Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Wow Edge-ez

[SMadden]

I just bought my low mileage ( 44000 ) Dodge last week. I had been reading all of the post on here and knew that the Dodge was the way for me to go. The day after I got my truck I ordered a complete set of guages and a Edge-EZ box. I installed the guages on Tuesday and my Edge box finally came in today. I had it on the truck and running in about 15 minutes ( probably could have been quicker but had to be very careful with the hose clamp on the boost elbow because of warranty issues ) All I can say is WOW. I can't believe that a little box can make that much difference. I wanted to put the comp box on but I know how I am. I am going to save up and do some trans mods before I go any further on the horsepower. I can tell this is going to be very addictive. A guy at work just bought a 6. 0 Ford and I am hoping with the edge that I will have a little mo power and be able to take him now. Thanks for all of the great post on here.

Thanks, Dion

 

[Hohn]

By the time you have enough HP to handily defeat the 6. 0 fellas, you will have shredded your stock trans. Even if you bombed up to the 320hp of a Phord, a V-8 simply revs faster and is more performance-oriented than a straight 6. (shorter stroke, etc).



I would personally like to see 350rwhp before i went diving into some 6. 0s.



Then again, with a works-built transmission, you might have so much improved HP delivery (to the wheels) that you could take him with less hp.



JUSTIN HOHN

 

[SMadden]

Have you drove a 6. 0 Ford yet Justin? I have driven a couple of them and I don't think that they have alot more power than what I have now. I could be very wrong because I am really new to the Diesel games. But it's all just fun anyway. If they are stronger then they are just stronger. I'll just have to holeshot him and make him have to catch up . I aint scarerd. He will know whats coming in a few months though. I just think it's awesome to build the boost up to about 8psi and let off of the brake and lay down 2 black marks longer than the truck and never turn more than 3000 rpm. Thats some lowend grunt and all from just one little black box. This thing would not think of doing that before today.

Cya, Dion

 

[JNeiman]

Don't boost too much on the brakes while holding the truck in place... nor should you try powerbraking. These trucks just make too much power for the stock autos... which is sad. I have an EZ on my auto too and love it, but don't abuse it until you build the transmission. Keep this in mind, it will be much cheaper to build a transmission that is still in good shape as opposed to one that is worn out. My advice, do the transmission asap. Then from there you will be good to go with just about anything. Good luck man

 

[rblomquist]

Odds are you'll be saying goodbye to your stock transmission sooner rather than later by running the EZ. I was REAL easy on mine and the EZ still took it's toll in a little less than a year.



Don't get me wrong I really like the EZ (TTPM) but there's no disputing the fact that they are hard on the stock setup.

 

[Jim's slt]

edge box

I must have gotten a defective box, I ordered a used one from a TDR member. I thought it was a little shy on spunk, I have a 2000 one ton drw auto 4. 10

and if I get on it. it's got the same power as it did before the install

untill it shifts to 2nd or 3rd then she takes off. . No smoke, Maybe there is adjustments i don't know about. I set down and read my manuel and it actually has paramiters for the driver to check if the truck is running allright. My truck should run , FRom a stop. . 0 to 60

@13. 5 to 15. 0 with the edge I'm running at 12, Maybe I'm asking to much from the little ez. ,,. . I forgot ,I also Have an Afe mega cannon

JIM

 

[rwitt]

I installed my EZ a few weeks ago and I'm still amazed at the power this thing has I let my brother in-law drive it Christmas day ( he has an 03 6. 0 Ford 6 speed ) who is a die hard Ford guy and his reaction was :--) . He said I thought my truck ran good but not compared to this.

Rich

 

[jerrethomas]

Originally posted by rwitt

I installed my EZ a few weeks ago and I'm still amazed at the power this thing has I let my brother in-law drive it Christmas day ( he has an 03 6. 0 Ford 6 speed ) who is a die hard Ford guy and his reaction was :--) . He said I thought my truck ran good but not compared to this.

Rich

that's storys that i like to hear!!

 

[rblomquist]

Re: edge box

Originally posted by Jim's slt

I must have gotten a defective box, I ordered a used one from a TDR member. I thought it was a little shy on spunk, I have a 2000 one ton drw auto 4. 10

and if I get on it. it's got the same power as it did before the install

untill it shifts to 2nd or 3rd then she takes off. . No smoke, Maybe there is adjustments i don't know about. I set down and read my manuel and it actually has paramiters for the driver to check if the truck is running allright. My truck should run , FRom a stop. . 0 to 60

@13. 5 to 15. 0 with the edge I'm running at 12, Maybe I'm asking to much from the little ez. ,,. . I forgot ,I also Have an Afe mega cannon

JIM

Jim,



If it's faster 0-60 than you're making more power. The problem is your stock transmission is slipping and wasting a lot of the extra power that's not getting to the ground (until you get into lockup). You'd have that with any power enhancement (until you get a better transmission setup.

 

[Jim's slt]

Is it then the expert consensus to refrain from using the edge until a transmission upgrade has been done?

