which boxes do what?

[TURBOJOE]

Dynomite, Van Akken, Edge , Juice, Maximizer, what the??? I am confused as to which boxes are out there and how they go about "making" more power. Do they all raise the fuel pressure, or do some do other things like timing and shift points as well? I spoke to Joe at Pacific Audio about the maximizer and he said they basically raise the injector pressure as well as adjust injector pulse width. He also said that stock, the fuel pressures in the D-MAX will go as high as 22,500psi or so when full throttle is applied. He said that OEM specs allow up to 28,000 and that the Maximizer only bumps it up about 2000 more from the 22,500, still well within the factory spec. Lastly he said you won't have a fuel leak problem inless you had one before. I haven't got a chance to call the others yet, but I just wanted to know what everyone has heard or knows about them. :D

[SoCalDMAX]

TURBOJOE,

You can do a search on this, it's been discussed before, but I'll summarize. I'm no expert, so anyone please correct me if I'm wrong on anything.

Speedzone/Bullydog Max Power Plug: Simplest of the power mods. Connects to fuel pressure sender, increases fuel rail pressure up to 20% with a dial. Has a 2min. timer after startup before it kicks in. Advertised 80hp at crank, 63hp at rear wheel. I own one, works fine, no fuel leaks. Engine idles a little louder than stock, still quieter than a PSD or Cummins. Can produce a little puff of smoke if throttle is stabbed hard from idle and produces less bottom end response than others, but produces great results at higher RPMs.

Duramaximizer: Adjusts timing somewhat and fuel pressure a little. Connects to fuel pressure sender and throttle position connector (APP.) Also has a dial and works from 50% throttle on up. Engine runs smooth and quiet, puts out more torque down low than power plug. Advertised 100hp at crank, probably 80hp at rear wheel. Looks very good installed.

Van Aaken/BD Dynomite: Adjusts timing and fuel pressure. Has 3 way switch option, off/30hp/70hp settings. I believe 30hp setting is timing derived, 70hp is timing and fuel pressure. Not sure if these numbers are crank or rear wheel, but Van Aaken is a very well respected tuner of diesels from England.

Edge Juice/BD EZAmp: Edge is a very well respected tuner, expecially in the Cummins world. The module connects to the main harness on DS of engine and intercepts CAN bus signals and talks to ECM in diagnostic mode. It is advertised as having 4 levels (looks like 40/50/70/90hp) in normal and 4 levels in tow/haul mode. You can select any one of the 4 levels for either mode. This one adjusts injector pulse width and produces more hp and torque at a lower rpm than the fuel pressure types. This is the most advanced type out so far, it even monitors tranny slippage and cuts back power to safe levels if detected and prevents SES codes and tranny damage. Not yet shipping, but MAC and BoomerHD are having lots of fun with the 60hp "beta" version. ;)

TTS: Steve Cole is working on an ECM reflash which widens injector pulse width (and possibly timing?) ECM needs to be removed, shipped, reprogrammed, shipped back and if you have it reprogrammed at the dealer, it needs to be reprogrammed again. I haven't seen dyno numbers or prices on this one.

Superchips and Hypertech: Both have stated they are soon to release handheld programmers which can download performance parameters into your ECM. no details yet, so I'm not going to speculate.

Propane: PowerShot2000 or Bullydog: Ps2000 advertises 100rwhp and 250lbft torque. It feels like it, at the very least. Propane is boost indexed and starts at 3psi, ramps up smoothly with boost increases. Boost shoots up much faster than stock. Bullydog sells different hp level systems with the highest being 100hp. Propane is a catalyst and a fuel, engine runs smoother, quieter, more efficiently and makes more boost (as does any mod which adds fuel). The truck accelerates like a runaway freight train, it has a chain reaction type effect. The drawback is you have to buy a tank and keep buying propane.

One important factor to me is ease of install/removal in case of service. Keep this in mind when shopping.

A **HUGE** Thank You to John Kennedy, Amianthius and many others for most of this info which I've simply tried to compile into one post.

For more complete technical info and pricing, please visit the websites of the mfrs or dealers.

Regards, Steve

[TURBOJOE]

Steve,
Thanks a 3/4 ton!! That's pretty much what I was looking for. I'm kinda leaning towards the duramaximizer, but not 100% yet. Nice truck by the way :D :D

[TimofCharlotte]

Steve, I think I speak for most of us with a big thanks. Very well done comparison and summary of the major power upgrade options. Sure helped me to better understand pros/cons of various systems.

[JEBar]

Steve:
Thank you!!! You've reduced info into a readable, understandable column that I have scattered through stacks of download printouts and company ads. Responses like yours are the reason this has become one of my favorite forums. smile.gif

[christo]

Steve,
A great rundown on the various boxes!
Maybe one small correction, I don't think the Duramaximizer makes any changes to the timing.
And thats the reason I went with the Duramaximizer.

Christo

[SoCalDMAX]

Hi Guys,

You're all very welcome! The great answers and helpful responses were here long before I came along. I'm just trying to fit in. ;)

Christo: I didn't think the Duramaximizer adjusted timing either, at first. I thought I heard that it did, and the horsepower numbers are higher than the Power Plug with less fuel pressure increase, so that seemed to support the timing theory. But I just checked their website and you're absolutely right, it doesn't increase timing. Thanks for keeping me honest! ;)

Regards, Steve