The EPA is a U.S. agency that makes rules to limit pollution. If you tune a diesel, those rules can affect what changes are allowed and what the shop has to be careful about.
Topic
7 threes
“7 threes” is a shorthand for BMW 7 Series cars. The speakers are talking about an owner event where people can learn from each other.
Business development means helping a business grow by building connections and finding opportunities. It’s more than just selling parts—it’s also about how the shop runs and who it works with.
Here, “tuning” means adjusting the truck’s computer settings. People do it to make the engine feel stronger and more responsive.
Company
power hundred performance
They mention Power Hundred Performance as a company that makes tuning-related products. The idea is that their tools help you modify and control the truck’s performance.
The Medusa interface is a gadget that helps two tuning electronics work together. It’s meant to make it easier to control the tuning using a different screen or controller.
The Cadillac CTS is a luxury car in the mid-size sedan category. It has electronics and features that can connect to other systems. In the podcast, it’s likely being used as an example of how those vehicle systems can be controlled or communicated with.
A firmware update is like updating the device’s built-in software. It can add new features—here, they’re using it to enable Bluetooth control and improve how the device can be programmed.
Term
high-speed read the data
This means the device can pull live data faster. The hosts are suggesting USB will make data monitoring quicker than before.
RPM tells you how fast the engine is spinning. When tuning, RPM is important because the engine behaves differently at different speeds.
Term
sloj 1850 bus
Cars use internal communication “networks” to share sensor data. The point here is that the older bus they’re comparing against can’t send as much data as their newer setup.
Cyclops is an older gadget they previously made. They’re mentioning it to show how their tuning hardware has progressed over time.
Brand
DP tuner
DP Tuner sounds like a company or product line that makes tuning gear for diesel trucks. They’re part of the ecosystem of devices people use to change engine behavior.
Term
R chip
In diesel tuning, a “chip” is a device that changes how the engine computer runs the engine. It can adjust things like fueling and boost to change how the truck drives.
Term
TS chip
This sounds like another tuning “chip,” meaning a device that helps the engine computer run differently for more power or different drivability.
Term
Summit 7 3
This sounds like a truck/diesel event where they showed a preview of their product. People who attended were the ones who bought it quickly.
They’re saying the product can be rolled out in steps instead of everything at once. That can let truck owners start using it sooner and add more features later.
The Ford Edge is a crossover SUV, meaning it’s built for normal daily driving with extra space. The podcast mentions it because people may use add-on tuning or monitoring devices on it. That’s why it comes up in a conversation about compatibility with certain vehicle systems.
Fast Connect is an app-based feature that lets you check on your fuel system from your phone. It’s basically remote monitoring for an aftermarket setup.
An injector is the part that sprays fuel into the engine. If you replace injectors, the tune may need updates so the engine still gets the right amount of fuel at the right time.
Data logging means saving lots of sensor readings while the car or truck is running. Tuners look at those saved numbers to see what’s really happening and then make the tune better.
Start of injection is when the engine starts squirting fuel into the cylinders. If it happens too early or too late, the engine can make less power or run roughly.
Timing is about when the engine injects fuel during each engine cycle. Changing it can make the engine run smoother and stronger, but the wrong timing can be harmful.
ICP pulse is a fast-changing sensor signal that shows what the high-pressure fuel system is doing. If the injector doesn’t fire correctly, the pressure signal pattern will look different.
Term
cracked nozzle
A cracked nozzle is damage at the injector tip. It can change how the fuel sprays, which can make the engine run worse and may be detectable through diagnostics.
An ICP drop means the high-pressure fuel pressure suddenly falls. If it drops too much during injection, it can indicate the injector isn’t working correctly.
EFI Live is a tool used to tune and troubleshoot diesel engines. It can read what the engine is doing (like sensor readings) and help diagnose problems.
Rail pressure is how hard the fuel system is pushing fuel to the engine. If it’s too low or unstable, the engine can run poorly, so tuners watch it closely.
From a diagnostic standpoint means “figuring out the cause” of a problem using evidence. Taking more readings helps you pinpoint what part is acting up.
Real-time logging records the car’s data as you’re driving, not later. That makes it easier to see what the engine is doing right when you make changes.
A “tune” is software that changes how the engine runs. “Proven tunes” are tunes that have been tested so they’re more likely to work well and safely.
Concept
custom stuff
“Custom stuff” means the tune or setup is tailored to that specific truck and its parts. Instead of a one-size-fits-all map, it’s adjusted for what the builder is trying to achieve.
Concept
OBS community
“OBS” is a nickname for older pickup trucks with a specific body style. The “OBS community” is the group of owners who love those trucks and keep them running with upgrades.
Complete Performance is a company that helps truck owners with parts or tuning support. The speaker is saying they’ve helped the community keep older trucks going.
After-treatment is the set of emissions devices on a modern diesel that clean up exhaust after the engine has already burned the fuel. It adds cost and can add maintenance considerations compared with older, simpler setups.
The head gasket is a seal between the engine block and the cylinder head. If it fails, the engine can start mixing fluids and overheating, which can be a big and expensive problem.
Term
pump problems
They mean problems with the fuel pump system. If the pump or related parts fail, the engine may not start well or may lose power, and repairs can get expensive.
A cam sensor tells the computer where the engine’s camshaft is. If it goes bad, the truck may run poorly or not run right, and repairs can get harder if parts are scarce.
Term
IPRs
IPRs are parts that help control how much pressure the diesel fuel system makes. If an IPR fails, the engine can lose power or run badly because it can’t manage fuel pressure correctly.
Valve cover gaskets are seals that keep oil from leaking around the top of the engine. If they fail, you’ll often see oil seepage and you may need to replace them to prevent bigger messes.
A wiring harness is the set of wires that connects the engine’s sensors and computers. Over time, heat and age can damage it, and replacing it can be a pain if parts are hard to find.
Concept
the ficum
This sounds like a name of a tuning product or topic they discussed earlier, but the transcript is unclear. If you share more of the surrounding audio/text, we can pin down what it is.
Multi-platform capable just means the tuning app works on more than one kind of device. So you can tune and check data from a phone or tablet, not only a laptop.
Flashing is when a tuning tool updates the car’s computer software. It replaces the factory settings with new settings so the engine behaves differently.
“Custom tuning” means tailoring the ECU calibration to a specific engine setup and goals (like drivability, power, and emissions behavior). The segment describes a workflow where custom tune files are programmed into the vehicle using the dongle and app.
Binaries are the actual tune files—the new settings the car’s computer will use. Flashing loads these files into the car so it runs with the updated calibration.
Here, “dealers” means the shops that sell vehicles and work with the brand. They’re excited because they’ll be able to offer the tuning product to customers.
Custom tuners are people who adjust a car’s computer settings to improve how it runs. They often tailor the tune to the specific car and modifications.
Development cost is the expense of making the product—like testing and engineering time. They’re asking whether it will be profitable enough to justify building it.
Development time is how long the team needs to finish the tuning work. They’re balancing speed and effort with whether they can deliver a product that makes sense.
They’re talking about how many units they think they’ll sell. If they only sell a few, the project might not be worth it; if they sell lots, it can pay off.
“CARB compliant” means the tune is set up to meet emissions rules used in California. The goal is to keep the truck within legal emissions limits even after tuning.
