okay, i'm hoping to catch a lot of people's comments here- what exactly are the facts about getting tunes? i am not familiar w/ it, researched it a little on here and every response is so different. i have 20" rims and 33" tires, my gas mileage seems to have suffered from the factory setup, but i suppose i can't really tell because the readings are probably not accurate since it has not been tuned/reprogrammed yet. i didn't really anticipate needing it that badly, but maybe i do.

i don't particularly want to get a tune and then run 91 or 93 octane gas all the time. is that a requirement? i just expected to lose about 1-2 max mpg w/ my wheels/tires, but it has been way more than that i think. i don't tow or anything, just street/highway driven. also, how much does it cost to get tuned/reprogrammed?

 

OK, you've got bigger tires than your PCM thinks you have, so you're actually going farther between fillups than the odometer says, and, you're moving faster than the speedo says.

I don't know what your factory tires were, but, if you know their diameter/radius/circumference (whatever) and compare it to the same dimension on your new dancing shoes, you could figure the percentage difference. Apply that same percentage difference to the gas mileage you are calculating and you'd be pretty close to an accurate figure. (You're doing somewhat better than you are calculating).

A programmer will do more than just correct your tire size. It will greatly improve your driving experience. If you have a tune from a reputable tuner (TP, VMP or PHP), you will have more power and will probably see even better gas mileage.

You do not have to run 91+ octane gas. I don't. I have two tunes - an 87 octane tow tune and an 87 octane economy tune.

My choice for a tuner is Bill Cohron at www.PHPTune.com He's a good guy - easy to talk to and won't try to sell you on anything!

Hope this helps!

- Jack

 

higdog, same here. i just got a 2.5" level and installed 35" tires (BFG KM2 MT's)....my speedo and odom. arent accurate, plus the truck lost some of its strength, so i ordered me a PHP Gryphon. I have heard nothing but good reviews for the PHP Gryphon, which is why i chose to buy me one. I have never dealt with a tuner/programmer and up until a few days ago i thought i didnt need one. Now, when i ordered it, i chose level 1 octane 87 which is tranny, level 2 octane 87 which is tow, and level 3 performance with octane 91. I hope i selected the right octanes, all i want is an accurate speedo/odo reading and a bit of more power to the truck. I should be getting mine in a few days, i'll let you know how it works for me.......

 

I run my 87 performance tune every day.Good milege and great performance.

 

Thanks for all your replies, they make a lot of sense. Just got a few more simple questions though-

So do I just order a couple of custom tunes and then what? How do you physically do the job? I realize that somehow I will need to get it onto my truck's computer.

I always thought that you either had to buy a programmer for about $400 or go to someone who has one that can reprogram your truck for you. I've seen people talk about ordering tunes though for a while, like from troyer, but wasn't sure how it worked. How much have you all spent in general for a couple of tunes?

Sounds like all of you that posted here had about the same needs as what I have. I'll tell you my driving habits and some info, and you can let me know how well your tunes are doing in comparison:

I drive like grandpa these days, mainly because I thought I had killed my gas mileage. I've never been one to stomp on the gas pedal anyway except maybe on occasion when needed- like getting on the interstate or something. If the speed limit is 45, I'm gonna be driving around 45, and if it's 55 I might even be around 50 sometimes unless I'm in a hurry. I drive 99.9% on the road instead of off roading. I almost never tow anything and rarely haul anything with this truck- I have an older truck to use for that stuff. I always use 87 octane gas here in Tennessee and prefer to stay w/ it, mainly because I'm not sure of the need to run anything higher. Also, it is hilly in all the places I drive, and the interstates are mountainous, like big stretches of all uphill for 5-10 miles sometimes. Right now w/ the 305/55/20 tires and 20x9 wheels, the truck usually never shifts into overdrive unless I am able to get into a 55 mph speed zone, then it shifts into overdrive at around 50 mph. At interstate speeds of 65-70 mph, it is in overdrive and the tach is still sitting just under 2000 rpm. But like you said, none of those things are accurate right now. I have 3.55 gears, 5.4L.

Sounds like from what everyone said, I would like to have an 87 octane tune, but I sure wouldn't mind getting more power out of the truck. My truck has always seemed real sluggish, and the reflash of the computer for throttle lag never helped much. I was disappointed in the power these trucks have, but I know they have a lot of torque. What do you all think I need from this info I have given?

 

I have VMP custom tunes and highly recommend them.

I ordered the XCal3 and you have your choice of 3 custom tunes(400.00 including 3 tunes). You tell them your mods and anything special you want from the tunes. Your device is mailed to you with your tunes loaded.

You plug it in to your ODBII port and just follow instructions.

I ordered a 87 performance, 87 mileage, 93 performance tune, thinking I would run the 87 performance majority of the time. I've ran the 93 performance more than the 87 and haven't even tried the mileage tune.

