Performance upgrades without tuning?

[DZL JIM]

I have a customer with a 2005 4200 IH with VT365 and would like more power.
I know how important custom tuning is for your exact set-up, but that's not an option for those trucks from what I have found.
Can simple upgrades benefit performance without having the option for tuning upgrades?
Like plugging the spill ports on injectors and maybe adding 30% nozzles?
Add Stage-1.5 turbo?

Looking for input here if anyone that maybe has seen performance gains doing small mods before they got tuning to dial them in.

Thanks.

 

[Fast-6.0]

Can you add a 58v ficm. Like the Bulletproof half unit that doesn't change the programming.

A nozzle increase with plugged ports.

I wouldn't do a Powermax but a Comp Wheel upgrade would be my choice.

 

[DZL JIM]

Thanks Tadd, I never thought about the FICM, I don't see why that wouldn't work. We can swap in one of our tuned units and see if it makes a difference.

And you think just plugging spill ports and add small nozzles will help too?

 

[Mdub707]

I'm not a fan of plugging spill ports on a small or stock size injector personally. The powermax's were finicky for a lot of people and basically only worked correctly with custom tuning.

FICM tune would be a good idea. Start there and see how he likes it. An Atlas 40 tune would probably wake it up a bit.

 

[DZL JIM]

Care to expand on why not to plug ports on small injectors?

 

[Fast-6.0]

Care to expand on why not to plug ports on small injectors?

Typically you get the choppy idle on decel.

But thinking about this again you don't need to do the plugged port. Go a touch bigger nozzle and a small ficm tune (I would do the 58v also) and that combo won't empty a stock injector anyway so no need for the spill port plugging.

 

[Mdub707]

Exactly, usually a poor idle, but it can be fixed with tuning, which is not an option for you.

Although, a bunch of guys have seen some negative impacts from using FICM tuning coupled with larger nozzles.... which also had to be fixed with custom tuning. May want to talk to one of the FICM tuners and tell them what you want to do and see if they will write you a custom FICM tune.

 

[DZL JIM]

Great info guys, thanks.

 

[04 f350]

Exactly, usually a poor idle, but it can be fixed with tuning, which is not an option for you.

Although, a bunch of guys have seen some negative impacts from using FICM tuning coupled with larger nozzles.... which also had to be fixed with custom tuning. May want to talk to one of the FICM tuners and tell them what you want to do and see if they will write you a custom FICM tune.

Don't want to derail his thread but I'm curious about the negative affects your saying you get from ficm tuning and larger nozzles? I have a 58v from IDP with their mild ficm flash and didn't hardly feel or see any difference in performance

 

[DZL JIM]

I've been told by a lot of tuners that with modified injectors you want mild FICM tuning.
Stock injector trucks can see big gains from just a FICM tune. Our shop van ran great bone stock with just 80 hp FICM.

 

[UpstateDieselGuy]

Does anyone know whether or not International and Ford coding/programing is the same? I would think that there is a good chance a Ford programed FICM may not work with an International. I would ask one of the FICM tuners their thoughts.

 

[sbracing240]

The international has a different electric system than ford. They run a ECM/IDM pigging back and is 100% international. They also don't have the problems the ford has. I would do EGR delete, open exhaust, and different injectors. Also TS performance makes a programmer called power play mp-8 for vt365

 

[DZL JIM]

The international has a different electric system than ford. They run a ECM/IDM pigging back and is 100% international.

Well, that kills that idea.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Powerstroke Man 6.4]

Well, that kills that idea.
Thanks for the info.

I would talk to PHP (I know its hard to get a hold of them) but they "might" have tuning for the VT365.

 

[Mdub707]

Don't want to derail his thread but I'm curious about the negative affects your saying you get from ficm tuning and larger nozzles? I have a 58v from IDP with their mild ficm flash and didn't hardly feel or see any difference in performance

Extra heat, extra smoke, no extra power, basically. It can be cured. The guys who noticed this had to have custom ECM tunes written and a custom FICM tune written to work in conjunction with each other. If you do a search for FICM tuning, you'll find a couple good threads. The guys at PHP took care of the custom FICM tuning. This was mainly a larger nozzle thing more than a larger injector thing, but I'm not sure if it would have the same effects on a stock injector with a small upgrade in nozzle size.