Term
Hydrochip
“Hydrochip” sounds like the name of their tuning product. They’re saying they’re very close to getting it ready, but they don’t explain the details in this clip.
“CARB certified” means California has checked the emissions impact and approved the product. If it’s not certified, it may not be legal to sell or use in California.
They’re using a specific truck as a trial vehicle to see if the tuning parts work correctly. They test it until the problems are fixed enough to pass the required approvals.
Term
high pressure all pump
“High pressure” refers to the fuel system’s ability to generate very high fuel pressure for modern diesel injection. “All pump” likely refers to the high-pressure pump(s) and related components that must be sorted out before testing and certification can proceed.
The hosts are discussing how California’s large truck population makes emissions compliance especially important for diesel tuning products. Because California has strict emissions rules, CARB certification can unlock a major portion of the market.
Here, “marketplace” just means where people buy products—like the wider customer market beyond one location.
Concept
R&D into creating their own regulations
They’re saying companies shouldn’t have to do extra work just because different states make their own rules. The more separate rules there are, the harder and more expensive it is to sell products everywhere.
They’re talking about emissions—how much pollution the product creates. Their point is that if pollution levels are already acceptable, the extra approval steps feel like extra hassle.
They’re talking about a company called Dfc Diesel that sponsors the show. The point is that they sell diesel engines and also help with technical episodes.
A remanufactured engine is an engine that’s been taken apart, rebuilt, and put back together again. The goal is to make it work like it should, but usually for less money than a brand-new engine.
ISO 9000 is a quality standard that companies follow to make sure their processes are controlled and consistent. They’re saying the engine rebuilds meet that kind of quality system.
A warranty is the coverage that helps pay for repairs if something goes wrong within a certain time. They’re saying the rebuilt engines come with a strong warranty.
OEM means “factory.” So an OEM engine is the same kind of engine the truck originally came with from the manufacturer.
Term
speed of air series
This is a named product/engine line that’s supposed to improve how air moves through the engine. The hosts say it can help with efficiency and performance, and they’ve talked about it in an earlier episode.
They’re talking about a specific piston brand/product called “speed of air pistons.” The idea is that these pistons improve how the engine burns fuel, which can translate into better efficiency and performance.
Fast Fuel Systems is a fuel-treatment setup. The goal is to keep the fuel cleaner and more consistent so the engine and fuel system work better and last longer.
The Lucid Air is an all-electric car. Instead of using diesel or gasoline, it runs on electricity stored in a battery. It can be mentioned when people talk about keeping systems clean and working properly so the car performs as expected.
Two microns is how fine the filter is. Smaller micron numbers mean it catches tinier dirt particles that can hurt the fuel system.
Concept
fuel system upgrade
A “fuel system upgrade” means improving the parts that deliver fuel to the engine. If you’re making more power, the stock fuel setup may not be able to feed enough fuel reliably.
The Eagle Summit is an older compact car. It’s the kind of vehicle people may work on or upgrade when they want to fix problems or improve how it runs. In the podcast, it’s likely being mentioned as a specific car example for those kinds of changes.
A “blower” is a forced-air device that helps the engine make more power. The “671” is basically the blower’s model/size, which changes how much extra air it can push in.
“Supercharged” means the engine has a device that pushes extra air into it. More air usually means more fuel can be burned, which helps make more power.
A “lope tune” is a computer setting that makes the engine idle sound rougher or more “choppy,” like it’s not running perfectly smooth. People usually do it for the sound and character, while still keeping the engine running right.
“Seven three” usually means the Ford 7.3-liter diesel engine (often called the Power Stroke). People like it because it’s a common, tough engine that can be modified for more power—especially with turbo and fuel upgrades.
Term
rat rod on bags
“Rat rod” is a rough, custom look. “Bags” means air suspension, which lets the truck change how low it sits—often for shows or a dramatic stance.
“Zoomy headers” are aftermarket exhaust parts that help the exhaust gases move out more easily. That can make a turbo diesel respond better and run more efficiently under boost.
A supercharger is a device that uses engine power to push more air into the engine. More air usually means more power, especially when you want boost right away.
“Two turbos” means the engine uses two turbochargers instead of one. The goal is usually more airflow and stronger boost, sometimes with better response.
“Boost off the line” means the engine starts making extra pressure quickly when you take off. That helps the truck feel stronger right away instead of waiting for the turbo to spool.
“psi” is a measurement of how much extra pressure the turbo/supercharger is pushing into the engine. More boost usually means more power potential, but it also requires the engine and fuel system to keep up.
When you add boost, the engine needs more fuel to make use of that extra air. If you don’t add enough fuel, you won’t get the power you expect; if you add too much without the right setup, it can overheat or stress the engine.
An engine dyno is a machine that runs the engine on a stand and measures how much power it makes. It helps tuners test changes like adding a blower or increasing boost.
A manifold is a part that channels gases to and from the engine. They’re talking about a special manifold design that would help hold the engine together better when making very high power.
They’re referencing a specific shop/person (Quarry at CNC Fab) that’s worked on 7.3 diesel builds. The point is that the shop has experience with custom parts and ideas for making more power.
The p-pump is the diesel engine’s fuel injection pump. It controls how much fuel gets sent into the cylinders, and upgrading it is a common way to support big power gains.
Sleeving means adding a liner inside the engine’s cylinder. It can make the cylinder walls stronger so the engine can handle more power without failing.
“Gen two” likely refers to a second-generation version of a component or system used in the tuning ecosystem, but the transcript doesn’t specify what it’s the second generation of. It’s mentioned as part of exploring an idea for the 7.3 build.
Term
oil rails
“Oil rails” are oil feed lines/passages that deliver pressurized oil to parts that need it. If you’re swapping injector components, the oil supply has to be set up correctly so the system can work as intended.
Electronics are the computer and sensors that control how the engine runs. If you change parts like injectors, the computer has to be able to control them properly.
These sensors tell the computer where the engine parts are. The ECU uses that information to time fuel injection so the engine runs smoothly and efficiently.
Term
extrude honing
Extrude honing is a machining/finishing method that can reshape or smooth small internal passages. In this case, it’s being used to change injector nozzle flow so the engine can get more fuel.
Term
intensifier pistons
Some diesel injection systems use a piston to squeeze fuel to very high pressure. If you’re trying to inject more fuel, that high-pressure part may need changes too.
“Hybrids” means cars that use both a gas/diesel engine and an electric motor. The speaker is saying this wasn’t really a factor in diesel tuning back then.
A turbo kit is an upgrade package for the turbocharger system. Since more fuel needs more air to burn well, turbo upgrades are a common step in making more diesel power.
Off-the-shelf parts are parts you can buy like normal products, not custom-made for your exact truck. They’re convenient, but they may not be ideal if you want extreme power or very specific results.
A turbo system is the turbocharger and the parts around it that control how much extra air the engine gets. More (and better-controlled) boost can mean more power, but it also needs to be matched to the rest of the engine.
“Daily drive” means you can use the truck normally every day. For tuned diesels, it usually means the upgrades still feel smooth and dependable in everyday traffic.
Data logs are recordings of what the engine is doing while you drive. Tuners look at them to see if everything is running correctly and to fine-tune the settings.
“Power limits” means how much power the engine can handle safely. When you tune a diesel, you try to increase that ceiling without overheating or stressing parts too much.
Topic
linear tech
“Linear tech” here sounds like a school or training program. The hosts are saying they work with local education options to find people with the technical background for tuning.
