I have two questions regarding my 2001 lightning. Last weekend I installed my 4# JDM caged pulley and the superchip flip chip. After installation it seems to be making a lot more noise. I realize there will be more noise from the supercharger, but it seems to be making a ticking noise too. Is this normal?

Second, what is the maximum RPM it should be shifting at? Last weekend at the track it hit 6K. With this being the second engine (the other suffering a painful death at the track) I am a bit paranoid of blowing this one too.

This is the list of mods of both motors.

JDM 4# Pulley
JDM flip chip
JDM Silver Bullet cat-back
JDM Boost Bypass
JDM Cool Air Induction
JDM Line Mod Valve
NGK TR6

Thanks,

Jim

 

It should have shifted at 52 or 5400 RPM's
Depending on where your tuner set it up at.
Did you use the stock belt? If you broke the tabs on the tentioner or changed the belt there should be no problems.

Have you checked your plugs latley? When I lounched a plug I heard ticking but didn't pay it much mind. Utill I heard a loud pop and it sounded like I had a blown header or something.


Peace, Suavy

 

Aside from blower cavitation, which is fairly normal when adding a larger lower pulley, there should be no other noises(out of the ordinary ones)coming from that motor that would've been caused by the addition of the pulley. If you're hearing a "ticking" noise coming from the motor, the first thing I'd do is CHECK YOUR PLUGS TO ENSURE ONE HAS NOT COME LOOSE!!!

Secondly, 6000rpm shift points are way TOO HIGH! I would reccomend shifting no lower than 5300 rpm and no higher than 5600rpm.

With a 4lb lower and the Eaton, your peak power should be at around 5000rpm....so shifting 1000rpm higher is only placing undue stress on the reciprocating assembly(especially the RODS). Furthermore, shifting at a lower rpm will help keep the motor in its powerband while on a pass. That's just what I've seen. Hope this helps.

Later,
Rob

 

To change the shift points I need to have the chip reburned right?

I checked with my local dyno guy and he quoted me $350 to reburn my chip. Is this high or the going rate to dyno and burn?

Thanks for the advise,

Jim

 

You are correct in that it will take a reburn in order to change your shiftpoints.

Man, when it comes to burning chips for Lightnings, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND sticking with one of the Lightning SPECIFIC tuners such as JDM, Johnny Lightning, Outrageous Performance, or PSP. These guys have spent a buttload of time and money in R&D in reference to these trucks and what makes them tick in terms of tweaking the PCM.

Check the supporting vendors forums here or over on NLOC. If you let some generic tuner get a hold of your truck, that's not used to tuning L's, he can EASILY blow your ***** up quick, fast, and in a hurry! So be careful!

Later,
Rob

 

Jim, Your shifting prob's MAY NOT BE YOUR CHIP ?
Mines been shifting between 5700 and 6K since day one.
and through 10 tunes, 2 chips, and 3 tuners.
Nick at Diablo explained it best to me
http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...ead.php?t=7842

Second, Like everyone said, CHECK PLUGS,
I just hope your not hearing Detonation ???
BTW
I would loose the TR-6's and go with a colder plug
But then again, thats just me.

 

Thanks Rob, that does make sense, but it seems like it would more common among Lightning owners.
I'm planning to check the plugs tonight. What should they be torqued to? also, I thought the TR-6's were a colder plug?

Thanks again,

Jim

 

They Are , one step colder to be exact.
But 2 steps colder will give you a little more protection,
I run 6lbs most of the time so I go 2 Zones Colder.
It seems for my "Other Coast Brothers" Detonation is
sometimes a problem due to availabe Octane and some
due to elevation, this will happen mostly when adding
more boost, so a colder plug will help that. I hope your
not Detonating, it's not always easy to hear, or to
realize what your hearing

Nothing to worry about, they seem to work great for
70 - 80 % of us, I happen to like a colder plug for more
protection. As for the Plugs, I think it's hand tight, then 1/8 a turn more. Keep us informed.

BTW
Mine does make the Cavation racket ALOT MORE with 4lbs
than with 6 for some reason. Just 2 weeks ago I switched
from 6 lbs back to 4lbs (due to single digit temps we're having)
and I immediatly noticed the Cavation racket when I re-started it.
I now rememer the same thing happened last winter when I switched, once I go back to 6 in the spring, it'll quiet down again.

