I am psyched! Ran the level 2 towing program. Runs great. Great throttle response and quick shifts from the transmission. Ordered 87 performance, 87 towing and 97 performance custom tunes from php, but till I get them I'll enjoy the "new" truck.

Questions for those of you who have already been using these:

1. How accurate is the fuel mileage calculation. Seems high. Did some cruising and a couple of good runs with the foot in it and it says avg of 18.8. My truck has never avg'd more than 15.7 on a long highway trip.

2. I had an intermittent miss/hesitation/backfire problem that the dealer blamed on plugs. Probably occured a bit more frequently than just intermittent, almost every time I gave it more than about 75% throttle. This did not occur on my 30 min trial run. could it have been a problem with the factory program. (It happened before the gryphon everytime I hit the highway.)

Can't wait to get the custom tunes!

 

The mileage readout takes several drive cycles to get accurate. It should be closer after 10 or so drives. It does sound as if there was something wrong with your stock tune. That is odd.

 

Well the average has always shown high on my truck since I had the gryphon. And the only real time it seems to get close is on a good mileage trip.

 

Average milage is high on the short runs and closer to normal on the long runs.
A bad stock tune? Could be sml175 had a 08 running lean on a stock tune.

 

I think the miss/hesitation/backfire problem is much more likely the fault of the program in the PCM than any problem with the plugs. The fact that it seems to have stopped now that you have a tune tends to confirm this.

Like most of the other responders, I find that the Gryphon MPG readout is high. Since I have a King Ranch, I have an MPG readout in the dash too. The one in the dash is pretty close, especially on a long highway trip, but even it is usually a bit high. The Gryphon's is generally about 1 MPG high. Still, it gives you "trend" information.

I monitor TFT, Gears and TC, CHT and Voltage, so it doesn't much matter to me.

- Jack

 

Thanks, all for the responses. Today after driving to work, it reads about 16 mpg. Getting closer.

The miss/hesitation/backfire is a mystery. Would leaning out on by the stock tune cause those problems?

 

Yes, it could. Or any kind of problem with reading the fuel/air ratio.

 

Well driving to and from work - 70 + miles - no sign of the hesitation problem. I guess I lucked out. For the price of what it would have cost to change the plugs, I got the problem fixed and a great programmer.

(Yeah, I know I still need to change them out before too long.)

Thanks all for the replies.

 

I had the same problem with the hesitation problem. I have a intake too though. I added .10 to the WOT fuel and no more problems. That was on level 2 as well.

 

desert racer - was yours doing this before the addition of the programmer or only after? Level 2 runs fine on mine without any adjustments and I have the Green "ram-air" (so they call it anyway) leading to the stock filter box. It sure ran like crap before the programmer though. It was a problem that showed up, but about 30K miles after I added the intake tube and without any additional changes made to the struck. Started as a slight stutter and over time, grew to nasty hesitation and slight backfiring, therefore, I'd not seen the two as related.

 

It did it after I installed the programmer. Yet it didnt happen untill I logged about a thousand or two on the truck with the programmer.

 

Thank god someone else is having the missing / backfire problem, mine happens on take off as I get into high RPM's in first gear, once it shifts it is fine...I was already thinking of getting the tuner but this may seal the deal if it fixes the problem

 

I really can't explain why it stoppped running like crap, other than what others have suggested by the truck running lean on the factory program. It was annoying as hell to have the thing sputter and cough every time I hit the gas hard. I was actually afraid the programmer would make it worse and had made an appointment at the dealer (to the tune of almost $500 if they all came out without breaking)to get the plugs changed for next week - figuring that I'd have to get them done in order for the programmer to work right. Glad I tried the Gryphon before I spent the $ on the plugs. Now that it runs OK, I'll wait till I have $500 in reserve funds to get it done and keep the credit card on ice.

 

I've got to raise a huge BS flag here - why in the hell would plugs cause the "backfire/sputter/cough" problem?

If plugs are bad, they don't fire and don't ignite the gas/air mixture. If they fire, they ignite it.

Plug engineering is NOT rocket science! The damned thing either sparks or it doesn't. If it sparks, and the A/F mixture and compression are right, the charge ignites and you GO. If it doesn't spark, you may get ignition due to dieseling (and probably will at high RPM). If the mixtures aren't right, who knows?

But, since a tune "cured" you - I cannot believe it's the plugs!

- Jack

 

Jack, mine does the same thing as what the others are saying but it only do it when the engine is cold at 3/4 to full throttle. my light came on and had # 1 misfire. brought it to ford and they change the #1 injector and plug. ran good for about two days and now it does the same thing. when it is warm it runs great no miss at all only when it is cold. I'm lost on this.