Hi-what is the SAFE horsepower AND torque gain if all i wanted was this tuner and a K&N air box for better breathing and a factory tech valve body? I am in kansas-would you recommend 2 tunes-one for winter, one for summer?? Also-can stock program be reloaded if needed?BTW-this is for a 2001 stock lightning-12k miles.

 

Hi Mike,

For the 2001 thru 2004 Lightnings, the 1715 Micro Tuner typically adds 20 HP at the rear wheels - and yes, it's perfectly safe for the motor as long as people don't do dumb things like use cheap premium gas (that means not using any off-brands or no-name fuels like Racetrack, Pilot, Sheetz, Costco, Sam's Club, and no Exxon, either - those fuels have lower energy content - use only the best available pump premium gas). Now in the newer custom-tune version of Micro Tuner, we can get even more power & performance gain from the '01 & up Lightning with an in-depth custom tune - and still do that safely, the motor is not compromised.

If you are not going to do more involved mods at any time in the future, then the 1715 Micro Tuner will be fine - it even has a program for the Lightning for use with a 4 PSI pulley on there. However, if you are at any time in the future going to do some mods to it, then I would advise having us set you up with the newer custom-tune capable version of the Micro Tuner - it has room for 3 different custom tunes, and of course, like any Micro Tuner, you can always return to stock, as it stores your stock factory program.

With regards to the air intake tract - there we advise using the Air Force One intake kit, as it gains more raw horsepower & torque than any other intake kit on a bone-stock truck (or a highly modified truck). And, as you do more modifications, it can support more raw CFM's than any other intake kit, as it uses a huge 15" conical filter that is 5 inches across at the top, and a whopping 7 inches across at the bottom - so it'll easily support the 800+ HP monsters without collapsing the filter element. There is also a nice option for a polished stainless steel "power pipe" to replace the stock convoluted rubber throttle body boot if you want - that's the setup I run, and what most of our Lightning customers run, simply because it does the best job. It does filter the air properly, and you'll gain a lot more power than doing something like using a drop-in K&N air filter element in the restrictive stock Lightning airbox - of course, this is strictly up to you.

The need for different "cold weather" and "hot weather" tunes is only when the tuning either isn't done properly, or when the tuner just doesn't have control over enough parameters inside the PCM - when the load tables are set up "correctly," that is a thing of the past, even with big blower pulleys. This was something that was done by a lot of tuners (including even us a few years ago) in order to provide maximum power in summer heat (you know, 95-100 degrees & 98% humidity levels, etc.) but then have another program for cooler weather so the truck wouldn't detonate - this is due to the fact that the PCM will add in timing based on those colder IAT (inlet air temperatures). That's a thing of the past, and no longer needed if the tuner knows what they're doing and has proper "tools."

However, I DO strongly recommend using a multi-program setup, simply so you have things like a program for towing if someone wants to (the Lightning does have a 5000 lb. tow rating from the factory), as well as a performance tune that is for maximum (safe) performance - and then another program in case you get a tank of bad gas, etc. But actually needing separate warm weather & cold weather tunes is a thing of the past - these days, that is generally done only in situations where the tuner is providing a really aggressive tune for summertime, and does not have control over the parameters required in the PCM program to allow the PCM to continue to respond to ever-increasing loads from colder, denser air in fall & winter, basically, and thus have to do a separate "cold weather" tune.

One last note - when you use the Factory Tech Valve Body (which of course we carry), the 1715 Micro Tuner does have a built-in capability to reduce shift pressures, and that generally works fine for most people if they do not have to drive in snow - but if someone has to drive in snow in winter, then we recommend having us set them up with custom tunes in the newer custom-tune version of the Micro Tuner, so we can provide at least one program that *reduces* transmission pressures below even stock levels, so that when driving in snow and you have a 1-2 gear change, you don't automatically lose traction - just a thought.

PS - I almost forgot to answer your original question! (How much TOTAL power gain will you get from the 1715 Micro Tuner and a drop-in K&N air filter element?) Figure 20 HP from the Micro Tuner, and 3-5 HP from the K&N air filter, for a total gain of about 23-25 HP.

Feel free to give us a call to go over all of this in more detail, & good luck with your Lightning!