What an improvement!
Thanks to Mike, Crystal, and Marc.
I finally had the chance to have some fun this weekend. Testing out the Xcal2 with my G-tech.
I had the weight of the truck all wrong so I left it the same during all the testing. The weight throws off the times and speed, Oops. :o
So I did some initial runs in stock form, well with a Volant CAI and Roush (off road) exhaust.
First 3 runs (because the first never counts) I had an average 0-60 of 9.1. 8.9 being the best.
Then I turned the Xcal2 too 87 performance and ripped another 3 runs. The average was 7.0, the best being a 6.4. I think I could have got the average a little better. Only because adaptive wasn’t fully set. My first run was 7.6, then 6.7, then and 6.4. So as time went on, the faster I got.
Its just amazing the shifting. I think that in itself makes a huge difference. No more waiting to shift! I LOVE IT!!!!!
I am going to test the 91-performance tune I also received. I just filled it up with 93. So this weekend I will get some more done.

My take on the product: So far, I can’t tell if it’s done anything for increased gas mileage. I’m in the stage of pedal to the metal. . Performance wise, a definite improvement. I can feel it and tested also. I can only feel a minor improvement in acceleration in first gear, but second and third pulls hard. That I can tell you is very, VERY noticeable.

So again thanks to Troyer Performance and everyone here at F-150 online (and those who aren’t) especially RP for all those long posts about tuners. I read them and learned from them all, and I for one would recommend this to anyone!

Thanks

 

I told you that you would resemble this .
Thanks and have fun....

 

You have me drooling now! I ordered a troyer xcal2 at the beginning of the week, so now all I can do is read about everyone else getting faster while I have to wait. Do you have any problems with detonation (pinging). Also, what kind of gas are you using? Thanks

 

I had to go through the same! Reading about everyone else's tuners bringing them a huge and me waiting for a couple of months. But like Vader once said, the wait is worth it.

No problem's at all. I was putting Shell 87 octane, but I filled up Mobil 93 on Sunday.

 

awesome man- any 'off-road' changes, not that it didnt sound great to start with?

 

Honestly, I think it got a little louder with the 91-octane tune.

87 wasn't much different, but the 91 seems louder. Unless its my foot on the pedal more....

 

smokestoneF150, sounds like you're really happy with the XCal2. Any hassles with it coming across the border? Exchange is really good right now, but duty and taxes are always a pain.

 

I didn't go that route. I had it sent to a family members house and went and picked it up.

Duties are a pain. Thank goodness I got a nice border officer. He was at the end of his shift and let me go.

 

Great post smokestone!

I, too, noticed those kind of improvements. Really glad to hear you love the XCal II. Now ball up and get an AF1 and use that Volant as a paper weight

 

Hi Smokestone,

Wow, that's quite a difference, getting down to 6.4 seconds from 8.9 - usually that kind of gain in this heavy of a vehicle takes a supercharger to reduce the 0-60 times by 2.5 seconds - just goes to show you what is available with top-shelf tuning compared to the stock factory program.

Thanks for your post & have fun enjoying your additional performance!

 

That's the samething I thought.

I went and did it 3 times on each. I know the weights were off, but I kept them at the same for no tune vs tune.

I think it was mostly tranny shifting.
Stock tune, my truck would stay in a certain gear way to long. Long enough that I could actually feel the power loss.
Now, bang, bang, bang threw the gears. I love it.

I am going to give her a try in the next couple of days on the 91 tune.
See what she does with the correct weight.

Thanks

 

The vehicle weight you plug in will not affect the acceleration times at all - that affects the power readings it gives you, but not the acceleration times.

So it doesn't matter if you plugged in 1000 lb or 5000 lb, your acceleration times would be the same - though the power numbers would be way off!

Regarding what is actually giving you the improvement, that is a combination of first, the additional power - Second, the changes made to torque management in automatics (and to a lesser extent, some manuals, too) - and then last, the changes made to the shift points. The most important thing is to get as much torque to the wheels as possible without hurting the powertrain, and then setting the shift points so the vehicle can take best advantage of it's power band. Actually, you would get even better acceleration if we pushed the 1-2 shift point even higher, but then we get into the area where the torque converter doesn't' like it frequently, so we don't push anything up into the zone beyond the design limits of the components. What that means is, for the 1-2, for quicker acceleration you would need to push it in 1st gear for several hundred rpm AFTER it stops pulling quite so hard, as it's a matter of where you land in the next gear, combined with the amount of ratio drop - and the ratio drop is always largest between 1st & second gears in 4 & 5-speed transmissions - this is why you typically see guys revving their cars at the drag strip in 1st gear well past the point at which they pull the hardest, because that lands them at a higher rpm in the next gear, and they accelerate better as a result - despite the fact that it feels like you should do just the opposite. We don't do that simply because we want these trucks to have a normal service life, they're not all-out race cars in most cases.

Have fun,

 

Well I did a couple of more runs. This time on the 91 octane tune.

First one 7.0, second 6.6, and the third 6.5. These are 0-60 runs
It was 90 degrees and high humidity. I also entered the right weight, so I have 1/4 mile and horsepower numbers if anyone wants to know.

The third run I brought the RPM's up too 1800 and let her go(brake torque).
A nice set of tire marks in the rear view mirror brought a huge to my face.

Got a quarter tank left of 93, so hopefully the weather will cool down to get some more times in.

Thanks

 

Yeah, you can see the effects of adaptive strategy with the runs slow at first, and then dropping more with each pass - *and* the effects of hotter temps dropping power across the board on the various runs, pretty obvious.

It's nice to get some experience with all of that - hope you don't burn off too much rubber on those launches!

 

The third run I brought the RPM's up too 1800 and let her go(brake torque).

explain this some more.