Hey All,
I want to get 295/70r18s and was told by the dealer it is an hours labor ($95) to recalibrate for a larger tire size "if it is in the computer already".
Does anyone know if that size is provisioned for in the stock pcm?
After spending $11 or $1200 for tires I'd like to wait to see how sluggish the truck feels before thinking of doing any other changes to the programming and spending another almost $500. The truck has 3.73s.
The dealer says that the ABS is linked to the tire size and it can mess things up a little bit.

My wife has an '06 explorer w/the 4.6 V-8. If I have to buy a tuner, can I use a particular tuner for both trucks at the same time or do they plug in and stay plugged in so only 1 truck can use it at a time. $500 seems half as bad if I can program both my trucks.....
Thanks

 

Considering there's only one manufacturer that I know of that even makes the 295/70/18 size (Nitto), I doubt very seriously that size is stored somewhere in the recesses of the PCM's 'mind'. In fact, I didn't know such programming existed within the stock PCM. Hmmm...

You WILL notice sluggishness going to that size; especially, if you're talking about the Trail Grappler. A good programmer can negate said sluggishness and then some. Plus, it will accept and program for any tire size you wish, and that $95 you were giving the dealer can go toward future mods!

Sorry, only one programmer per vehicle. These things are 'married' to one truck at a time. If not, they wouldn't sell many.

 

Hey.

Just to add to ol' Dewser's reply - you could always ask them what IS in there that is as close as possible - yet tire choice is 34" diameter, 107" circumference, with 589 rev/mile. It may be close, but likely not spot-on.

A programmer is a better choice ( btw, always budget a device like this within the all-in costs of a tire/wheel purchase) for the reasons Big D stated.

The only tuners I know of, off the top of me feeble brainbucket, are certain Superchips programmers, which will allow one device for 2 vehicles,( but only one at a time), or Sniper - where you can license several concurrent vehicles. Sniper tuning is not top-shelf, though, but that may not matter to you...

The other types of devices are Tirepaqs (again, from Superchips) which corrects for TS only - no perf tuning) - but they are cheaper than a full-on programmer so you could almost buy two. There may be others, but have not looked lately.

BTW - it's $400, not $500 - see this one - one of the very best - includes 3 Custom tunes: http://www.vmptuning.com/store/index...=226&parent=66

Good luck.

 

Thanks guys,
The VMP unit plugs into the OBD port, uploads the tune, then you unplug it. If you want to change the tune, you have to plug it in again.
Does anyone know of another tuner that remains plugged in like the Evolution Edge? I'm not sure how that works as far a changing tunes "on the fly" but it seems easier to check codes and retune. Do you need to shut off the truck to get the new tune to work?
Any thoughts?
Do they all read "soft" codes or do different performance tuners read different things?
I think I like the thought of being able to see a screen on the dash w/info and being able to go from a mileage to performance tune quickly if that is indeed the case.

 

sct live wire is another programmer that can stay plugged in or the diablo trinity....

your truck cannot have the tunes be changed on the fly per say....

most of them will read the obdii dtc codes only....

you can also use a scan guage or ultra gauge to display the data....

 

OK,
So all of the tuners upload the data to the OBDii and the tuners that stay plugged in only show certain parameters like tranny temp, rpm, mpg, etc...
You still need to shut the truck off in between tune changes?
Are all of those plugged in tuners available w/custom tunes like the VMP?

That's a very cool sport trac. 2wd? You bought that at a dealership????
What other stuff can you get from them?
Do they do any special F-150 stuff?

 

replies in bold

we've given you the info....now you can start browsing and learning....

 

So I spoke to Gary at Troyer Performance and bought an SCT SF3 programmer.
They seem great and spent a lot of time on the phone w/me as I asked him a bunch of questions. I called another company and didn't get a good feel when "bugging" them about soft codes and other silly stuff.

I filled out a 4-page questionnaire and they just sent it to me. I've got to plug it in and get them the truck's "strategy".
I ended up w/them because they have a "plan" for the truck and will send me updated files as I buy more stuff from them. I didn't want to buy this thing from one guy and another from that guy but rather a company that sold everything so I know it works and there are techs out there to help w/the specific upgrades working together.
I'm gonna put this on my stock truck w/the canned tune and see how it goes. Once the custom tune is done, I'll drive that around for a while then go for tires.
Thanks to all of you who chimed in and answered.
More to follow....

 

Cool....glad you found someone(#1 with f150's) to spend a little one on one time with you to get your questions answered...

 

Let us know how long it takes to get your stuff.

 

Will do....

So I uploaded the canned tune yesterday and can certainly feel the difference in driving characteristics but not so much in seat of the pants power. The biggest difference is the shifting and shift points.
What do those trucks redline at????
I was playing on the highway and it immediately downshifted (it would take normally 3 seconds before the tune) and ran up to around 5k before it down shifted into OD! And it was firm!
I have a set of lights on my way home that sometimes I mash the pedal and get a little straight line chirp. Last night the chirp definitely lasted a little longer.
Taking 90 degree turns I can notice the limited slip a little more too.
I keep and excel spread sheet of my gas mileage. I have 1/2 a tank left of 87 to mess around and be a punk. I'll refill on 87 and drive nice so I can compare mileage. I'd be psyched if I can get another mpg or so.
All in all I'm happy.
I really want to be that old, gray haired guy driving that cool 30 year old '07 ford so my quest is 300k. I hope this stuff won't take a negative toll on it. I drive like it costs me $70 every 4-5 days to fill the tank....
With that being said, what should my next mod be?? Is there something that will help mileage further?

 

The engine is good to about 6 grand, but it's recommended not to exceed 5400 with a stock torque converter.

 

So almost 3 weeks since the tuner arrived and I gave Troyer my truck's strategy. Still using the canned tune.
Not so happy......I think my mpg has gone down about 1 mpg. If I do a 100 mile totally highway trip in the warmer weather i can get 16.5-17.0. So far the one 100 mile totally highway trip has yielded 15.5. mpg. Still keeping track and will chime in in another few weeks.
Hoping to get 295/70r18s soon....

 

Your MPG went down ?? Big surprise. Mine too cuz the pedal is mashed all the time

Seriously though, my 87 tune was only a little better than stock MPG. The 91 octane is considerably better, about 15%. So the "extra" cost of premium is a wash. Try it out when you get your tunes.

I doubt those 33.5" tires will help your MPG but they sure will look good!

 

I know, I know...
I've been trying to drive nice.
I set my cruise at 65-67 but I do a lot of "city" driving.
I've been keeping and Excel file of my mileage for the last 16 months and I have averaged 14.8 which is what I have been averaging now using either Mobil or BP 87 octane. The only thing is that this time of year I do more highway and the weather is much warmer.
I wanted to do the programmer a few months before I do the tires to get a "baseline" mpg reading.
So I'll do the canned tune for the up to 12 weeks then I'll do the custom tune for a while then I'll do the tires.
I just want my cake and eat it too to help justify another "truck in progress".
I have a '77 international harvester scout II that is my usual money pit so when I do stuff to my daily driver it would be nice to add mpg's for a teeny tiny justification for the "adult" side of me