 

[SMadden]

I'll let someone else answer that one Jim. I have run the crap out of mine for the last couple of days. But, my truck only has 44000 miles on it and I got extra warranty to go till 106000. Now don't get me wrong, I am not trying to tear it up, I'm just getting it out of my system. I am not the type to abuse my stuff all of the time. I am planning on doing the trans upgrades in the next few months so I don't want to kill what I have now. I have done alot of reading on here about the weak transmissions, but dang, the way people reacted to my post it seems like I have a ticking time bomb. I'll just have to hope for the best and see what happens. I hope pulling my 20 foot Bullet Bass boat don't work this 3/4 ton truck to much

Cya, Dion

 

[lmills]

Re: edge box

Originally posted by Jim's slt

I must have gotten a defective box, I ordered a used one from a TDR member. I thought it was a little shy on spunk, I have a 2000 one ton drw auto 4. 10

and if I get on it. it's got the same power as it did before the install

untill it shifts to 2nd or 3rd then she takes off. . No smoke, Maybe there is adjustments i don't know about. I set down and read my manuel and it actually has paramiters for the driver to check if the truck is running allright. My truck should run , FRom a stop. . 0 to 60

@13. 5 to 15. 0 with the edge I'm running at 12, Maybe I'm asking to much from the little ez. ,,. . I forgot ,I also Have an Afe mega cannon

JIM

Actually yes, there are different pin settings so you can make the box less agressive. This helps control smoke and fueling issues. Especially with larger injectors

 

[JR2]

Jim - you might also check what setting the EZ is on. Take the cover off the end. I can not remember the settings but if the previous owner set it on the lowest setting then it will not add the small amount of fuel it does until, I belive, 15 psi. On the highest setting it adds at 1 psi.



It may not seem like a difference but the hightest setting adds the fuel off the line and will make your truck a bit faster on takeoff.





JR2

 

[Lsfarm]

Ez and Automatic

Hi SMadden, and welcome to the TDR. What may harm your trans is the extra torque the EZ gives the Cummins at around 16-2000 rpm.



If you drive around at say 35-40 mph in overdrive and then give it a little throttle, the lockup clutch in the torque converter can't handle the torque that the EZ gives the engine with small amounts of throttle. What you will feel is a shudder as the lock-up clutch tries to hold the extra torque. The problem is the small amounts of throttle, the Dodge trans' pressures are increased as you add throttle travel, so with the EZ only a little throttle gives a lot of power. With a stock engine a lot more throttle travel is needed to give the same power, and then the trans pressures are higher [with the greater throttle travel]



The usual method to prevent premature damage is to drive with the OD locked out untill around 45-50 mph, especially around town, where you will be tempted to accelerate without downshifting out of OD. The truck responds better when driven in drive or third at these speeds anyway.



Go to the DTT website, I think there is still a set of instructions on how to turn up the trans pressures which will also help preserve the trans.



Don't be alarmed, there are a lot of TDR members who have had power enhancements on their trucks for a long time and haven't destroyed the stock auto trans. The big problem is that the EZ soon will feel like not enough, then comes the injectors, THEN the trans will have to be upgraded!



If you can't find the instructions PM me and I'll give you instruction on how to turn up the pressures.



Enjoy your 'new' truck!



Greg L. The Noise Nazi

 

[DKothe]

Boxes toasting the VP44??

I saw something the other day about Fueling Boxes (EZ etc) possibly toasting the IP. If the live past a hour then they'll be ok... ... ... ... ... ... is this normal/abnormal????

New to all the diesel stuff and already got the BOMBing bug.



Thanks

 

[KBalzuweit]

2 months after the box install I smoked my converter. Drive it nice or pay $$$. I just put in new coverter today and all is good. I plan on driving it a bit different and will be doing a DTT upgrade in March. Just too much snow and such up there now.



Karl

 

[Intelman34]

Ive had my EZ on for about 4 months now and the trans is still holding well. Heck, I haven't even had any shutter.



I sure do love the extra power.

 

[lmills]

Re: Boxes toasting the VP44??

Originally posted by DKothe

I saw something the other day about Fueling Boxes (EZ etc) possibly toasting the IP. If the live past a hour then they'll be ok... ... ... ... ... ... is this normal/abnormal????

New to all the diesel stuff and already got the BOMBing bug.



Thanks

That's somewhat how it goes. When you tap the pump wire with any of the comp boxes you take the chance of burning up the vp44. If you have a weak injection pump and tap the pump wire, it usually kills it quick. A lot of guys have lost their pumps within an hour of tapping the pump wire. That's why they say if you make it past the first hour, you will probably be OK.

 

[rblomquist]

I agree with almost all that's been said in this thread with the exception that "going easy" i. e. driving locked out of O. D. around town and such will prevent issues in regard to the E. Z. I did all that and it was just less than a year before she went south. Diesel Dynamics flat out told me before I dropped the coin for the TTPM (E. Z. ) that it wouldl shorten the life of my stock transmission. It's a conscious decision you have to make (which level you want to run/or not run it at all).



As far as the performance or lack thereof , check the pin settings like mentioned above however, if you're going faster 0-60 than you are not on the fuel economy setting. Also, the "loaner" box I used from DD was not as good as the one I bought from them so that tells me that some of these are better than others or they can somehow lose some kick over time.

 

[Hohn]

Originally posted by SMadden

Have you drove a 6. 0 Ford yet Justin? I have driven a couple of them and I don't think that they have alot more power than what I have now. I could be very wrong because I am really new to the Diesel games. But it's all just fun anyway. If they are stronger then they are just stronger. I'll just have to holeshot him and make him have to catch up . I aint scarerd. He will know whats coming in a few months though. I just think it's awesome to build the boost up to about 8psi and let off of the brake and lay down 2 black marks longer than the truck and never turn more than 3000 rpm. Thats some lowend grunt and all from just one little black box. This thing would not think of doing that before today.

Cya, Dion

Yes, I drove one with the automatic. It felt overall about the same as my truck with just the EZ. But my truck had a LOT more bottom and, and the Ford had a LOT more top end.



But, since I have had 90hp inhjectors in for quite a while, that Ford just seemed outright gutless. The salesguy had to point out the "big hit" of power, because I certainly didn't notice it myself.



I will say that the Ford auto transmission was VERy nice. I dunno how strong it is, but it shifted quickly and firmly. If the engine was beefed, this trans would give a big advantage to the Ford guy over a CTD.



Of course, if you had a works-built DTT or the like, then the Ford would have a DISadvantage in this area.



Justin