Technology has been moving at an extremely quick pace over the past decade or so, and the rapid movement has brought an abundance of computers with features that some never thought possible.
We've faced a similar technological advancement in the truck market. Once we shed the carburetor-induction systems, we went to computer-controlled fuel injection. Early fuel-injected hot rodders relied on replacement computer chips to add a little more power to their combination. Those simple computer chips were followed with more-advanced replacement chips that manipulated more than just timing and fuel curves. As the computers became more complicated from the factory, so did the ways of cracking the coding and manipulating it. Soon, custom tuning was available and the tuner would burn a chip and replace the factory one.
Our '02 F-250 Super Duty leaves the starting line at Englishtown Raceway Park. By the end of the day, we had loaded the Stage 3 tuneup and knocked down low 16-second performances. Our best was 16.16 at 84.64 mph, far better than the 17.99 at 76.02-mph run we turned during baseline testing.
Times moved forward, and aftermarket computer chips are now becoming less popular. The leading method of uploading a computer tune is through the OBD-II port, which is a computer-diagnostic access point. By way of a port under the dashboard, handheld tuners plug into '96-and-later vehicles and electronically extract the factory engine parameters and replace them with a modified set of commands. That may be a much-shortened history, but you can see how tuning our trucks has evolved over the past 10 years. Just like the personal-computer industry, our methods and tools have improved by becoming smaller and more advanced. That stacks up to a superior product for you, the consumer.
After the initial vehicle setup, the Hyperpac's main menu appears. This is where you'll navigate through the five different functions the Hyperpac offers. The main menu is a touch screen, making it easy to use. It also offers the option to go back into the vehicle/owner information. This is so further modifications can be made to the vehicle's details like rear-gear and tire-size changes.
Taking the handheld-programmer market to the next level is Hypertech, a longtime staple in the industry. The company was born in the early 1980s and quickly made its mark with replacement PROM (or chips) for ECMs. The latest product from the Hypertech folks is its highly touted Hyperpac ("pac" refers to Performance Automotive Computer). We first learned of this computer tuner at last year's SEMA Show. This past spring, we were able to get our greasy hands on one for some testing.
The Hyperpac is unique in that it's more than just a tuner. There are five distinctive features included: performance tuning, dragstrip, dynamometer, engine monitor, and diagnostics. Like we said, this programmer is more than a tuner. Hypertech even hints that there are more options coming; the Hyperpac can be upgraded with these new features once they are available. Like the modern computer tuners, this one plugs into the OBD-II located under the dashboard.
The Hyperpac is available for 6.0L and 7.3L Power Stroke-equipped trucks (including Excursion). In this issue we installed the Hyperpac on an '02 F-250 Super Duty with a 7.3L Power Stroke. The only modifications to the truck were a K&N cold-air kit and a MagnaFlow exhaust system (with stock downpipe).
When you open the box, the Hyperpac looks more like a navigational unit rather than a high-performance tuner. The instructions can be intimidating since the manual is 66-pages thick. We don't follow instructions all that well, so we decided to learn as we went. The Hyperpac was plugged in under the dashboard, and we navigated through the screens using the instruction booklet as a guide. There are a series of setup questions to answer so the computer can adapt to the truck and accurately monitor and log dragstrip performance, run diagnostics, and calculate estimated horsepower.
 Here is the recorded run with...  Here is the recorded run with the Stage 3 tuneup loaded into the computer. The Hyperpac reads a bit quicker than the Englishtown clocks due to the rollout of the tires. Basically, we staged "shallow," meaning we just barely lit the staged light. This was to get the most elapsed time out of the truck, and since the tires are larger than normal, it takes some time for them to break the beams and start the timing system. The real story is that we picked up nearly two seconds and over 9 mph on the dragstrip when comparing the factory computer tune to the Hyperpac Stage 3 tuneup. |  Each drag-racing test has...  Each drag-racing test has a separate screen where you can save notes and track your progress. All drag-racing results and notes can be saved and referenced at a future date. |  Drive-wheel horsepower is...  Drive-wheel horsepower is displayed in both chart and graph form. Stock trim, the Hyperpac reported our rwhp at 265; Stage 1 tune equaled 302.2; Stage 2 tune cranked out 338.6; and the most powerful tune was Stage 3 with an estimated 371.3 rwhp. |