 

The good news is all the plugs were in place and tight. The bad news is, now after checking the plugs it seems to run rough of miss above 1000 rpm. I checked all of the coil pack conectors and they were good.
Is it possible to get the boot on (or not on) the plug incorrectly? It felt like the drivers side coil packs fit more snug than the passenger side.
I narrowed down the ticking noise to the injectors on the passengers side using a stethoscope. Is this bad?

Thanks,

Jim

 

I didn't want to tell you the reason I DONT like TR-6's


Please tell me you just didn't tighten and or check them,
and you took them out AND LOOKED AT THEM ???
If you didn't, there is a very good chance one or three
are toast.

Injector ticking seems to be common for some,
after I toasted those plugs racing at the track one day,
(when the truck was dam near brand new),
I swore I heard some frucked up noises from that
point on. I use to drive RWTD + Hooters (James + Ivan)
crazy on the phone. But so many thousands of miles
have gone by since then, and soooooooo many track days
and awesome ET's (that keep getting faster), so I just added
it to the list of assorted noises that go along with owning
a Lightning.

One more thing Jim,
my plugs cooked because of this

Filters are prob the number one cause of lean conditions,
misses, and burnt plugs on otherwise correctly tuned Lightnings.
Mine started clogging and making it run strange @ 3000 miles
WHEN IT WAS BRAND NEW. At 5-6k is when it finally clogged enough to melt plugs.
You would be surprised how good a Lighting can run with
plugs that look like that. Schitt I drove it home on the parkway,
and a couple of more days around town before I finally got to
change them and actually see what the prob was.
Sal has an expression
Green means lean

 

I could have AND SHOULD HAVE saw this coming.

I Checked these plugs only two weeks before it happen,
(like I said it started running weird) Never ever thought
of a fuel filter since the truck was brand new.
James Parker (RWTD) + Ivan (USA HOOTERS) are the
ones that made me go change my filter and cut it in half.
After seeing it, is when I pulled the plugs to find them toast.

But like I said weeks earlier I checked them
This is what they looked like


I thought they looked great at the time, --->WRONG <---
Look closely, those little spots/dots on them, are where
they were already being attacked.
(it was running lean due to filter)
I know that now, I originally read them all wrong.

Dam I use to have bad luck with plugs, my original Motor Craft
factory plugs had a cracked one too


Thats why I say screw the price and I run Denso's now,
been in for a good 7k now and they are flawless in all RPM
ranges. (plus I run 22's now, 2 Zones colder)

 

all of the plugs looked ok except this one. I just installed these last Friday before I went to the track. I also changed the oil and installed a K&N oil filter.
What is the cause of this and would this end up looking like the plugs in your pictures?

Jim

 

I can tell you one thing, SOMETHINGS WRONG
No plug should look like that in 1 week or less.


If it was black or blacker I'd say maybe that coil isn't
working, but it not black. What the hell is that build up ???
"or" is it the tip breaking down, (being attacked) ???
very hard to read it in this picture and at that angle,
But it does seem to be under attack, I see white spots/dots
What did it seem like to you ???

Here's some useful info on how to read plugs

http://www.densoiridium.com/howtoreadusedplugs.php

http://www.ngkspark.com.au/spark_plug_analysis.htm

Anything close looking to your's would point to you needing
a colder plug, or your tune is too lean
OR YOUR FILTER IS RESTRICTED

Hopefully some of the experts will pop in now and give us
a better explanation

Keep me posted

 

Warren86,

You should not be hitting 6K RPM's. Are your tires spinning on the track?

As far as your plug isssue is concerned. If you can give us a call at the shop we need a little more detail from you. It looks like it may be aluminum melted onto the tip of the spark plug. It doesn't happen often but sometimes when Ford bores the hole in the head for the spark plugs it can leave rough casting nubs at the end of the hole. When it does heat up from the cylinder temperature they can come loose and attract itself to the tip of the plug since it is the hottest part of the cylinder and melt itself to it. The solution is to just change that plug. Like I said give us a call at the shop so we can discuss a little more in detail and find out what exactly is on the tip of that plug.

Thanks,

Justin@JDM
732.780.0770

 

As far as the TR6's go, I wouldn't worry about them being an issue, especially where you live. I (along with most of Swanson tuned trucks) run them with a 6# pulley on Cali gas and have no issues. Gap em around .38 according to the master. If it's tuned right, I would focus your problem solving efforts elsewhere (like where that buildup (good explanation by Jim) came from). My .02.

BD