Well got back from my trip last night. Really fortunate to work a stop by Mike's shop in on the way back from Ohio. I squeezed almost too much in to this trip but everything worked out. I already had the AF1 3.5-inch and Mike's tunes via email but since I was going to be within 100 miles of his shop I couldn't NOT go and figured I'd pick up fans and pulleys and have him max out the tunes while there. So I was scheduled in for last Friday and showed just after 9am to find the gang all there and a very clean and orderly shop. Neil had already laid out the fans and pulleys and gatorback belt and talked to me about how they install, etc. So as Neil and Mike (not T) installed the goodies during the morning I sat back and hoped things went well. I had a lengthy discussion with Mike T later in the morning and during the afternoon he began tweaking my tunes on the dyno after checking the install. The fans fit nice and the mounting bracket is very low profile (I like that when I gave them the shake test they felt like you could hang from them....they are on there and free up a lot of space). The whole process was interesting to me as I am what I consider a dangerous gearhead (since I think I know some stuff.....but should really leave it up to the experts that have lived and breathed it and stick to my own profession). I'm not going to attempt to get technical and for those into numbers I don't have an e-copy of my dyno but on this day on this dyno my truck made low to mid 240's hp and 290's torque and tonight for the first time a ran two sub 8 second 0-60's (not bad running on 35's). I had previously been 8's at the best with the mailed TP tunes (for reference I was running 10's and even 11's before doing all this stuff to my truck-throw in gears as another big help). Mike did squeeze a few more ponies and feet pounds out and the torque and hp curves appeared to improve from the dyno work over the mailed tune. The torque is very flat and it pulls strong over the entire range. Mind you, I am already spoiled from the mailed tunes (which I raved about in previous posts so won't go over it here again) but I do feel a little more power down low since this work was done. Whether that be the fans, pulleys or dyno I couldn't tell you......it's probably a little of each. Idle and low rpm's feel extremely smooth now and I believe much of that is due to the fans. I think I may get a louder exhaust now because at idle it's hard to tell it's on (I need to change my crappy 2.5-inch single pipe crush bends anyway). The fans are really sweet and make the truck feel just.....classier or like a more high end vehicle or something. Hard to explain but they are sweet.

Several things impressed me about this experience. First off I had my girl and my mom tripping back with me from Ohio and we literally arrived in Westerville (~1/2 hour from Troyer Performance) just before midnight last Thursday. I left the girls in Westerville and TP spent all day Friday on the truck. I picked them back up that evening and drove straight out and eventually back to Florida after Atlanta Saturday night. It did make me nervous doing this to my truck and just going off driving all over the country with loved ones but Mike and the gang had the thing perfect. This really was HUGE to me especially since it was STUPID cold and we were doing a lot of night driving. Second I was impressed with every person at Troyer and all of them are well schooled at what they do and very professional. Anita and Crystal are like worker bees on the phone or computer or shipping or etc. Watching Mike T, Neil, and Mike (the other Mike) go through the dyno tuning you can just tell they know exactly what they are doing and have done it MANY times with each person having a specific role. No suprises or stumbles, it looked almost orchestrated and Mike T gets into the tuning the way most of us SHOULD get into our work. You can tell he does what he does for more than money. I would not be afraid to take a $200k car there after what I saw.

btw Vic I did remember to tell Mike hello for you and of course you know how much he appreciates you helping people on here.......also Openclass I saw your Vangina on the dyno! They have several pictures and some members are on there.

Lastly......how the hell do you northerners live in that cold! Guess I'm a thin blooded Florida boy after being born and raised for 33 years but wow. Although you do have some nice lookin' ladies to warm up to up there and the beer does stay cold.

 

i was afraid the weight of the van would be too much for the dynojet-yes mike is very passionate about his work!-phil

 

Dammit! Now you're REALLY making me want my tunes! One more week!

Sounds like a good experience.

 

btw-i sold my place in coral springs in 01 and moved back to pa-did alot of work in boyton-phil

 

btw-i sold my place in coral springs in 01 and moved back home to pa-did alot of work in boyton-phil

 

I'd rather put up with the cold then have to run from hurricanes every year, not to mention the giant roaches down there (you guys call them palmetto bugs), besides, it's not even cold yet, it's only november.

You're right about Mike T and the gang, very professional and very friendly. I was down there in feb. getting my tunes and dyno testing done. You probably saw me and my truck on their wall of fame, Anita took my picture while I was there.

 

Quick question thats a little off topic, how far from 95 is Troyer?

 

Roughly 180 miles, if your going to be in the Richmond area just take 64 straight across. There is a more direct route to get there if your making a special trip down to Troyers shop.

 

Thanks might be doing it in the Spring since I will be heading down to the Carolinas.

 

Cool but what happened to the X-Piped true duel exhaust Blackdawg???

 

openclass, yea Vangina looked huge on the dyno. Kind of a sleeper you got there huh....well I guess except for the exhaust. Don't feel bad my tires barely fit on the dyno because of the wheel and tire width. Almost a big disappointment but they got r done.

Kev, it's coming. Just ran out of time before the trip and had to find a new shop that does mandrels since the other guy just won't listen. Although now it may be after new year since I'll be broke from buying presents. Should flow a bit better than this ay....probably would have showed a little better numbers. Almost afraid to touch anything now though.....thing is perfect and strong.

05, if it ain't even cold yet then I definitely wouldn't make it up there.