BradyPPC

I am beginning to think you are all talk. I am going to have to throw the :bs:

I heard you could.

Its been a while since I posted a truck up. We just recently finished up a project for a customer that several cr members were able to catch a glimpse of during its progress. It was a pretty big attention getter while it was in the shop. I thought I would post up some pics so that those that saw it in the shop could see the finished project. The customer came in with a 2005 Chevy Kodiak. The customers inspiration for the project was Ironhide from the Transformers movies. After getting a rough idea of what the goal was, the guys got to work immediately putting ideas together and tossing them off the customer to come up with what he really wanted out of the finished project. Here is what the truck looked like when we first got it. http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0807091728a.jpg http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0807091727b-1.jpg The front and rear bumpers were replaced with Road Armor steel bumpers. The front was filled with a 12k lb winch and 2 sets of Piaa Lights. http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0807091726a.jpg From there, a black paint job was in order. A lot of little cosmetic stuff was done in black as well. The chrome running boards were given a black textured treatment and all of the accent lighting was smoked. One of the biggest challenges was the conversion from rear dual wheels to a single wheel. We ended up having custom 20" rims built for the truck and then wrapped them in 40" tires. http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/DSC02804.jpg http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/DSC02800.jpg The customer was really into the Transformers theme and really wanted it incorporated into the truck somehow. From there the idea of putting the Transformers logo into the tailgate came about. The customer was really hot on the idea so we had our painter work his magic. We also went ahead and surpised the customer by having the logo painted into the bowtie on the front as well. http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0921091900b.jpg http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0921091902d.jpg http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/0921091902a.jpg http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/Kodiak/DSC02805.jpg All in all, it was a really fun project to work on. It was really cool to get to see the customers reaction when he picked the truck up with his family. He was really thrilled with the results and at the end of the day, that is what makes our jobs so enjoyable.

Updating is easy. You can download the udate from diablos website here. http://www.diablosport.com/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=12 From there you need a usb to serial adapter, power to the predator, and the dsdownloader which can be downoaded from the same page. Plugging into the obdII port will supply power or you can get an adapter from radio shack. With a laptop, just use the diagnostic port. Radio shack also carries the usb to serial adapters. From there use the dsloader to load the update. Dont forget to return the car to stock before updating. On a side note, tuning with an X3 would be the best option. The a/f control in the graph is terrible and the predator user adjustable options only applies global fueling changes.

Brian, have you tried updating the predator yet? I assume this is an 03 Cobra (form the power numbers). If so the latest revision should be 9r02.

Yeah, Greg is a pretty cool guy. He is also a major supporter of load bearing dynos. Who better to learn from than an actual GM Calibrator. I actually had Greg do a private advanced course in my shop on my equipment. It was pretty cool because we were able to get into a decent amount of stuff that doesnt get covered in the standard courses. I also agree with you on the NGK AFX. It would be my wideband of choice for those in the "budget" arena. I would still recommend for anyone using a "budget wideband" to find a dyno that uses a lab grade wideband that is properly calibrated and compare the two. Some of the budget units are very accurate while some of them are not. It never hurts to err on the safe side.

Driver?????????

Here is a link I posted a while back that has a pretty good wideband comparison in a pretty well controlled environment. http://www.modularfords.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1225791&postcount=84 I use the ECM AFM-1000 at our shop for all of our tuning work. There are 2 different replacement sensor options that can be used with it, the original ntk sensor (~$450-$500 a piece) or the ngk sensor (~$200 a piece). I only use the original NTK's. They are expensive but I would rather know that I am using the best I can when I am working on a customers vehicle. As far as dyno manufactures go. I dont know of any that supply a lab grade unit. It is simple economics. They are already selling you an expensive piece of equipment and need to have something they can sell at a price they can make a good margin on. Lab grade equipment is expensive and the pricing would reflect that. A dyno is also a big investment and all of the dyno manufactures tell the same story (Ive talked to all of them). In the end, they are more interested in selling the dyno first and the add ons later. Mustang sells an Innovate wideband and I dont know much about the Dynojet wideband since I dont use it but I do know several Dynojet owners that will only use the AFM-1000 because it is known as the industry standard for accuracy. One of the first conversations I ever had with Greg Banish was about widebands and their use. His comments were "If you are going to be a professional shop, you had better have professional equipment". The AFM-1000 was one of the widebands at the top of his list. The AFM-1000 is also highly regarded by Kenne Bell. In fact, if their is a calibration issue in the a/f department on one of their calibrations, they will not accept any wideband readings other than the AFM-1000 or Horiba. Any other wideband out, they will dismiss as sensor error. My personal feelings on sampling methods are this. The wideband should be properly calibrated before each use and the wideband should be placed as close to the collector as possible and should be pre catalytic converter in the leanest bank. You can get readings after the cat but the cat has to be saturated for the readings to be accurate and even then there is no way to measure the saturation time of the cat. Going in front of the cat gets you exactly what is coming out of the motor a the time it exits. This is why the only way I tune a car is with the sensor in the exhaust stream as close to the collector as possible and in the leanest bank. As far as lambda, I do all of my tuning in lambda. It is kind of a personal preference thing. I am used to looking at the numbers and it is what I like to use. Theoretically, if you were going to tune in afr, you would know the stoich point of the fuel being used and correct the wideband so that it reads accordingly. Problem is stoich ratio can vary from brand, ethanol content, etc, etc. Using lambda, the stoich rate of any fuel, no matter what the mix is always going to be lamda 1 and you can just apply an equivalance ratio to hit the desired target lamda you wish to be at.

