Ok, I've been reading for hours on tunes, tuners etc....

I've got a 2010 supercab 4x4 with the 2v 4.6. Only "performance" mod is exhaust. Right now the truck is leveled sitting on 295/70/18's and I've lost some power. Down the road I plan on going with some 4.56 gears and lockers front and rear.

My question is, is a tuner worth the money or should I hold off until I'm ready for gears too? I'll be running a canned tune until the truck receives some more attention under the hood & gears. I'd like to get some of the power I lost.

I do tow occasionally but it's only a 4 horse, horse trailer and the truck does it just fine right now.

I've been looking at the GRYPHON CS from PHP mainly because everyone raves about the product and I like the in cab monitor function.



http://www.powerhungryperformance.co..._cts_gas.shtml

Should I go ahead and splurge on the $500 tuner/pod or hold off?

EDIT: I've owned several 10, 11, and 12 second cars and have been through the tuning world before. I know the tuner won't turn the truck into a speed demon but I'd like just a little umph when I hit the go pedal.

 

I gained a bit of mid-range and upper RPM power with my Superchips Flashpaq 87 Tune. If you are looking for a lot of bottom end to upper RPM power you would need to run a 91 Octane Performance tune.

A Superchips canned tune willl accomodate the Gott's Mod, a CAI, shorty headers, cat-back exhaust, different tire size and a gear swap. You can also clear DTC's, adjust rpm and shift firmness.

 

To be honest, you probably won't "feel" a ton of difference between the various programmers. The "good" ones we talk about here will all improve your driving experience. You may find some programmers will let you modify things others won't. You'll have to do some research to find that out. And, of course, some offer the "gauge" feature and others don't - but that's pretty obvious. Do you like the "customer support" they provide? That's a "biggie" to me.

Really, if one gives you a 3 HP gain over another, is this a big deal? They probably ALL give "similar" gains. Does one seem to pay attention to the reliability of components? That's another biggie to me.

Will the tuner talk to you and find out what you want? That's a biggie if you want "custom" tunes.

Will "canned" tunes work for you? In some cases, this is all you really need.

So, it's really "over to you". YOU have to make the choice here, we cannot do it for you.

Edit: I just re-read your first post - if you put four hay burners into that trailer, you are towing a LOAD! I think you need a custom towing tune, unless you are driving a diesel Superduty - and you're not, I see.

- Jack

 

I've had experience with Hypertech, Superchips, SCT, EDGE, Diablo. The only one I wasn't really impressed with was Hypertech.

I'm set on the GRYPHON CS from PHP due to reviews, in cab monitor, customer service etc....

If I get it now, I'll stay with a canned tune. If I wait until I get gears I will also have a few other things on the truck so then I'll jump into a custom tune. I suppose my question is do it now or wait? Am I going to notice a difference without any other mods? Either way I'm going to end up with one.

The trailer is only loaded with 2 horses at a time, the rest is just equipment when the '10 is towing it. We hook up the 99 7.3 rc/lb if it's fully loaded with 4 horses and equipment.

 

Contact Bill or Corey at PHP.
If you buy the programmer and custom tunes at the same time you may get a price break.

You also can get the custom tunes and programmer and then down the road when you decide to do gears just use the programmer to change the size gears that you went to.

 

I'll get ahold of them.

I'm just hesitant to spend the money if I won't get the results I'm after without supporting mods/custom tune.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

 

Bumping this up.

I've posted on PHP's forum with no response.

I was talking to my friend who is a service adviser who works at the Ford Dealership where I bought my truck, gears are definitely out of the question due to them voiding the powertrain warranty.

I guess the programmer is my only viable option for regaining a little power that I can hide from the dealership by returning to stock on visits to Ford. IF...IF it's a good option.

 

So you can stress out your transmission by running oversized tires, but you can add gears to lessen the transmisionn strain??



your "friend" is a great "advisor", please provide us with the dealership name where he works so can avoid the place...

 

I fail to see how this helps in any way...... Ford sets the standards, and Ford says gears void the warranty. No if's and's or but's about it.....

We all know the truck will benefit from gears, problem is Ford says voided warranty. My "friend" who is such a great "advisor" as you put it was acting on behalf of Ford just like I asked him to. I told him to give me a no B.S. answer on what would happen if I put in gears.

Now do you have anything to add that will benefit the thread or just upping your post count? I hate to have a pissing match but........c'mon.