Might be doing another cam swap (long read...sorry)

[AF_Hemi]

Go grab a beer, cause this could take a while...

Well, as many of you know, KRC performance was bought out by Watson Performance Engineering last May. I bought my KRC 210 cam from them for the sole reason that it was the biggest, baddest, torquiest cam i could shove in the hemi. Marty (employee of KRC) was the only tuner that was willing to attempt to tune this beast in a 2003. Sadly, right around the same time WPE took over, Marty got the axe and incidentally deployed to Afghanistan.

So where does this leave me? I hadnt sent in any datalogs to Marty to get my tune worked on, so i was still running on the base tune. It ran fine, but wasnt making near the power i should, and it was shaky at times (literally). When WPE took over, they were supposedly taking over the tuning responsibilities also. HA! you all thought Moes was hard to get a hold of? Try getting a hold of WPE!! So basically, an already long story longer, I paid $250 (unlimited lifetime custom tuning) and got 1 tune out of it.

Since I couldnt get a hold of WPE, I figured I'd let Sean (hemifever) take a stab at the tune. Because he and Marty were friends, and he felt bad for Marty, he was offering a reduced rate of $150 to switch over to his tuning services. WTF?!?!?! I already paid $250 for custom tuning and got 1 lousy tune out of it, why should I have to pay another $150?!?! Because Sean has never seen a dime of that $250, so in a sense he'd be doing my custom tuning for free (not fair to him). So i understand his point, its just another example of the customer getting screwed.

::deep breath::

Ok, so I pay Sean the $150 and send him some datalogs. He very promptly sends me a new tune. I load it up and the truck wont even idle. It'll start, but it stalls immediately. He sends me another tune. Same thing. Looks like he'll be refunding the $150 cause he cant seem to get this stupid ******* '03 to run right, which makes it even more impressive that Marty nailed it his first shot. Oh how i wish he wasnt deployed...

So now I have a giant cam in a truck run by a ******* PCM and no one (in the US) to tune it!!! So im gonna load up Marty's old tune and look for other options.

Most likely gonna be going the Sidewinder route as well if I can find a good deal on one. Whatever I get, it will be custom tuned, since I've already paid for it.

Your thoughts?


edit: I owe hemifever a big appology. This thread was created before i really gave him a shot. please read on to learn more...

 

[Silverbullet08]

You already got my thoughts, just get it running in time for me lol

 

[OklaHemi]

Wow Aaron I didn't think the 03 were that bastardized. Sorry you aren't getting what you need I know the feeling of settling. Do you want us to mass email them. Tell the they suck and we refuse to use their product as a whole. I'm down

 

[AF_Hemi]

lol thanks for the support Mike. I'm not sure I'd be willing to use WPE anyway... for 2 reasons.

1) I dont like the way they took over KRC and canned a lot of their people
2) (the main reason) Since they're not using KRC's people anymore, I cant be positive they have a clue what they're doing with these finicky hemi's (especially the 03's)

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Brother, I feel your pain.....

I am also looking for a solution. Sent these folks some questions about how to intergrate their system into our trucks. Hope to hear from them next week.

XV Motorsports - Products

I want it over the fucken top.....

 

[AF_Hemi]

Why would you spend over 3 grand on that? I guess im just not sure what it does. How would that benefit us?

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Why would you spend over 3 grand on that? I guess im just not sure what it does. How would that benefit us?

What i see or hope for is a complete package that adds a performance level we are not able to obtain using OEM equipment that also has the the ablity to tune whatever bits and pieces we throw at it. I would very much like to run 450 hp and this looks doable with their kit and custom heads. This looks to me a level above what the newer models can offer. Of course we still need to work out the trans issues. But getting a modified engine running right is the first step. I already have so much $$ in Red that it doesn't make sense to me to buy a new truck and turn around and do everything again. But like everything we do with our trucks it's an individual choice. Plus I'm really tired of the 03 NGC limitations and any kind of a serious PCM upgrade looks to be a expensive move. Anyone with experience with this setup is welcome to speak up.

Cost wise closer to $5k....

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Swap cams with bullet

 

[Redtruck-VA]

Swap cams with bullet

Actually I'm very envious of you guys swapping cams. Hell, I can't even load my new SC tuner. I'm seriously not having fun....

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Edit on my last post I forgot Bullet wanted to stay with a canned tune. AF who is redoing weeds tune granted hes an 04 but isnt he getting revisions?

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

Redneck by time you get home hopefuly they will have it figured out and then you can cam it up.

 

[glass3222]

Do you have any idea when Marty is going to be back from deployment? Then he can finish tuning.

If thats not an option, get a sidewinder and sell me the 210 cheap :

 

[Off_Road_Teacher]

If you can not get it tuned then it is probably time to look for another cam. While that 210 is a strong cam, if you can't get it to run right there is really no benefit to running such an agressive cam. You can probably get just as much out of a smaller cam that is tuned better as this larger cam that is not tuned properly.

 

[AF_Hemi]

Thats exactly my thoughts Jason. I'll most likely be gettin FRI'd as well, only custom tuned. I'll be selling this brand new (500 miles on it) 210 for well less than I paid for it (although it'll still be as much as most new cams).

Weed is getting tuned by Sean if i recall. There is no issue there because you can adjust idle with the 04's. Marty knew how to tweak other things to get around the idle issue -- sean doesnt .

 

[glass3222]

AF, if and when you decide to sell it, let me know.

 

[Off_Road_Teacher]

Thats exactly my thoughts Jason. I'll most likely be gettin FRI'd as well, only custom tuned. I'll be selling this brand new (500 miles on it) 210 for well less than I paid for it (although it'll still be as much as most new cams).

Weed is getting tuned by Sean if i recall. There is no issue there because you can adjust idle with the 04's. Marty knew how to tweak other things to get around the idle issue -- sean doesnt .

You are making the right choice. If you can't get the cam to run right then there really isn't any point to running it. You will be happy with the sidewinder and it is my expectation that with custom tuning you will be getting just as much from the sidewinder as you are currently getting out of the 210, if not more.

And do me a favor and keep me updated on how custom tuning with sean goes for the sidewinder. That is probably going to be my next mod so any feedback you have will be great to hear.

 

[0212353]

simple solution. get a newer truck! LOL

 

[Trupiano]

AF, there's no local, city tuning/dyno shop near you? Most dyno shops wont charge too much to custom tune it. Why not spend a little bit more and get the beast working right? Alot cheaper than buying another lower performance cam and swapping it over. I must admit WPE really ****-the-bed on their customers, but no need to get rid of it just yet.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

He is fighting the idle on the 03 which alot of people cant do or touch. Luckly he had the 210 on a 110 instead of a 210x on a 108. AF was correct on Marty worked magic on getting it going, I remember the post he posted saying that the impossible had been done. AF can Sean open Martys tune to see how he got around the adjustments to get it to idle and then tweak from there?

 

[Silverbullet08]

Swap cams with bullet

hahah he already tried...