General Supercharger Thread.

What year ECU's can be tuned? Sounds like the 2020+ is not an option, but what about the older models?

I'm trying to figure out what supercharger to buy for my 2017 LC and tune-ability will play into the decision.

 

2019 seems to be OVs VF Tuner only at this point in time. The 2018 and older are supported by HP and OV. Not familiar with BullyDog but that appears to be an option for older models as well; not sure what the cut off is.

 

I got the Harrop 2650. because its bigger. more is better, right? not tunable yet on my 2020. but as soon as the ECU opens, I'm there.

@ViktorG has explained the Harrop has better intercooling & the ability to make more boost than the Magnuson.

using the stock tune has been great for me. I would tear shit up if I was able to tune this thing.

maybe in a year, the ECU will open & I'll do my best to break something.


for those that care...the traction bar (Caltracs) squeak is gone & there is no wheel hop when you light them up.

 

i will be contacting Pro Speed this week to get the ball rolling. if an ecu is can be tuned, is there any reason not to go with the stage 2 harrop setup?

gotta love finding a random thumb drive with a stash of long-forgotten crypto stored on it.

 

Go stage 2

don’t look back

 

This looks like a heck of a system, great job by Harrop delivering that without a tune.

 

i like knowing the stock tune is protecting me. yes, I can feel it cutting back at certain times. that's good for me. this is my daily driver.

As I mentioned earlier...it is awesome that an inter-cooled blower can be bolted to a stock pickup and function flawlessly. Kudos to Toyota ECU designers to build in enough headroom to accommodate a ~40% increase in airflow. Reading Harrop's white paper convinced me to pull the trigger. i.e. it ran less on the knock sensors with a stage 1 blower using 93 octane, than a stock truck using 87 octane.

yes, I could add another 50-100 HP with a tune, but ~120hp boost is fine for now. I'm only confessing to this because the ECU is presently locked.


and...if you get a blower (and you don't articulate off road), get the damn traction bars. look at videos with trucks that don't have them & watch how much the differential moves under load. very hard on u-joint.

and thank you to whomever posted the tutorial on how to shut off the nannies. I can put down two black streaks as long as I stay straight.

 

Probably thanks to the E85 support built into the fuel pump and injector capacity. The same applied (at least to the previous generation) to the GM’s 5.3 naturally aspirated engine. One could either convert it to run on E85 (which I did) or install a blower without doing anything to the fuel system.

 

true. however, mine is not Flex fuel. Harrop added a larger fuel pump to the pkg. Injectors are the same and are able to handle the 6-7lbs of boost.

 

Ah. Pardon my ignorance.
The only thing that differentiated a FlexFuel and a non-FlexFuel GM truck was the ethanol sensor and the ECU tune.

 

You just reminded me of a conversation I had with the installers...they were not used to having to install a larger fuel pump, as all of the other Tundras they have done were flex fuel. those tundras had mondo fuel pumps that could handle the extra flow.

the conversation started because they need a special wrench to get the fuel pump out of the tank. which they had to get at Toyota.

I don't know much about methanol, so pardon if I sounded short. was not my intention.

 

You guys have me beyond tempted. I’ve sent in my inquiry to Harrop and am subbing to this thread. Thanks for all the information in this thread guys! If I missed it, what have you guys paid to have this installed? I’d DIY, but I wanna make sure it’s done right and has the full warranty on the install and parts.

 

budget $10k -all in. yes, have a shop do it. Harrop can recommend. get a before and after dyno. have then monitor the A/F ratio. this will set you at ease.

As I mentioned earlier - get a code reader/OBD thing...one that can reset codes. I had to clear a lean code a couple times. I guess the ECU has "learned" and has yet to throw another lean code. don't freak out...the lean code happens when you come OFF the throttle, so not critical. getting on the throttle...the ECU is overly protective - well, mine is an un-tunable ECU. So I'm running stock tuning. and it is fun.

I'm a grown-ass man & I still act a fool in it nearly every day.

 

Concur with all of the above. Especially the code reader to read and clear codes.

For the Harrop I think you'll be hard pressed to find an installer lower than $9K. Harrop has the blower listed for $7.8K. If a shop does it you get a warranty, I think it is one year or x miles (cant remember the exact mileage but its probably between 12K to 16K). If you get on Harrop's or your installer's emailing list they send you discounted specials occasionally but I've not seen anything lower than $1300 off (for a Maggie install), Harrop was $800 off.

On a 2019 the only tuner available at this time is OVs VF Tuner. Personally I would avoid them like the plague. Ultimately your shop would have to deal with them; my shop vehemently recommended I wait for another vendor to crack the ECUs (originally thought I would purchase a CPOed 2018). Also note the OV vendor was banned from these forums and the Taco forums for their excellent customer service.

Untuned the blower will put you around 450HP, tuned will get you near 550HP safely without engine upgrades. Memebers here and elsewhere have pushed these trucks much higher with the right tune and upgrades.

