Dr. Performance Chip for 04.5, Info requested

[hasselbach]

The service manager at the dealership that I bought my truck at said they are installing Dr. Performance's 110 hp chips, and also installing the torque tube and cold air box (afe) set ups on various 04. 5 trucks.



3 benefits of the chip and increased air flow so I am told:

The thing flat out hauls.

The EGT's dropped 200 degrees.

and

They have documented that the mileage has risen from an average of 15 mpg to over 20 mpg. .



Does anyone have the web site information on Dr. Performance? I understand he was previously a code writer for Mopar prior to doing aftermarket chips.



Thanks

 

[exfuzz01]

the dealer is installing them ??? What do they say about the warranty ?

 

[hasselbach]

ah, the dealer (my friend) is a speed freak, and doesn't get too concerned about the warranty crap. His service department is very customer friendly. But on another note, I saw some posts on the Dr. Perf. chip, which weren't too positive (old posts, back in 2001).



Maybe the TST would be a better set up.

 

[thejeepdude]

They have documented that the mileage has risen from an average of 15 mpg to over 20 mpg. .

I don't think Dr. P is doing anything revolutionary, and if the above statement were true, there would be people raving all over the place about that thing. I call BS on the dealer.

 

[jakemeister]

I have the predator box on my 03' HO. I just got back 2 days ago from a 4000 mile trip. the box does help alot. MY fuel mileage has increased both loaded and unloaded. Its not uncommon for the truck to get 19-20 mpg unloaded. My EGTs I dont think has dropped alotbut i havent compared stock to modded. I tried driving it with and with out the box loaded GCVWR around 19500#. With the box on I could easily get past 1200 degrees with the box off it took some time to get to 1200 degrees. At times I wanted to pull my hair out with the box off cause it took so long to get up to speed and had a hard time holding it. With the box on i could easily get up to speed and hold it, i just had to watch the temps. I also have the torque tube and the afe set up.



Theres alot more i could say but this post is getting long. . PM me and I will write you a book on my trip concerning elevation, egt temps, boost an MPG if you would like.



Jake... . Tijeras NM

 

[DLeno]

Let me try to set some perspective here. the predator 3 is a pressure box, which simply means that it gives you a different rail pressure curve than the stock truck does. On my 04, rail pressures with the predator 3 acheive nearly 27,000 psi and are very agressive.



Fuel economy improvements are possible with pressure boxes, but this is not unique to predator. pick your pressure box; there is no magic. increase pressure you increase fuel and increase power and yes, some fuel economy gain. that said, a 5 mpg improvement fuel economy flat out pegs the BS meter. not only is that hard to measure with statistical significance (its easy to give anectotal evidence without statistical rigor), its just not believable that the box itself is yielding this kind of improvement.



I'll say it this way: if you tell me that the predator gives you 5 mpg, I'll tell you that the same gains can be had from using a Quadzilla, Banks, or EZ. they smoke about the same as the Predator. Volumizer, Ramifer, and Bullydog are all very agressive on the low end (smoke) and depending on how you drive would not stand to gain as much in fuel economy becuase of the unburned fuel out the tailpipe.

 

[hasselbach]

I don't think Dr. P is doing anything revolutionary, and if the above statement were true, there would be people raving all over the place about that thing. I call BS on the dealer.

The dealer and service manager are personal friends of mine for 30 years, and I used to race with both of them in pro gas and top alcohol, they are extremely knowledgeable, so the BS comment isn't true nor warranted.



I was only asking if the Dr. Performance chip was used by anyone here in the forum. I have seen some negative posts about Dr. P from 2001 however.

 

[jelag]

Fuel economy improvements are possible with pressure boxes, but this is not unique to predator. pick your pressure box; there is no magic. increase pressure you increase fuel and increase power and yes, some fuel economy gain. that said, a 5 mpg improvement fuel economy flat out pegs the BS meter. not only is that hard to measure with statistical significance (its easy to give anectotal evidence without statistical rigor), its just not believable that the box itself is yielding this kind of improvement.

DLeno - very impressive... ... . I love the way you put that into words... .



Jim

 

[thejeepdude]

The dealer and service manager are personal friends of mine for 30 years, and I used to race with both of them in pro gas and top alcohol, they are extremely knowledgeable, so the BS comment isn't true nor warranted.

I wasn't saying your dealer isn't a standup guy. Maybe he's not the creator of the BS and he's just passing it along from someone he trusts. However, I don't care if it was the pope saying he got 5+MPG from this box, I'd still call BS on that statement. I do agree some MPG gain is possible, just not 5MPG... unless there was one specific truck that had some sort of malfunction that was somehow fixed when they put the box in. But I guarantee this is not a repeatable result.

 

[hasselbach]

I wasn't saying your dealer isn't a standup guy. Maybe he's not the creator of the BS and he's just passing it along from someone he trusts. However, I don't care if it was the pope saying he got 5+MPG from this box, I'd still call BS on that statement. I do agree some MPG gain is possible, just not 5MPG... unless there was one specific truck that had some sort of malfunction that was somehow fixed when they put the box in. But I guarantee this is not a repeatable result.

Well, they don't push the Dr. P units, just install them for customers that request the units. The truck is the dealer's personal vehicle, and both the dealer and service manager said hand calculated mileage was over 20 mpg after the box and air box mods. Owner drives about 68 miles one way on a very flat road in central texas, so no hills to deal with. In any event, service manager said the torque tube and afe air box helped a ton in the breathing and egt reduction as well. When I was at his dealership earlier this year I drove a 75 hp Dr. P box, and it was pretty stout. I bet the 110 hp box is stronger as well.



Doesn't matter to me at this point, I'll be going edge instead. I don't like having a box that is not adjustable.