Reverse engineering means studying how the car’s computer works by taking it apart conceptually and learning its rules. Tuners do this so they can make changes that behave predictably.
Calibration is the car’s built-in “settings” for how the engine runs. A tuner changes those settings so the engine makes power and drives the way they want.
PCM is the car’s main computer for the powertrain—mostly the engine (and sometimes transmission behavior too). When tuners talk about PCM tuning, they mean changing what that computer commands.
They’re talking about a diesel-focused group/organization. The idea is to bring people together so skills and know-how get shared, especially with people who are new to the industry.
They mean sharing real experience and tips from people who already know the trade. It’s about teaching newcomers so they can learn faster and get involved.
The speaker mentions bringing people “to the track,” referring to organized racing events where diesel trucks are driven competitively. This is used as a way to engage newcomers and show what the community does.
A diesel truck is a truck that runs on diesel fuel instead of gasoline. Diesel engines are known for strong pulling power, which is why they show up a lot in racing and towing.
Concept
ran a 1090
They’re describing a drag-race result—basically how fast the truck went in a timed run. “10.90” is the kind of number you’d see for a quick quarter-mile pass.
Concept
6500 pound truck
They mention the truck’s weight to show how impressive the speed is. A heavier truck is harder to accelerate quickly, especially in racing.
This is the system that sends fuel into the engine. When it’s timed and metered correctly, the engine makes power smoothly instead of running smoky or rough.
“160 cc” is a way of describing how much fuel the injector can flow. Bigger numbers generally mean the injector can supply more fuel, but the engine computer needs tuning to use them correctly.
A binary file is the computer-tune data in a format the ECU can understand. Instead of editing text, tuners work with the actual programmed file that controls the truck.
“Stage one” is the first level of tuning. It’s typically a smaller, safer power increase than higher stages, often done mainly through the engine computer tune.
Concept
AI
AI is software that can learn patterns from data. In tuning, it can help create or speed up parts of the engine tune, but you still need to verify it’s accurate and safe.
LLMs are a type of AI trained on lots of text/data so they can generate answers or outputs. The speaker is saying newer LLMs can learn faster and produce better results for tasks like tuning assistance.
A “map” is basically the engine’s settings chart. It tells the ECU what to do at different speeds and loads, and they’re saying AI could help work with those settings.
They’re describing using AI as part of the tuning process. Instead of doing everything manually, AI can help generate or review things you’re working on.
They’re describing a tool that can help with computer programming—finding problems and even rewriting parts of the code for you. The idea is that it saves time and still produces code you can use.
They’re talking about a diesel truck event where people meet, swap stories, and learn what other owners are building. It’s also a chance for dealers to catch up with each other.
The speaker frames the event as a networking opportunity—meaning a structured chance to meet people in the same industry, share updates, and build relationships. In automotive circles, this often leads to faster knowledge sharing about tuning trends and parts.
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Welcome to the diesel podcast presented by DFC diesel. Bill. Welcome to the diesel podcast. How you doing this morning? Oh, Patrick?
I'm great. I got my cup of coffee and I'm good to go surprisingly the weather
Just dropped to like the high 40s low 50s for a couple of days. I don't know what happened here
Yeah, the weather's definitely been crazy
And gosh, I mean, I can't believe we're we're almost to May now and so
It feels like just yesterday I was talking with you and Angela about
Summit 7 3 so definitely wanted to touch base with you on on how that when I was watching live feeds and different things that you guys had
But then there's a lot of new products that we talked about then which some are out now some are getting ready to release
So it might be a great time to catch up with you. Yeah. Well, most important thing is tax season is finally over
So we got that out of the way
Summit 7 3 was absolutely fantastic this year shifting into the first month the first week of March
really helped
The attendance because we didn't have the pollen storm that we had last year
So people were showing up with their trucks and not afraid to get messy. It wasn't the weather was beautiful. We had a great time
The exciting thing was being able to get speakers like Corey Willis to come out and talk about
What he's doing in the industry
What?
What we can expect to come down the road, you know, the stuff that he hears that a lot of us don't
We we even
Were great. We're very grateful that we he agreed to do a
VIP breakfast and so we had a drawing for the attendees everyone put their number in a hat and we got to draw 12 people to sit and actually have a
Sit down quiet breakfast with Corey and just let him
Give us some of the insight stuff that he's dealing with without having it on camera
You know, so he could be a little a little more open about what the stuff that he's been through the legal hassles
He's had to deal with and and what he's pushing forward to try to get
The industry the EPA and everything to move in a direction that's beneficial to everyone
So that was that was absolutely fantastic
Yeah, and we had Charlie fish. We had Casey fish up this year speaking. It was it was just we had such a great turnout. It was amazing
That is really cool. Yeah, I saw the some of the pictures from the speakers and I thought that would be that would be
So helpful being a shop owner or one of you know, your customers or someone just interested in seven threes to be around that sort of
information that
you may not get
on social media or just
You know, it's tough for people to find time to have those longer conversations
So I'm sure that was tremendously helpful for the yeah, it is it is again
It's you know from a business development standpoint. It really provides a lot of useful information
Working with your employees working with teams financial information. There's just so many aspects of what we do and it's not just the
How to make more horsepower or where can I get this part or whatever?
But actually how to run your business because for the most part, you know, people can kind of figure out the parts stuff and
And the relationships that we build the networking that we provide
Really helps improve
Availability for stuff where we've got people that are like, man, I didn't know you made that and
Well, you know, we're happy to you know to do business with you
But we want everyone in this industry to succeed and and that's not just making or selling parts
It's actually how you run your business
One of the really cool things I've said this before but I'm finding that it's evolving with me personally as a truck enthusiast
Way back when I think I'm maybe our very first episode
We were talking about seven three power strokes and I'd asked you how you got interested in I'm where it came from
You know, why you got interested in the tuning side? Why seven threes? What what drew you in in?
In 2026 I'm still amazed or I'm maybe amazed isn't the word maybe it's impressed is
How much interest how many people out there how many enthusiasts are interested in seven three power strokes?
And then what companies like like power hundred performance are bringing to the table with technology and
Ways to be able to tune trucks and bring it all together and
In my interest when I was younger was what's the highest horsepower?
What's the biggest torque number? How fast is it going in a quarter mile?
