You know Krewat,

With threads like this it makes it harder to sit on the fence. I don't tow, and would only be getting one for better performance and shifting pnts, but am still sitting on that fence. I would luv to get the headers, tackle the exhaust studs and get the y pipe, but that would put me over budget. Arrggghhh!!!!!!!!!!

 

As has already been said, Mike at 5Star is AWESOME! THE best customer service experience I have had in the Automotive area! I beleive his is a model of what a successful business should be!

 

Towing Report - Pickup loaded weighing in at 7,500lbs + 2005 Cherokee 285B+ Fifthwheel loaded at 11,000lbs + 2000 Yarcraft Storm 19' 10" w/ 225 merc ready to go at 4,000 lbs = 22,500lb total weight. 91 Octane towing Tune loaded.

Friday on the way down towed into a 20-25mph cornering headed wind. It was a tough pull! Found 2nd gear numerous times when runing up any of the grades. I was kind of wishing I would've ponied up for 4.56s. Was hard to tell an improvement. Could only run around 55-60 mph as the wind would start to push me around and the tail wanted to wag the dog! Due to this, my RPMs were a bit low in 3rd but a bit high in 2nd. Gears would have really made a differnce at this speed! As the wind died down a little it begin to noticably tow better. I got the speedo up to 65mph which seemed to help also as the RPMs were atleast a little closer to the peak power band. Was pretty happy.

Yesterday on the way home it was a better experience. Still had to tow into a head wind 90% of the trip but it was only 10 mph to maybe 15 mph at the most. I actually towed in OD for about 10 miles while I had a tail wind. the funny thing is I didn't even nitnotice it was in OD untill I started up a small hill and notice how low the rpms were. Didn't have to use 2nd except maybe two times and never dropped below 55 mph and actually ran 60-65 mph most of the trip. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it. It was enough of an improvement that it was well worth the money spent. I had no pinging or bad behaviors result from the tune under heavy load so both the fuel and the tune were up to par.

The bottem line is I'm asking a lot out of my truck and the tuner simply made it a lot more tolerable however the only way I'll ever get the full performance I really would like is to change gears, I'm just having a hard time parting with $2k!

 

SLE, I'm looking at changing gears, it's around $300 for the rear and $200 for the front, just for the ring-and-pinions. Since I bet the bearings are fine, seals and a crush-collar for the rear is about all I'm going to be into it in terms of cost. But that's a complete DIY job for me. I wish, for others' sake, that it was easier to change gears, but ... it really IS almost "rocket science". If you need to have it done by someone, $2K is still a bit high.

I'm gonna go 4.56's. Since I always figured the V10 was good to go with 4.30's, I have slightly larger tires than stock (285/75R16) so 4.56's will be "it" for me.

 

The 4.56s is what I've looked at and priced. The actual price was around $1,800 for front and rear and included the full rebuild, all bearings, seals, synthetic fluid and ect would be replaced and all were priced with well known products like timken and such. I'm pretty mechanical but gears aren't somthing I want to tackle.

 

First off, echoing everyone else regarding Mike's professionalism.
Ask as many questions as you need, tailor a package to you.
Hard to come by business relationships like this nowadays.
Overall - this is a great investment, don't put it off for no good reason.

Wife wants something in her Hemi Magnum and Lincoln now. She was thinking about going to something smaller soon, tired of dumping $40 in every few days. Now thinking a MPG tuner might be an alternative.

So, had a good comparison in the X over the weekend. I have the Thorley's, K&N drop in, 3.73's, stock size E load winter tires on @45psi, Flowmaster unfortunately not on yet.
Took the boy to the Scout shooting range Friday after work. 40 mile round trip; 35mph to 50mph roads; curvey hilly; down hill there, up hill back.

