which box to buy?

[231jasonS]

I'm the proud owner of a 04-HO (cal) with auto.



I plan to buy a perf box/mod but don't know which one to get. I'm leaning towards the TST. I plan on a exhaust system and intake to start.



I'm looking for a mod HP increase( 40-80 ) but i want my truck to be very drivable. I don't plan on any regular heavy towing, just a small travel trailer, but i drive over 120 miles day for work (empty). MPG is important, but my oversized right foot while kill that.



Any feedback would be very good, thanks.



jason

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Hi Jason,



Welcome to the TDR!!! First mod should be a good set of guages in your truck. Any box can send EGT's through the roof. Your factory exhaust and airbox are fine for now. I would put in the guages and then drill a 4" hole in the bottem of the airbox. After that I would probably go with the Edge EZ. Great performance, pulls pretty hard from the bottem, and is safe with exhaust gas temps. The TST is a good box but you state that you need 40-80 HP. TST makes 0-150 HP and anything over 100 HP will require a new turbo to handle the power. It seems like for $300 more you can get the TST, right? But when you consider an exhaust, turbo, intake, clutch, and guages to run a TST in the safe and reliable way. $400 for an EZ is probably the way to go. the make 0- 75 HP and are a solid running box. I liked it much better than the VA.



Greg

 

[CSilkowski]

I liked it much better than the VA

Greg,



Sounds like you got your VA box. Last I heard, you were waiting for it to arrive. Curious as to your thoughts. You can PM me if you'd prefer.



Chris

 

[XcumminsX]

get an EDGE EZ

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

The VA box isn't all that impressive. I felt like the Edge EZ pulled better than the VA C3 2. I ran it for about 10 minutes and sent it back. It also set a bunch of codes too..... Greg

 

[XJSuperman]

Jason... my name is Jason also.



I was in the same boat as you not too long ago. I don;t want to go hog wild with my HO but I wanted to do a few things.



I got guages 1st... I agree now that I have them that they are of the utmost importance even with a stock truck. I did a 4" exhaust and an intake next. And last week (Thursday) put on an Edge-EZ. They call it "EZ" for a reason... it really is. It should be within the HP/TQ confines of our trucks without having to upgrade much else. I intend to upgrade my transmission down the line but it should be fine for now.



The EZ comes set on level 3 as default... I left it there. WOW... it is awesome. I hit the interstate for the 1st time with it today and @ 75 MPH... when you stand on it it's unbelievable... and I wasn;t dissatisfied prior to the EZ.

The low end power comes up quicker as well and to me this setup is VERY VERY driveable. The Edge-EZ seems perfect for someone who want a good bit more out of these trucks (SO or HO) without killing the budget and you won;t kill the truck unless you're being stupid with it.



Give these people a look. www.PDQperformance.com They advertise in TDR mag. My brother-in-law is a neighbor of them and pointed me in their direction as they treated him well with his powersmoke. E-mail the sales address and they should provide you with a quick response and I got a very good price as compared to almost all other places I checked.

 

[ThomasLawrence]

I'll second (or third, or maybe fourth) the recommendation: get a set of EGT/boost gauges first, then go with an Edge EZ. Safe, reliable power. To open it up a little more, I'd lose the stock muffler in favor of a more free-flowing model.



Later on, if you want to pursue more power, and are going to do turbo/transmission upgrades, you can look towards the TST box. You can then either sell your Edge, or keep it and run it in conjunction with the TST, without maxxing out either box (or your drivetrain, for that matter).



But - before you even THINK about adding any kind of box - make sure those gauges are in and operational.



Good luck!



-Tom

 

[BApple]

What about the Edge juice? Shouldn't it be out soon? Doesn't it come with boost and EGT gauge on the monitor?



Brad

 

[dave176]

I herd about a month wait for edge's new box that will have all the monitoring capabilities. I am running the edge ez on secret #5. Definitly works well lots of pull no problem lighting up my 37's. .