And I think today especially with fuel prices. I'm not well
I know that the majority people don't really they're not interested in that what they want is
Reliability a little bit more power and torque to get those older trucks to more of a modern power level
Right, but they have the fuel economy there and you guys are leading the charge with the seven three
Tuning side of it and I thought it'd be great to spend some time with you there because you told us in January about some
Really, you know cool new products. Well, they're out now or they're getting ready to come out
And so I thought it'd be great to update the audience on that
so the
The one big product that this is specifically for the seven three. We finally released our Medusa interface
Initially, it's just an interface that allows our Hydra to communicate with the edge CTS 3
So you can control your Hydra right from your CTS. There are some limitations
And these are due to the way that the CTS is configured. It was configured originally for six positions
So you're limited to using six positions. You can still put the other positions on the chip
You just have to end up using the the manual switch
But
For people to keep a cleaner dash and have their CTS three up there and our Hydra in there
Then you can just
You know change your power levels as you need. It makes it a much a much cleaner setup the
The thing that people aren't really aware of yet is
That this is just the jumping off point it was just a proof of concept for the interface
The device itself is actually Bluetooth and USB capable
So the next project that we're working on and this is strictly it'll just end up being a firmware update for the for the Medusa
we will add
Bluetooth capability to it
where
You can pair it with your phone and then you can control
The Hydra from your phone
So if you don't have a CTS 3 but you still want to be able to keep your dash clean
You can just open up the app change your power level and then close the app
So that's stage two of the project
And we're working on that now. We're working on the UI the
for the iPhone and for the Android
Stage three is
The device also being USB capable. We will eventually ship a USB cable
It comes with the device that plugs into the Medusa and then plugs into the Hydra chip
This does two things one that allows you to actually
Flash the Hydra through the Medusa from your phone your tablet your laptop or whatever device you're connected to to
With a firmware change on the Hydra
Will also be able to
high-speed read the data
right from the ECM
RPM engine temp
Timing you know all the parameters that you would normally get over the sloj 1850 bus
we'll go right through the Medusa right to your phone and
We're talking about thousands of samples a second versus 20 samples a second
So this is all stuff. We wanted to get the product out there get people aware of it
But we're building features on it. It is it is a base platform and we're gonna start building building more and more things
that will improve the capability of it and
So for people who were we're looking at it and they're like, well, it's a little pricey for just something
It's just gonna talk to the CTS for you. Well, yes
It probably is a little bit pricey for that
But not when you look at the features that we're adding downstream and we're not charging anymore for that
It'll just be an update to the device and then off you go
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I think I saw on Facebook you guys sold out in the first three days with the Medusa. Absolutely. Yeah, so people people
Well considering that we had made a price a product like this
When the hydro first came out we had a little device called called Cyclops
And
It kind of did the same thing, but it actually worked on on
R chip it worked on the TS chip it worked on Moats chip which DP tuner cells stuff like that
And we made a hundred of them and it took us a year to sell a hundred of them
Because everybody was iPhone and this was this was Android only and I think that was a huge limiting factor for us that we'd had
iPhone capability for you know for for UI development. We probably would have sold a lot more
And we kind of shelved that product that project for a while I was okay
Well, there was some interest but not enough to really, you know warrant any any further development
And then when the CTS 3 came out
We've been pushing for 10 years to try to get this project done and we were finally able to
negotiate with Edge and and get this done and
it's really turned into a
Very different thing for us because we were just looking at just trying to make a little interface cable or something to go from the CTS 3 to the Hydra
This has turned into a completely different product as we kept looking at what we could add to it. So it's it
the people who
Were at Summit 7 3 and got the preview of it. Those are most of the people that bought it
They cleaned us out fast. So we've got I think I think we're three weeks out right now on on our order to get everything together
And then we'll have we'll have more back in stock in about three weeks. I
Think being able to bring it in stages too. It really helps
It really helps the the functionality or the options that someone would have as a
As a truck owner. I know a lot of them will have
The edge CTS 3 already
But like I just did an episode with fast the other day and they have fast connect which allows
People to monitor their fast fuel systems with an app on their phone
And I love being able to see how the technology is progressing to where we can use our phone
with our trucks and especially for that third stage you mentioned with
Like data logging or the information you're able to process where if you have an injector change or something or
You know your tuners halfway across the country or all the way across the country
He can still be able to see these files help dial it in or you know for those that race
If they're at the track be able to get that information
but one of the big problems that we've always had with tuning the 7 3 is
There is no start of injection pit. There's nothing that tells you what the timing is on your truck
so
When you're tuning you're putting a lot of faith in what the software is capable of doing but you don't have any real output
I can't look at it say I'm at 23 degrees or 28 degrees or 50 degrees or you know
And we've seen tuning that if you go back and do the math on the calibrations
there's some some tuning that's in dangerous territory and
You know Windows 7 3 is a real thing
So to be able to add features like just adding timing to a data log would be huge for tuners
But also to get
The data coming through
with
Hundreds or thousands of samples a second
You can see small glitches anything you can see if an ejector is not firing because you can actually see a change in the ICP pulse
where it didn't actually dump into an injector or
You could probably even picked up an injector with a cracked nozzle
But watching a huge ICP drop because there's no resistance behind
The injector so the diagnostics capability of something that can pull data that fast is
Incredible and it was one of the things that we've been wanting to work on for years
We just
Didn't quite have what one we didn't have the engineering staff to do it
We've we've been very fortunate to bring on a couple of really good new engineers
Good but able to get start getting these products completed
It was far too much work for me to try to handle by myself
And it's not like it was 10 15 years ago where I was an engineer and I had a small company and I was building something now
We've you know, we're really starting to push forward. We've got several development projects coming on
We've got an intern that's starting in a few weeks that
Looks like he's gonna be very promising very good with
Mechanical engineering in CAD stuff like that. So we're gonna find some stuff for him to do. There's a lot of stuff going on
Something I was just thinking about when you're talking about the data and timing is I find it helps me to relate
Relate something like that to myself and it's a completely different platform
But I know one of the big things that really captured my attention way back when
Was the head of six seven Cummins and in prior to EFI live there was products you could have but you didn't as an end user
I didn't know what it was doing
And if I had an issue and somebody you know had given me a file, I don't know if they really knew
Like how could they find the information how easy was it?
But I know with something like that I could data log I could send it to them
They could see what my rail pressure was doing what my right all these different things and it really advanced that whole platform with
Refinement do you see that same sort of thing with this being able to put more tools in the hands of tuners to be able to
Refine what they're able to do. I'm sure at the track and for those power numbers
But also for people who are daily driving and just be able to progress the the the tuning power of seven three power strikes
I think that's a huge a huge driving point behind that is is to be able to get our tuners
As much information as they possibly can
To be able to provide the best the best tuning that they can
You can again, you know from a diagnostic standpoint, you can see if something's wrong the more samples you get
The the easier it is to see when you have a problem somewhere
And it's not that the way we've been doing it for the last
25 plus years doesn't work it does but there's just there's just some pieces of the puzzle that that are missing the
The resolutions not where we'd like it
So sometimes it makes it a little more difficult to try to resolve some of these issues or refine the tuning that we've done
I've always had different workarounds and stuff like that
But this is this is the first real opportunity that we've had to be able to put these tools in the hands of our tuners
I imagine you would probably have a lot of funds with being able to datalog
A particular truck and to sit back and look at all the data and say I can change this I can change that
I think I can make some adjustments here there and be able to see that the kind of changes it's making
I'm sure is it as a
Calibrator at heart that's something you look forward to
Yeah, it's it's very exciting for me
And I've been able to do over the years
I've acquired tools that I've been able to finesse for my use
So I have tools that I can actually pull timing from the from the OBD to port and I can pull data pretty quickly
But the tools are not cheap and they're not generally publicly available
So it's like I'd like to figure out a way to get you know
That kind of capability into the hands of two and or even just the general public
You know at most of the information the average guy probably doesn't want to know but if we can you know
If you can real-time log your RPM and your ICP and your injection pulse width and your engine oil temps and tranny temps
And stuff like that. That's useful stuff to a customer not just for the development community
And does it it works on the 94 to 03 trucks?
