TST PowerMax 3 Competition
05-23-2003, 09:23 AM
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TST PowerMax 3 Competition
I got my hands on Dad's new PowerMax 3 Competition box yesterday that just came in the mail. I have been running a regular PM3 with a remote and have been talking about getting mine reprogrammed to the Comp settings for some time now :
. The boxes changed out quickly thanks to TST's 9-pin plug, so in 10 minutes I had my PM3 out and the Comp box in. With all the talk that TST has changed their programming and stacking boxes isn't as good anymore I was worried that this combo wouldn't work as good, but off on the test drive I went. I was told that level 5 on the Comp equals level 9 on the regular PM3, so I started there. Sure enough, the truck felt just like normal... spool up, smoke, EGTs, and power were all the same. Up to level 6.... The truck pulled about the same through the middle of the power band, but on the top end it didn't have the defueling about 2800 like the regular PM3 does... I liked it, but still had 3 more levels I was itching to try 9, but decided to skip over 7 and try level 8. I got into it once and it felt noticeably stronger, but I couldn't stand it so I cranked it up to nine. I had my OD locked out (3rd gear), so I stomped it to the floor and kept and eye on my EGT gauge. The truck pulls noticeably harder on the Comp level 9 compared to the regular level 9, but the EGT gauge wasn't horribly worse. When the gauge hit 1500 I looked down at the speedo and I was almost to 90 when I thought "my truck won't do 90 in 3rd..." because the PM3 was pretty much done fueling by 3200. My eyes darted over to the tack which was sweeping past 3500 and hit 3625 by the time I let off the throttle 
. I now have a trail of smoke at WOT where it would be clear before. To sum it up, the truck pulls like a freight train and does NOT defuel at all! The only downside to the box is that the box will shudder the pump on level 9 pretty bad. After playing around some more, level 8 feels about as quick as 9, but you can avoid all pump shudder as long as you're not radical with the throttle. No matter how smooth you are on 9, though, it's going to shudder. I'm going to do some testing with and without my TTPM piggybacked to see how the different combos work out (I have had it hooked up the whole time so far). For those looking for a seriously hot box, look no further than the Competition box... this thing is extreme!
John
PS... On the way home I laid waste to a turbo'd and nitrous'd cavalier (biggest turbo and NOS kit available according to him when he pulled up next to me later :P) : Apparently the 10 trucklengths I put on him from 70-110 wasn't enough so he wanted to try from a stop light. FWD vs 4WD launch didn't work out so well... I had ~15 trucklengths by the time I hit 90 . I think his girl riding shotgun was a little awestruck 
. The boxes changed out quickly thanks to TST's 9-pin plug, so in 10 minutes I had my PM3 out and the Comp box in. With all the talk that TST has changed their programming and stacking boxes isn't as good anymore I was worried that this combo wouldn't work as good, but off on the test drive I went. I was told that level 5 on the Comp equals level 9 on the regular PM3, so I started there. Sure enough, the truck felt just like normal... spool up, smoke, EGTs, and power were all the same. Up to level 6.... The truck pulled about the same through the middle of the power band, but on the top end it didn't have the defueling about 2800 like the regular PM3 does... I liked it, but still had 3 more levels I was itching to try 9, but decided to skip over 7 and try level 8. I got into it once and it felt noticeably stronger, but I couldn't stand it so I cranked it up to nine. I had my OD locked out (3rd gear), so I stomped it to the floor and kept and eye on my EGT gauge. The truck pulls noticeably harder on the Comp level 9 compared to the regular level 9, but the EGT gauge wasn't horribly worse. When the gauge hit 1500 I looked down at the speedo and I was almost to 90 when I thought "my truck won't do 90 in 3rd..." because the PM3 was pretty much done fueling by 3200. My eyes darted over to the tack which was sweeping past 3500 and hit 3625 by the time I let off the throttle . I now have a trail of smoke at WOT where it would be clear before. To sum it up, the truck pulls like a freight train and does NOT defuel at all! The only downside to the box is that the box will shudder the pump on level 9 pretty bad. After playing around some more, level 8 feels about as quick as 9, but you can avoid all pump shudder as long as you're not radical with the throttle. No matter how smooth you are on 9, though, it's going to shudder. I'm going to do some testing with and without my TTPM piggybacked to see how the different combos work out (I have had it hooked up the whole time so far). For those looking for a seriously hot box, look no further than the Competition box... this thing is extreme!John
PS... On the way home I laid waste to a turbo'd and nitrous'd cavalier (biggest turbo and NOS kit available according to him when he pulled up next to me later :P) :
Apparently the 10 trucklengths I put on him from 70-110 wasn't enough so he wanted to try from a stop light. FWD vs 4WD launch didn't work out so well... I had ~15 trucklengths by the time I hit 90 . I think his girl riding shotgun was a little awestruck
