I have a sct and love it....I get 13-14 mpg over the last 70000 miles in my 450....which as saved me thousands of dollars

 

I ordered the XRT PRO and delete kit. It should be here Thursday. Thanks for all the input.

Joe

 

Congrats Joe! That'll work!!!

 

I installed the kit today but didnt get to drive much. I do like the added power but Im not sure I like the way it shifts now. Im going to take it this weekend on a short trip and Ill know better how it feels. Im concerned about the shifting when Im hauling my RV. It weighs about 13000lbs. Does anyone have experience with this.

 

Well I went 319 miles today. About 240 were highway running between 70 and 75. The last trip I did before the tuner I got 14.1 mpg and today with the tuner and dpf delete kit I got 14.7 mpg. Is this right or did I set something wrong. The company I bought the XRT Pro from told me for best fuel mileage to set it at the highest horsepower. Should I change the settings to see if it gets better at the lower settings. Also Im concerned about the way the transmission seems to slam when turning off the cruise control or letting off the accelarator fast. Thanks for any help.

 

they say it takes time for the tranny to relearn, but I would say the cruise control issue is from the torque converter being locked up....

 

it's not the transmission "slamming" as you said. mine does the same thing if you are under a load and get right off it.(spartan tuned) it's just that you are running higher pressure in the fuel rail than stock and shutting off the fuel instantly makes for a rather noticeable decel. try slowly backing off the pedal, I think you'll find it smoothes right out.

 

I'm not sure I'm reading this correctly, so please let me know if I'm misunderstanding you...

Are you running the highest HP tune while towing?

If you are, STOP...NOW!

It's generally true that the best mileage comes from the higher HP tunes, but those are unladen; towing is a whole other story.

If you're towing, you should be running a tow tune or even a "stock" tune with DPF-delete if you're near max capacity. Eric @ IDP calls light towing generally anything under 8K pounds IIRC, anything more than that and he recommends the tow tune which is only 65 RWHP over stock.

Do people tow on high-HP tunes? Sure, all the time. Me personally? No fargin' way...the cylinder pressures are high enough on those tunes without adding load to the equation. I'm sure you're monitoring EGTs too, and a high HP tune + high tow load = scary EGTs...

FWIW...

 

Ronin no I havent towed yet but I do tow a 13000lb RV. I did not see a TOW tune when I installed the tuner. Are you saying when I tow I should reset the truck to stock with the DPF delete.Im not monitoring anything other than whats on the dash. The XRT Pro doesnt have a display that you mount and Im sure you would need to plug the tuner in anytime you wanted to change the settings. Like I said earlier I wasnt really looking for speed or sound Im too old for that stuff I was really just wanting better fuel mileage. Do you think the XRT Pro is what I need or should return it for something else. Thanks for your help.

 

No worries Joe. If you're going to tow "tuned", you really should have gauges. An Edge CTS, which plugs directly into your OBD port is a perfect plug-n-play solution. Even without tuning present the CTS is a great idea; EGTs, transmission temps and boost are what you need to monitor at a minimum; and the stock boost and transmission gauges are a small step above the old "idiot" lights.

At that weight you should keep your truck somewhere between stock and no more than a 100HP tune for safety's sake. Sure, you could tune it higher, but I'll give you advice that's in the best interest of your motor's longetivity; no one's drag racing with that kind of weight behind them!

There's no need for you to respend your money, H&R makes a great product, you just need gauges to compliment it when your towing is all. As far as your mileage goes, when you're not towing you'll see a significant increase (anywhere from 1+ to 5 MPG depending on a variety of factors) and the higher HP tunes typically generate higher mileage, provided you can keep your foot out of it!

I do have one additional SUPER TOP SECRET modification that's $300 and about an hour or so to install that makes almost as dramatic a difference in the performance and manners of your truck as being tuned...but that's for another upcoming post!

Good luck, please let me know if you have any other questions...

 

Ronin thanks so much for helping me with this. Your saying I should set the tuner to the middle setings not the highest Horsepower. The setting I was told to put it on is called HOT DAM but it has lower settings. Thanks again for everything.

Joe

 

Joe, perhaps I'm not being clear...

Towing and max mileage are two different things. You'll definitely get better MPG while towing on a tuned DPF-deleted truck than you will a stocker, but you need to keep that tune level in check, and HOT DAM ain't it!

Like I said, plenty of guys run the hotter, higher HP tunes towing the levels you are and even higher, but I personally wouldn't combine those cylinder pressure levels together with that amount of load; you might be really pushing your luck and although you may squeeze out a little more MPG, the potential downside of additional wear and tear on your motor (or even worse...) should significantly offset those MPG concerns...

Again, gauges are critical, particularly when towing. Running the HOT DAM tune with a 13K trailer on Kansas flat level ground versus half that weight in the Rockies in the summer is two TOTALLY different things, and that's where gauges and even data logging if you're a real nerd can help you keep your truck safe, which is the real bottom line.

Hope that helps, let me know if you need more useless 411!

 

I understand what your saying and Im gonna reset the tuner to something closer to the 100 hp you say would be ok. Im also looking at the EDGE CTS you suggested. Ill post which setting I keep. I dont like the HOT DAM setting. Thanks again.

Joe

 

Sounds good Joe, just remember that every time you retune the TCM goes through a relearn process which may make your shifting seem a little off. There is a Ford TCM relearn procedure, but given it's excess speed (75 MPH) and throttle input requirements, you just may want to hold off...

I TRIED to do a TCM relearn on my buddy's '08 F350 after I installed the Spartan TCM and 275 HP tune for him. The 3/4 throttle flat foot/WOT runs almost put his truck is a ditch; there was black and blue smoke EVERYWHERE...fun as you know what, but not too practical...

The Edge CTS is an excellent gauge choice; I'm sure one of the supporting vendors here can hook you up with one and a mount that will look factory when paint matched.

Good luck!

 

this helped with my chip selection i have sent messages to these different providers looking for power and econ setting, egr delete, dpf delete, and smokeless with the exception of the "hot dam" power option

and what would be that 300$ one hour deal it isn't a magnet on the fuel line
Justin