correct
Yeah, so really and and for what it's worth that even works on the gas stuff
So, you know with a different PID list and stuff like that. We can actually
Datalog the same way because you run the Hydra and the gas stuff as well and the old 2003 and older gas stuff
Very cool. That's gonna be so awesome. I love I love seeing the
The technology like I there is no way possible
I'm not good enough with technology to be able to ever make anything that anyone would buy, but I love seeing how
in
You know 2026 how
Integrated these options for a diesel trucks are becoming whether you know, we're talking about a truck from 2003 or 2000 or
97 something like that and this refinement that's there. It's just
It's really impressive to me, you know with the markets how they've expanded in you know
With those trucks and then what you guys are doing to be able to deliver the technology to them
With the proven tunes that I know you guys have
and then with some of the custom stuff that you know different
Different tuners are using for race trucks or engine builders different things like that. It's really exciting
Yeah, and like you said, it's
and
Amazing is
As just as good a word as impressed that that these structures still on the road that the people who buy these and own these trucks are
it's
it borders on
Fanaticism and I don't mean that in a bad way. It just these people love these trucks and
Surprisingly the the OBS community
just I think they really
Deserve most of the credit these people take these trucks that are 30 years old and
With the help of companies like complete performance
But you know being able to provide stuff to build these trucks up almost brand new
they look better in showroom a lot of times and
I just it just tickles me when we go out to no BS OBS and see all these beautiful trucks gas and diesel alike
they're just absolutely gorgeous and
they
they really help keep the community and
the
Platform moving forward because if they weren't interested in it then our industry would be dead
So if as long as these people have an interest in it
We're gonna do everything we can to find a way to provide what it is they want
I think it's kept diesel going for a really long time. I think through challenges with newer trucks that a lot of people don't want to face
they turn their attention to
A truck that maybe they had a personal connection with they grew up around or they wanted the
Legendary reliability of the 7-3 power stroke and they gravitated towards it and it's
Like I said on that first podcast
I think we're talking about it and I was like, you know, I remember a time people didn't there were always 7-3
enthusiasts but people were chasing the latest greatest truck with the biggest horsepower numbers and torque and all those things and it switched and
Just be able to watch it evolve is really cool. I think it's kept the industry
Going through some dark times that it's had in the last ten years
well the
As much as everybody complains about it and I do as well, you know, the the EPA
Restrictions that were imposed in 2007 2008
That that hit a lot of people hard one it
Hit at the same time as we had a bad economy
It also drastically drove up the price of the trucks
And now they have all this after-treatment stuff that's going on there that adds cost to it and trucks were just generally getting more expensive
Is as time went on and people are like I
Can't afford to buy this
Everyone's telling me that if I if I get a 6-4 or you know come in 6-7 or whatever my fuel economy is going to take because I'm
Dealing with after-treatment and it's gonna it's you know, it decreases the reliability it decreases your fuel economy
It it it makes good power, but it's still limited by all the stuff that they've added on to it. It's like
And then on top of the debt the truck is just stupid expensive
So I'm just gonna stick with my 7-3 or maybe the 6-0 or something like that and 6-0
I've already had a black eye from blown head gaskets and stuff like that and and we figured out on 6-0 is how to make them hold together and and they're
really solid I
Find more people
Who are trying to get away from the newer trucks, especially like this the the pump problems on the 6-7s
Going back to a 6-0s and not even going with the 6-4s. They actually like their 6-0s better
So it's but you know the 7-3 is just always been a stable platform. It's always been reliable. It's it was cheap to build
It was easy to get parts parts of getting a little more difficult to find cam sensors IPRs
Good valve cover gaskets and under under under harnesses and and you know, some of those things are getting more and more difficult to find in
quality
manufacturing
But people just not giving up on these so I
You know, we're here for the long haul as long as the platform is gonna be around
We're still gonna be here making stuff for it. It's interesting brought up the six leaders. That was another one. It seems like
That one was one as well that you know came out got a black eye like you mentioned but then
Has redeemed itself through a lot of hard work from a lot of different companies, you know in the industry
But you guys have some stuff with that which you had touched based on
With us on a previous podcast about the ficum
Yeah, yeah, so
That was the second project that we've been working on this year
We
We're running into a
Couple small communications issues. We want to make sure that
Everything works reliably. I will not send anything out that I am not 100% confident with
So we've got the communications nailed down the device is that it's it's a
Dongle device that plugs into the OBD to port they can run either USB
or if you have a
Laptop that has Bluetooth capability on it most laptops today do you can actually use Bluetooth to communicate with the device and then program your vehicle
right from your laptop
We're also at the same time working on
Restructuring the software
Into a multi-platform capable device so that we can actually program from a tablet or a phone as well all these things are
You know being worked on and you know at this in conjunction with other projects
So we just kind of divide our time out
But the idea to be able to to flash the six-liter flash the ficum
We have the custom custom tuning capabilities for the ficum custom tuning capabilities for the six so
And then just take those binaries and just load them right onto your ECM or onto your ficum and and off you go
It's it's gonna be a real game changer for further the six-liter community
How far is that out now or is it coming up here pretty quickly? We actually just placed the order
yesterday for
for the hardware so
We've got a four to six week lead time on that we're finishing up the application UI so that
It has all the data that we want on it the ability to data log
We include DTCs and all the all the base stuff that you need to have in an application like that
So we're probably looking at what we're coming into May June
so it'll be
Probably the first of
July we'll have that ready for release. So that'll be a beginning of Q3 and
It'll be ready to go and we've already got like all of our dealers or are chomping at the bit to get their hands on this stuff
and our custom tuners like like Brian and Andrew and
CNC and
Dan cropping acts up like that these guys are just all super excited to get their hands on this stuff
When the dealers and the debilituners get you know excited how much I'm just curious in general like how much do they drive?
Maybe some of the projects you guys take on or tackle like if you hear it from a few different ones
Does that is it go up on the to-do list?
It definitely it goes in a in a project list and so we have this this this this and right now
We've got 10 or 15 projects that that we've got in our queue
Not necessarily to work on but to consider what you know, what's going to be the next the next thing
And we put our feelers out and it's like, you know, we'll talk to the different dealers will talk to the big, you know
KC and full force and
Thoroughbred, you know, it's like, what are you here? You know, what are what are your customers looking for?
What do they need? You know, where are their pain points and?
How can we address that how can we help them get what what it is that they want?
And then we then we make decisions on what we want to do for but it's just like any company
You know, you've got to you know, weigh that the checks and balances development cost development time
Can we provide a product that's going to be cost-effective for the customer or is it out of our capabilities?
and
Are we are we
Gonna sell ten of these are we gonna sell 10,000 of these, you know, I mean these are all big considerations
And we have several projects several several big projects that that we're working on simultaneously
There are gonna be a huge benefit to the 7-3 we'd like to try to also
Provide provide up
Some more support for the 6-0 as well and eventually into the 6-4
The device that we're making now it'll be initially released for the 6-0 to do the ECM TCM and FICUM
as well as data log everything but
It's just a software a small software change and then we will suddenly support the 6-4 as well
We just I just want to make sure that we get our tuning
that is
reliable and capable and
Fuel-efficient, you know that we've got, you know
Everything covered on that before we released for the 6-4 and so that the the 6-0 will be the initial release 6-4
We'll be later this year once we get our tuning nailed down
How challenging do you think the 6-4 market would be with with that if just with
Either the options that people want or the trucks themselves like it would that be one of the tougher projects to tackle?
