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Ken Cowin, one of Hypertech's electronically-proficient engineers, began our test by setting the HyperPAC to record drag strip data with the original Ford F-250 Power Stroke turbodiesel factory tuning package intact. Net results showed 259.8 horsepower with 389.8 lb-ft torque.

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This dramatic photo proves that Ken didn't even get dirty while programming the HyperPAC to Stage 3, where it brought the donor vehicle to 377.6 horsepower with 429.1 lb-ft torque. We daresay a loaded trailer would seem nonexistent with numbers like those.

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This is the screen Ken began with, as noted in an earlier caption. Other screen selections are available to you in the Engine Power Tuning section, but we wanted to demonstrate the variety of keypad options, including the Help function.

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This screen is representative of our F-250 test, where the HyperPAC presents flywheel horsepower as collected from a dyno run on the road. All values are corrected to conditions of STP (standard temperature and pressure) as prescribed by the Society of Automotive Engineers.

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Here's a test screen showing a drag strip run, just like you'd get at the track. It gives you E.T. and mph figures at every increment. Another drag strip setting displays a Christmas Tree and monitors critical engine functions.
Hypertech knows performance and how to get it. The founder, president and energetic leader of this progressive company, Mark Heffington, is a life-long performance guru who also founded Cam Dynamics many years ago. Mark's impressive background includes a wealth of achievements in the performance aftermarket as well as the OEM world in Detroit. This guy is as interesting as he is fired up. You might say he's high on hop-ups!

Mr. Heffington not only built this company to serve the new age of electronic automotive tuning, he's also increased its size already in order to better serve the needs of this hot market. More than 20 degreed engineers work on the myriad projects currently under development at Hypertech.

Having been involved with OE consulting, Mark recognized a unique opportunity even before the general public was aware of this new age of tuning. Hypertech began by producing custom performance chips to replace the factory versions that had built-in, tamper-proof features. As vehicle computers advanced, so did Hypertech, moving forward with its still-popular hand-held Power Programmer. These tuning devices store your stock parameters and install recalibrated commands that are easily discernable by your posterior each time your throttle foot reaches the floor. These are exciting times, indeed, and amazing things happen at Hypertech.

We rode along on an impromptu performance test in a 2005 Ford F-250 Super Duty Power Stroke turbodiesel. In stock trim-without tampering with the factory-set tuning parameters-it put out 259.8 horsepower at 3,500 rpm, while its torque figures came in at 389.8 lb-ft. With the HyperPAC set on Stage 3, it came alive with 377.6 horsepower and a whopping 429.1 lb-ft of torque. Hypertech sets its absolute tuning ceiling to the vehicle's maximum recommended exhaust gas temperature, though some aftermarket products allow you to tune way past the specified EGT range, and that's exactly where engine damage is more than likely to occur. This is especially important in towing situations where a steady load and frequent uphill grades can grenade a motor and transmission in a heartbeat if it's set on "kill". We're told the HyperPAC tunes only to (but not above) the maximum recommended exhaust gas temperatures. Other products include warnings telling the user not to install its higher-level tuning programs or risk engine damage and/or warranty problems.

Out of the truck and back inside Hypertech, we settled into some discussion about the various programs (software) contained in the HyperPAC. Space doesn't permit the details we'd like to provide, so you may want to visit the newly-constructed www.hyperpac.com for dyno charts (real ones), videos, information on HyperPAC modules (for EGT and air/fuel ratio monitoring), and much more. Meanwhile, here's a compressed run-down of current HyperPAC programs.

Drag Strip

This one has some teeth. Features include a functioning Christmas Tree, complete with a count-down sequence you'd experience at the track. Its design intention was to produce run data categories exactly like you'd get at the strip; e.g., reaction time, 60-foot, 330-foot, 1/8-mile, 1,000-foot and quarter-mile speeds and elapsed times, including so-called "magazine-type road test" acceleration rates in 10 mph increments (0-10 mph, 0-20, 0-30, 0-40, etc.). The HyperPAC will even compensate for wheel spin.

Dynamometer

This is just like having your own dyno shop. On the road, by accelerating from a low to higher speed, the HyperPAC measures driving wheel (or flywheel) horsepower and torque, correcting all values to standard conditions of temperature and atmospheric pressure (an SAE practice). Are you getting the impression this product doubles as a true engineering tool? Well, it can. In fact, the HyperPAC is more accurate than a typical chassis dynamometer in terms of measuring actual ("effective") driving wheel power. This is because HyperPAC driving wheel data is influenced by the aerodynamic load on the vehicle, not a factor with chassis dynos in a lab or shop setting.

Engine Monitor

Neat deal here. In real-time, you can selectively (by your choice of up to five digital or analog displays on the HyperPAC screen) monitor a lengthy list of operating parameters. Included are engine rpm and an assortment of temperatures and pressures, as you motor down the road. Selectively, you can put up one to five gauges in either of these formats. Dozens of data streams are available for this type presentation. And if you elect not to view this data in gauge format, you can select a tabular version and get it in columnar form (see screen showing this information).

Performance Tuning

You'll recognize this program as the time-honored Hypertech "Power Tuning" that includes all its traditional features: e.g., revamped ignition spark and fuel delivery tables; transmission shift firmness (and points); top speed limit reset for factory-approved high-speed tires; cooling fan on/off trims; and compensation for non-stock tires, wheels or rear gear ratios. This program is what Hypertech originated in '96 when OBD-II controls appeared on the scene.

Diagnostics

No need to purchase a scan tool for reading and clearing "check engine" lights. This HyperPAC feature enables not only the identification and removal of such diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), it'll tell you in plain English what each code means. In this fashion, you can perform your own trouble-shooting activities in the comfort of your own shop or garage.

So there you have it. The HyperPAC is really five products in one, but there's more. Earlier this year, Hypertech introduced the beginning of a series of "modules" designed to simply plug into the HyperPAC. To date, there's an exhaust gas temperature (EGT) module that's popular among diesel engine owners and an air/fuel (AF) module for gas-burners. These connect in series with the HyperPAC and allow data display on the unit's 3 x 4-inch blue touch-screen.