That custom 93 Perf tune looks wicked! You should pull out some stock in rubber

 

It really is Cowboy! The torque starts off so high, so early in the rpm range. Well, compared to the factory tune at least... LOL! And here's one for ya. Before I installed the CAI I was averaging right at 14.9-15.0 mpg for the first 10,000 miles that I owned the truck. Between the time that I installed the CAI and before I installed the custom tunes I clocked about 12,000 miles. During that time I averaged 15.7 mpg. So far since I started running 93 octane fuel and the 93 tunes I am averaging 16.6 mpg in the 1,500 miles I've driven. Thats close to the mpg numbers that the 5.0 engine makes. Actually, BETTER than some 5.0s. With A TON more power... My driving is probably 60% city, 40% hwy.... 50% 50% in the BEST case scenario. Loving it!

 

That's awesome you found a good place that you trust. Good shops and tuners that do consistent good work are hard to find these days. Once I found a few great places I've stuck with them.

 

You couldn't be more correct sir. It really IS tough to find a good mechanic or speed shop you can trust. Luckily I've got a few here locally. Wish ALL of us Ford guys and gals could be so lucky!

 

Thanks for the well thought out and comprehensive review. It's always nice to hear subjective results, but hard data is fantastic!

I just had mike at 5startuning do a tune for my 09 5.4 and it "woke right up".

 

Just a note, if your dealer is like mine, the quick lane only does tires, mud flaps, and oil. Any updates have to actually be booked in through service. So just dont ever take it in to service! Haha

 

On that same note, you don't HAVE to take your vehicle to the dealership for routine maintenance, such as oil changes, brakes, etc... Well, at least that is how my warranty details read. Mine states that as long as the shop of choice is ASE certified and you preauthorize the work being performed with the warranty people, all is good. I've done A LOT of fine print reading on all this.... LOL! I happen to be fortunate enough to have a mechanic in town that I've known 15+ years, happens to specialize in and LOVE Fords, and is a true stand up guy. Also, he'll never ask/check me on having done a tuner/programmer.... LMAO! As far as having to have warranty work done at the dealership or not, I'll have to recheck that info on my particular warranty.... Also, thank you Cujet for the compliment on the review and info!

 

I'm so glad to here and see how happy you are with your truck, and 6.2 . Real good power, and excellent torque goin' on there. And you are starting to get great gas mileage. Way to go and good for you! You've confirmed what I've been saying for some time. The 6.2 can get really good gas mileage. With my set up I get 19.5 at 65 mph, sometimes better if the conditions are right. If you ever open up the exhaust like I did (Long tube headers, high flow cats, x-pipe, duals), you'll do much better . Did I say Way to Go?!

 

Excellent review! You've singlehandedly convinced me to get a 5Star tune.

Finally some numbers I can trust from someone who has nothing to gain. Those are great gains and especially for the price you paid!

 

Well thank you both for the compliments. This thread was the accidental result of my 15+ year relationship with F150s, combined with my new found love of the 6.2, with a dash of the ever-influential mod bug.... LOL! The people that I've learned from and talked to along the way have all seemed to be genuine, sincere, and just flat out good people! I wasn't really worried about fuel mileage when I purchased the truck, but ever since, it has been fun watching it go up. And up... And up some more! LOL!

Exhaust is definitely next on the list, along with some 2" rear drop shackles. That SHOULD for a while. At least until it's paid off... After the exhaust changes, I'll probably make one more trip to the dyno to see what she puts down. I just can't help it! I get the dyno time fairly cheap and like to know that what I pay for performs as advertised. Even if it costs a little extra to find out... To all the people here on the forum that have given advice, opinions, testimonies, and first hand experiences, THANK YOU! These people are the 2nd reason I'll be going back to the dyno after the exhaust work. I feel that I somewhat owe the F150 community the efforts of going the extra mile (or pulls LOL) to provide the data, findings, and hard evidence that the 6.2 is/can be a TOTAL FRIKKIN BEAST!!! Thanks again for all the help AND compliments y'all!