six fours, I mean
We've tuned six fours before I have a very solid base of tunes and our tunes have been very reliable
We've tuned for for several people
Behind the scenes we didn't publicly
Do any tuning we didn't sell tuning on our website or anything
But we had several dealers that we did tuning for that have had our tunes on their truck for 10 12 15 years now
And I've never had an issue so I'm not concerned about the reliability
I just want to make sure that that we are comparable to what the industry standard for that is now that our power levels are what people expect and
We can still meet all the emissions requirements and stuff like that because our goal again for everything is to be carb compliant
We're that close to getting our our our Hydrochip
carb certified
Still dealing with SEMA garage on their test truck. They've been
Continuously having issues, but they've they've got most of the stuff ironed out now
They've got one problem left that they've got to figure out
Regarding their high pressure all pump once we get that straightened out
We'll be able to move forward and finish our testing and get get our carb certification on that
Then once we do that then we'll just start chaining down the line about that time the 6-0 stuff will be out
We'll go get that tested and certified and then move into the 6-4 at the end of the year
That'll be massive for
having that
Having that that carb testing done and
Because california is such a huge truck market. There's so many people there. It is so many trucks there
that
It's it's just so massive. It can't be ignored
Yeah, and you know and unfortunately, you know because of the restrictions, you know
We have we have to be very careful and we have to make sure that we're not selling to california
We don't want to step on anybody's toes. We want to make sure that we're compliant with everything
But but it is it's a huge market. It's a huge market that we're, you know, basically
ignoring
and you know, unfortunately not by choice, but it
It definitely opens it opens it opens
Not only just opens the market to california for us as a product, but there are warehouses who
Would love to carry our products, but they just can't because they can't risk having carb or epa come back
On them for carrying a product that's not carb certified, you know, so
It definitely opens a lot of doors for us with with
Large warehouses and large just, you know distribution performance companies and stuff like that to be able to be carb certified
I think that's one of the parts it is a like a truck enthusiast
You know, we're thinking about truck parts and what wheels and tires we're doing and what maintenance we need to do
We don't understand all the all that goes into the business side of just getting
The product one available for sale to where you can ship it three who's going to who can sell it
And to be able to get it out there more into the marketplace. I really appreciate that approach
And in the future what it's going to allow power on reperformance to do with your products and to be able to get them out there
And like Cory's talked about on the podcast with me before
Is what other states
Just follow carb because it's already done it's already out there
They don't have to invest the time in r&d into creating their own carb per se
So they just follow what california does so being able to
Have access to I don't even know how many states he had mentioned 10 or 12 or however many are doing right
There's a lot of them that are that are jumping on that bandwagon
Which I which I really you know again, I I kind of follow Cory. I don't understand
Why I mean if epa is is a federal organization?
Why states feel the need to go in and jump in behind that and create their own regulations
The it should just be one federal regulation and then it should just be done
And because we can we've already complied with epa regulations. We've tested it. We know we're epa compliant
And by an extension
we're
Technically carb compliant from an emission standpoint. The only difference is is carb wants their $20,000
And it's it's borderline extortion is what it is to meet the same regulations
We just need you to say it's okay
And so that I mean that's and that's been a huge frustration for the industry and larger companies like
Like holly and edelbrock and you know, I mean the old the old companies that have been around for 60 80 years
They have the capital to absorb those kind of costs a small company like us
It it's hard. It's it's a huge bite out of our out of our pocket and and it hurts
so
To be to be forced out of a market simply because we don't want to pay your your tax per se
it's
That's unfair business practice honestly, but I mean that's that's
Everyone's beat that horse to death
There's no point, you know continuing on that
So we do the best we can to try to to try to be compliant move forward and just
just
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To bring it back to summit seven three for a second
Were there conversations that either you had with people where you saw
Their eyes light up them get excited or people who talk to you and your team where you guys got excited about something they're developing
um
some
Something new with seven threes that just got you guys really excited through that ability to connect one on one
They're at the facility and spend time with people for a few days
I'm gonna tell you one thing that I got very excited about and this is just because I'm who I am
Um brandon from diesels and dirtbags brought his rat rod out there
7.3 liter with a 671 blower on it
And I will tell you that is
one of the coolest stinking things that I had ever seen and I and I was like a candy candy store because
for years
I had wanted to build that I wanted to build a supercharged seven three with a 671 or 871 blower on it
and
Didn't have the time didn't have the finances didn't have the space just you know for whatever reason it just it just never got done
because I've been too busy doing other stuff
but
to put that on there
and
I
Have brian come in and tune it
and andrew come in and tune it and me come in and tune it and play with different tunes and
Make a lope tune for itself like that
I was so excited about that because it shows that it's not just people who are
building a seven three to
Pull their camper or whatever. This is somebody who completely thought outside the box
and put something together
And it just it it was a showstopper
I mean I mean the truck already was cool just you know the whole rat rod on bags and stuff like that
But to have a seven three in there with zoomy headers on it like a drag truck
And a big stinking blower sitting on top of it just just tickled me to no end
um
And it's it like I said it was an idea. It was a concept that I had thought of
Back in 2011 or 2012. I had actually thought about when we first covered our dyno. So it was about 2011
and
Wanted to build
Build that platform, but again, you know
Timing just wouldn't allow for it
but I always thought that the seven three would be a good platform for having a blower on it and then
Running two turbos that feed into the blower
So you would have boost off the line because you're mechanically driving
a supercharger
But then have two low pressure blowers pumping or turbos pumping
four five six psi into the supercharger
you're talking about
60 70 pounds of boost
Then the problem comes in and it's like, okay. Well, how do I get the fuel in there?
And then and that's always been the problem with the seven three is how can I get more fuel in there?