No problem Mike. Thanks for your business and if I can help with anything else, let me know.

They probably wont be too bad but it is hard to say. I have had vehicles with 30k where every plug broke and then had them with 70k where they all came out just fine. Its kind of a crap shoot. The mustangs seem to come out better than the trucks but there is still a chance. The plugs should make awful noises when coming out. Pm me your email address and I will send you over the tsb that outlines the Ford recommended removal procedure. Follow it and you should be okay. If you have any questions beyond that, give me a call and I will see if I can help.

In my opinion, that is playing with fire. There are stock blocks out there holding that kind of power though. It all comes down to risk vs reward and how close to the line you are willing to take it.

Here is a pic of the plugs side by side. From left to right they are hto w/roughly 20k on them, stock ht1, and brisk 1 piece. http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/DSC02342.jpg It is hard to tell in the photos but the autolites are a 2 piece design. The ground shield directly underneath the taper is crimped on. What happens over time is the ground shield starts to sieze itself to the head. There are three different ways the plugs can break off in the head. #1 When you go to pull the plugs out the crimps can break leaving the ground shield in the head. Requires a special tool but are easily removed. #2 The ground shield breaks and the porcelain snaps as well but snaps under the edge of the ground shield. Again requires a special tool. You have to push the porcelain into the ground shield and then pull the ground shield. A little more difficult but still not terrible. #3 The ground shield breaks and the porcelain snaps off above the crimp. It is possible to break the porcelain in a manner that it cannot be pushed into the ground strap far enough for the removal tools to grab the ground strap. If this happens the only option for removal is to pull the head. I have had them break all 3 ways. In a mustang they are not so bad. A truck is a complete different story. There are removal procedures to follow that help prevent the plugs from breaking off during removal but it doesnt always work. Putting a little antisieze on the crimp of the ht series plugs during installation goes a long way in preventing them from breaking off upon removal but does not fully eliminate the chance completely. The 1 piece brisks will not break which is why they are what I run in all of our stuff and what I recommend to our customers. They are a little more expensive but cheaper than spending time removing a broken plug. Part of that cost is in the fact that they are silver core vs platinum. Silver is more expensive and is a better conductor of electricity. The other is the fact that they are one piece. On a side note I have no problem installing the ht series plugs as long as the customer is aware of the potential costs down the road. I always give customers both options. Since we have been selling Brisk, I have not sold a single set of autolites for the 3v's.

I have a couple of more sets of plugs on order that should be shipping out tomorrow. They are all 1 step cooler than stock. I typically receive them in 2-3 business days. There is a chance I could have them by the end of this week but I would for sure have them by early next week.

I have the stock heat range in stock. I would need to order the colder heat range. Let me check and see how quick I can get them in.

I agree with you although NGK doesnt offer a plug for the 05-07 3v. The only choices are Autolite, Brisk, or Champion for the 3v's. The champions are crap, and the autolites are not great either but are better than the champions. The ground shield on the autolites is crimped on and likes to seperate during removal which is why the only plugs I use are the Brisk's. They are expensive but they are cheaper to put in than a broken set of plugs are to remove. If you are going to use the autolites, they need to be the HT0's as the HT1's are the stock heat range. You also need to check resistance across the plug at several different points as these had a common issue with high resistance due to the terrible two piece design. The other thing to keep in mind is to put antisieze on the crimp (not the threads) during installation.

Steve, John, or Dave??? Guess it really doesnt matter, I dont want to hear about it anyway.

I am pretty sure that everyone that has posted in this thread needs help!!

Thanks Erik! Anytime. BTW give me a shout tomorrow sometime. I got something for the stake bed and possibly for the rest of the fleet.

May have fried the ecu. I sent you a pm.

Congrats! Very nice.

It will spin slower and make less boost.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Thanks. The customer actually did the video and then sent us over the link. We werent expecting it but he did a nice job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD_9vAaSlwY

http://i548.photobucket.com/albums/ii353/brady/willitfit1-1-1.jpg Thats a nice freaking hat!