 

There are two popular sets of hardware(tuner). The Xcal3 that you can order from Troyer. It comes with 3 custom programs, that they will help you in designing. The other is the Edge or the Gryphon. They come with canned tunes already in them and may be all that you will need. The Edge can not be custom programmed, but the Gryphon can be, by PHP.

My choice would be the Gryphon and Bill's custom tune, just because I have had both and know how much better they are over the canned tunes.

 

You can't just buy the tunes. First you will need the tuner. The talk about buying individal tunes applies to adding custom tunes to your tuner.
Hope this helps.

 

You really need to buy the tuner.For 400.00 you get the tuner and 3 custum tunes.The 87performance tune will give you about 20 more hp around 3500rpm.With 20 more and much improved shifts it will feel more like 50hp.I have a 87 economy 87 performance and 93 performance on mine.I run the 87 performance every day this is the best balance for me good mpg good power although i did bring the shift presures down a little on this tune.The 93 tune is just for fun its a animal from 2500rpm up power comes on hard but i wouldnt use it every day

 

Higdog - no one answered part of your question. The programming device, such as a Gryphon from PHP or an XCal from VMP or Troyer is how you get the tune into the truck. It plugs into the OBDII port and uses that pathway. If you can plug something in and if you know how to push a button, you're good to go!

Except for not towing, you drive a lot like me. But, I wanted quicker response while passing, because I'm on 2-lane roads here in Arizona quite often and I didn't like the throttle lag. The tune from PHP has given me that, plus firmer shifting, increased power (as far as I can feel) during passing at WOT, and, better gas mileage.

I also like having extra gauges to monitor things, especially when I'm towing, so I appreciate that feature of the Gryphon.

With a programmer, you'll also be able to correct your speedometer and odometer for the bigger tires.

- Jack

 

Ok so this is going to be written just so I can see if I'm getting all this straight-

What would be the difference between a 'programmer' and the name brand products you all are mentioning? I see that the products you are talking about have the custom tunes available and so it seems like that is why everyone is high on them, right?

So basically, if I were a Ford service tech with the knowledge, then I could pretty much fix and reprogram my truck's computer exactly like these custom tunes you are talking about and skip out on the $400+ costs that everyone is paying right now?? I take it that these 2 companies that do all the tunes do it very well but that it is a pretty specialized thing right now and they are making bank on it?

With those things in mind, I just need like 1 tune, period, for right now. Is it not possible that businesses somewhere have these types of programmers and that I could just go pay them to reprogram/tune my truck for like $100 or something? I just don't need the programmer more than once or twice ever, and I'm not going to play with the settings all the time unless my driving/workload habits change (very unlikely, i have older truck for use). I do understand though from everyone that it is much better to have something that is custom tuned to your specific vehicle and it's mods. Is this one of those things where you have to bite the bullet and shell out a bunch more money after you thought you were finished modding your truck?

 

If you don't want custom tunes, then you would probably be better off with the stock tune. The fact of the matter is that there are VERY few people that know how to tune these trucks and even fewer of them work at dealerships. One of the pluses of having your own tuner is so you can return your truck to the stock tune when you take it in for service. You never know when they may decide to reflash the computer and if you had your custom tune loaded, it would be gone.

 

Bluejay just gave you some straight talk, higdog. I really doubt there are many dealerships at all that could do what you want. And, while there ARE independent tuning shops all around, I wouldn't trust my truck to any of them unless I'd gotten a bunch of independent reviews on how well they did. The simple fact of the matter is, an incompetent tuner can wreck your engine and drive train, and I imagine there are more than a few of those out there.

The three that have been discussed, PHP, VMP and Troyer all have solid reputations. There are others that have been mentioned, but not always in "glowing" terms.

- Jack

 

Bluejay and Jack are very correct. And your truck is not something you want to gamble with at all.

 

I see. I will check out these options. I already looked at PHP. I appreciate everyone's info, it all seems to be right given the fact that I'm probably experiencing a lot like what you did before your tunes.

Bluejay- when you say stock tune, do you mean just how mine is now? If so, given the setup I have w/ 33's and 20's, no really major changes, would leaving it with the stock tune do any damage to the transmission or anything over short or long term?

I meant to ask you all about gas mileage and HP from your tunes. Each of you looks to have a very similar setup to my mods in terms of the wheel/tire/lift combo. Can anyone say pretty accurately what kind of mileage they were getting with their factory setup and what kind of increases the specific tunes gave? If so, please include your engine size and gearing so I'll know how close mine could potentially be to it, and I think most of you have 4x4's. I know I have gotten 20 mpg before, it was mostly around 17-18 the past 2 yrs highway and city both. But this fall it went down to 16 a lot and then when I put the bigger tires on, who knows what it really is w/ the inaccurate readings, but according to the odometer as is, I am getting from 12-14 mpg now.