05-23-2003, 09:47 AM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
That's pretty harsh man. If the girl is in the car, your supposed to hang beside him for a little bit and let him think he's winning. Then blow his *** out of the water. ;D
05-23-2003, 10:07 AM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
[quote author=BigBlue link=board=7;threadid=15057;start=0#141335 date=1053701247]<br>That's pretty harsh man. If the girl is in the car, your supposed to hang beside him for a little bit and let him think he's winning. Then blow his *** out of the water. ;D<br>[/quote]<br><br>Sheep, then penguins , then cows and now you and yer donkey.<br><br> 
<br><br>TWISTED ;D
<br><br>TWISTED ;D
05-23-2003, 10:15 AM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
[quote author=BigBlue link=board=7;threadid=15057;start=0#141350 date=1053702617]<br>Donkey's are funny. <br>[/quote]<br><br>I at Scotty all the time.
<br>[/quote]<br><br>I at Scotty all the time.
05-23-2003, 11:46 AM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
Uhm,,,,,,,, Johnner,,,,,,,,,<br> Don't ya think you better get that put back in the shipping box and taped up before your Dad gets home??<br> However,,,,,, if they visually look the same on the outside,,,,, you could always slip your old PM3 into the box and tape it up,,,,,,,, Maybe Dad wouldn't find out! :
05-23-2003, 12:08 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
What was your fuel pressure on level 9 at wot? & could you explain this pump shudder a little better.thanks alot kurt..ps i want to know because im going to the power max 3 competion myself...I cant wait.
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05-23-2003, 01:39 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
Dennis...<br><br> You're a riot buddy! ;D Dad actually wanted me to try it on my truck before he put it on his anyway... I'm just being the guinea pig for the new model. He said I could borrow it until he gets his tranny built, but I'm planning on stopping by TST on the way to muncie to get my reprogrammed, so I'll hand it back next week before we leave. The boxes are the same size, of course, but the comp box has a sweet red face on it instead of the regular white/silver face and it says competition across the bottom... looks good hanging on the bottom of the dash :P<br><br>Kurt,<br><br>I'm running the PE4200 with ADT's lines (-8 to the pump and -6 from there to the VP) and can't budge my pump off 15 psi. The pressure started to drop on it a while back, so I pulled the spring out of the side port and stretched it about 1/4" and haven't budged the gauge since then. The shuddering is a really wierd feeling.. it feels like it's shaking the whole truck when you let off the throttle. On level 9, no matter how smooth you try to be, when your foot comes off the map it feels like you're stabbing the gas on and off two to four times (it varies). It's pretty alarming the first few times it does it, and it just feels like it's killing the poor VP becuase it's fueling so hard, so... I wouldn't run it everyday on that setting... drag racing/sled pulling only. Level 5 or 6 is about all I think I feel comfortable running as a daily driver level to try to conserve pump life, eliminate shudder and keep the sensitivity of the pedal down (it's so sensitive on level 8 that crusing along gets you a slight surging in acceleration even though boost levels remain constant... it's a little strange). Definitely worth the upgrade though!
You're a riot buddy! ;D Dad actually wanted me to try it on my truck before he put it on his anyway... I'm just being the guinea pig for the new model. He said I could borrow it until he gets his tranny built, but I'm planning on stopping by TST on the way to muncie to get my reprogrammed, so I'll hand it back next week before we leave. The boxes are the same size, of course, but the comp box has a sweet red face on it instead of the regular white/silver face and it says competition across the bottom... looks good hanging on the bottom of the dash :P<br><br>Kurt,<br><br>I'm running the PE4200 with ADT's lines (-8 to the pump and -6 from there to the VP) and can't budge my pump off 15 psi. The pressure started to drop on it a while back, so I pulled the spring out of the side port and stretched it about 1/4" and haven't budged the gauge since then. The shuddering is a really wierd feeling.. it feels like it's shaking the whole truck when you let off the throttle. On level 9, no matter how smooth you try to be, when your foot comes off the map it feels like you're stabbing the gas on and off two to four times (it varies). It's pretty alarming the first few times it does it, and it just feels like it's killing the poor VP becuase it's fueling so hard, so... I wouldn't run it everyday on that setting... drag racing/sled pulling only. Level 5 or 6 is about all I think I feel comfortable running as a daily driver level to try to conserve pump life, eliminate shudder and keep the sensitivity of the pedal down (it's so sensitive on level 8 that crusing along gets you a slight surging in acceleration even though boost levels remain constant... it's a little strange). Definitely worth the upgrade though!
