After almost six months of driving around with the line valve mod I purchased from you I am considering going with the ftvb. The question is will you have to tweak the tunes for the ftvb since you already have the line valve mod included in my tunes. The reason i ask is i am also considering adding a #4 lower or porting the eaton. One more QUestion and Ill shut up. If I go the ported route and keep the stock pulleys will you have to tweak then tune with the port. Thanks
Mickey

 

Hi Mickey,

What would you want to pull out the LMV and put in the FTVB? The reality is, there just isn't any need to do that when you already have the LMV - unless someone has one of the cheapo aluminum LMV's that we've seen some companies use (we don't), and even then I'd just replace it with a proper steel sleeve LMV - it's far cheaper and does the job perfectly fine with the proper tranny calibration in the PCM. The job of the LMV or the FTVB is simply to make the 4R100 physically capable of flowing enough fluid *volume* quickly enough to be able to fill the oncoming clutch quick enough to avoid burning the clutches on full-throttle upshifts.

We sell both products, and frankly, for someone who already has a good LMV I just don't advise doing that unless maybe the just hit the money tree and like doing extra work. Put it this way - I can afford anything I want in my Lightning, and what I use is our Troyer Performance Line Modulation Valve. Your transmission calibration is set up for the use of the .500 LMV, as there are things that need to be done differently in the calibration when using a .500 LMV to protect the intermediate clutch, for example - and you have all that already done! I certainly would never change it in my truck, as there just isn't a need to do so though some people will tell you all kinds of reasons why you need to drop another coupla hundred dollars to use the FTVB instead of the LMV you already have, I don't agree. As long as the tuner knows how to set up the tranny's calibration properly with *both* products, perfectly fine results are had with *either* product - and since you already have the LMV and a proper tranny calibration, I'd leave it alone.

If you *do* install the FTVB, usually what happens if you go with the 2C model is that we'll have to firm up the shifts a bit more in the tuning, as it usually gets softer in certain areas with the FTVB 2C model - and if you go that route, the 2C is the one to use.

And yes, if you go with a ported blower (and we offer all those services, by the way), you *will* need more tuning and you will also peak the MAF meter (saturate it, run out of voltage and then the PCM is out of control so the motor is at risk). So yes, for porting the blower when using a 4# or higher boost pulley you will need to take care of the MAF meter and a re-tune. We can do all of that in a package deal including the blower porting, MAF meter upgrade & the tuning changes that will be needed for you, if you like.

I advise not doing *any* of those changes until you talk with us about all the ramifications and what you really need to know and do to make that safe & do it correctly, etc - so I suggest giving us a call for that info.

Best of luck whatever you decide,

 

Thanks for the reply Mike. I was just debating on the ftvb for some reason i guess i thought i would quicken shifts up a bit. I think for now ill stick with the line valve mod i got from you. I also am leaning now for goin with just the #4 lower for street and #2 for towing. I was just looking at my options a lil before we get our profit sharing checks at work next month. Ill be sure to call you when I decide, as u are the main vendor I get my parts from. I like it cause u know what im putting on my truck firsthand and I definetly love the tuning you did for the L. Its a different monster now and I am just looking to add a lil more growl. Thanks again
Mickey

 

Hi Mickey,

I don't think that the FTVB in and of itself will significantly quicken up the shifts since you already have the LMV in that 4R100 - in other words, you have already taken care of the basic issue of the physical mod so the tranny is now physically capable of flowing enough fluid *volume* quickly enough - that's already done. Shortening the shift duration time is something that is properly done now in the tuning, since you already have the LMV - in the transmission calibration. We can quicken that up for you if you like, there is a separate parameter specifically for the shift duration time, so that's the best way to handle that.

I had an idea that might work for you from a budget standpoint (of course, only you can really decide that) - having the blower ported *and* doing the dual-pulley setup is an *excellent* idea, I highly recommend that for additional power gains - and nobody else knows it's under the hood, as they see the same Eaton supercharger. What I suggest is to go with a 6# pulley for performance, and then the 2# unit for towing, and that can be done with the porting of the bower and that way you get some serious power gains - and the way to do that and save money is, instead of replacing the MAF meter which costs hundreds of $$, just use the MAF Extender as that is an inexpensive way to take care of that, by using the MAF Extender with your factory 90mm MAF meter - we have a lot of owners going that route. It goes inline with the MAF meter to increase it's electronic capacity, and then we make the appropriate changes to the MAF transfer function in the tuning. So you don't have to spend hundreds of $$ replacing the MAF meter on top of the cost of porting the blower, it's a simple MAF Extender & then a new transfer function in the tuning and that will take care of that issue. Then at that point, you'll have enough MAF capacity on there to support literally 1000+ HP - and between the blower porting and a 4# or 6# pulley, you'll be gaining about 3 times the power gain of just doing a 4# pulley alone.

It's just a thought, I don't know what your budget will allow, of course, but between sticking with the LMV and having us shorten up the shift times in the tuning, and using the MAF Extender instead of replacing the MAF meter, that really should allow you to port the blower and go with the pulley setup, and have all the other changes done at the same time in the tuning. That will help reduce the cost of doing all of this to allow you to get much larger power gains and more efficiency from both the supercharger and the intercooler, get the shorter shift times you want, etc., for a lot less cost.

Sounds like fun budgeting a profit-sharing check on more mods for the hot-rod, good luck with that process!

 

Youve got me convinced Im keeping the LVM and not worrying bout the ftvb. I got another question for ya. Ive read where you dont like tuning a L for towing with over stock boost without a egt guage. I am debating on which guages to put in a triple a pilliar pod. I am wondering if with towin would the egt guage be fine or would a tranny temp guage be better, or should I add both. Thanks for the reply Mike, always good to hear from ya.
Mickey

 

Hi Mickey,

Both -

Give us a call on this when you get a chance, as we have special deals on those A-pillar pods & we also carry all the gauges, etc., you'll need. I can go over with you the exact setup that I run, and we can discuss what I would recommend for your specific needs, as well as just what EGT's are acceptable and exactly where & how to install the temperature probe itself, etc.

 

Thanks for the quick reply Mike, Ill be giving you a call soon. I think Im gonna get my cobra cowl hood painted and put on and add the guages with that profit sharing check. I say so because I want everything in place when I decide to do the next rounds of mods, probly round tax time. Thanks again and is there anything that you dont carry for the Ls? I like the fact that I only have to look one place to find the answers and equipment I want and need.
Mickey

 

Hi Mickey,

You should have been with us yesterday at our Dyno Day - Kevin brought his 800+ Hp monster 2000 Lightning down - lightened to only 4000 lb with a full cage *and* the driver on board - Whipple blower, Fox Lake heads, Aeromotive fuel system, fuel cell, etc - best of everything.

The only downside is the converter he's using in that TurboHydro 400 GM transmission behind that 5.4 - it's still a bit too loose & he's trying several different converters to get what he needs to handle the 1000 lb/ft of torque it's making at low rpms and so it probably cost us an easy 80-100 HP on the dyno readings. When he lit that think off, the 2nd gear dyno pull lasted 1.3 seconds - the 3rd gear pull was about 3 seconds. Serious truck, and absolutely beautifully done.

It's basically taken 1 step beyond everything (in every areas) that I've done to my truck, is the best way to describe it - mine runs 11.20's on the stock motor with the Eaton blower, where his should have no problem running 10's once the converter is sorted out.

You would have loved it!

Getting the data acquisition (gauges) set up now is a very good idea, so you know what's going on as you continue to step up it's performance, excellent idea!

Talk to you soon,