Hello got a few ?'s

I was in the Lighting game back in the day with pleanty of toys inbetween

Now just a regular 2012 supercrew with 5.0 and a family to fill it....lol

I see way too many posts about tuners/tuning
so in short

Are there any real world benefits to tuning a otherwise stock truck
(say CAI and Catback)

I know after tuning and adjusting the speed limiter and trans shift points
almost everyone is claiming a better feel overall

I have spent hours reading and I can seem to get a clear picture in my head to tune or not ( its been a while but like I said back in the Lightning days you needed a tune to really unlock the potential of the truck)

so any advice or your own experiences on what you've gained or not and if you felt it was worth it
I am not looking for a tuner war but if you would not mind who did your work
I will draw my own conclusion I guess (again used to be JDM,JLP etc etc in the day)

thanks in advance
Slick

 

I have an 04 but I think this applies. I would stress a dyno or street tune. I went back to stock programming in my truck yesterday and it drives better in terms of no quirky shifting although down in power which sucks. I've had 2 different custom tunes and trued 2 different canned tunes and not one gas ever been as flawless as stock. I'm waiting and just going to get a dyno tune.

 

Also yes you would gain power but those newer trucks don't seem to need it as badly as the 5.4 3vs like I have. I wouldn't tune until the warranty is up anyways.

 

Ok dont think a Dyno tune is going to benefit a daily driver but would like something to wake the truck up
I am sure the tuners have pleanty of proven dyno type tunes just not a specific dyno tune for a individual truck not looking for that right now but on the same not I dont want a out of the box generic no gain tune

 

Not to concerned about warranty...but you did open my eyes to tuning the 5.4 my wifes Expedition could you all the help it can get, Maybe I can get a deal for doing both @ the same time

 

The reason I say dyno tune is because each truck is different. A/f ratio might be off from one truck to another. Just a safety net so you know whats going on and not blindly loading a tune that may or may not be healthy for your motor. But 5star tuning jlp etc seem to have done well with the 5.0's

 

Email tunes really helped my '06 5.4 3v with the 4r75e.....in comparrison around here....dyno tunes are over priced for can be gotten with email tunes....

 

Everytime you go back to stock the adaptive learning resets.....thus a better quicker shift.....just give it time and if you drive like a granny it will start to behave like that....

 

Once again, I agree with 88. If you're heavily modded (boost, cam, etc), I can see where an on-site dyno tune could be very beneficial. However, per Bill at PHP, his canned tunes work fine for stock to very lightly modded trucks (mild exhaust work), and email tunes are fine with trucks that are moderately modded (true dual exhaust, long tube headers, etc).

In my case, he was right every time. I thoroughly enjoyed my PHP email tunes.

 

I don't know that the tuner will actually void your warranty. It seems that different folks have heard different things. I just sold my 2007 lariat with 5.4L and 3.73 rear. I was running the Diablo 89 performance tune. I also had a stage 2 transmission installed as well. The tune was a night and day difference with regards to throttle response. The truck pulled very strong to the limiter in every gear. Gas mileage was in no way adversely affected (until I put my foot in it). I now have a 2012 FX2 with the 5.0 and a 3.31 rear end. The 2012 FX2 will smoke the 2007 all day long in stock form. Its amazing how well the transmission shifts and how well the engine pulls to the limiter in each gear. I drove it in manual mode for the first time yesterday and the shifts weren't half bad! I would like a tuner to eliminate the drive by wire lag off the line and maybe reduce some of the torque management. I have read many articles and watched numerous videos on 5.0's that have been tuned by both Livernois and SCT. I have not seen any of the diablo tuning results. Regardless this new motor is fantastic. Try the tuner. Will it deliver the same gains or delivery over stock as it did in the 5.4? I really don't know. Again these new motors are so different. The stock 2012s with the 6spd are just so much more responsive. I am waiting until Christmas to get my tuner. I have 1650 miles on the truck right now.

 

I had custom tunes from Bill and both were not good as stock. I'm not the only one who has had that either. Its not the adaptive learning. Its quirks in the gryphon software. Idk if its the hex code but rpms would hang when I left of the gas , surges etc stock is fine just not firm shifting and lacking the power.

 

Where I am its 100 more for SCT and dyno tune. So 450-500 pretty good deal

 

I will see I did dyno tune on the "L" but the A/F was way more critical with the blower, I am in NJ and will have to call JDM maybe they will have some info being they were one of the goto lightining guys and am sure they must have tuned a newer 5.0 truck already
or php or the others you guys talk about on here
I got time I only have 700miles on it and already did the Roush CAI and exhuast
but keep the info comming and what your experiences have been and what you think about how the truck is running

thanks again all
Slick

 

I have the same thing my 87 performance tune surges and when i put it in park the truck high idles for a few seconds then returns to normal. If i put it on the tow tune i got from them that all goes away but it feels different in the shifting and the power feels different truck is always down shifting to get goin.

I honestly think some tunes they take more time on and others they rush through. I waited over 6 months for my tunes and only when i threw a big fit and told them i wanted my money back is when i got my tunes. overall not very impressed thinking about just doin a dyno tune myself just so i dont have to deal with problems like this.

 

Exactly its frustrating. My truck hated all 3 canned funds and both custom tunes. Every vehicle is different and like you say , the wait sucks. The guy I'm gonna look into tunes 800+ HP lightnings mustangs GMs etc. I've talked to lightning owners and they love him. He stands behind his work and I haven't heard any complaints. I just feel that dyno or street tunes are better in not only power , but the safety of your truck. They monitor everything and dial it in. But hey, I'm not trying to persuade anyone , just stating my experience with 4-5 different tunes