The Big Question on Set Up
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Troutdale, Oregon
The Big Question on Set Up
OK, I got the paperwork filled out and now I am having second thoughts on how to program. I first went with 87 performance/tow, 92 performance and 92 performance tow.
I now wonder if I should go with 87 performance/tow,89 performance tow and 92 performance tow.
What are your thoughts and what kind of combo's have you gone with. My wife is the primary driver and uses it to get to work and around town. I will use it to tow my jeep, boat or camper.
Being that I live in Oregon with the 3rd highest gas prices in the country and no quality standards on our gas. I feel i should cover all the bases. maybe I need to look at something different. Your input would help alot. Anita is waiting for my reply.
I now wonder if I should go with 87 performance/tow,89 performance tow and 92 performance tow.
What are your thoughts and what kind of combo's have you gone with. My wife is the primary driver and uses it to get to work and around town. I will use it to tow my jeep, boat or camper.
Being that I live in Oregon with the 3rd highest gas prices in the country and no quality standards on our gas. I feel i should cover all the bases. maybe I need to look at something different. Your input would help alot. Anita is waiting for my reply.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,803
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From: North Canton, Ohio
Personally I have the 87 towing compatible, 93 towing compatible, and 94 non towing compatible. These fit me well as I have access to 94 Sunoco Ultra here in Ohio.
However, having spent about 8 years in Oregon and knowing of your gas whoa's there, I suggest you go with the 87 towing, 89 towing, and 92 performance only. You will be surprised how the 87 octane towing compatible tune will wake up your truck. I am sure the 89 tow compatible will give you "ALL" the power you would want while towing. Save the 92 non-towing compatible for when you want to go play......
Just my thoughts since you asked. Where are you in Oregon?
I spent 8 years in the Oregon City, Gladstone area. Hated to leave but my family was all back here in Ohio.
However, having spent about 8 years in Oregon and knowing of your gas whoa's there, I suggest you go with the 87 towing, 89 towing, and 92 performance only. You will be surprised how the 87 octane towing compatible tune will wake up your truck. I am sure the 89 tow compatible will give you "ALL" the power you would want while towing. Save the 92 non-towing compatible for when you want to go play......
Just my thoughts since you asked. Where are you in Oregon?
I spent 8 years in the Oregon City, Gladstone area. Hated to leave but my family was all back here in Ohio.
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Dec 1997
Posts: 9,417
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From: Windsor,Ontario,Canada
If money is tight I would go with 87 Tow, 87 Perfromance and 93 Performance.
When you are towing you will be burning more fuel because of the work being done. Using 87 tow will save you money and besides when you are towing you don't need to be passing everthing in sight. For every day driving use 87 Performance and it will wake up the truck. You can still race from light to light and save a few dollars for later. On the weekend when you want to extract revenge on that red Dodge that beat you at the light on main street last Wednesday morning then fill her up with 93 and go get him!
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
When you are towing you will be burning more fuel because of the work being done. Using 87 tow will save you money and besides when you are towing you don't need to be passing everthing in sight. For every day driving use 87 Performance and it will wake up the truck. You can still race from light to light and save a few dollars for later. On the weekend when you want to extract revenge on that red Dodge that beat you at the light on main street last Wednesday morning then fill her up with 93 and go get him!
Regards
Jean Marc Chartier
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,803
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From: North Canton, Ohio
I know the area. Did a lot of fishing in the Sandy. Kind of funny that I moved back to Ohio in '78.....Good luck with whatever your choice in tuning is. Mike is definately the best there is......
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
First - in our custom tuning, a "performance" tune is NOT a "towing" tune, they are two separate types of programs, for 2 different purposes. Yes, even a towing tune is going to have more power & performance than the stock factory tune, absolutely correct. But we don't call it a "performance towing" tune - it's either a "performance" tune or it's a "towing-compatible" tune. Just FYI. 
Oregon has the same basic fuel quality issues that California does - as do most areas where premium gas is only 91 octane. One nice thing about some areas of Oregon is that you can get 92 octane instead of just 91. The main thing is to steer clear of the "cheap" fuels - and in Oregon, in several areas Chevron is a terrible fuel these days, where is used to be a great fuel. That happens primarily because the station owner is usually buying the cheapest possible fuel they can get on the open wholesale spot market, and that kind of nonsense can happen with virtually any brand, depending on the franchise contract & it's enforcement at the individual station level.
