I've been reading on here a lot since I bought my new truck the first part of December. I don't understand all the money dumped into off the shelf "performance" upgrades. $600+ on a tuner, $300 on a air system, $500 on exhaust. Why would you spend upwards of $1500 to gain 10hp and 3mpg (if you're lucky) on a 4500+ pound vehicle, then have to reflash every time you have to get anything done at the dealership? Am I missing something? If it were 30hp I could understand, but with a hp to weight ratio like we're dealing with, I just don't get it.

I understand wheels, tires, accessories, etc. that spruce up the appearance, gains ground clearance or traction, but why dump that sort of cash into something that nets little more than a better growl? I'm not trying to be a jerk about it and I'm sure some people do it just because they love to mod their trucks, but someone chime in and let me know the other opinion on the subject.

 

Well generally, if you have good CAI, exhaust and proper tune, you're gonna get a LOT more HP then 10. More upwards of 40 to 50 I would think, but that's a educated guess. And with a tune, not even taking into consideration the HP increase, the truck is MUCH more responsive throttle wise....

 

Ok, I didn't think it was nearly that much HP gain based on what I've read, but I could be wrong. That could make a big difference. I guess I'm trying to justify it in my mind.

 

We have horrible parasitic power loss in trucks, so the 300hp at the crank ends up more like 200 to maybe 220 at the wheels depending on model. I have spent barely over 1k (not including the dyno) and have gained probably close to 40h and could be more I went further with a few m ore mods and a diferent exhaust but probably wont. Even if I only gained 15hp, I would still be happy. My truck sounds as mean as yours looks

I just like driving my truck alot more regardless.

 

With a tuner such as edge or superchips, on average you will get 20 hp just from that. It takes all of 5 min to return the truck to stock. with that 20 hp, and the new computer parameters, the truck really is better to drive IMO.
On average, you will get probably 6 hp, from an exhaust, and probably 10 from a true cai...These are all estimated from what I have seen and heard.

Oh what tuner did you see costs $600???? The only time you'll spend that is with a good 4 or 5 custom tunes. I think most will agree an exhaust is more for eye and ear candy, so i would throw that into your tires and wheels section, a CAI, really is better for your truck if you can get it tuned to run right. Sure, its a lot of money to dump in to a vehicle but you gotta understand a lot of these guys look at their trucks as toys, whats more fun than customizing your own toy and showing off to your buddies

Just for fun, if you have a diesel, you can look at getting a good 120 hp with a tuner

 

Just for fun, if you have a diesel, you can look at getting a good 120 hp with a tuner

TRUE that!!!

 

Well first off these trucks are more like 5,500 lbs+. I spent around $1,000.00 on a X3 tuner with custome dyno tuning and a AF1 intake system. I picked up 44 RWHP and approximately 3 MPG's in town driving and more on the highway. With Troyers they supply a RED plug that installs under the dash that warns the dealer NOT to re-flash my truck. The driveability if thats a word is way better on my truck and I actually enjoy driving it now. It's not a daily driver and I have 15k miles on it since last December 31st. I for one can't leave anything stock... not my TT Porsche, 08 F150, Polaris 525 Outlaw ATV, 07 Honda 450R dirt bike, heck I even changed the exhaust on my Ferris Z turn lawn mower. The manufactors make things and I like to make them better or at least suite me better. To each his own ...I guess.

 

Oh.... I also added a tuner to one of my 6.0 F350 diesel work trucks; you see what I mean.

 

Thanks for the input guys, it is starting to make more sense to me now. Adding 40+hp to the truck could actually make a difference. I guess I had it in my pea brain in the separate parts and not thinking about it collectively. The tuner price was based an the SCT Livewire MSRP from their website, so I was figuring in a couple of custom tunes in that price. That weight was based on Edmund's spec sheet and was the dry curb weight, I'm sure with gas and fluids it is pushing up well over 5k.

One more thing, John, since you have your tune indicator in the dash for the dealer, do they give you any grief if you have warranty work done?

 

Hey cajun what kind of dog is pete is he a staffy?