91 Tune modified for 93, +2deg advance 2000-4000rpm
Friday, 80F, sunny
93 oct in tank
Truck held O/D anywhere above 45mph
17.5mpg 20 miles there
16mpg total average back in my driveway, 40 miles - still can't believe it
approx 2.5 gals used, $7.38

Stock program
Sunday, 60F, slight rain
87 oct in tank
Truck fell out of O/D numerous times above 45mph
14.5mpg 20 miles there
15mpg total average back in my driveway, 40 miles - not sure why it went up on the way home uphill with stock program
approx 2.67 gals used, $7.08

87 perf tune
Sunday, 60F, slight rain
87 oct in tank
Truck held O/D anywhere above 45mph
16.3mpg 20 miles there
16mpg total average back in my driveway, 40 miles
approx 2.5 gals used, $6.63


Well it is what it is.
My test showed it costed slightly more to run the 93 oct over that particular trip. 91 might have broke even - talking pennies here anyway. Might be able to iron that out with the DashScan in time.
I've seen other posts that showed the opposite. I'm sure completely relevant to the conditions. It is not flat anywhere here, so not sure how much that plays into it.
Went back out a third time (against the "banker's" wishes) with the 87 perf tune.
Glad to see a gain over my new dealer-updated stock program - and it never ran this good ever before the dealer update.

You can see the 87 perf is the best for me over only a 40 mile trip. Regardless, I never thought I'd be getting consistent 15+mpg in this behemoth. Can't wait to get on the road for a few hundred miles and some towing. Will update in a couple of weeks after first long drive.

 

i have heard alot about this 5 star tune and mike, im not sure what it is exactly but i want it. how do i go about getting it. does anybody have mikes number or is there an address to his shop i can drive to?

 

Thanks for the post Ron ++++ I cant say thank you enough for the opportunity to earn your Business... much appreciated...

eff two fifty you can reach us at 843.667.3595 or mike@5startuning.com

MIke

 

I guess I missed this earlier. Since I got out of the V-10 I stay in other forums. But Mike set me up with the tune on the 6.2 gasser on the 2011. I am really impressed although still playing with the different tunes to see the effects.
On Mike though - yea he actually know what customer service is - these days - that seems a bit unusual!
To reflect my story - I originally ordered the 91 Perf/Tow, 87 perf/tow, 87 economy. I have not run the economy but ran the others. Then Mike e-mailed us about updates & Since I don't have a windows machine I elected to return the programmer to Mike to have him update. I also told him that I had realized that I was seeing a lot more 93 than 91 at my local stations & he swapped them out without charge. So Mike has my vote for excellent Customer Service.

 

For people wanting power all I can say is get one! Before my teen aged son wanted to drive the truck all the time, after the tune. He told his mom that "it scares him." When she asked why? He stated the pedal is sensitive and there is alot of power. He has drove twice in 5 months after the tune. As far as Mike goes he is the best period.

 

Good story, I dont know if i should say sorry or thanks


Mike

 

I just bought a 2004 Ford Excursion 4x4, with the V-10. I wasn't very satisfied with it the first month. I wasn't doing any towing, just normal highway driving. It was downshifting all the time in hilly conditions and didn't really feel like it had much power. I spoke with Mike at 5 Star Tuning and took his advice. I bought a tuner with custom tunes and a Y-Pipe. Wow is all I can say, The Ex is a totally different vehicle, hardly ever downshifts and has so much more low end power. I just love to drive it now and this is with the 87 Octane Performance tune, can't wait to try the others. If you are one of those guys on the fence, and looking at what mods to do, the custom tunes from 5 Star should be first on your list. Thanks Mike for the great service and superior products.

 

Hi 378wby
Thanks for your feedback. I am glad the Excursion is running good now.

 

Finally got out of town in the X on a 188 mile trip.
Ran 87 oct. perf. tune

Cross winds there and back.
75mph most of trip.
Large grades thru Vermont
Didn’t drop out of OD at all
Some stop and go traffic thru city portion of hwy
Arrived at airport 15.2mpg, 4 people, unloaded
Circled the airport for almost an hr, dropped to 14.2mpg
6 people loaded with luggage back home
188miles total round trip including some city,14.2mpg back at home

That was always a 12.5mpg trip. That's approx 15% gain. Can't wait to see a longer drive and no airport taxiing, and run the higher oct. to verify if cost warrants gain for me too.
Still can't believe I waited so long to do this

 

I've been thinking of adding a tuner on my new 2010. Do I need to provide specifics or is this a plug and play kind of thing?
How does this play out with a truck under warranty?