New PHP HYDRA 17-POSITION CHIP

Groovy Chick

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I will be creating the Hydra Chip page this weekend on our website.

Please also read:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CALIBRATIONS

1994 to 1997 and early 1999 Power Stroke and International trucks are fitted with smaller volume injectors than the late 1999 and up Super Duty trucks, and as such are limited to increases of about 65 HP for the 1994 to 1997 and 100 HP for the early 1999. Some trucks, depending on tolerances, may be able to utilize up to 80 HP and 120 HP respectively, but we cannot guarantee that the power gains will be achieved. Trucks with modified injectors are not subject to these restrictions.

1994-1997 TRUCKS WILL HAVE FEWER CALIBRATION SELECTIONS DUE TO THE POWER LIMITATIONS OF THE FACTORY STOCK INJECTORS. ADDITIONALLY, TRUCKS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS WILL HAVE FEWER CALIBRATION SELECTIONS DUE TO THE PROGRAMMING CHANGES THAT ARE MADE TO SHIFTING BETWEEN TOW AND POWER CALIBRATIONS.

ALL 7.3L PSDs WILL HAVE A MINIMUM OF 15 CALIBRATIONS AVAILABLE.

DUE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL VEHICLES, ONLY 7-10 CALIBRATIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
 

Bobby@cp

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Now what about those of us with pmrs? I know Bill likes to play it safe and so do others that have pmrs.

Sent from the doughnut shop
 

Groovy Chick

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Our truck has PMRs, too, but some customers insist on having that 140hp tune. Though it will be on a customer's available list of tunes to choose, they don't have to pick that one if they feel uncomfortable. :D
 

Diezel Dawg

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Cool idea. Especially if a person has many different tunes from different tuners

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2
 

Cohn1981

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thanks much for the info, excited to see the page this weekend and put my order thru!
 

RedPowerstroke

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Just out of curiosity, will this have the same issues with HID headlights that the DP tuner digital switches have?
 

jbro78

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Wish I would have known about this a few months ago before I bought your 6 position chip!! :cursing: Very please with the six but more options would have been cool!!! :doh:
 

drunk on diesel

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very cool and well priced!

I don't mess with 7.3's, but now I have a new recommendation for people when they ask me what should get get for their 7.3
 

Groovy Chick

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Our chip was designed so that there is no processor in the switch itself; therefore, it doesn't have to communicate with the chip the way other similar chips do.
 

xbox73

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xbox73

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New PHP 17-pos Hydra looks promising. Up until now, I had been considering getting a 16-pos DP Tuner because of all the positions available, the ability to be reprogrammed with the ECU module in situ, as well as the ability to be live tuned remotely. But the capabilities & pricing of the new PHP 17-pos Hydra look enticing, especially when one takes into account that all of the standard calibrations are included in the price.

Questions:

1. Hydra page states "Fully compatible with PATS-equipped vehicles"
However, when I loaded HydraFlash to check it out, when I selected AXD1 ('00 Excursion 7.3L PSD), the calibration notes state:
"This program will disable the PATS system on the vehicle.
To eliminate the "THEFT" light, you must disconnect the red connector from the PATS module.
The PATS module is located below the dash directly above the transmission hump in the floor.
For further information, please contact your vendor."
But HydraFlash does let me toggle back & forth between red "PATS *NOT* Supported" & green "PATS Supported" in the status bar at the bottom.
So, which is it? Is PATS supported for my AXD1 '00 Excursion 7.3L PSD or not?
Also, is the PATS module for Excursions also located below the dash directly above the transmission hump in the floor? For some reason I though the PATS module for Excursions was under the driver's seat?

2. My Excursion is an '00 model (I believe mid/June '00 build date, IIRC).
Does that mean I definitely have forged rods? Or do I need to try and get someone to look in the inspection hole to find out?
If I need to inspect, anyone have a handy link to the inspection procedure? (I used to have it bookmarked, but my old PC died).


Comments:

1. I understand some enthusiasts may want to load tunes from different tuners (which the new PHP Hydra supports), especially if they have already purchased tunes from different tuners. However, for someone starting from scratch (i.e. no tunes already purchased), I have never really understood the rationale for the extra cost associated with buying a bunch of different sets of tunes from a couple of different tuners. My feeling is it would be better to stick with one particular tuner, and work with them to perfect the tunes until one is satisfied with how they work on one's particular truck, since there is no guarantee another tuner's tunes will work any better (at which point the extra cost is wasted). Of course, it does give some flexibility if even after working with one particular tuner one doesn't manage to find a satisfactory setup, but one would hope that would be the exception, rather than the norm (especially for the 7.3L PSD, which has been around for over 10 years, so should be relatively well understood). Of course, there will always be curious enthusiasts that want to compare what works best for their particular truck & potentially unique set of mods. And, obviously, for those who already have purchased tunes (especially custom ones), the flexibility of being able to load different tunes does make sense.

2. Personal preference, but I kind of prefer the styling of the DP Tuner switch (black background with green lit numbers seems like it would blend better with stock illumination than gray display with red numbers).
 
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xbox73

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What was the issue with DP Tuner digi switches & HIDs?

Trucks would stall, didn't matter if driving or parked.

Very interesting. I plan to stick with stock upgraded halogens & upgraded power wiring for my main headlights, so I don't blind other drivers since my Excursion has an 8" lift & also the stock reflector cutoff pattern isn't optimized for HIDs. But I do plan to run up to 4 aux HIDs, either on my bumper or roofrack for offroad use, so obviously the point raised is very relevant to me. Stalling while stationary would be annoying, but stalling while driving could be dangerous.

I guess it's probably caused by RF interference from the HIDs. But it does seem a bit unusual since the DP Tuner switch is also cabled & you can only switch into anti-theft when stopped. I wonder if those DP users who have experienced this issue had a "no tune" program specifically programmed in one of the other 1-16 tune positions? I believe unused positions normally default to whatever the last programmed position was.

Anyway, sorry for the off topic in PHP's forum & thread, but this was kind of relevant to me, especially as DP Tuner was the other module I was thinking of buying. But now I'm strongly considering the PHP Hydra, as it offers similar capabilities to the DP F6, but is a bit more flexible i.t.o. whose tunes you can run, is cheaper for people with mostly stock setups that don't require custom programming & I know Bill @ PHP's tunes are well regarded by many as well.
 
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