

As for the air heater delete, that seems like a load of crap. Sure the heater is big, but I can't imagine that the restriction can be very much.

I would think that the benefit is mostly psychological. Much like the "tornado" and the fuel line magnets.

Now, there is a cheap driveway mod to boost the injection control pressure. Adding in a 10KOhm resistor between the signal and signal return lines on the ICP sensor will bias the sensor to a lower value. So, when the ICP reads, say, 1000psi, the actual pressure is more like 1300psi. Taken too far, this can cause a rough idle from a lower than normal FUELPW, and it will certainly cause high pressure leaks.

But I have heard on public message boards that people condone this mod - touting it's ease of removal in case a dealership visit is required. If the ICP is accessible (7.3 or '04+ 6.0) then the mod can be accomplished by backprobing the ICP connector with the resistor leads. Even in case of a sudden STC fitting failure, in a few seconds the owner can raise the hood and snatch out the resistor...

Anyway, there are other home brew mods... I'll come up with a few after more coffee..

Keith Browning · October 28, 2008

Some of these driveway mods are pretty ineffective... The zoo-dad mod is where you cut out some of the baffles so the air coming into the air filter has a straight shot. The upside is a "ram air" effect when traveling down the road. The down side is the air filter catches all the bugs, dirt, and water that would normally get dropped from the air stream from the two 90 degree turns in the normal air flow path.

I started searching these mods on TDS beginning with the Zoo-dad mod, one of the moderators is a well versed and actually does some testing - to what degree I don't know, but at least he seems to take a logical approach to things. He tested the Zoo-dad by recording acceleration times and documenting the trucks with and without the mod, the result was that the mod had absolutely no impact on performance whatsoever. I am also a little skeptical on the "ram effect" as well. The 7.3L being a turbocharged and aftercooled engine I cant see this making much difference if any at all... or at least a noticeable difference.

I do see a negative potential as creating a direct path for air to directly enter the air filter also creates a direct path to the filter for water, snow and debris.

Alex Bruene · October 28, 2008

It probably makes the air induction noise louder... which some "half-wits" associate with "faster"...

Keith Browning · October 29, 2008

Here's a few more I found. Interesting stuff but is this the right way to go?

10K MOD

Insert a 10k ohm resistor across the ICP sensor to fool the computer into boosting injector oil pressure. Makes the computer think the HPOP and IPR are low and increases output.

IDM MOD

Remove a resistor inside the IDM and replace it with a higher value. Increases the injector driver module output voltage from 110 volts to around 135 volts. Extreme caution encouraged. Damaged IDM's are expensive to replace.

Links

HPX Mod

High Pressure Cross over Easy install for the contortionist (sp) Benefits; Equalizes high pressure oil in heads. And for the naysayers I will quote a PSD Engineer from FOKISD rally two years ago. " it makes sense and can only help equalize the oil pressure in both heads" Cost, I think about 35 bucks.

GregH · October 29, 2008

To go along with the high pressure crossover, there is a fuel crossover too - connect the two fuel passages together at the back of the heads.

Some also rig up a return fuel system using the plugs in the backs of the heads.

Not really sure what benefit this is supposed to have...

Keith Browning · October 29, 2008

Regulated Return Mod

Instead of having the fuel pressure controlled by the factory regulator built into the fuel bowl, AND instead of having the fuel dead end in the heads, a Aeromotive type adjustable bypass regulator is used and the fuel system is replumbed to eliminate the fuel dead ending in the heads where air bubbles accumulate. Lots of variations on this mod, but they all accomplish basically what I've stated.

See related products:

GregH · October 30, 2008

Ummm... Wouldn't the air bubbles naturally be removed from the system?

Surely there is enough movement to shift those air bubbles around until they are pushed into an injector... If nothing else, then with the vehicle on level ground and the engine off, the bubbles will naturally go to the front - facilitating their removal by an injector....

And, what is wrong with the factory fuel pressure? You can't raise the fuel pressure above specification without disabiling the factory regulator....

Seems that I am against re-engineering a product... It's not perfect (thank goodness or we'd all be out of a job!) but these mods don't really seem to bring it any closer to perfection....

However, there are a few mods that I am in favor of.... Studs, for one...

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · October 30, 2008

Studs, for one...

+1But snake oil come on....Just had a salesmen come in with the magnet on the fuel line pitch. My fuel system guy. He bought right into it. Tried to explain to him that it's the same thing they have had out for many many years but he says they have proof. I asked to see the Dyno results from the actual testing. They had none of course but still insist they had test results proving it works. My Ass/Arse. Anybody want to buy a thingamagig it will make you be hard for hours I have tests that show it works...Sound familiar...

