I realize this post could go in either the computer chips and programmers or EcoBoost forums but they seem to be ghost towns.

Ive read lots about tuners over the last year but have still not pulled the trigger on getting one. My main concerns would be causing premature damage. SSI appears to have a reputation for pushing the limits and are blamed for many people's engine failures.

The companies that interest me the most are Livernois, 5 Star and Unleashed. 5 Star is suppose to be a safe tune that is excellent for towing. All reviews I've seen for Unleashed seem to be positive. The fact that Livernois uses their own device instead of an SCT is intriguing to me. Possibly they go farther in depth on their tunes than the SCT device would allow them to.

So who here has a tune they're happy with? Or had one they hated?

Thanks in advance!

 

I have been running MPT tunes for awhile. Way better than the stock SCT tunes. I haven't tried 5* or Unleashed but have heard only positive things.

 

How do you like the shift strategy from mpt? Aren't they the ones that use the tow/haul button to put it back to stock and their normal shifts are quite harsh?

 

I've only had 5 Star tunes, but both octane levels I have from them are nice and safe. They set a pretty low baseline and typically don't datalog like other companies do.
Torrie @ Unleashed likes to log, and log, and log, with a revision following each datalog. His tunes are more along the lines of "custom tunes" in this since as he's programming for YOUR truck rather than a generally safe baseline on strategy code. Torrie does fantastic work from what I can tell, but you need to have time to continually send him datalogs until he's got it dialed in.

 

Do feel like the 5 star tunes were significantly better than what came preloaded on the SCT?

 

Oh my lord yes.
Order the device from 5 Star or Unleashed and the purchase will include a tune or few.

The SCT canned tune was an improvement over stock, but the shifts were harsh and the boost would spike too inconsistently. The 5 Star tune is smooth until you hammer the throttle then the shifts get firm, but not harsh...just quick. The boost levels are good too.

I started with a 87 tune, but I've actually been more happy with the 91 tune running 93 octane. Knock is down and the MPG (when I keep my foot out of it) increased slightly. The driveability of the 5 Star tune is very nice. It's my impression that Torrie's work is a bit better, again, if you have time to datalog and continue with revisions.

 

Thanks for the responses MCDavis!

 

You're welcome
One last piece of advice. If you have more than 20k miles on your current set of plugs then I would suggest a plug swap before the tune. 0.030 gap is the minimum, and Torrie likes a gap of 0.028.