 

[mattymac]

If you have a 600 then the edge EZ WILL NOT WORK! It will make power but very violently it will tear up your injection system from what I understand. I ran one on mine and it pulled very good but at leveled off speeds it would jump and buck the whole truck arond and also knock very very bad. And as for the juice from edge for the 600 It is even further behind then the juice that is soon to be available for all other engines. Also from my experience the TST up to level 4/4 runs cooler than the EZ did lvl 4 because of timeing and pulls alot harder.

 

[CLAYTON]

Originally posted by BApple

What about the Edge juice? Shouldn't it be out soon? Doesn't it come with boost and EGT gauge on the monitor?



Brad

The Juice monitors Egt/boost/rpm/backdown%/ and mod temp. On level 3 on the juice is like level 5 on the EZ. Just set your egt at 1300 or so and then just leave your foot on the pedal and it will backdown if it needs to to keep the egts where you set them. It's a sweet set up. I would wait for that one to come out.

 

[Fred Swanson]

For what your looking for, the EZ will work perfect on your 04.

 

[231jasonS]

Hey thanks everyone, good info. I am planing on the guages prior to anything else. I dont know if i want to get autometer,ispro or BD's X-Moniter... ..... because of the grab handle on the a pillar and the seatheater controls under the climate controls im prob going towards the X-mon. I know about the single 2" SR-10 a-pillar, but what about the other two(egt, boost and trans temp) where do i mount those. Ive seen the sterring colum mount, but dont like it to much as it tends to obstruct the spedo/tach.



so this is why im leaning towards the X-Mon.



I would love to go with the edge juice/attitude but hear its been two-three weeks out for a long time. (dont know if i can wait).



i thought i could run the TST on a lower setting for a while, until i was ready to do turbo and other mods needed.

 

[hotram03]

Go with the TST its a box that you can eventually grow to, just mind your right foot for the time being and stay on the lower levels. The Tq enhancement settings will be very favorable for pulling while keeping your Hp on level 1 you should see a mpg increase. Good Luck with your choice.

 

[ThomasLawrence]

The X-Monitor is a good choice. I went with the SRT-10 pillar and steering column, because I prefer analog gauges over digital.



Yes, you can get the TST now, and just run it on lower settings. Make SURE you understand that you're not to run it on higher settings, not even once, not even with it's automatic defueling and custom boost elbow to control turbo boost. It will shred your stock transmission in short order on higher power levels. It will also run your injection pump dry. You need an upgraded fuel system to run the TST anywhere near it's potential.



If you go with a TST, you should get the model with the EGT and boost gauges built in to the remote. At that point, you could just put an analog transmission temp on the SRT-10 pillar, and you'd be set.



Or, you could go all out, and get the column-mount/dash-mount X-Monitor for post-turbo pyro, boost, and fuel pressure, the TST for pre-turbo pyro (and another boost), and a trans temp gauge in the SRT-10 pillar.



Clear as mud, right?



-Tom

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I have seen a truck with a X Moniter and those things look like crap. Don't match up well with interior and stick out real far. Loose the handle and pull on the steering wheel. Go for the dual guage pod and replace the handle. It looks factory sweet!!!!! People always ask if the guages came stock!!!!!

 

[XJSuperman]

Check out my readers rigs pics... I just last evening got pics up of my triple dash pod w/autometer ultralights.

 

[Blufrog]

Check out this guage cluster for a Auto truck, this is what I am going to do to mine. RedRamRod did this for his air bag setup but can be used for any guage setup. Clean looking too. He has a template for the cutting of the sheet metal to make the box.



Red RamRods truck

 

[GWoody]

Decisions, decisions, I have been in the same boat, so many pros and cons to all of them. I have finally ordered a VA for 2 main reasons, 1 plug connection, and I think the way they communicate with the ecm is maybe a little more accurate, they do it directly with the ecm. I really like everything I hear about the TST but it does require some wire taps and several plugs. May go that route someday when warranties are no longer an issue. I hope I made the right choice, only time will tell.

 

[Jengle]

Check out my readers rigs for my 3 gauge pod on the pillar. Everyone thinks it came factory with them. I used the standard pillar mount, over the stock one, with handle cut off, and used Dipricol gauges. I wired them into the dash light switch for dimming with the switch control. Works great.