Jim Warman · November 1, 2008

As a modification, head studs are a little... how can we say it... almost a non-issue... The motor was built with "fragile" cylinder head sealing (partly because the engine has already been hot-rodded - and partly because of some horrendous metallurgical cocktail involving clamping how many different metals together - and partly because this relatively new variable geometry turbocharger technology lends itself to overboost when delivered in to the hands of those that cannot hope to use a diesel engine for anything more than a penis extension...

But - let's cut to the "MODS".... most of which come about simply because some twinky dick needs something to puff his feathers about... After all, this guy finally made the lat payment on his AMC Pacer and could now trade it off on it's logical replacement... A diesel powered super duty - because you just never know when your night job will have you delivering a full load of pizzas.

"Ah got's th' zoodad mod".... This is holes in your air filter housing... We see (what I assume to be) the ZooDad+ mod in Christophers pic on the portal page... This is zoodad on steroids. Catchy name - must be good.

But zoodad (and some other mods) are of dubious benefit in this world... zoodad addresses an air filter restriction that doesn't really exist.

The 10K mod.... Want more power? step down on the pedal harder.... Need more power? Did we buy the right truck? If we want to show the PCM that ICP is lower than what we want, we can always step down harder on the pedal... The PCM will raise ICP without us having to add a resistor... I once was embroiled in a discussion regarding the use of nitous in gasoline engines.... My protagonist was hell bent on adding nitrous at part throttle.... The smart money is on adding throttle until there is none left.... then adding nitrous.... but - suddenly, we are no longer talking "street engines".

There are a host of other mods that either look good in a sig-line, look good under the hood (maybe...) or just have a "sexy" sound to them.... But most of them would be undiscovered if it weren't for hot-rodding...

Now..... hot rodding is a noble endeavour....always has been, always will be…. But your hot rod can’t be your daily driver (this, at a time when the marvels of the computer age make that hot rod more dependable than ever 8^( ). But most of the other mods that actually do stuff wouldn’t be necessary without the modifications that gave birth to them.

The high pressure oil crossover – wouldn’t need it if we weren’t yutzing around with the need “big oil” (think about why chipped 7.3s always seem to have a P1211 in memory). The engineers gave us high pressure oil rails that are isolated from each other – why?

Base fuel pressure mods…. Do the engineers have this stuff wrong too? Are the thousands and thousands of owners that don’t have a laundry list of mods to their trucks unaware of all the wonders that await them if they only attack their truck with implements of destruction?

Or are all of these mods the diesel equivalent of turning your air cleaner lid upside down (sorry, young’uns… this may be just an old guy memory at this point)? I would always marvel at those that insisted that they could “feel” the difference. “Hell, man – hear that?”.

So… we are going to mod our shit…. In spite of my “sensible” thread, let’s do a wee bit of exploring.

Oxides of nitrogen…. The first rule of squeezing all the available power out of a gallon of hydrocarbon fuel is combustion chamber temps…. The higher we can get this – the more power we will make…. Up until the chamber goes into melt-down. Trouble is that, at about 1200 or so degrees F, oxides of nitrogen begin to form in the combustion process… NOx reacts with sunlight and turns brown… but, since “most” of us have emissions controls that work, NOx isn’t as big a problem as it once was…. And we don’t get to see that brown haze – but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t any NOx handySo… now we allow (or even help) some guys to better fuel mileage (come on, guys – you don’t actually think these guys are thinking conservation when they ask for lower fuel consumption, do you?) at the expense of exhaust emissions.

FWIW…. NOx contributes to acid rain, ground level ozone and is known to be a protagonist in respiratory concerns. Those that are looking for better fuel numbers are not concerned with intangible things like NOx and CO – they are only interested in “how can I skirt the system and save enough money for another box of beer? Screw them guys.,…”.

People that defeat emissions controls (on anything other than a recreationally used vehicle) are, basically, pissing on your front stoop…. How many people pissing on your front stoop would it take to get you mad? A thousand? A hundred? One?

I am sure that many of the mods Keith refers to do actually address a need… but the need wouldn’t have been there had the system remained stock as intended.

In the not so distant future, I am relatively sure that Mrs. GrampyJim and I will be blessed with grandchildren (no – there are no announcements to be made at this time… ). The only way to be sure that future generations will be assured of a place that is livable, is for current generations to do something about it…

Mods? I can only wonder how bad these guys will screw up urea injection…..

