Hey guys, thinking of adding a programmer. Any suggestions? Ive looked into the Edge Evolution. What is the difference between the Evolution, CTS Gas, and CS Gas programmers? Besides price..

Any other programmers out there that work well with my 08 f150 5.4l? It has an intake, and true duals, running 35in tires most of the year. I do some mild towing, some offroading, some normal everyday driving, so I guess i am looking for a good all around programmer with some adjustments that can allow me to change from performance to economy.

Also, how easy is the install? From what it looks like you remove the panel on the left side of the dash and it drops right in. But what about the wiring? I assume it plugs into a harness somewhere? drilling required through the firewall or does it plug in under the dash? Any additional things I will need to install besides the actual programmer like wires or a harness adapter?

 

Without a regear your killing your trans running 35's and trying to tow...IMHO programmer will not make up for the change in final gearing by going to 35 inch tires

 

truck has 3.73's, should have included that.

 

Unless you plan on getting rid of the intake, you need custom tunes.

Lots of threads here and in this forum (HINT, HINT! Try out the search feature).

Evolution = monochrome screen
CS = color screen
CTS = color touch screen + camera input

All three can have custom tunes by Power Hungry Performance.

No drilling is required. Connect to OBDII port. Permanent connection is NOT required.

Another option (for realtime gauges) is SCT Livewire. Suggest you contact Mike Butler at 5StarTuning.com.

Both Edge and SCT have downloadable owner's manuals.

And I completely agree with 442w30. Re-gear first or your tuner money will be spent on tranny repairs.

 

was 3.73 before tire size increase. Havent done the math but my guess is your real ratio is 3.30-3.40ish, add the additional rolling resistance of larger tires, wind resistance of lift (assuming because of tire size) and loss of low end torque from exhaust. Need 4.10-4.56 just to get back what you have lost, wind resistance and additional weight will still be there. No good deed goes unpunished!

 

x2 on needing to seriously consider re-gearing before you put any more power into the drivetrain. If you weren't towing, then you'd likely be fine without new gears, but since you're pulling you need to do your truck a favor and put at least a 4.10 in it.

 

the 3.73s are stock yes, truck only has a leveling kit and rear add a leaf. has catback true dual exhaust. I run 35s in the summer and use the stock bfg tires which are about 33 inches from november to march or april depending on the snow and salt on the roads. I dont tow what i would say would be alot, probably less than a dozen tows a year of less than 20 miles a tow.....I dont know if that matters or not, you guys tell me??

I guess for those reasons I am unsure about doing a regear, considering the gear table on 4lo.com 4Lo.com :: Gear Ratio & Tire Size Chart. And who does custom tunes? Ive read a few other posts on the subject and I just dont get it, i thought the programers purpose was to allow you to custom tune? What am I missing? Ive tried the search feature and frankly it stinks.

If I do do a regear who makes a good ring and pinion? and considering I change the tire size from season to season what would you suggest for a gear? Also, might be a stupid question but what about the fact that this truck is 4x4, how does that change what I am doing? Also, I am going to throw something else at you guys, has anyone added a detroit locker to one of these f150s?

I appreciate the advice I am getting and learning from here, thanks

 

The manufacturerer of the tuner or a performance shop (do your homework) would do the custom tuning.

Most tuners allow some modification of the tuner programs (= read instruction manual).

Q Re: 4x4 & cost of re-gearing, Two differentials = twice the parts and labor.

 

i run 35's and have 3.55 gears and it tows great, my trans temp stays within 10-15 deg of what it does W/O the trailer. and yes the edge helps because you lock your TQ converter more and that takes alot of work off the trans

 

Running 35s versus stock shorter and lighter 32s (31-32 is closer to stock) is like pulling a trailer every where. It cost you on acceleration and it cost you stopping and it cost you in suspension wear and tear.
The 3.73s mitigate that a little if you were to compare to say .... stock 32s with 3.55s like mine, but not totally. You are still working the truck harder.

Transmission shift tuning will help the transmission survive for sure, it'll feel more responsive. Provided you are not towing heavy trailers, it'll probably do that OK, but don't dog it .... not counting weight of the tires your spinning up, just comparing gearing and tire sizes .... your 35s with 3.73s are like the stock 32" tires and 3.41 gears. In other words, at best, it's like you dropped gearing from 3.73 to 3.41.

Not a huge drop below 3.55s like mine has. If towing is kept light, not at max tow capacity, she'll do it.

35s with 4.56s are like 32s with 4.17 gears .... if they made such.
35s with 4.10s would be near exact same as stock 32s with 3.73s.
35s with a 3.88 gear (if made) would be about same as my stock 32s with 3.55s.
(not including extra weight to be spun up to speed or stopped or steered)

But those 35s are gonna cost like I said, expect faster brake wear and quicker heatup in use and less reserve braking.

That tuner will help on power, I like my SC FP 1865 set on 87 performance tune for the increase power with cheaper 87 octane fuel and a mileage boost alone plus it helped the trans shifting.

Personally, I highly doubt you lost anything on low end with the true duals, though you may not have gained a lot either. If back pressure increased low end we'ld all be carrying a sack of taters. If you doubt it, half way stop up both tail pipes and see what you gain or loose.

JMHO mixed with some fact.

 

I will never believe anybody who says that true duals cause you to lose low end torque from the backpressure release. Until I see dyno print-outs of real data showing that it does cut torque and somebody can prove it to me, then I may jump on that wagon. My true duals have had absolutely zero negative affect on my power and torque from feeling how it drives behind the wheel.

 

thanks for the advice guys. Im not overly worried about running 35s on 3.73s, and i thank you for that chart showing how the final ratio is affected. I dont do heavy towing and not far either, and with running the stockies half the year I dont think I want to make a huge gear change, if anything 4.10s sound like where I should be. To be honest I havnt even noticed a big difference from the 35s, ive simply adjusted my driving style to keep in mind that I am spining heavier wheels, its not that hard to jsut let off the gas early while coming to the stop sign, or taking it easy while towing.

Not to change the subject of the thread, becuase I think ive gotten the advice form it I was seeking already, but.....Ive run many of engines and race engines on the dyno, nothing has ever shown that you lose low end torque with bigger exhaust. back pressure is overplayed among many people. especially on a road vehicle still running stock cats... consider race engines running straight headers, and not suffereing power loss or heating of valves as many are scared of.

thanks guys

 

As for true dual ex. you will lose some torque. I have run tests on several different engines. The best on the dyno was x-cross pipes. about 8-10% torque increase over true duals. Although I am sure that if you ran a small cross tube it would take care of the torque loss. these tests were conducted on a mustang and a camaro. Hope this helps.

 

I run a Bully Dog Power Pup tuner and love it. Shift points can bet set and you can use it to allow for bigger tires.