Our first "Skoolie" bus!

***Power Hungry*** · #1 Fri, October 23rd, 2020, 04:26 AM

We had our first converted school bus, knows as a "Skoolies" come by the office today to let us put our hands on it and give it give it some of that Orion magic!

With the 65HP tune (intentionally kept conservative due to no Pyrometer), we saw a 20 second reduction in 0-65 times. We're still waiting for additional feedback regarding the fuel economy, but initial calculations have shown about a 2 MPG increase. These are huge numbers, folks!!!

Anyway, here's the video we put together We hope you enjoy it. :-)

Many thanks to Joe Vissichio (aka Joe Steel) for being our first official Alpha Tester for the Orion Reflash System. We greatly appreciate it!

RamRod4 · #2 Wed, October 28th, 2020, 10:06 AM

Looking forward to the beta for this! There are quite a few people interested in this product.

pwerwagn · #3 Thu, January 14th, 2021, 03:47 PM

This was an awesome video! I just watched it, the initial acceleration is the same, if not better, than my VT365 supernova. Getting on the freeway in mine is downright dangerous on short ramps, sometimes Im only going 25mph when I finally am on the freeway. Then WOT with the "100hp" tsmp8 tuner turned all the way up, It takes a solid mile or more to get to 65.

I will second what Joe said about beating the bushes finding someone to tune these things. I have spent about 2 years talking to different people. The only reason I came across PHP was because I was considering sending my FICM to Ed to get it upgraded, and started researching the atlas tune.

Glad I found this forum!

--Jeff

***Power Hungry*** · #4 Thu, January 14th, 2021, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwerwagn

I will second what Joe said about beating the bushes finding someone to tune these things. I have spent about 2 years talking to different people. The only reason I came across PHP was because I was considering sending my FICM to Ed to get it upgraded, and started researching the atlas tune.

Glad I found this forum!

--Jeff

We're glad to have you here, Jeff.

As for the tuning, I'll tell ya... We've been trying to get this working for almost 15 years. We've finally been able to break down the flash routines which was the only thing really holding us up. Now that we have that down, we're really pushing forward with the Navistar stuff.

We're super excited and we know there are tons of folks out there just waiting to get their hands on this. Not much longer now.

***cleatus12r*** · #5 Fri, February 12th, 2021, 11:37 PM

We have an 02 7400 plow truck at work with a 466. When it's full of sand (and other crappy chemicals) it won't get out of its own way. Nobody likes driving it because it's a TURD. I love it though because it doesn't make enough power to hurt itself and it's ALMOST government union employee equipment operator-proof.

***Power Hungry*** · #6 Sat, February 13th, 2021, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleatus12r

We have an 02 7400 plow truck at work with a 466. When it's full of sand (and other crappy chemicals) it won't get out of its own way. Nobody likes driving it because it's a TURD. I love it though because it doesn't make enough power to hurt itself and it's ALMOST government union employee equipment operator-proof.

You could still bump it up a tad, though.

***cleatus12r*** · #7 Sat, February 13th, 2021, 05:17 PM

I'm not sure how much the Allison in it can take above and beyond the rated power as they're mechanically calibrated for a specific power output.

It's not really worth adding power to and I did 10K-mod it years ago....still a turd.

***Power Hungry*** · #8 Mon, February 15th, 2021, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cleatus12r

I'm not sure how much the Allison in it can take above and beyond the rated power as they're mechanically calibrated for a specific power output.

It's not really worth adding power to and I did 10K-mod it years ago....still a turd.

Torque capacity depends on the model of trans.

AT 545 - Good for up to 445 Ft. Lbs.
MT 643 - Good for up to 700 Ft. Lbs.
1000 Series - Good for up to 650 Ft. Lbs.
2000 Series - Good for up to 650 Ft. Lbs.
3000 Series - Good for up to 1250 Ft. Lbs. (in certain gears)

Most of the lighter duty applications use the MT 643 or the 1000/2000 series which clearly limits allowable torque output. However, since most of these engines have low HP output at the rated RPMs, the actual torque outputs are pretty low, too. For example, a T444e with a rated HP of 175 @ 2300 RPM produces about 400 Ft. Lbs. of torque. Bumping it up to 250 @2700 RPM moves the torque curve up to 480 Ft. Lbs. which, while being a bit high for an AT 545, would be well suited for an MT 643 or later model trans.

Of course, if you're running a manual then you shouldn't have any problems at all. The Eaton trans commonly found in them (the 5+1 and 6+1 O/D models) are rated north of 700 Ft. Lbs.

All this to say that unless the truck has an AT 545 in it, you should be able to safely bump the power up around 60-70 HP without any significant drawbacks or reliability issues.

Ganske · #9 Fri, June 4th, 2021, 08:44 PM

Power Hungry I also have a 2001 T444e skoolie that I am looking for tuning for. I have tried emailing your sales email but haven't gotten a response. When is this available for purchase? How can I order one?

Thanks

Josh

***Power Hungry*** · #10 Sat, June 5th, 2021, 10:20 AM

Josh,

I apologize for the delay in response. Ward is on vacation this week. His e-mails were supposed to be forwarding to Angela, but for some reason they didn't. He will be back in the office on Monday and will respond to your e-mail as quickly as possible. I'm sure there are going to be a ton of them to sort through.

In any event, we are expecting to release the kits this Monday (06/07/2021). If you'd like to order one, please call our office and we will be able to get one sent out to you. Our contact information is located at:

https://gopowerhungry.com/contact/

I hope this is helpful. Have a great weekend!