I just got my XCal2 today and loaded the 87 Tow program. Even this lower performance program makes an incredible difference in the truck. Better throttle response, crisper shifts. The Tow tune seems to seek torque converter lockup a bit quicker. I personally like that; getting rid of the torque converter slippage. The truck is SO much more fun to drive. I sat on the fence for a long time; reading posts; and I was a bit cautious and intimidated to try it. But man is it ever worth it. Now I'm really curious to try my 91 octane tunes. If you haven't got an XCal2; GET ONE!! Your everyday driving will be so much nicer. You don't have to be a boy racer to appreciate what this product does for your machine.

 

Congrats man! This is kind of silly, but what does the torque converter do? What is its function? I mean, I know it's necessary for the tranny and what not, but I'm not sure HOW it works, know what I mean?

I think it has to do something with how the tranny "knows" when to shift. Is this in the general ball park?

Anyways, glad to hear another satisfied customer! BTW, when did you fax your CPWs?

 

Like your handle! I placed my order on 2/14. Got the worksheets in a day or two later. This may be an oversimplification but the torque converter is kind of the equivalent of a clutch on a manual transmission. It allows slippage. Imagine you are at idle in drive at a stoplight with your brake on. Your motor is running but your truck is not moving. There has to be a way to create the slippage; that's the work of the torque converter. As you accelerate, at least some of that slippage is still there. At some point, about a minimum of 42 mph on my truck in 4th gear, you can feel the torque converter lock up. The engine rpm drops quite a bit. It almost feels like another gear has kicked in. Essentially that lockup takes out the slippage and provides a direct connect like a manual transmission. Improves fuel economy, reduces wear and tear on motor, reduces heat in the transmission. That's my best explanation; there are undoubtedly others on the board who could do a better job of explaining; and maybe correcting something. But I think this will give you the drift.

 

Here's a good tutorial on the torque converter: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/torque-converter.htm

 

acadianabob,
Glad you like the Xcal2 just as much as me!, give it a few hundred miles it will get better!

 

Hi acadiana,

Thanks for your post, & sorry I missed your call the other day - that darned flu bug got me pretty good for a few days, but it all worked out. When you changed that one program when you talked with Niel here on our staff, that got to me and I was able to go back and change that - so we were able to catch it before it went out!

Your post gives a great "quick & dirty" overview of just how these trucks feel with our Troyer Performance custom tuning - we do *so* much work to the ETC (Electronic Throttle Control) system, to fully optimizing how much power is available at any throttle position and at any rpm, even on the 87 octane tunes, that our customers just love it - most say this is how the truck should have come from the factory.

Oh, by the way - I wanted to (just briefly) respond to another post you made about maintenance items that we talk about on your documentation - if you'll read those docs carefully, you will see not only what we recommend, but also an explanation of why we say to maintain those few items at a higher frequency rate than the automakers incredibly poor and ill-advised maintenance schedules - and it's really all about the "cost of ownership" surveys that fleet buyers look at - I wish those cost of ownership surveys didn't exist, as that has caused virtually every automaker to do dumb things like remove grease fittings for suspensions (ever heard of a suspension that did NOT need lubrication? Absurd!), 100K mile spark plug (bogus nonsense), and not even mention the fact that O2 sensors are a 30K mile maintenance item, etc.

These things are absolutely critical to each vehicle running like it really should - not just power & performance, but things like overall driveability, idle quality, fuel mileage, etc.

For example - on one of our employee's trucks, a 30K mile 2004 5.4 3V, just replacing the O2 sensors stopped it's terrible lean condition and increased it's highway mileage from 13 to 16 mpg - a 3 mpg gain - and this is when cruising at 80 mph thru the mountains, by the way. But the automakers don't say anything because they would have to pay for these parts replacement, like the O2 sensors, if they said to replace them before 80K miles (and even that is going to be extended under the separate emissions warranty, so they just don't mention them at all).

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base with you just briefly on the why's behind why we tell people what we do regarding the additional maintenance that is required to not only get the best MPG, idle quality, power, performance, etc., but also the longest possible service life - in other words, getting what you paid so much money for!

Thanks for your post, I'm glad to hear you are enjoying our tuning, & I hope that also gives you a bit more info regarding some of our maintenance recommendations as well.

Take care!

 

Thanks acadiana bob and c-17! This is the number one reason why I just love this site. I appreciate it.

 

It looks to me like I gained about .5 to 1.0 mpg with the XCal2 running the 87 Tow program. The truck fills pretty consistently. The trip was identical and only a couple of days apart. Even the wind was consistent. Hope this is real; it seems to be.