05-23-2003, 02:35 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
Banshee thanks for the reply do you have the stock pickup in the tank or did you go to a bigger stand pipe.This is the same fuel system that i ordered from adt but it has'nt arrived yet.Im running the carter pusher with the stock lines & i can pull my fuel pressure to zero with my comp box & my don m edms that are awesome i must say.thanks.kurt.
05-23-2003, 02:37 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
"it feels like it's shaking the whole truck when you let off the throttle. On level 9, no matter how smooth you try to be, when your foot comes off the map it feels like you're stabbing the gas on and off two to four times (it varies). It's pretty alarming the first few times it does it, and it just feels like it's killing the poor VP becuase it's fueling so hard, so... "<br><br>Be *VERY* cautious about that!<br><br>There have been several case when heavy fueling boxes are used, that the same effect was noted just prior to the VP-44 taking a dive! 
05-23-2003, 02:57 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
Kurt,<br><br>No I pulled out the stock pickup and ran my own 1/2 standpipe down inside there. The stock pickup is ~1/4 ID and makes a loop inside the sending unit... looks like a good place to collapse the hose to me. I'd definitely consider pulling it out with the fuel you're going to be running. My Dad just ordered the pump and lines from them last week and they said they have 9-10 orders to fill... sounds like it's becoming a popular system! You won't be disappointed in the setup... it works great. <br><br>Gary,<br><br>I agree with you 100%. I don't plan on firing up level nine unless I'm at the strip or have a hot street racing going on. I also think that running the top 4 levels for long periods of time would be hard on the solenoids in the pump.<br><br>John
05-23-2003, 04:45 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
[quote author=Gary - KJ6Q link=board=7;threadid=15057;start=0#141434 date=1053718635]<br>that the same effect was noted just prior to the VP-44 taking a dive! <br>[/quote]<br><br>I'm going to fire something in here as well. The PM3 Competition on an ETC equipped engine is a COMPETITION module. This is extreme high performance stuff here, and the shuddering of the VP44 is due to fuel being pulled on (and off) very aggressively, not a sign of a pump failing. Is the PM3 Comp hard on the injector pump in the higher levels? Probably. Anytime you wind a pump or engine up to high speeds, and then chop electrical current/fuel and bring it down hard, you're being hard on the component. As Johnner noted, the upper levels (6 and up) are considered the competition modes and should only be used when racing or sled pulling, otherwise level 5 (which is still non-defueling, and equivalent to a DRAG Comp) should be used. An ETH equipped truck will not experience the shudder on the higher levels.<br><br>Rod
<br>[/quote]<br><br>I'm going to fire something in here as well. The PM3 Competition on an ETC equipped engine is a COMPETITION module. This is extreme high performance stuff here, and the shuddering of the VP44 is due to fuel being pulled on (and off) very aggressively, not a sign of a pump failing. Is the PM3 Comp hard on the injector pump in the higher levels? Probably. Anytime you wind a pump or engine up to high speeds, and then chop electrical current/fuel and bring it down hard, you're being hard on the component. As Johnner noted, the upper levels (6 and up) are considered the competition modes and should only be used when racing or sled pulling, otherwise level 5 (which is still non-defueling, and equivalent to a DRAG Comp) should be used. An ETH equipped truck will not experience the shudder on the higher levels.<br><br>Rod
05-23-2003, 05:07 PM
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Re:TST PowerMax 3 Competition
Thanks for the explanation rod.I think you & i talked about this a while back.Heck with over 700 ft lb of torque i realy dont even need a fueling box.Thanks to my new don m injectors have a nice weekend.kurt.
have a nice weekend.kurt.