Hi folks. I have been viewing this site and FAQ for two years and have enjoyed the site and the help. In the next 6 months, I am going to upgrade some parts to my truck wanting more hp and torque. I have bought a fifth wheel weighing 7,000 lbs and I want a little more power. Two years ago I had a bd diesel chip put in and the truck was dynoed. The hp went up from 138 to 160 hp, the torque from 360 to 373 lbs at the wheel. I was minimally impressed. I have spoken to Bill Heath recently and I am thinking of dealing with him. I am thinking of doing the boost control, eprom, and high flow injectors. I think my injectors are original but not sure. I am looking for advice if possible from owners who had the bd chip and went to to heaths eprom, high flow injectors, etc. Did you folks notice a big difference on the towing capability of your truck? If I go with the mechanical boost control, high flow injectors, and keep the bd chip, am I wasting my time and money without the new eprom? With the new upgrades, did you notice any difference in engine or pyro temps? Thank you for your responses.

With only ten posts since ought four, I'm almost tempted to say welcome to the forum to you.

Go to FAQ's, look in reference for Turbine Doc's treatise on proper paths to upgrading.

Following the steps - several of which you've already accomplished in the correct order - will get you where you want to be, with reliable results.

Then search for ronniejoe's dyno sheets for approximate comparable results - yrmv

Depending on vintage of the BD chip I would probaly go with a later one from one of several vendors selling chip upgrades. BD's early attempts were not to same level of performance as others now offer, I've not seen any regulars here reporting running a current BD for me to say emphatically that it is a it's a good or bad one, the 3 most popular made mention of are Kennedy, Heath & Westers, some report running a Hypertech and seem to like that one as well. best advise is look at signatures and maybe PM folks that list what they have in theirs and get some direct feedback as to why they chose the one they have.

Before you do any upgrades I would dump the exhaust system. This engine NEEDS to breath. The next time you're under the truck look at the turbo down pipe, it might look like a fork truck ran over it. They all came this way.

Then I would install a pyrometer for the exhaust temps.

After these are done then the only thing holding you back is your wallet.

Thanks gmctd and Turbine Doc for your response. I know what I want to do and what order I just wanted to hear from someone who had the older bd chip and went to a newer one and were shocked at the difference. T.D. I think i will take your advice and watch the signatures. I read this forum quite frequently and I am amazed at the wealth of info here. I also constantly look through the faq and did not find exactly what I wanted. Thanks again for your reply.

Before you do any upgrades I would dump the exhaust system. This engine NEEDS to breath. The next time you're under the truck look at the turbo down pipe, it might look like a fork truck ran over it. They all came this way.

Then I would install a pyrometer for the exhaust temps.

After these are done then the only thing holding you back is your wallet.
Amen to that.....

Mark

Thanks Charlie. I have changed the exhaust already to the 3" exhaust from the factory and it helped. I iwshed I had went to the 4" but that was all I could get done at the time and it seemed to run cooler already. The crossover was aready done, and I put in a pyrometer already.

Thanks kimagine. I thought going up to the 3" would be big enough. It was the biggest the muffler shop could do and was quite a bit bigger than factory.

I'm also looking into the stage III heath set up (eprom, turbo master, marine injectors, and pmd relocator). I got the guages 1st so I could monitor the numbers while the truck was stock before I get into the performance upgrades. These guys are right on the money, open up the inhale and exhale of this truck and it will blow your mind. I just haven't decided if I want to get my 4in and my intake done 1st or B. Heath's stage III... Bank of America would love for me to get it going though

This is the one GMCTD was referring to in FAQ under the highlighted words more power http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1078 it isn't the finite way but one that worked for me

i tow a 4 ton trailer for work every once in awhile. Once I installed Heath's PCM and it made a huge difference. A 6% grade became much less of a chore than it was when I just had my 'turbo-master'.

think about upgrading the cooling system.