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LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · November 1, 2008

:notworthy: Jim very well spoken post.I do have a question though. Are those yellow spots in your pic just someone with bad aim?

Jim Warman · November 1, 2008

That could well be, Larry... it does look like a pretty small hole and some of us more manly types would be afraid of becoming "snared". :grin: The need to "stand back" becomes overwhelming.

GregH · November 1, 2008

But how much are we saving the atmosphere by owner's modding out their trucks? I would think a high percentage of them would fail in the driveway, or have a seriously shortened lifespan - and then it would be taken in for service.

Every day that a truck is off the road is a say it isn't spewing toxins...

And if a modded truck were thrashed out and disposed of at 100,000 miles, but a stock truck went to 200,000 miles - then the modded truck would have to put out over double the pollution to exceed the toal emissions of the stock truck... And that's if the modded truck was altered on the day it was purchased...

How much more pollution does a modified truck emit? And how does that ratio compare to lifespan of the vehicle?

Shlep · November 2, 2008

Greg, I take it there are no clean air programs in your area, I see many vehicles that cross the dyno that are major failures when it comes to NOx and HC. Ususally some kid with a Mustang that has all the toys and can't figure out why it fails... and it producing 3 - 10 times the allowable amounts, and thats only at the speeds on the dyno, now factor this in a freeway speeds or the late night *acceleration* tests and one can only imagine the amounts being spewed out of the pipes. Now when you see a diesel blowing huge clouds of black as it leaves the light in a rapid fashion doesn't that make you sick knowing what it's doing to the enviroment. Now I'm not a tree hugger by any means, I do have my hot rods but they are drivin maybe a handful of times in the year but they are tuned properly and will pass the sniffer tests but yet have been heavily modified for performance use. My daily driver is a diesel with a 4" exhaust front to back and I made sure I had the cat back on it, and it passes the sniffer too, just because I want it to be an eviro-friendly vehicle. The main thing is if we don't do our part who will?

Jim Warman · November 2, 2008

The main thing is if we don't do our part who will?

You da man!!!! There is no way to say it better than that.

Somebody has to fucking care... somebody has to do something right... we are that somebody...

It's also about doing something legal... In the US, there isn't much I can see happening, but in Canada, the provincial government can revoke my licence... once that is gone, the apprenticeship and trades qualifications branch will ensure that I don't make it past "loob teck". (I can assure you that this isn't as raw a deal as it sounds).

Keith Browning · November 2, 2008

Jim the United States Government is traditionally too busy screwing with every other aspect of our lives to notice that we have not been required to be licensed and I have not personally heard of any individuals being fined. I am sure it happens though. Despite this there are indeed laws against this sort of activity and each state has motor vehicle regulations and regular inspections. In NJ this also includes roadside checks that they love to spring on drivers.

The problem here is diesel emissions testing has not yet been implemented fully that I know of. Beyond a visual inspection for a CAT and excessive smoke I don't see how the legal eyes are enforcing diesel emissions laws.

But you guys are right, if WE don't give a shit then who will? I think most people do but it only takes a few rotten apples to choke the rest and there has to be someone besides the truck owners installing and removing stuff on their trucks...

Jim Warman · November 2, 2008

Keith, here in Canada, this trade has more than it's fair share of prostitutes - the "anything for a buck" crowd. I can't see human nature being that much different south of the 49th....

To make matters worse, there are a lot of regulations that have no "specified penalty". And even that can be convoluted....

Picture this..... Alberta has no regulation that specifically prohibits tampering with emission controls systems. However, regulations specify that emissions controls be hooked up and working..... However, other than a few provincially mandated inspection programs (Out of Province inspections... kind of a pre-registration inspection.... Commercial Vehicle Inspections .... trucks and trailers..... Bus Inspections .... people movers not including limos and cabs.... and the "self administering" ambulance inspections) we have no "watch dog".

Theoretically, I can do what-ever my heart desires to an emissions control.... I will be in shit.... but it wont, at this time, amount to a whole bunch (this is a brave statement since I am currently waiting for my new CVIP regulation). I am told I can't do "that" - when I ask what will happen to me if I do, I am told that I can't do "that".

In this sense, all that is missing is a "test case" and all the government needs to consider is public sentiment - I expect that they will strike when the time is right... and I do not want to be the guinea pig. You can bet your sweet NJ ass that such a case would come when public esteem of this industry would be at an all time low and the deck would be strongly stacked in favour of someones political agenda.