And to Jack, what year, motor, and trim level is your truck? Without a doubt, if it's a 6.2, you will LOVE Mike's tunes! The real trick is figuring out which tunes you want so no money or is wasted... I kinda wish I would've only gotten 2 87 octane tunes instead of 3 to begin with. 93 octane (if available) is where it's at! The extra cost is ALMOST offset by the fuel savings. Not to mention the availability of the extra power on tap and running of a cleaner life for your engine. It's worth it to ME anyways...

 

I have a '12 Harley edition, and it's bone stock.

I want to go FI in the spring, haven't made up my mind yet on what route I want to take yet. It sounds like the tune will hold me over though.

I've been burning 93 octane for years now, probably just getting the 87 performance tune. I'll run 93 when I'm boosted though.

 

DEFINITELY keep me posted Jack, as I am planning to go FI as soon as my funds allow it. Not a whole lot of options out there that I'm aware of, although I am yet to heavily research it as much as I have wanted to. Have you given any more thought as to what route you will be taking sir? Personally I'd really like to try a turbo setup of some sort. Nothing TOO big. I just love doing things away from the norm.

 

I've spent sleepless nights and countless hours researching everything I can find on every forum, every vendor site, and every manufacturer site. I've been following several builds with daily email updates and have read all of the Ford documentation on the 6.2.

I spoke with Mike for a little bit about it too, when I was on the phone buying my 87 and 93 perf tunes. He highly recommends dyno time and on site tuning for any FI, but he does offer a Roush tune that should put me to 550rwhp or so.

Now knowing that nobody has pushed high boost through a stock motor (without a failure of some sort) kind of took a lot of wind out of my sails... I wanted to run a 76mm single turbo, where the airbox is otherwise, and see what these motors do at 10psi. I don't want to pop a $6000 motor for the sake of running deep 12s into the 11s with a 6000lb truck. Looks like any of the supercharger solutions out there (Whipple, Roush, Procharger) will make 500rwhp and that is about it. How they make their power, how they sound, how they are installed and how the powerband looks is unique to each, but at the end of the day, peak numbers are peak numbers. Without 600hp you're not breaking records.

A couple guys have done one-off turbo builds but most of them are on built motors, or the trucks disappeared after the build and you don't hear anything or see any real numbers from them.

I'm coming from a Jeep SRT8, and that 6.1 HEMI could hold 15psi on a stock block and run 10s. I built a custom TT kit for the truck, just never got a chance to finish it. I put a Precision turbo on another Jeep like mine. He just bought a built transmission and we should see 10psi out of that truck real soon. In the early days of tuning guys were popping ringlands all the time. Now that the tuning has matured, we're pushing them A LOT harder. I'm hoping the same can be done for the 6.2 and that we aren't stuck under 600wheel on a stock block. I don't want to build the motor if I don't have to.

If there was interest in a turbo kit, I could get one made for my truck and make a few copies. UPP's TT kit for the Raptor won't fit on my truck (according to CK, who I've also contacted) but they made something like 550rwhp on under 7psi. That is impressive. I've spoken with Hennessey as well as their ex-fabricator and most of their turbo builds were on built trucks and the only build them on the truck.

So, my options are limited. Get a buddy of mine to weld up some pipes and order and install all of the parts myself - ship the truck to a turbo kit fabricator - or just bolt on a supercharger. This is why I can't sleep at night, lol. The Roush sounds good, with Milke's email tune... just be happy with 550rwhp, instant torque and some blower whine... my wife won't know the difference. For a bit less money and a lot more cool factor, I do my own turbo kit, make a couple while I'm at it and recoup my kit cost by selling a few.

Decisions, decisions. It's a shame us 6.2 guys are few and far between...

(BTW - If you're ever in Jacksonville - Stop by Stage6, tell them Jack Toepfer sent you and have them take a look under your hood. They could certainly make something happen and I'd throw one of their kits under my hood if they were closer)

 

btw, just ordered my Livewire TS... threads like this convinced me

 

I know it's been a while between posts, but you shouldn't be disappointed cowboy. Let me know how it works out for you and best of luck!

And Jack, always a pleasure to hear from you sir! It really IS a shame that there aren't more 6.2 guys around here... Maybe there are. If so, they don't post much. LOL! You, Scarlet, and a couple others, are all I've really talked to. LOL, now that I think about it, all but 2 of the people on my friends list have 6.2s.... It's not that I, myself, am that biased.... It just seems like they're the only ones that will reply to my rants... LOL!