I have a 08 F350 with 3.73 gears and 115000 miles with no problems. Now that my warranty is up I have been thinking about getting it tuned. Any feedback would be great. Should I tune it? Will I get better MGPs? What kind of tuners would you recommend?

 

I just Spartanized my 08 to get mileage. So far I am only up a couple mpg. I don't have a lot of miles yet.

I have a dually with 4.10 gears

Sam

 

I am not tuned and wouldn't even consider tuning solely based on a hope of increasing MPG. I guess fun factor is a whole different story. Maybe I'm too conservative?

 

A few tuners to consider would be Spartan, H&S and Banks. Stay away from cheap "tuner in a can" models like the Edge. MPG will vary depending on your foot. Count on picking up around 2mpg but you might get lucky and do better than that. The main reason for tuning these trucks is to ditch the DPF and let the engine breath. This should increase longevity and dependability but this again will depend on how you drive it. The power increases are also substantial and will completely change your truck. Do your research, figure out a budget and pick the tuner that fits your needs. I personally went with a Spartan setup and could not be happier but other guys have had good luck with different systems as well. If you have any more questions just ask and there's a great group of guys on here that'll do their best to answer. Good Luck

 

Thanks for the information, Im not just looking for mpg's but that would be nice if it improved I only get 12 in the city 13 highway and 7 towing. Im very conservative with my truck so I wouldn't be drag racing It, I tow a lot and looking for whats best for these engines some say leave it stock and some say tune, do to the way the engine makes oil (but I have 115,000 trouble free mile's so the oil thing cant be that bad)Also Does anyone just run a dpf delete? With no tune. I was just looking for some information from what you all think any help would be great

 

You can't delete the DPF without tuning it if that's what you meant. You can do a stock tune which will not increase power but will allow you to delete the DPF.

 

You MUST have some kind of tuner when you take off the dpf.
Ford has a failsafe if the sensors fail and WILL regen at about 600 miles no matter what.
A tuner is required to stop that at minimum.

I only tow with my 08. 7000lb car hauler.

Sam

 

I run the banks with a DPF on. 13 city/17 hwy empty. Towing anywhere from 7-9 with my 5er and around 11 with flatbeds.

3.73 gears. Also off road tires and a less than aerodynamic front bumper.

No oil and my regens are around 500 empty.

 

Thanks for all the information I have decided to tune. Im in the process of debating between banks and spartan. I have to get my truck smog this week so I have some time to research. Whats the big difference between the two and has anyone had any problems with them?

 

Scott will have to give the details on the Banks, but I believe it is an 'inline' tuner, meaning the stock ECM is unchanged, but the signals are modified by the banks system.

The Spartan system reprograms the stock ECM and TCM with different programming.

Both systems have a console to monitor the system

Sam

 

Basically what Sam said. The Spartan reprograms your PCM/TCM whereas the Banks sends different signals to the factory sensors. There are arguments for either. The Banks "shouldnt" be detectable should you ever need warranty work (I know youre out of warranty but stating this anyway) but others prefer reprogramming because there is more power available and it also tunes the transmission which is better for it if you are making large HP gains. It boils down to personal choice, budget, and overall intentions.

Since Warranty is not an issue you may also look in to SCT with custom tunes or H&S MiniMaxx which tunes the pcm/tcm on the fly rather than having to download a file each time you make a change.

 

Exactly! Banks connects into the pcm and intercepts/modifies the signals. Works well if your state is prone to do roadside inspections and of course the annual inspections.

I don't know for sure if it is undetectable or not. I assume so since I have had them in my PCM a couple years ago searching for codes. I had an ABS problem. They did not indicate anything to me.

Banks as also applied to CARB (Calif air resource board) to have the 6-gun an authorized modification. Meaning that when you get emissions tested you will not have to remove it. I am sure other states that test will follow suit.

Only downside side is it is limited in the amount of HP gains.

 

Most who are tuned will recommend you tune, and vise versa.

It didnt take me long to make the decision!

 

I wish it was that easy for me. Im going to keep looking at other threads and researching Ill let everyone know what I decide thanks for your help

 

I have been doing some calculations, and here is something that might turn your head.
Based on annual savings. Assumming $4.25 per gallon and assuming 40 mile per day.
If you average 14 mpg without DPF and without tune, your cost is $12.14 per day. Now assuming you can attain 18 mpg without DPF and with tune your cost would be $9.44 per day. Based on 365 days per year, your savings would be $984.92. Well, folks, that savings turned my head.
I average 60 miles per day, my savings annually would be approximately, $1477.38. You know that pays for the Delete kit. If the EPA catches you, totally different story.

If you get a 2 mpg savings, as indicated by many of our members, based on 40 miles per day, 365 days per year, you initially average 14 mpg and increase to 16 mpg, the saving would be $554.02 per year, again based on $4.25 fuel. If fuel was $3.99 per gal based on a 2 mpg savings the annual savings would be $520.13. Still a head turner folks!