I recently installed my 87 octane Xcalibrator Max performance tune from Troyer.....

Ran great....NOT. It was pinging like crazy. I thought maybe it needed a little time to adjust. After about 30 miles in hilly terrain it still pinged. With less than a 1/4 tank I filled it with 89 octane fuel and drove it for another 30+ miles. There was a slight improvement, not enough to keep me from worrying. So I reinstalled the factory tune. The ping was still there ever so slightly at first and then went away.

I was confused because I use a good quality fuel, Chevron. I never had issues with it on my '01 with a 91 octane tune. Still I suspected fuel but it just did not make sense from my past experiences.

I called Mike Troyer and he returned my call within minutes. He was very gracious and genuinely concerned with MY problem. This kind of customer service is extremely rare these days. We talked for about 20 minutes, actually he did most of the talking.

Well, from his detailed explanation. The only conclusion could be fuel quality. So I went with another brand he recommended. I reinstalled the 87 octane tune again.

Wow, the truck runs a lot better. Can't wait for the 91 octane tune.

Troyer's tune is as good as everyone says and the customer service is A-1 bar none.

I would like to thank Mike and crew for all their time and help.

 

What was the other brand Mike recommended?

 

Hi canyonslicker,

I'm very glad to hear that this was a simple issue of fuel quality - and I remember speaking with you about this, and how in our discussions we talked about how at a few Chevron stations out west (in areas where premium is only 91 octane) we're starting to see some fuel quality problems once in a while with a few individual Chevron stations regardless of the octane & tuning used. The issue you and I discussed specifically about that (which I won't mention here) we first found a couple of years ago in the Seattle & Tacoma Park areas of Washington state, at several Chevron stations that were literally buying the cheapest wholesale fuel on the daily spot market - and of course, that caused a drop in energy content (and I suspect an actual reduction in octane due to certain storage, handling & transportation methods, though I cannot prove that at all, it's only fair to point out) that resulted in detonation that was immediately cured by using a better quality fuel of the same octane rating.

The main clue in your case that led me to suggest switching fuels rather than de-tuning the truck was the fact that it was pinging a bit even on the STOCK factory tune on that fuel - this happens more than some people realize, and I'm glad you spotted that.

In our custom tuning documentation, we mention that sometimes Chevron is a good quality fuel - because *sometimes*, it IS! But sometimes it's not, as was apparently the case in your locality. We mention this in our documentation because in our custom performance tuning, we are doing everything possible to make maximum *safe & sustainable** power - even on 87 octane fuels. In the new body style trucks that debuted in the 2004 model year, especially the 5.4 3-valve 300 HP motors, we are making much more power gain on 87 octane than was *ever* possible in the 5.4 2V motors found in the 1997-2003 (and 2004 Heritage) model F-150's.

However, it DOES require good fuel quality - and fuels that sometimes work well in one area simply don't in another area - heck, sometimes the same brand in the same city can have variances from one individual station to the next, and *that* is what we are seeing more of here lately with some Chevron (and other, to be fair) stations here & there out in the West (meaning California and some other areas where premiums are only 91 octane).

The bottom line is we're *delighted* to hear that yours was a simple fuel quality issue, and that you are now able to enjoy detonation-free performance with significant power gains even on 87 octane in the new trucks, just as everyone else basically is with our custom tuning - thanks very much for letting us know!

If you happen to have any such data (and you may very well not, as most people are just too busy with their daily lives to bother), I would also be curious to know if you feel you are seeing a difference in fuel economy with this better quality fuel - meaning, do you feel you are getting better fuel mileage with the higher quality but same octane-rated fuel that cured your detonation issue? Most people don't bother to track that data of course, so you may well not have that kind of info - but just in case you might, I'd love to know that result too, as all else being equal, you really should see a little bit better MPG with the higher energy/quality fuel.

Thanks again for your post & congrats on your results,