I am looking to buy a tuner for my 02 5.4 Screw 4x4 and need some advice. I hear great things about Troyer custom tuning, but am wondering if they are really THAT much better than a Superchips 1715 with off-the-shelf tunes? My main goal is to gain some low-end punch to aid in towing and prevent as much downshifting on the freeway. I also need the tuner to re-calibrate my speedo and improve shift firmness. The 1715's diagnostic reader is a nice feature, but not necessary.

Would I be happy with a standard tuner? My father has one in his 7.3 powerstroke and it made a very noticeable difference. I know the main reason for his change is he is able to achieve more boost with a tuner. Can I expect similar changes on my truck, or is performance tuning on an otherwise mostly stock gasser a moot point?

I am sure the Troyer tunes are a little better, but is it worth the extra price difference, wait timke, and hassle?

I'd like to hear from guys who are happy with their 1715, as well as those with opinions about their Troyer tunes for a 2v 5.4., and what kind of prices I can expect for both.

Thanks!
Brian

 

I don't have experience with the 1715 or Troyer tunes, but Edge is getting ready to come out with a tuner for our trucks (97-03) that includes some digital guages. You may want to consider that as well.

 

whether your truck is bone stock or has alot of mods-mike troyer's custom tuning will get you the most and "safest" amount of poer and torque that can be had-phil

 

No off-the-shelf tuner will give you as much hp & torque gain as custom tuning will, and IMO you won’t go wrong calling TP; Mike knows his stuff

 

I have the Edge for your truck and it's sweet! They're in beta testing right now, but they'll be released to the public soon. I like the guages, diagnostic abilities, and performance tests. I leave my Edge set on IAT (almost the same as outside temp), engine coolant temp, Instant MPG, and Average MPG.

Mike Troyer (a supporting vendor) sells the edge, superchip, superchip tuner, xcal etc..... so give him a call.

Hey, Jpdadeo, Where did you get your truck dyno'd at? I would like to run mine, but the nearest place is in Atlanta and they cost a fortune!!

 

I searched the Dynojet web sight and found a shop in Rockledge FL, about 30 min from my house. Here’s a list for Georgia, check it out maybe one is close to you

http://www.dynojet.com/maps/autodynos/ga.htm

 

I have the 1715 and I like it. It is much better than stock. I am sure Mike could improve my performance with a custom tune but it is not in my budget at the moment.

 

HI Brian 5.4,

That's an excellent question, and one that comes up often.

To give you some facts - we are actually Superchips Inc's oldest WD in America - and we have worked with them on numerous projects over the years, so we know their products for these trucks probably better than anyone.

The difference between their gains & driveability using the 1715 and what you get with our custom tuning is quite a bit - typically about double what you get from the 1715 on your 5.4, for example. This is because we go much more in depth into the tuning, and completely re-write many aspects of what's going on inside the PCM that are not touched by off-the-shelf types of tuners.

See, what has to be remembered is that a company like Superchips, or Hypertech, Diablo, or any of the, while most are great companies (which is why we're Superchip's oldest distributor!), they have to focus on *thousands* of different applications, whereas many years ago we set out to specialize in the Ford F-series platform. So there really isn't any comparison in the sheer amount of R&D that we have in this platform to what anyone else has - and that is also why a number of the major chipmakers call us in for help in developing their F-series applications.

Additionally, we did a demonstration of the difference between tuners like the Superchips 1715 & 1714 units (and others) at one of our Dyno Day events last September (we rented someone else's dyno, so nobody could claim foul) that some of the members here attended, and they were shocked at the difference in actual power, as we made significantly more power than anyone else.

Do you want the best results? If so, then you want our custom tuning, no matter what state of modification your vehicle is in, from stock to highly modified to anything in between. If you want a tuning device that has far more capabilities, such as the highest-speed datalogger in the business, manufacturer-specific enhanced parameter diagnostics, Internet update capabilities, full email update capabilities, ongoing firmware updates, and a unit that can be taken from this vehicle to your next FoMoCo vehicle (whether it's an F-150, a Focus, a Crown Vic, a Lincoln, or whatever) by having us reprogram the unit for that next vehicle, then the XCalibrator 2 is the way to go, that is why we use that particular unit, as that is the kind of flexibility you get with our custom tuning loaded into the XCalibrator 2.

For all of these reasons any many more, this is why you see most people here coming to us for their tuning needs - there is simply nothing else that will get you what we do, because nobody else has anywhere near the sheer amount of experience, knowledge & R&D that we have into this platform - this is what we do, day in and day out, for the better part of the past 15 years of specializing in these specific vehicles.

One of the respondents in this thread, "openclasspro#11", has tested the standard Superchips tuning, and then 3 rounds of Diablo's best custom tuning for his 203 5.4 F-150, and then our custom tuning - and as he reported back here a few months ago, there simply was no comparison to our tuning.

as you can probably tell pretty quickly, I am very passionate about this, as this is what we do - I am a tuner of many years, I know what every other product on the market does, and I know what we accomplish - so if it were me wanting tuning for my vehicle, I'd want it done by those who are known to do the best job. For example if I owned a BMW, I'd want Steve Dinan tuning it - if I owned a Ford F-series (and most other FoMoCo vehicles, for that mater), I'd want us tuning it.

Another aspect that typically gets misstated time and again by the same people is the unfounded claim that for a stock to lightly modified vehicle, there is no benefit or need for a custom tune as compared to some canned-tune type of unit - and few things could be further from the truth. It doesn't matter what state of modification the vehicle is in, it will gain more power & performance that is safe & sustainable, as well as have better driveability, with our tuning over the off-the-shelf units.

One last point - it's our job to insure that our customer's vehicles, for a given level of modification, produce more power & performance, whether it's for daily driving, towing, off-roading, or actual drag racing, etc., compared to other vehicles with different parts but the same basic types of modifications - this is why we do testing that nobody else does - like testing the various intake kits, exhaust systems, headers, spark plugs, ignition setups, cylinder head porting, to you name it, as that is what we are - F-series performance specialists, and we've been doing that longer than anyone else.

Anyway, I hope this brief info helps, and please feel free to give us a call to go over any of this in more detail, we'll be happy to help.

Thank for your post, & best of luck whatever you decide!

 

Mike,
I have done lots of searching about the topic here lately and have found your in-depth replies to several threads. I was on the fence about purchasing one of your tunes, but found a smoking deal on a used 1715 in my area and jumped on it. I am happy with this tuner, but will definately be upgrading soon. I will no doubt be turning to the folks at Troyer for the tuning. I appreciate your time spent and helpful, honest reply. Thansk again, and you will hear from me soon.
Brian

 

You're more than welcome, Brian!