Edit: 600 seems to be were issues start without upgraded internals etc. but 1000HP Tundras exist.

 

I have the Harrop at stage 1. Maybe 10,000 miles so far. On a recent trip, towing about 4500# boat, I pulled off into a rest area (120 miles into the trip) and noticed smoke coming off the engine. Pulled dipstick and I was down a quart or so. Added oil and it bubbled back on me when pouring. Also, when I pull the dipstick out, excessive air escaped (crankcase pressurized) even when the truck is off. Labor Day weekend, no one could help diagnose. Drove home, trip over. Brought into the mechanics who installed the Harrop, they said it might be normal for a SC. Had them do a PM, got home, pulled dipstick again and oil shot out like a geyser. After some research and conversations with Chris at Harrop, I went ahead and changed the PCV valve. That did not work to solve the crankcase pressure issue. Also checked functionality of the bypass on the SC and that is working, confirmed with Chris at Harrop. He is out of ideas and so am I.

Anyone with the Harrop SC have this experience? I'm ready to remove the SC and change back to OEM but I'm not sure that will solve the problem either.

Any and all theories on why the crankcase is over pressurized are welcome. I am non flex fuel, 5.7 engine. 19,000 total miles, half with Harrop SC installed.

 

do a compression test on each cylinder. you may have a damaged ring allowing excess blowby.

just a guess.

 

Thanks. I'll go that route. Nothing else makes sense to me.

 

the simpleton in me says you have a clogged PCV system... but 19k miles does not lend itself to clogged PCV.

..but, it's never simple.

 

There's multiple PCVs, valve cover and crank, did you inspect both? Are you sure your hoses are routed correctly? I would even be willing to disconnect the pcv hoses so you know they're venting to atmosphere, and run the truck and see if they have positive pressure. If they're not blowing any air out and the dip stick is still pressurized then you know there's an issue deeper down. I agree with dude above sounds like excess blowby, but the pcv should still be depressurizing the crank even if you had massive blowby. I don't think it's a supercharger issue, I think the issue is just brought to light from the extra pressures the engine is now experiencing.

 

Well obviously this makes me very nervous being about to pull the trigger on the exact same setup, so please keep us posted with your findings if you wouldn’t mind. I hope you don’t end up having to pull it off the truck! Thanks for sharing…

 

Can you post pictures of how the PCV and Crankcase lines are routed? The PCV valve is under the SC and should feed back into the port on the bottom of the SC, and there is a Crankcase output on each valve cover that should go to a Tee and then feed back into the intake.

 

Yeah. I don't want to give it up but my preferred mechanic seems clueless. Performance shops nearby are all backlogged. Seems like I'm kinda screwed at the moment. I need my truck running again asap. I searched the dark web for anyone else with the HarropSC and this issue and nothing came up...as others have pointed out, it does not seem related to the SC. Harrop says "never" seen this problem with their 2650. I understand how the thing works but after that I'm in over my head. I may have a slightly used SC for sale soon with unused stage 2 parts as a bonus. Maybe once my mechanic gets under the SC he may see something else....who the hell knows. The forums here have been good to me. I'll be honest in my final analysis and it isn't fair to blame the SC until I know more.

 

I can post pictures....I sent the same to Chris at Harrop and he says all is good. The truck ran like a champ for 10k, 1,000 of that with my boat behind me. I don't think it's set up related.

 

I'm sorry to hear you are having troubles, hopefully someone can get your situation sorted soon.

 

I appreciate that. The blank stares from mechanics here tell me I better check with my broker and see how my crypto currency and bitcoin accounts are doing on Monday.

 

Do the compression test like nobodyintx said and that will tell you lots.

 

I'll wager your compression test will be fine. but you need to do it.

I'll bet half a dollar you got a clogged PCV pipe. or that one way PCV valve is now a zero way valve.

then, do the @snivilous technique and open the pcv system to atmosphere.


keep us up to date...my interest is piqued

 

Thanks for all the advice gentlemen (and ladies if any replied). I did replace that small green stem pcv valve under the SC down in front. I wish I had a video of how I fished it out of the bottom after I dropped it below sea level trying to get the threads started. My Tekton deep socket was, well, too deep and I had to advance it 1/8 turn at a time with an open end that barely fit with all of the SC piping in front. If it only costs me a half dollar, I'll consider myself a lucky man and send 50 cents to all of you.

 

I went back and reread everything and I'll have to agree, something has to be plugged up, should be no pressure left in the bottom end after shutdown.

 

Update: So I drove my truck over to my mechanic to drop off - 10 miles. Pulled dipstick for the helluva it and had slight air exhaust, nothing like it was prior. Decided not to leave it and ran errands, punched it a couple times, got home, pulled dipstick again and no air escape. Oil pressure gauge in normal range the whole time pretty much.

Conclusion: (I hope) Changing the pcv valve corrected the problem. I just didn't give it a chance to settle in I guess. Just a week of anxiety for the record books. Thanks for all the help gentlemen. If anything else pops up again I'll update.