best bang for your buck chip/tuner out there today for the 7.3?

RattlinFord · Feb 5, 2015

i'm getting ready to buy a chip/tuner for my 7.3 in the near future...leaning towards the TS 6-position (been reading about people having some issues with the Hydra, so i think i'm gonna hold off until they've had more time to work those out.) but i wanted to see what else was out there. i have an early 99 with an auto. i won't have an arm and a leg to spend, but like i mentioned, i wanna get the best "bang for my buck". so, what suggestions do y'all have?

79jasper · Feb 5, 2015

Hydra.
What "issues" have you been hearing?
Just installed one in my brothers truck earlier today.
Now he's buying me one.

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wildbill963258 · Feb 5, 2015

I like the simpilicity that i see with the 6 pos tuner. theres less working stuff so there's less that can go wrong. but I like the fact that with hydra you have more than just 6 options to choose from when you install the tuner.

RattlinFord · Feb 5, 2015

well, there hasn't been many. i read about one guy having some kinda hardware issue with it but last i read they were making it right. and a couple people couldn't get tunes loaded but that could have been them. i may hold out for the Hydra, money is just tight and $375 ain't easy for me to come by that i can spare. but having 15 settings does seem pretty awesome. and i'll admit that having 15 choices for $375 is a pretty good deal. i just figured i'd ask before i pulled the trigger on anything.

wildbill963258 · Feb 5, 2015

yeah i would be doing the same too but there's a 6 pos on that i managed to talk him down to $170 on so im gonna hop on that deal lol, have you thought about who's tunes your gonna be running?

Powerstroke Man 6.4 · Feb 5, 2015

RattlinFord said:
i'm getting ready to buy a chip/tuner for my 7.3 in the near future...leaning towards the TS 6-position (been reading about people having some issues with the Hydra, so i think i'm gonna hold off until they've had more time to work those out.) but i wanted to see what else was out there. i have an early 99 with an auto. i won't have an arm and a leg to spend, but like i mentioned, i wanna get the best "bang for my buck". so, what suggestions do y'all have?

PHP Hydra with gearhead tunes and be done. I had a Hydra but with Swamps tunes and I absolutely loved it no problems at all uploading tunes takes only a few mins and no waiting for a reburn.

RattlinFord · Feb 5, 2015

So gearhead's tunes are pretty good? Is $375 about the best deal going for a Hydra? Also, another question for yall...as you can see in my sig, I'm the "lucky" owner of an early 99. I was thinking about swapping to a late model ECM with the PMT1 or PMT2 programming in it. Do I need to bother if I get the Hydra? Is it something I'd need to do first? It would open up more tune possibilities wouldn't it? And will there be improvements over my stock ECM, even with a tune?

79jasper · Feb 5, 2015

Only thing with the hydra through php is my brother paid extra for guaranteed shipping (2 day) by Monday. Ordered last or Thursday I think. Didn't even ship out until Monday or Tues and just got here earlier.

Only other thing I've noticed, is the other sellers don't option the red or green display. So I guess you get whatever.
And after installing his, I would recommend the extension cord for the USB at minimum. May be different in a newer truck though.

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Arisley · Feb 5, 2015

RattlinFord said:
So gearhead's tunes are pretty good? Is $375 about the best deal going for a Hydra? Also, another question for yall...as you can see in my sig, I'm the "lucky" owner of an early 99. I was thinking about swapping to a late model ECM with the PMT1 or PMT2 programming in it. Do I need to bother if I get the Hydra? Is it something I'd need to do first? It would open up more tune possibilities wouldn't it? And will there be improvements over my stock ECM, even with a tune?

Yes, switching to a PMT1 or 2 will make a difference for sure. Make sure you tel your tuner that you have a PMT PCM in your truck.

ToMang07 · Feb 5, 2015

Hydra.

RattlinFord · Feb 5, 2015

Oh yea, Arisley, I'll definitely make them aware of it. So I'll get one of those first, then get the Hydra. Now just to find that list of computer service numbers I had before...

WILD_PHIL · Feb 5, 2015

Guys can someone post a picture of this Hydra. I've looked for it and have had some issues finding it. Can tunes swap between tuners? IE SCT SF3 to a Hydra or what ever? I have the sct now. Wouldn't mind running some custom tunes but do not want to buy tunes for it to turn around and have to rebuy the same tunes for another tuner.

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

WILD_PHIL · Feb 5, 2015

Never mind I found the hyrda

E99 F350/zf6/guages/arp/comp/stellite/ billet wheel/ bellowed... Need more fuel and more air.

cbf9703 · Feb 5, 2015

If I were getting one now it would be hard not to want a Hydra.

With that being said, I have 6 pos chips and no complaints. The idea of 15 'power' settings on Hydra seems a little excessive for most people's needs. I've never felt like I needed more options :shrug: If you're on a budget, you can generally find a good deal on 6 pos since they're not the new hot poo, but still function for our purposes. lol

Since you're looking for the best bang for your buck... think about your tuning and who you are going to go with for injectors since that's in your plans as well (from your other thread). Look at the best overall deal, it may be better to buy the Hydra from a company that is slightly more expensive on the unit, but offers free custom tunes for your injectors. I run Swamps injectors and tuning, so while I can find a Hydra for $375 somewhere else it wouldn't make sense for me to pay that and then $500 for custom tunes when for $425 I can get the Hydra through Swamps WITH custom tunes for my injectors. Just plan ahead to give yourself the best deal for your set-up regardless of who you go with.

Arisley · Feb 5, 2015

If you buy Tony Wildman's tunes, you get free reburns.

I have two chips, that way if I need tunes reburned, I send one to Tony. While he has it, I still have tunes.

If you watch, you can find a TS style chip for 125 to 150 bucks. You might get lucky and have tunes you can use. But even if you have to send it out to get reburned, you are still ahead. Only downside to a TS, is a tuner can't email you a tune and you load it on your chip.