Well.... kinda “for” the Avion
Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 12:42 am
We tow our 1987 34W with a very early-build 1995 F250 7.3L PowerStroke diesel. It has a September 1994 build date, so it's one of the very early first-year PowerStrokes. It currently has 150,000 miles on it.
I have kept it pretty "stock", with the exception of a large transmission oil cooler and a bypass oil filter for the engine oil. These early PowerStrokes are wayyyyyyy under-tuned from the factory. I have been happy with the towing performance as-is, but have always wondered about a "tuner" that is produced by Xtreme Diesel Performance. They have one for this truck that plugs on a connector on the back side of the ECM inside the left kick panel behind the parking brake. It is a 6-position tuner: position 1 is "stock", 2 is "high-idle" that boosts the idle speed to about 1300 rpm, position 3 is +50 HP, position 4 is +75 HP, position 5 is +100 HP, and position 6 is +140 HP.
I installed it this evening..... pretty easy to do. I mounted the 6-position rotary switch in the plastic bezel directly below the steering wheel. After installation, the truck fired right up, which told me that I had cleaned the contacts well where this tuner plugs on to the ECM. According to XDP and customer reviews, most problems with this tuner are caused by NOT cleaning the contacts well.... so...... happy about that.
Took the truck for a spin and could tell an improvement in all of the "+" settings. Each position really "woke up" this truck.
Now, the next test will be in October, towing our Avion on our trip to Red Rock Canyon in Oklahoma. Leaving NW Arkansas, we go straight south on I-49 to the Ft. Smith area where we pick up I-40. On I-49 south of Fayetteville, AR, there are a lot of good hills to climb as we go through the Boston Mountains, and it is always a beautiful drive to I-40. I will be very interested to see how the truck does on those hills. It should be quite noticeable.
https://www.xtremediesel.com/ts-perform ... _id=105787
I have kept it pretty "stock", with the exception of a large transmission oil cooler and a bypass oil filter for the engine oil. These early PowerStrokes are wayyyyyyy under-tuned from the factory. I have been happy with the towing performance as-is, but have always wondered about a "tuner" that is produced by Xtreme Diesel Performance. They have one for this truck that plugs on a connector on the back side of the ECM inside the left kick panel behind the parking brake. It is a 6-position tuner: position 1 is "stock", 2 is "high-idle" that boosts the idle speed to about 1300 rpm, position 3 is +50 HP, position 4 is +75 HP, position 5 is +100 HP, and position 6 is +140 HP.
I installed it this evening..... pretty easy to do. I mounted the 6-position rotary switch in the plastic bezel directly below the steering wheel. After installation, the truck fired right up, which told me that I had cleaned the contacts well where this tuner plugs on to the ECM. According to XDP and customer reviews, most problems with this tuner are caused by NOT cleaning the contacts well.... so...... happy about that.
Took the truck for a spin and could tell an improvement in all of the "+" settings. Each position really "woke up" this truck.
Now, the next test will be in October, towing our Avion on our trip to Red Rock Canyon in Oklahoma. Leaving NW Arkansas, we go straight south on I-49 to the Ft. Smith area where we pick up I-40. On I-49 south of Fayetteville, AR, there are a lot of good hills to climb as we go through the Boston Mountains, and it is always a beautiful drive to I-40. I will be very interested to see how the truck does on those hills. It should be quite noticeable.
https://www.xtremediesel.com/ts-perform ... _id=105787