Do I NEED gauges??

[ajd257]

As of right now, my truck is bone stock, I ordered a DP for it last night and Im ordering the rest of the kit today. The DP is 3" and at the bottom of that I am going to 4". The only gauge I have on my truck now is a Tranny temp gauge, I know alot of people make it seem as though you have to run a pyro if you make any mods, but this exhaust cant do anything but lower the EGTs anyway, right?? My theory is that I have been runnin without a pyro and this can only make it better, so do I really need one?? Also plan to open up the intake shortly.Thanks a lot,
Andrew

 

[Agnem]

As of right now, my truck is bone stock, I ordered a DP for it last night and Im ordering the rest of the kit today. The DP is 3" and at the bottom of that I am going to 4". The only gauge I have on my truck now is a Tranny temp gauge, I know alot of people make it seem as though you have to run a pyro if you make any mods, but this exhaust cant do anything but lower the EGTs anyway, right?? My theory is that I have been runnin without a pyro and this can only make it better, so do I really need one?? Also plan to open up the intake shortly.Thanks a lot,
Andrew

Andrew, Running a stock NA or turbo truck is more than enough reason to have a pyro, and heres why. The stock pump is set to provide enough fuel to take the EGT's to about 1100 degrees, maybe a little more depending on altitude. The cetane value of fuel changes depending on the season and where you get it. It's possible under the right conditions of cetane, altitude and load, to push the EGT's toward the red line. Aside from the dangers of that, the pyro tells you a lot about how your driving. Kinda like the way a manifold vacuum gauge works on a gas engine. High vacuum always meant higher milage, and so it is with EGT's. Keeping them low, will help your fuel economy. The pyro is also used as a basis for measuring improvements made by other mods. If you sucessfully bring your EGT's down 100 degrees with a better exhaust, how will you know if you don't have a pyro now? The more guages you put on your truck, the better equipped you are as the driver to maximize it's efficiency and life span.

 

[Gildo]

Andrew, I agree with you. Hundreds of thousands of these trucks have run millions upon millions of miles with only the factory gauges. Nearly everyone will tell you that the first mods you should make are gauges. I totally disagree with them. As you alluded to, the gauges do absolutely nothing to increase performance, increase longevity, or lower EGTs. Spend your money on something that will actually improve the way that the engine runs and increase its longevity, you can buy the eye candy later. My advice to anyone who asks has always been to do the mods in this order:

1. Downpipe and exhaust
2. Intake
3. Transmission temperature gauge for those with automatics.
4. Pryrometer (and boost gauge at this time if you want one.)
5. Chip

Good luck,
Gil

 

[Agnem]

Andrew, I agree with you. Hundreds of thousands of these trucks have run millions upon millions of miles with only the factory gauges. Nearly everyone will tell you that the first mods you should make are gauges. I totally disagree with them. As you alluded to, the gauges do absolutely nothing to increase performance, increase longevity, or lower EGTs. Spend your money on something that will actually improve the way that the engine runs and increase its longevity, you can buy the eye candy later. My advice to anyone who asks has always been to do the mods in this order:

1. Downpipe and exhaust
2. Intake
3. Transmission temperature gauge for those with automatics.
4. Pryrometer (and boost gauge at this time if you want one.)
5. Chip

Good luck,
Gil

Definitely spoken by someone who doesn't know the IDI's well.

 

[Swany]

Andrew, I agree with you. Hundreds of thousands of these trucks have run millions upon millions of miles with only the factory gauges. Nearly everyone will tell you that the first mods you should make are gauges. I totally disagree with them. As you alluded to, the gauges do absolutely nothing to increase performance, increase longevity, or lower EGTs. Spend your money on something that will actually improve the way that the engine runs and increase its longevity, you can buy the eye candy later. My advice to anyone who asks has always been to do the mods in this order:

1. Downpipe and exhaust
2. Intake
3. Transmission temperature gauge for those with automatics.
4. Pryrometer (and boost gauge at this time if you want one.)
5. Chip

Good luck,
Gil

You say that gauges are eye candy but you fancy yourself on having them? That eye candy isn't going to improve performance, it merely lets you gauge where your vehicle is situated. Almost a hypocritical statement if you ask me.

