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PHP 6 pos chip

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  bikeluver43 
#1 ·
Power hungry performance 6 position phoenix chip, any good and bad experiences with it, how does it perform, looking into getting one for my truck and need a little more knowledge of how good or bad it is before I make the decision.
 
#2 ·
I love it. PHP is the only tunes I've tried, but they are great.

What I have

Whisper
65Tow
65Daily
100Perf
120Race
No Start


What I will eventually change my tunes to:

High Idle 1,100
65Tow
85DD
100Perf
*TBD*
Whisper

Not a fan of the 120Race. It is more responsive off the line than the 100Perf, but it falls on it's face sooner. I know the problem is my turbo though. Plenty of fuel going in, but not enough air.

I've used 65Tow a couple of times, but without a trailer. I don't have anything to haul at the moment, however, I have made snack bar runs. Enough weight to set me down on the over loads, so I figured the tow position was the best spot. Did great.

Whisper is friggen fantastic. I will never not have that option available.

65DD is okay. Much, much better than stock. However, I find myself in 100Perf 95% of the time. Another 20hp in DD mode wouldn't be bad.

I don't use the no-start. The few times I have, I forget I did, and crank and crank trying to start. Pissed me off, so I stopped using it. It is great for what it does though. I tested it on someone that has no idea about diesels, and they couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start.

I want high idle for when I park for extended periods, and cold weather warm ups.


Performance:

7.2 second 0-60 in 100Perf.

Went from 14.7mpg, cruise at 70. --stock; to 18.2mpg, cruise at 70. --65DD position; empty for all of that. Just me and a pack.

Experienced 20mpg driving on one trip with avg speed of <65. Only made that trip once, but all numbers I'm giving were measured at the pump.

I was at 16.something city driving in 100Perf, but that number has changed with bigger tires, and a stuck hub has mucked my numbers.


My standard setting is 100Perf. I change it to DD when on the freeway empty. Loaded down with camping gear, I keep it at 100.

I had the necessity to change my valve body. For all the good tunes are, my tranny was taking a beating. When I first installed it, I noticed the shifts were much firmer. I kept it in DD until my CTS arrived. Once I left the DD tune, it was horrible. I was shifting so hard that it was actually scary. I dropped in a valve body from John Woods, and everything is perfect. Nice, solid, firm shifts, but without the violence. I am a firm believer in violence solving most problems, but my chip seemed to think my transmission was the problem.

I am also a believer that the shifting issue I was having is the same reason "canned" tunes blow up tranny's. "Canned" tunes are designed to be THE answer to all your tuning needs; heat is a product of that belief. If you get a chip, budget in $245 for a VB from John. Pleasant guy to talk to on the phone, and he'll make the VB do exactly what you want. I didn't call him. I placed an order online, he called me to figure out what I wanted the tranny to do. That kind of customer service is why I'll buy a JW tranny when this one eventually lets go. Not to mention, he went on vacation right after he shipped me the VB. I left him a message that my old one was shipped, and he actually called me back to tell me it was received.
 
#3 ·
thanks for the feedback I was thinking when I get one it'll go a little something like this:

65 tow
100 performance
120 race
140 extreme
whisper
lope idle

also what is the tune you have listed as *TBD*
 
#4 ·
Lope idle is useless imho. As I understand it, it's just an idle tune, stock otherwise. Though they can make it something else off idle if I understand it correctly. To me, it makes the Power Stroke sound like a Cummins at idle.

I haven't tried the 140 Extreme, as it's not offered for the PMR's I have. Unless you do something to your turbo, I think you'll encounter the same issue I have with the 120 Race. Cool off the line, but falls on it's face sooner than you think it should. Nothing against the tune, as the smoke shows it is doing what it's suppose to. The stock turbo just can't keep up with demand.

With that said, your driving style might prefer the 120 over the 100. There is user bias in the opinion. If you do much unloaded freeway driving, you might want a DD tune in there. That's really the only time I use DD anymore, depending on load. Empty, DD just *feels* better at cruise. If you're in a climate that gets cold in the winter, you may want the high idle as well. It doesn't really get cold here, but there are times I would prefer to have the option.

You will find that you run one tune much more than any other. The nice thing about PHP, and other good tuners, is the free reburns if nothing changes on your truck. You can figure out what you want as you use it.
 
#5 ·
Oh yes, the *place holder*. That's for after I start making changes, or if there's something I want to try. I don't have a good use for that extra position. It has to be filled with something, I think, so it will be, but it's a place holder. Once I get to modifying the injectors and turbo, it will have an actual spot, but on stock sticks and air, it's not needed, for me.

My ultimate goal is Stage 1, and whatever air I need to make it not smoke anymore. I'll get it tuned for different uses as such, and PHP or TW will be my tuners. I've met and talked with both, and I know them to be stand up and knowledgeable fellows. No matter what anyone else says or claims, my truck is my main ride, and I don't really trust people I haven't had at least a conversation with.

On that note, I've met and talked to both Tony and Bill, and I trust both to do whatever they want to my truck. They could ask me to run a 500hp tune on my truck and I'd happily oblige because I know them both to be professionals that enjoy repeat customers and word-of-mouth advertising.
 
#7 ·
I went with:

Stock
65 tow
85 Daily Driver
120 Race
Quiet
Anti theft

I'm totally pleased. 65 tow keeps the EGT's down even when moving 22,000lbs up the hill. 80DD will just barely create a haze out of the exhaust. 120 race cut one full second off my best ET at the 1/8 mile drag strip.
 
#8 ·
Their tunes are great, shifting was a big improvement and the truck responds great. They aren't harsh feeling tunes (My diablo felt like an ON/OFF Switch and would jolt when you touched the throttle). The PHP has a nice tip in on the throttle with the power coming on nice and smooth.

Personally if I had to choose 6 - 65 Tow, 80Tow, 80DD, 100 Performance, 120 Extreme, Whisper
 
#9 ·
In reading your conversations, I have a question: Kind of a stupid one but,

What is the difference, if any, between the whisper and quiet setting? Thanks for the help.

You guys recommend the PHP vs the TS then?
 
#10 ·
Not really sure if there is a difference in Whisper/Quiet - Basically it just drops the RPM's down to like 500RPM or so but it makes a big difference when ordering at drive through or talking to someone outside of the truck.

TS Chips you see on Ebay or whatever, are canned tunes that are not specific to a year of truck. They aren't as powerful or good in regards to trans etc.

PHP (or anyone else) has custom tunes that are specific to each model year setup and put out a lot more power and tune the trans shifting as well. Big difference.
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the help, everything makes much more sense now. The PHP sounds better and better, that or you are one hell of a salesman. lol
 
#12 ·
LOL thanks, although I don't work for them. I just did a ton of reading and comparing and felt like PHP had the best overall option.

For the $425 I spent I get ALL of PHP's tunes that they offer for my year of truck. I can pick and choose what I like, or load them all and try them all. I can also get custom tunes written by Geardhead/TW/Beans/etc and load them onto my Hydra so I can try them too all without removing my chip.

If I had gone with someone else, I'd be paying $400+ but be stuck with a 6 position chip that only held their tunes and if I wanted to try something else, would have to be removed to be reburned - sometimes costing $100+ the cost of tunes for a reburn. Seemed like a no brainer to me to get the Hydra and I'm glad I did.
 
#13 ·
I totally agree with you and see where you are coming from. You definitely do your research diligently just like I do before you buy and I appreciate that. I am sold on the PHP and that is what I am going to get next month. Thanks for all the help.
 
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