Austen
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I was wondering if I could get some insight on power band effects with these engines in regards to basic performance enhancements (bigger injectors & turbo). While I have driven many 7.3s in my life, they have all been relatively stock and I really don't unfortunately have experience driving any that have had true performance enhancing mods.
I have an e99 7.3 with a ZF6 that has a tuned chip with Tony Wildman tunes, 4" turbo back exhaust and 6637 intake. I am considering getting larger hybrid injectors accompanied by a 38r style turbo or an S366 T4 setup. I am wondering how the power band is going to change or if it will perform the same way that it does now, only with more power.
I love my truck and the 7.3 engine. I have not however completely grown accustomed to the power band and I understand the ZF6 is a naturally more "lagy" configuration down low in these trucks over the auto for obvious reasons. I have always been more of a "low end-mid range" kind of person when it comes to power bands. My motorcycle for example is a Ducati and full power comes on immediately as soon as you twist the throttle vs. an inline four motorcycle that is more like a 7.3 (power band wise) where it makes all its power up top. The engine does not come alive and make power until ~1800 - 2000 RPM and from there keeps going until red line. The truck has all the power in the world and feels like it could pull anything but only between that RPM range. Anything under that and there is quite literally, nothing at all. It is something you get used to and adjust your driving habits to but it would be nice for in-town stop and go driving (especially while towing) to not have to rev it out so far between shifts. Going from 1st-2nd is not bad and can sometimes short-shift it there as there only about a ~400 RPM difference. The 2nd-3rd gear shift however is bad. You have to nearly rev it out to 2500 RPM in 2nd gear because there's around a ~600-700 RPM gap difference between 2-3. This means if you don't rev it out far enough in 2nd gear, you'll be below the power band when you get into third and then there's literally nothing and a long wait until the RPMs build up and it takes off. Like I said, it's just the nature of the beast and I understand that. Rev it out higher where it's happy and don't lug it.
Anyway, when I installed the chip a couple of years ago it certainly did improve the low end a bit but it certainly did not transform the power band, nor should it have either. What I'm wondering is, with a larger turbo and matching injectors, will this greatly increase low end power or will the power band pretty much be the same as it is now only producing a lot more power? I know that a larger turbo would obviously take even more time to spool up, but would the larger injectors be a night and day difference than the stock ones, down low? I guess that really hones in on my question to be specific.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your insight. I realize there's a much smaller percentage of those who drive a manual so this all very well may not be as understandable to those who drive an auto where you don't lose boost between shifts. Re-gearing is something that is definitely an important step but I guess I'm more curious about how the power band would or would not change to these improvements.
I have an e99 7.3 with a ZF6 that has a tuned chip with Tony Wildman tunes, 4" turbo back exhaust and 6637 intake. I am considering getting larger hybrid injectors accompanied by a 38r style turbo or an S366 T4 setup. I am wondering how the power band is going to change or if it will perform the same way that it does now, only with more power.
I love my truck and the 7.3 engine. I have not however completely grown accustomed to the power band and I understand the ZF6 is a naturally more "lagy" configuration down low in these trucks over the auto for obvious reasons. I have always been more of a "low end-mid range" kind of person when it comes to power bands. My motorcycle for example is a Ducati and full power comes on immediately as soon as you twist the throttle vs. an inline four motorcycle that is more like a 7.3 (power band wise) where it makes all its power up top. The engine does not come alive and make power until ~1800 - 2000 RPM and from there keeps going until red line. The truck has all the power in the world and feels like it could pull anything but only between that RPM range. Anything under that and there is quite literally, nothing at all. It is something you get used to and adjust your driving habits to but it would be nice for in-town stop and go driving (especially while towing) to not have to rev it out so far between shifts. Going from 1st-2nd is not bad and can sometimes short-shift it there as there only about a ~400 RPM difference. The 2nd-3rd gear shift however is bad. You have to nearly rev it out to 2500 RPM in 2nd gear because there's around a ~600-700 RPM gap difference between 2-3. This means if you don't rev it out far enough in 2nd gear, you'll be below the power band when you get into third and then there's literally nothing and a long wait until the RPMs build up and it takes off. Like I said, it's just the nature of the beast and I understand that. Rev it out higher where it's happy and don't lug it.
Anyway, when I installed the chip a couple of years ago it certainly did improve the low end a bit but it certainly did not transform the power band, nor should it have either. What I'm wondering is, with a larger turbo and matching injectors, will this greatly increase low end power or will the power band pretty much be the same as it is now only producing a lot more power? I know that a larger turbo would obviously take even more time to spool up, but would the larger injectors be a night and day difference than the stock ones, down low? I guess that really hones in on my question to be specific.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your insight. I realize there's a much smaller percentage of those who drive a manual so this all very well may not be as understandable to those who drive an auto where you don't lose boost between shifts. Re-gearing is something that is definitely an important step but I guess I'm more curious about how the power band would or would not change to these improvements.
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