 

[DIESEL_COP]

Andrew, I agree with you. Hundreds of thousands of these trucks have run millions upon millions of miles with only the factory gauges. Nearly everyone will tell you that the first mods you should make are gauges. I totally disagree with them. As you alluded to, the gauges do absolutely nothing to increase performance, increase longevity, or lower EGTs. Spend your money on something that will actually improve the way that the engine runs and increase its longevity, you can buy the eye candy later. My advice to anyone who asks has always been to do the mods in this order:

1. Downpipe and exhaust
2. Intake
3. Transmission temperature gauge for those with automatics.
4. Pryrometer (and boost gauge at this time if you want one.)
5. Chip

Good luck,
Gil

I would always put a pyro on and for this reason, after the dp and exhaust if you want free power turn up the fuel costs nothing but time and increases power but do not do it before a pyro or you will be paying for another piece of performance equipment - a new engine!

 

[budtoh3zo]

Need to get a water temp gage to. But mine stock gets to 1400*F on the pyro get one.

 

[argve]

As of right now, my truck is bone stock, I ordered a DP for it last night and Im ordering the rest of the kit today. The DP is 3" and at the bottom of that I am going to 4". The only gauge I have on my truck now is a Tranny temp gauge, I know alot of people make it seem as though you have to run a pyro if you make any mods, but this exhaust cant do anything but lower the EGTs anyway, right?? My theory is that I have been runnin without a pyro and this can only make it better, so do I really need one?? Also plan to open up the intake shortly.Thanks a lot,
Andrew

Do you tow? If so then I would recommend a pyro. To me driving a diesel without a pyro is like not wearing underware yes it can be fun but after awhile it will hurt you.... I know warped analogy but it gets the point across

 

[The Warden]

Gildo, I must respectfully disagree with you on this point. I am of the opinion that all diesel-powered vehicles should come from the factory with a pyro. A boost gauge is optional on a stock engine (or a lightly modded PSD), but as Mel alluded to, you can get EGT's up to a dangerous level even on a stock engine.

Just my $.02...

 

[F350camper]

IMHO Knowledge is power, it's always better to know what’s going on.

 

[Mike]

For 250~300 clams,,get the guages........ The worst it can do is let you know whats going on with the truck.

 

[timntools]

ok, I agree with getting gauges, but in defense of the lamb amonst wolves, don't you think if the gauges were detrimental to the truck, they would have came with them? If all he's going to do is open up the exhaust some, and he doesn't do anything more with the truck than what the factory specked out, then whats the point? if he's doing what Ford said the truck can do, then he shouldn't be hurting it...right?

go ahead flame away, but I just figured this looked a lil onesided and I always pull for the underdog

 

[wanderer]

Been running a chip for about 3 years, with out any gauges. I've got over 5,000 miles with some babies, no gauges. I readily agree that I don't know what the temperatures are while driving. Simple prudence in throttle usage, and a little bit of knowledge of what is happening when you push on it will suffice. My truck weighs 10,320lbs every day. I push her hard, every day. If she blows up tomorrow, you can tell me that y'all told me so.

 

[budtoh3zo]

How do u put a chip in a IDI think about it.

 

[Agnem]

PSD's already are equipped with a full set of gauges. It's just that they are not human readable. They are called computer sensors, and it's something the IDI doesn't want or have. Chips are things that get in between the seats and on the floor. To think that Ford didn't put such a thing in because it wasn't needed is to not understand vehicle manufactures. They constantly balance cost and risk. They were told to use SCA's by IH, and decided not to. That risk ended up in their face. Adding gauges would make the vehicle look harder to drive, and cause more F.U.D. amongst prospective buyers. Why do you think the MIL on your truck just says "Check Engine" instead of telling you what's really wrong? Cost and FUD. As far as I'm concerned, no you do not need gauges, and we don't need to tell you that you need them. Why should it matter to us if you damage your engine some day? Well, maybe cause we're actually here to talk to you. Where is the Ford engineer that decided you didn't need a pyro? You can't talk to him, he's safely hidden away never to see the results of his decision. That's OK though. You put all your faith in him. It's no skin off our backs.