But it was it was it was a great it was a great concept
And I'd really like to see people play with that idea a little bit more and we may even
On our engine dyno, we may put a seven three together and put a do a blower setup that was similar to what brandon did
And and and see where that goes and see what kind of what kind of power we can make out of that
My thought one of the problems that we've always seen with with the seven three is
When you start building massive amounts of boost on those trucks and you're getting up over a thousand horsepower
The blocks like to split down the middle because there's nothing holding the top end of that block together
There's a huge valley in there with the heads on it
And the idea of building
A manifold that would literally link the two heads together and hold the engine tighter together and then putting the blower on top of that
I think as a support. I think it would actually allow those blocks to last
Higher into the horsepower range before before catastrophic damage. So there's a there's you know
So there's an idea for anybody who's listening, you know, actually make a one-piece manifold that goes in between the two heads
I
Had that quarry from cnc fab on a few years ago and I was talking with them about their p-pump seven three
So there yeah, there is an option for more fuel in a seven three. Yeah, there is there is
Yeah, no idea the the trick on that one would be is trying to get how do you get that p-pump in there with a blower sitting
On top of it because that p-pump is about 14 inches deep
Um, and that's not even including the spider the spider's legs coming off of it, but uh
That uh, there's there's definitely some options on there and I've worked with quarry and I've had some discussions with him about some ideas for
It's been done before people have sleeved and run six liter injectors and and and stuff like that
There's and there's ways to do all of that
of I've looked at the idea of
using uh
The gen two
Six liter and six liter injectors, but the ones that they use in the in the 5 30s and the 5 70s
They're huge injectors, but they're the spool valve injectors like the six. Oh
Um, sleeving those in there doing the oil rails doing the oil that fits on the head
There's options to be able to get more fuel in there
It just needs the electronics to support it. We need a computer
That can support having the cam sensor crank sensor and then fire the injectors the way that you use the six liter right
Fick them and fires the injectors. So there's there's so much fun things that we can do with this
And I and I can see the point where we would be making
1500 or 2000 horsepower on a Huey injected style 7 3
We're not quite there yet, but we're getting close
You look back and like with what you just mentioned everything look how far we've come where you know
600 700 horsepower was a lot at one time and now
Well, I love it. Yeah
Yeah, it's it I do I look at you know, how far we've come I was talking to somebody the other day about
You know when I started in the industry with super chips and we were just
chipping and adding horsepower
and
Then by the by 99
There were people who are already starting to modify injectors now. They were they were crude modifications. They were extrude honing the nozzles for more fuel flow
They hadn't even looked at
Increasing the volume cutting the intensifier pistons and stuff to get more volume out of the injectors
and hybrids weren't even a consideration yet that didn't come until years years later
um
but
Just to watch where it started and all the little mods that people were making all the turbo kits the d66s and the
472s and
As everything kind of progressed forward, you know people using off-the-shelf stuff and making small tweaks the company is now
Whole scale read redesigning the injector
Or or redesigning the turbo systems, you know, you look at the companies that are doing that
um
And what they've been capable of accomplishing without having to use off-the-shelf parts, you know being limited by those
um manufacturing
capabilities today are far beyond anything that we could have imagined in 2000
And it's uh, it's really changed the industry that's changed
The reliability of these engines and it's changed how much power we can make out of these things
That was really the core
It was a whole core or the reason that I
I think a lot of people got into diesel trucks regardless of brand was
We could use them for work or you know, we could use them every day
But then the aftermarket also supported us and said you want an extra hundred horsepower on extra 150 horsepower
I need a transmission you want a turbo that you could still daily drive
But you could take it to the track on the weekends or test and tunes if you want
And you could go do all that you could basically have one vehicle that could do so much for you
And I think with the rebirth or the the re interest
In these older trucks
That's something that has really impressed me and and has my interest is the technology like you'd mentioned with
integrating this into my phone one day and being able to
Do updates and data logs and
and
Have the convenience and the speed of technology with this older platform and then push the power limits or power levels
farther, it's very exciting
It is one of the things that I really like is the again, you know the interest
In the industry and in the particularly in the seven three community is getting younger and younger
So we see a lot of you know late teens early 20s people that are doing this stuff
The the one thing that I struggle with is finding
Those kind of people who want to come in and learn how to do what we do
It's
It's hard to find that kind of talent and and we work closely with several of the colleges in our area because we've got
We've got uga. We got georgia tech
We have
satellite
school
for linear tech
um
right around the corner from us and
They teach a lot of things, but they don't they don't teach exactly what it is that we're looking for
understanding, you know calibration understanding or or even reverse engineering the
the PCM platforms stuff like that kind of you know the kind of stuff that we do
So
It's great to have the tuners that we have out there because
Most of them are still considerably younger than I am
um, and so I know that there's going to still be a lot of future in there
There's going to be a lot of support for years behind the tuning capabilities
But
We need to see we need to make sure that that
We're finding people who enjoy the community and train them because they're going to be the ones that are going to
Continue to carry this forward
um
Joanne burn she
She works with with young kids and in diesel technology
um
and she's
Been amazing to listen to about you know how to how to bring the youth into the community and how to keep them engaged and excited
And because they're like again, they're they're the future of this industry
And if we don't start bringing them in and supporting them and showing them how to do this stuff
It's it's going to die with all of us. It's you know in in 10 or 15 years
We're going to retire out of it or you know, unfortunately we've lost you know several people in the industry for health or whatever reasons and and
what they knew
disappeared with them and
I hate to see that happen
And I I personally would like to see the the the industry continue to move forward
But we need to figure out how to share that knowledge with the younger crowd
What what are some ways do you think that could happen?
uh
It's one of the things you know with the diesel alliance that we have um, I think that would be a good platform
for
people to
Engage for for people like us who have the knowledge to find a way to
um
Share that knowledge downstream
Well, we've got to make the the younger people who are in the industry or are interested in the industry
Get them aware of of of the diesel alliance and get them joined into that because
That's where a lot of that stuff happens. That's where where a lot of knowledge transfer occurs
um sum of seven three, you know, it's very industry specific
Um, but the diesel alliance is for anybody. It's for you know for gm dodge for you know, whatever whatever diesel you're into
Mercedes if you want we don't care. We don't you know, we we don't judge
but
It really is important that you know, we find ways to communicate with
with people who who
Have an interest but just don't know what to do with it
And start teaching these people
Get them get bring them to the track bring them to
Your your truck club meetings or whatever it is you're doing and show them what it is you do
Get them interested in it and then figure out how to how to bring them on board
And there was nothing really like that for me when
My interest started with a race and seeing a truck, but it didn't it didn't do anything right. I didn't make any changes for
Five six years
I was in a completely different industry
But it always stuck with me seeing those two trucks go down the track and how fast they were
An understanding that's a three-quarter ton diesel truck that just ran a 1090 or something
Yeah, that's that's the stunning part. You know, it's a 6500 pound truck in the tens. That's
Impressive manner. I guess like
It was really tough to find a place to fit in because I wasn't a mechanic
I wasn't an engineer, but I knew I wanted to be involved. So it was how do I how do I find it and
Luckily I found an opportunity, but I think about that a lot
as well with just what I do and what I talk about and I think okay, well, what's the next
evolution of diesel going to look like with younger people and
The the skills that they have are completely different than what my generation had
With technology and just the way of the world. I feel like they're much farther ahead than
than my generation was
With it and it's like, how do we pull them into diesel show them that there's different spots?
Maybe they're not a mechanic or an engineer. Maybe they're a salesperson. Maybe they're
Somebody who maybe they're a personality that they just want to be attached to trucks and and how do we pull them in?
That's why I was curious what some ideas
You know that you had
I will tell you that some of our best employees are are people who were not in the diesel industry
They were car enthusiasts
Or motorcycle enthusiasts or something they loved motorsports in some fashion or another
And I find that that's one of the best fits. It doesn't have to be, you know, a diesel truck guy
Doesn't have to be a seven three guy
It helps it certainly doesn't hurt
um
but
There still has to be some kind of passion for
for what it is that you do for
Making things go faster driving things that go faster. There's a common thread in all of those people who really enjoy that
um, and I find that those are the kind of people
That even if they're not familiar with seven threes or the diesel trucks, we can bring them in and we can expose them to that
And they can pick it up
You don't you don't have to
Just be a truck guy. Um
Like I said, some of the best employees that we've ever had have been those those kind of people
And so we encourage that we look for those kind of people when you know when we're hiring when we interview
That's you know, one of the prime requisites, you know to to decide if you're going to be a fit
The uh, you know, as you're mentioning the the stuff that the younger crowd can do nowadays
With the advent of of ai and how fast ai has progressed over the last three years
The stuff that we're able to accomplish using ai
has
I don't I don't even know what this what to scale it at but the the stuff that it can produce now is amazing
um, I was playing with ai
And I've been playing with it for a couple of years now, but I got into some really in-depth stuff
Dealing with calibrations because of the information that I have the information I'm provided to train
the ai model with the stuff that it can provide back to me is
I can't even explain it just it's astounding
um
I uh, you know for a quick example and one I shared in our minotaur training class was
I took a standard
2011 73 calibration uploaded it. I took my definition file. I uploaded it so it knew we're all the maps and everything were
um
And how everything laid out
I had to train it a little bit on how the fuel injection system works
How much fuel is injected it makes this much power and what the capabilities of the injectors are
Now once it
Was trained what I felt was was was pretty well
I I gave it a uh a hypothesis. Let's take the stock injectors and replace them with 160 cc
stock nozzle injectors
What changes would you make to the calibration?
