Hey!
Its been awhile. I have a question about the tuner. Though it didn't do a single good thing for my truck's performance no matter what mode, type of gasses in the proper modes it is suited for, It does seem to make out to be a decent code reader.
But I can't get it to go into the tire size mode! I got it to go into that mode when I very first used it. But It won't even ask anything about it since after that first use! Personally I think the tuner is defective. But I bought it and so I am stuck with it. Does anybody know how to get it to go into the tire size mode after a first time use? Any help will be appreciated!

By the way, It is an 1998 F-150 5 spd with a 4.6 in it, loaded withe the options.

 

Are you serious, Not a single thing of good no matter what mode.. absolutely no difference at all and you so non-challantely mention this 400$ later ??

 

I guess that I shouldn't say that about the tuner. My truck does have 180,000 miles on it. Ands all it can do to go up the slightest grade in 4th gear! I was just hoping the tuner would have given it some encouragement even in the high performance mode. Maybe the engine is just too shot. I might even be doing something wrong. I followed the instructions. I didn't mean to offend the tuners output! For that I am sorry! Its just that it hasn't done a noticeable change for my truck. As I said, Its probably the wear of the engine.

 

Hi W&H,

I'm going to make some general comments here, so please bear with me & I hope this info helps a bit..................

First, it helps immensely to know what the tuner can and cannot do on each model year of vehicle - reading the documentation thoroughly tells you that not all features are supported on all models, and this is precisely why - (also, calling the manufacturer or your vendor, etc.) For example, prior to the 1999 model year in the F-150, the speedometer cannot even be corrected like that, it has to be done with a traditional speedo gear change, costing all of maybe $15-$20 for the gear itself. *That* is why you can't access those functions - it has nothing to do with the Micro Tuner, it's your *vehicle* that is too old for the PCM to have that function. For the 1997 & 1998 F-150's, you need to simply change the speedometer gear in the tailshaft of the transmission to correct the speedometer.

Next - on those rare occasions when we see one of these posts claiming the Micro Tuner "didn't do a anything," you can instantly see what the problem *really* is - seat of the pants guesswork. There are never any 0-60 times, 1/4 mile times, or even just a how fast it got up to in a measured distance on a side road before & after, etc. in those posts - no solid data of any kind to actually identify just what the before & after performance levels of the vehicle really are. If the vehicle owner just does that very simple thing, they immediately see an improvement in those acceleration times/speeds, thus instantly disproving claims like "not a single good thing" resulted from installing the Micro Tuner - which of course isn't true. Remember, guessing at it from seat of the pants is the single worst mistake ANY vehicle owner can make in attempting to judge the results of *any* performance enhancement on any vehicle, especially in a 2.5-3 ton+ truck. That's basic "Performance 101," but many people still try to judge performance by the seat of the pants - big mistake. Many people can't even feel a half-second reduction in 0-60 times (a very significant improvement) in the seat of the pants in these heavy vehicles - it's not a 3200 lb. Mustang, it's a 2.5-3 ton truck, so truck & SUV owners (and ideally, *everyone* regardless of vehicle type or weight) should forget attempting to quantify performance results by the seat of the pants, it just doesn't work. What's "WOW!" to one person may not be "WOW!" to the next person in terms of seat of the pants feel. That does not change the fact that the 1715's tuning changes *did* gain performance - easily verifiable by simply doing properly controlled before & after timed acceleration/speed testing.

Next - since your speedo is off, I'm guessing you have installed taller-than-stock tires? That is one of the very best ways to kill the performance of any vehicle, and drastically reduce the effect of any performance modification, too - especially on a tired engine in a heavy truck. Along with the vehicle having a LOT of miles on the motor, Lord only knows how old the ignition system is (all of it, coil packs, plug wires and plugs), or how old every engine sensor is from the MAF & IAT thru everything else all the way down to the O2's in the exhaust, etc. I'd be willing to bet there are a number of items that are worn out at this point and are hurting performance, as very few F-150 owners give their vehicles the level of maintenance they require to stay in top running condition, performance, driveability and fuel economy. Heck, even the manufacturer's "severe service/duty"maintenance schedules aren't enough. In short - don't expect tuning to be some kind of panacea for a tired high-mileage vehicle, it just doesn't work like that - as you very kindly pointed out in your second post. Nor can you judge the effectiveness of any performance modification by the seat of the pants, especially in these heavy vehicles.

To try to help you a bit, here are some suggestions........

First - correct your speedometer using the correct speedometer gear. Any speedometer calibration shop can do that for you, and you can also use the Search feature here (the icon is in the upper right portion of your screen here) to look up any of the many posts we've made describing how to do that. the speedo gear is less than $20, and it takes all of maybe 10-15 minutes to do it.

Second - seriously and honestly evaluate the current condition of that vehicle, and decide if you are ready to drop upwards of a couple thousand dollars in getting ALL the maintenance that 180K mile truck probably needs right now done - or if you're going to be better off just putting that money into getting another vehicle. These trucks can be reliable well past 200K miles (and double that with a fresh motor, some people put a million miles on their trucks before retiring them!), but *only* if all of the maintenance is done, and at levels well in excess of what Ford recommends in their "severe duty" maintenance schedules.

Third - then try doing some timed 0-60 or 1/4 mile times on the stock program, and then do them again (on the same day, within 90 minutes) with the 1715's tuning installed - and I don't mean just the 87 octane program as that isn't going to do much, maybe 5 HP on that truck - I mean using the premium gas tuning. Do that and you will instantly see reductions in those acceleration times. Or, just mark off a measured distance of not less than 2 tenths of a mile - then do proper before and after runs to see what speeds it hits - you'll see it achieves a higher speed in the same distance with the 1715 tuning than it will on the stock tuning, as long as the vehicle is in decent running condition overall. Then you'll actually *know* what the 1715 really did for your truck's performance.

We all have to deal with what we have available to us, and there's nothing "wrong" with driving a higher-mileage vehicle - after all, it's still a nice late-model F-150. Just keep the maintenance up, and use a proper technique when trying to judge the effectiveness of any performance enhancement.

Some of this you already alluded to in your second post, these are just some general comments - I hope they help a bit, & best of luck with your truck!

PS - if your engine is not burning or leaking a significant amount of oil, you may well have some good performance still left in it with simple (though it may cost a bit, depending on just how old everything is) maintenance - so you might not want to give up on that 180K mile motor just yet!