In areas out west, if you have access to Union 76, that usually works best overall, as it tends to have a nice high energy content, relatively speaking.
As always, the easiest way for we laymen to identify the better quality fuels is to consistently & accurately track fuel mileage - the fuel with the highest MPG under the same operating conditions (and same time of year!) is generally the fuel with the highest energy content, and will deliver not only the best MPG, but also the best performance, with less tendency to detonate. Then from there it's a matter of the best detergency.
For most people who need to tow heavy loads, we recommend using a premium gas tune to do that, as that will give them the most power to tow that heavy load, as well as the best fuel mileage when towing. Now others feel differently about that - some, as we can see in this thread, feel that when towing, they want to use only 87 octane fuel, as they aren't concerned with maximum performance, and that's fine, too. We simply look at it from the standpoint of the more load you have to move, the more power you want to have in order to best be able to deal with that heavy load. If you are towing a long distance, say if you are towing hundreds & hundreds of miles on a long family vacation, in those cases some people want to be able to burn only 87 octane - again, it's simply a matter of personal preference.
For me - if I want to tow on cheap low-grade gas, I'd do that on the stock factory program, and save my 3 custom tunes for best performance - so for me, I'd go with a performance tune for 87 and a performance tune for premium gas, and then a towing-compatible tune for premium gas - very simple. That way you have, between the 3 custom tunes and the stock factory tune, programs for towing and performance on both levels of fuel.
The bottom line is it's not something to sweat & fret over or debate on and on about - life is far too short to worry on and on about minutia, it's just not that big a deal. The most important thing is that you have a combination of the basic types of programs that allow you to use your vehicle in the manner you need to be able to use it. With 3 different custom programs available, you have all kinds of flexibility.
I hope that helps perspective a bit,
Oregon has the same basic fuel quality issues that California does - as do most areas where premium gas is only 91 octane. One nice thing about some areas of Oregon is that you can get 92 octane instead of just 91. The main thing is to steer clear of the "cheap" fuels - and in Oregon, in several areas Chevron is a terrible fuel these days, where is used to be a great fuel. That happens primarily because the station owner is usually buying the cheapest possible fuel they can get on the open wholesale spot market, and that kind of nonsense can happen with virtually any brand, depending on the franchise contract & it's enforcement at the individual station level.
In areas out west, if you have access to Union 76, that usually works best overall, as it tends to have a nice high energy content, relatively speaking.
As always, the easiest way for we laymen to identify the better quality fuels is to consistently & accurately track fuel mileage - the fuel with the highest MPG under the same operating conditions (and same time of year!) is generally the fuel with the highest energy content, and will deliver not only the best MPG, but also the best performance, with less tendency to detonate. Then from there it's a matter of the best detergency.
For most people who need to tow heavy loads, we recommend using a premium gas tune to do that, as that will give them the most power to tow that heavy load, as well as the best fuel mileage when towing. Now others feel differently about that - some, as we can see in this thread, feel that when towing, they want to use only 87 octane fuel, as they aren't concerned with maximum performance, and that's fine, too. We simply look at it from the standpoint of the more load you have to move, the more power you want to have in order to best be able to deal with that heavy load. If you are towing a long distance, say if you are towing hundreds & hundreds of miles on a long family vacation, in those cases some people want to be able to burn only 87 octane - again, it's simply a matter of personal preference.
For me - if I want to tow on cheap low-grade gas, I'd do that on the stock factory program, and save my 3 custom tunes for best performance - so for me, I'd go with a performance tune for 87 and a performance tune for premium gas, and then a towing-compatible tune for premium gas - very simple. That way you have, between the 3 custom tunes and the stock factory tune, programs for towing and performance on both levels of fuel.
The bottom line is it's not something to sweat & fret over or debate on and on about - life is far too short to worry on and on about minutia, it's just not that big a deal. The most important thing is that you have a combination of the basic types of programs that allow you to use your vehicle in the manner you need to be able to use it. With 3 different custom programs available, you have all kinds of flexibility.