To make this truck run
stock
It gave me a binary file
Using my binary format and I put it in my software and I overlaid it with one of my stage one single
Injector files and it was almost bite for bite identical to the tuning that we that that took me years to develop
And it and it did it in five minutes
I was just like my mind was blown
so
Being able to even use tools like that are going to completely change the way we do what we do
Do you find that there's resistance or could be resistance from
People who have been in the industry for a while to embrace that versus the younger crowd
Which it's more ingrained into their everyday life
already
I was very hesitant with with ai in the beginning to be honest
Angela kept pushing me. Oh, you got to do this. You got to do that
And then I would try it with little things because I wanted to test and see how reliable or how accurate the output was
If it was because I was going on the assumption whatever I guess going to be complete garbage
And three years ago that probably would have been the case
But when you're looking at, you know, llms and at the rate at which they can learn
um
It just needs enough data to process
um
The stuff today is not not even the same stuff that we had two months ago much less two years ago
But there are a lot of people who are very resistant to that and it's not that they don't want to use it
Is they don't know how to use it?
um
And so I think one of the things we're probably going to do at seven seven three next year as I may
Forego doing a minotaur class and do more of an ai training class
Um on how to use this to how to how to use ai in your tuning how to take a map
Feed it into ai and say I need this
help me
Help produce an output for me
um
Like I said the younger kids
ai is normal to them and surprisingly
more
From what I want from what I'm hearing more people more of the younger people are actually pushing back against ai
Because they don't like the unnaturalness of it. Um, I've been reading a lot of articles about how
Gen z is actually pushing back against ai and it's it's gen x and millennials and stuff. We're actually more embracing it because
We still think it's cool
Despite the fact that we've watched terminator and we know how this ends
But uh, it's it's it really comes down to learning learning how to use it
Prompting is everything you put garbage in you're gonna get garbage out
You know everyone that that's that's the mantra for anybody who uses ai so
As much detail as you can provide the stuff that you put into it you can get really really quality stuff out of it
and I've proved it I've I've
I use it I use it now. I don't have it right code for me, but I have it check my code
and it
Finds bugs for me. Um, it has a the ability to logically process through code and
I've spent the last four days working on on
Two of our older software platforms just looking just to give it something to do because I'm paying for it. I'm gonna use it
um, what do you think about this, you know, you know, where can I make improvements and
It offered suggestions. It would actually rewrite code for me
And still because it's using my language as a format
It writes code the way I would write code and I can take it I can plug it into my software and it works
It's it's been fantastic. It's taken me a long time to embrace that concept though
Like even as of december, I was still really hesitant about it. But the last couple of months. I found a lot of really good use for it
I had I did too. I resisted it for a long time and then I found it was helpful for some things other things
You know for me, it's not I do find
As you had mentioned like gen z
I
Like the content side I can't watch AI content like it just seems so distant and cold to me
That's one of the things that people really are pushing back against. I'm getting tired of youtube AI videos. Yeah. Yeah that I can't do but
for the
The efficiency
Of work and how it's going to be incorporated into diesel trucks in the future of it. I think
That part is exciting. I know this kind of goes in line with what we're talking about
um, you know with finding people and
The exposure to trucks and then also your interaction with fans and seven three owners is ucc coming up
Which I believe it's that's not even far away now, but you guys are gonna have a booth there be able to interact with your waves
Yeah
Yeah, it's gonna be you're gonna be cool. What uh, what are some things you're looking forward to with ucc?
um
I always look forward just just to being out there and
Seeing what it is the customers have interests in I love I love you know going out there shaking hands chatting with people hearing their stories
What they you know looking at, you know, if they've if they've got a truck there, you know, what they've done to their truck
I get excited about that stuff. I mean for me. It's just a big truck show
um, I don't
Generally handle the um
Like the booth and business end of things. Um, that's
not
What I choose to do. Um
I more prefer
Being a fan more more than anything else. I love going out and just meeting people and
Talking with them about you know, what they've accomplished and
And it's also a good opportunity for us to meet our other dealers because most most of the people in our industry are gonna be there anyway
um
And it gives us an opportunity to just just reconnect, you know, may I haven't seen you any year
I haven't seen you since ucc last year. We haven't talked or whatever and just catch up and see what they've got going on because
It gives us an opportunity again to to forward that information along either through the diesel alliance or for the next summer seven three
And say, hey, you know, I was talking with so-and-so and they're doing this and I don't know if you knew about that
So you see yeah, the ucc is just it's a fantastic event and and again
It's just another networking opportunity
But it's a networking
Opportunity in a really really fun environment
I can have a bad day at a track
Yeah, that's tough
Definitely be tough to to not have fun there. It's it seems really cool
It's something I always I circle on my calendar every year pay attention to and there's so many different reasons for it
I think you know one of course is a competition
That's always fun to see but I always really pay attention to the companies in the booths and what's going on and
um, just what they either debut or show
Or just what's going on on on the product side is really what pulls me in
Yeah, it's it's it's a good event. Um
I just
Again, I love watching the competition side of things and and it uh
Like I said, it's not about you know, like what we can sell and I know for a lot of people it is it's it's you know
It's a way for them to to generate revenue for us
It's just about exposure and being able to build relationships with the other companies
Well, it was cool to catch up with you today, bill
I said I was looking forward to some of the things you told me earlier in the year and I saw
I saw them starting to become available starting to get out there in the wild on on social media and it it was uh
I thought it'd be a great opportunity to chat with you. I have some other cool ideas
Yeah, we've yeah, we've been you know, we've been banging it out. You know, like I said first quarter this year has been fantastic
Q2, you know the beginning at q3. We're gonna have some other stuff coming out. It's gonna be a busy busy year
Very cool. I'm gonna bug you here pretty soon for some maybe a collaborative podcast some ideas that I have for
um, some episodes you know surrounding tuning and power strokes and stuff
So I'll definitely be in contact with you, but I appreciate your time today chatting with me
Thank you. Thank you so much and again, it's always it's always uh, it's always good meeting with you
Patrick and and we need to get you to come down to one of these events one year
You know, we you say when you want to come down, we'll give you a ticket
I haven't forgotten. I definitely haven't forgotten. So I'll make sure and reach out to you guys
All right, but we'll take care and uh, enjoy the rest of your week. All right. Thanks, bill
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That you want to hear in 2026 till next time keep the shiny side up
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About this episode
The conversation centers on how 7.3 and 6.0 Power Stroke tuning is evolving from simple chip work into a much broader platform with phone control, faster datalogging, and new hardware. The guests also talk about why the 7.3 remains popular, what CARB compliance could unlock, and how extreme builds keep pushing the platform’s limits. Along the way, they touch on AI’s growing role in calibration and the need to bring younger people into diesel culture.
Power Hungry Performance joins us to discuss new tuning options that
just hit the market - and more about to roll out! From tuning with the
Edge CTS3, to your phone and data-logging, it’s all about to change for
7.3 and 6.0 owners.
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