MP8 Performance Chip

[M&Beller]

I have a 2005 Winnebago Journey DP with a 350 Cat C7 on a Freightliner chasis. The coach has about 28,000 miles on it and I decided to do something to boost the performance and maybe increase my fuel mileage. I had the full M3 maintenance performed on the engine at 20,000 miles.

First thing I did was open up the air flow to and from the engine. I added a new AFE air filter but rather than put in the same size filter, I installed a larger filter. The OEM filter had a capacity of about 960 cfm and the new larger one has a capacity of about 1550 cfm. The hose size into the old filter was 6" and was 5" coming out but since the the inlet and outlet hose size for the new filter housing was 7", I swaged up at the air intake duct and ran 7" all the way to the new filter and out of the filter and swaged back down to 5" at the engine.

I also replaced my OEM muffler with a new AeroTurbine 5050XL muffler on the exhaust. The inlet and outlet piping size was already 5" so I did not have to make much modification to this system except to do a little cutting to get everthing to fit properly.

By letting the engine breath better I noticed that the coach was a lot peppier. It accelerated quicker and I was able to merge into traffic quicker and was able to pass slower traffic quicker. The trans also seeemed to downshift quicker and it got to 6th gear faster than before, but this may be a figment of my imagination since I did not take notes on this before.

The final thing that I did was to install a TS Performance MP-8 chip to the engine. So basically I added the 3 items that seem to be the most recommended in many of the threads on this forum. I cranked up the setting to the full 30% to see how the engine performed. Last weekend I drove about 50 miles to a campground where we stayed for the weekend. After I got there I noticed a lot of soot on the coach just above the tailpipe. I never had soot on the coach before, so I washed it off. Then on the way home I noticed that when I started up from a dead stop, like at at stop sign, the exhaust would belch out a big cloud of black sooty exhaust just like you see from city buses and 18 wheelers. Black exaust means unburned hydrocarbons which means poor combustion in the engine.

So.........my question is this. Is this the normal operation with the MP-8 chip?? If not, what is going on here? Has anyone else had experience with these performance chips?

I turned the MP-8 setting back to the stock setting (which basically deactivates the chip). When I drove the coach back to the storage lot, I did not notice black soot belching out of the tailpipe anymore when starting from a dead stop. I may try the 15% setting on my next trip and see what happens then.

- Mike

[JonBrazel]

On a diesel engine some black soot = power...to a point!

We usually recommend the 15% setting on motorhomes.

[M&Beller]

Thanks Jon - I was hoping that you were monitoring this Winnie forum.

- Mike

[MaverickBBD]

What are you going to do to increase the 960 ft/lbs of torque?

[M&Beller]

I dont understand where you got 960 ft/lbs of torque from.
The MP-8 is only supposed to provide an additional 365 ft-lbs of torque when cranked all the way up to the 30% setting.

[RocketDork]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonBrazel On a diesel engine some black soot = power...to a point!

Have to agree with that.

This

The link above shows some performance Diesel engines at work. If soot didn't equal power, it wouldn't be there...

[TandW]

Soot in exhaust is the visual indication of poor combustion control or fuel/air management. If you had chimneys across America belching "POWER" you would find yourself back in the NIFTY FIFTIES with smog and particulate emissions so thick and profuse that Mom couldn't hang the wash outside and Dad came home with a red car if he worked at the steel mill and the neighbor who worked at the power plant would wash the gray from his. Those tractor hobbyists would have a better challenge in devising ways to attain more complete combustion in their dinosaur engines which would give them even more horsepower to play with.

[RocketDork]

Well, then I stand corrected.

I do find it interesting though that every high performance diesel engine I have ever seen has the same black smoke coming out of it. I guess they are all doing it wrong.

Those mechanics that make their living out of wringing out that last bit of torque and horsepower are so dumb...