Just bought an 07' Harley Davidson with 40,000 miles. Has factory Saleen supercharger. I replaced the spark plugs with .030 gap on new Autolite HTO plugs. I also replaced the fuel filter. Everything else is stock on the truck. Looking for the best tune and what to expect or if it's even worth the money. Anyone have any advice?

 

This is NOT tuning advice, but I think you should replace the Autolite plugs with Motorcraft plugs. Everything I've ever heard tells me our trucks simply do not do well with anything but Motorcraft.

- Jack

 

Thanks but supercharged version must have the HTO's. I know because I installed Motorcraft last week and fouled all of them in a week and had to change back to the HTO's.

 

OkeDokes - I didn't know that. Are you sure there are no Motrocraft plugs that will work though? I've heard nothing but bad reviews for Autolite plugs.

There are several tuning shops that have good reputations in this forum. MPT and 5-Star are two of them. I don't know if they tune your model engine with the blower though. If they do, I think you would see benefits that would ultimately pay for the tune.

Looks like you got a good machine, with only 40,000 miles on it!

- Jack

 

VMP Tuning does supercharged tunes. Justin and his crew will also know which plugs to use.

 

Jack - the HT0's are in fact the recommended plug for a supercharged 3 valve. The Autolite 3 valve plugs don't seem to have problems.

 

Thanks JackandJanet, I'll have to check on those. I talked to VMP and JDM just not sure who to go with after reading different threads on this site. VMP wants $500 and JDM wants $595. JDM no longer sells any of the engine upgrades and I'm really wondering how much a tune would benefit me without any engine mods. Think it's worth the $500-600? Will I feel a significant difference?

 

Hey, if you want a quality tune that will be night and day difference and won't break the bank, I suggest you lookup JJ@WMS. That's JJ@Woodbine Motorsports. He will do email tuning tuning and you can probably purchase the new sct x4 handheld along with a new custom tune with unlimited lifetime tune revisions for less than $400. He will do just as good or better than the others you just named. He's set and probably still holds quite a few records in the mod motor world. Woodbine Motorsports has a website with his contact info. Give him a holler and tell him Micah from LightningRodder sent you. I am a returning customer and will be for all my email tuning. He tuned my built, cammed, fully modded kenne bell lightning and he was pretty dern good about it.

 

Okay appreciate that Micah. I'll be giving him a call today. You think I would benefit from a tune alone?

 

I have absolutely no doubt about it. From the factory, Ford usually alway leave a good bit on the table as far as performance goes. Also, with a couple small mods, you would be able to see a lot more from the truck like a pulley change and an intake. Motors with forced induction usually respond very well to small mods.

 

Thanks, buddy! I wonder why the Autolite brand doesn't work in normally aspirated 5.4L engines? In fact, I find it almost nonsensical that any of the major brands in plugs wouldn't work in any engine as long as they are the proper heat range. A spark plug isn't exactly rocket science. There's no moving parts. They're just a central conducting rod and a gap to the ground, all enclosed in a porcelain insulator.

But, back to the OP's original request, yes, a properly designed tune CAN improve the way his engine and transmission performs. Will it be worth the cost to him? I can't really say, but I know I thought the tune I had from PHP was worth it when I had my 2005 KR. The trouble is, he won't know until he tries it.

Here's my honest take on tuning: I did NOT like the way my 2005 5.4L truck performed when I got it. The shifting was crappy - a BIG delay when you stepped on the gas to pass someone and then a whole lot of noise and not much speed increase for a while. It also shifted down in gentle uphill climbs way too much. Also, the gas mileage really sucked (and this was back when gas was in the $4.00/gal range). The PHP tunes corrected this, and the truck behaved much more like I thought it should.

Now, my 2014 EcoBoost is a whole different animal. I love the way it drives, just as it is. So, I'm not looking for improvements. (Since it "Ain't broke, I don't want, or feel the need, to fix it".)

To the OP - if you think there's something lacking in your truck, go for it!

- Jack

 

Recheck the spark plug if they are ideal or not since i doubt they may not be functioning well even though they are new and switch using these Autolite plugs

 

Best tunes on the planet. I've been running them in my 5.0 for 30K+ miles.

http://southernspeedinc.com/

Best customer service hands down. You will have to provide datalogs before you can get your tune. Shawn will work with you to deliver the absolute best.

 

factory supercharger, that was installed after it left the factory?


then argues about the proven misfire causing plugs






I like these kinds if folks, but since the truck needs a plug change and a tune in the worst way and the OP isn't interested in listening, then no reason to waste any effort trying to help