I hope that helps perspective a bit,
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I completely forgot about using stock as an option. That leaves 3 others for playing around. 
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
In basically a 3-ton truck like a 2004/2005 SuperCab 4x4 with the Off Road FX4 package, you're never going to "feel" the power difference between a our 87 octane towing-compatible tune and our 87 octane performance tune in the seat of the pants.
Just a quick FYI here - a seat of the pants guess is never the way to attempt to evaluate any type of performance modification or part of any kind, on any vehicle - let alone a 3-ton truck.
Yes, there is always going to be a difference in power & performance levels between our towing-compatible tunes & our performance tunes, that is always true. But no, I rather doubt that anyone is going to actually "feel" the 6-8 HP difference at the wheels between our 87 octane towing tune and our 87 octane performance tune in the seat of the pants on a 2.5 to 3 ton truck.
You will see a difference in acceleration times if really accurate before & after testing is done between those 2 tunes, and you will be able to tell that it shifts firmer & quicker in our 87 octane "performance" tune over our 87 octane "towing-compatible" tune - but I'd say you're not going to actually "feel" just the 6-8 HP difference between those 2 programs in the seat of the pants, I don't think anyone can actually "feel" that.
In a little Honda, or a Ford Focus you might be able to "feel" a 6-8 HP differential, but many people can't even feel a 20 HP difference in a 3-ton vehicle in the seat of the pants, let alone a 6-8 HP difference.
It's really a highly individual thing, is the bottom line - some people swear they can feel those kinds of very small differences, while most can't. You might, you might now - the important fact is whether there really *is* a difference in power &performance levels between those 2 tunes, and the answer is yes, there is. the vehicle will make a bit more power, and accelerate a bit more quickly with our 87 octane performance tune over what it will do with our 87 octane towing-compatible tune.
I hope I've avoided confusing you with all this, and that this info that helps your understanding a bit,
Just a quick FYI here - a seat of the pants guess is never the way to attempt to evaluate any type of performance modification or part of any kind, on any vehicle - let alone a 3-ton truck.
Yes, there is always going to be a difference in power & performance levels between our towing-compatible tunes & our performance tunes, that is always true. But no, I rather doubt that anyone is going to actually "feel" the 6-8 HP difference at the wheels between our 87 octane towing tune and our 87 octane performance tune in the seat of the pants on a 2.5 to 3 ton truck.
You will see a difference in acceleration times if really accurate before & after testing is done between those 2 tunes, and you will be able to tell that it shifts firmer & quicker in our 87 octane "performance" tune over our 87 octane "towing-compatible" tune - but I'd say you're not going to actually "feel" just the 6-8 HP difference between those 2 programs in the seat of the pants, I don't think anyone can actually "feel" that.
In a little Honda, or a Ford Focus you might be able to "feel" a 6-8 HP differential, but many people can't even feel a 20 HP difference in a 3-ton vehicle in the seat of the pants, let alone a 6-8 HP difference.
It's really a highly individual thing, is the bottom line - some people swear they can feel those kinds of very small differences, while most can't. You might, you might now - the important fact is whether there really *is* a difference in power &performance levels between those 2 tunes, and the answer is yes, there is. the vehicle will make a bit more power, and accelerate a bit more quickly with our 87 octane performance tune over what it will do with our 87 octane towing-compatible tune.
I hope I've avoided confusing you with all this, and that this info that helps your understanding a bit,
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Troutdale, Oregon
Thanks Mike,
It is hard to decide which one to go with. I want to maximize my trucks performance and keep the wife happy to since it is her truck. I can run these and if I decide to change I will after I get the new gears in. Thanks again Mike. I am excited to get it in and see the results.
Gary
PS Anita will thank me too ,since I have been flip flopping the past several days............and making changes to my order. She suggested this combo at first and I changed several times and now full circle back .
It is hard to decide which one to go with. I want to maximize my trucks performance and keep the wife happy to since it is her truck. I can run these and if I decide to change I will after I get the new gears in. Thanks again Mike. I am excited to get it in and see the results.
Gary
PS Anita will thank me too ,since I have been flip flopping the past several days............and making changes to my order. She suggested this combo at first and I changed several times and now full circle back .