Talk to people in the streets.... here we see an offshoot of the NIMBY principal. Everyone (or nearly so) will agree that we need to clean up our act... our air, our water, our streets and our industries.... reduce emissions, reduce waste, reduce greenhouse gasses.... reduce re-use recycle.... But few of the people you talk to are willing to "sign the cheque".... "What, my old truck is part of the problem? BS, how can only one old truck be a problem?" What is lacking is the understanding that there are thousands upon thousands that have the exact same idea....

Unfortunately, both people and society are not simple equations.... Being politically correct is a pendulum... one day, being PC is looking someone in the eye and telling them to pull up their friggin' socks - "straighten the fuck up and fly right"... another day, some liberal bag-licker will tell me I must pull up that idiots socks for him and carry him to his next fuck-up...

Yeah - it's been a bad month.... October saw my efficiency at 47%. More sickening is that there was one worse than I.... HUH?!?!? There should be no chance of that.

Today, I have one tech that I can "set and forget"... tomorrow, I will have two of them.... and you might be surprised....

friggin' typos

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · November 2, 2008

Jim's hit everything to a tee, but what about the rest of the world???? We keep talking about the "mods" in the US and Canada, but whats the rest of the world doing? Look at Europe they have been Diesel friendly for how much longer than us....Do they have the same problems with "mods" that we do? Do they have more stringent laws about tampering with their vehicles? Or maybe we just have more PC assholes up in office finding new and innovative ways of making our lives more difficult. The manufacturers that we deal with on a daily basis don't make it any easier on us. Most of the problems we face is that they try to get new products out on the street and have the dealers repair in service. How many times has Techline had no clue how to fix a certain issue other than to ask us to report our findings to them? I had the pleasure being a parts guy of dealing with a "techline" professional,( 1 time to many ),He sounded more like a janitor than someone I would expect to answer a Tech Hotline. It seemed like I knew more than he did, and what's worse is the same as I have stated "Call back and let us know what the fix was"....Let me think about this for a second, why would I call him back with the answer? Would or would that not be his job to help me/us in the field?

I do believe in what Jim says about keeping Emission related items on daily drivers and in working order( I have a grand child too). At the same time if your going to have a toy, keep it that way and keep it off of the street. If you want to juice up a 08 6.4, then don't bitch when warranty is denied. If all these products were so damn good don't you think that all of Fords high priced "engineers" would have implemented them on these vehicles?

dieseldoc · November 19, 2008

A few years ago I purchased a 96' F-250 with a 7.3. I drove it a while and than decided I must have too much money(note the sarcasm) and purchased a banks powerpack for it. Installed the kit and drove it for a while and than washed it one day and noticed all the soot on my quarter panel. Thought well that sucks and put a turn down tip on the exhaust. About a week later started to think soot on my quarter panel means lots of smoke out the pipe. well thats not cool besides a waste of fuel, it is not a good image for diesel owners or the environment. Not too mention it annoys the hell out of me when people drive around spewing smoke all over. I called banks and they asked a bunch of questions and didnt really give me an answer. I promptly removed the chip, and went for a drive. Imagine that no more smoke than should be there. I do get an average of 20mpg compared to the 17 mpg before the kit. So I guess the money spent wasnt a total waste.

I think mods within reason are ok. After all ford did add an intercooler, slightly larger intake and a wastegated turbo a couple years after my pick-up was built. I will admit that I do install aftermarket modifications for people in my spare time. However I refuse to remove cats, and I will not install chips or tuners that just blow smoke(after all it is my spare time and not how I make a living, so I pick and choose what I do). I try to explain what they want to do and what it means to the engine. After all most of these guys hear about this stuff on forums from uneducated sources or read a two paragraph article in a magazine. They arent educated in diesel usually that is why they come to us to install it. Just my two cents

BustedKnucklez · November 20, 2008

One of my co-workers is installing the contraption that stacks 2 injection pumps on a 7.3L. That thing looks weird. Has anyone seen this thing?

Jim Warman · November 20, 2008

OK... we are talking "big oil". High ICP and long pulse widths demanded by chips and programmers can leave stock HPOPs lacking... "Big oil" has no business on a daily driver.

Tony302600 · November 20, 2008

the one 7.3 on here that had 100psi of boost had 2 injection pumps on it. Pictures are in one of the topics.

LARRY BRUDZYNSKI · November 20, 2008

Tony is that the one that split the block in half?

Keith Browning · November 20, 2008

Yes it is... I was looking for it earlier. Here, I found it in the wrong forum. I am slipping on my moderator duties. :blush:

what a 7.3 can take and what it cant....