I have a 2001 F250 crew cab 4x4 with the 5.4 gas engine. It gets CRAPPY gas mileage (I know, I know, its a square with 4 circles under it, it wasn't designed for fuel efficiency - but the BEST I've ever gotten was 11.4 mpg on the highway, 65mph, cruise set with a tailwind) But thats not why I'm posting....

It has the "O/D off" mode to use when towing. I know newer SDs (04+?) have a tow/haul that not only changes your shift points, but also uses your engine to brake (I think?).

My question: I have a SuperChips tuner. It allows you to change trans shifts. Does anyone know what I should change mine to, in an effort to "mirror" what a newer tow/haul would have? I use this truck for 95% towing. Very few times does it NOT have a trailer hooked up.

(and, btw, mileage in town, towing, ranges from 6.5-7, and in town NOT towing - in off seasons - is about 8-8.5)

I'm not necessarily looking to increase mpg, I just forget to take the OD off a lot of times, and figured if I had it tuned to do the same thing (or better) I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Thanks!

 

Here is some information about the 4R100 and Torqshift transmissions and recommendations.


Your 4R100 transmission has the following gear ratios (see link - Page 61).
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...1/fsersdcd.pdf

1st Gear - 2.71
2nd Gear - 1.54
3rd Gear - 1.00
4th Gear - 0.71


The 2006 Torqshift transmission has te following gear ratios (see link - Page 34).
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...essd-ms_06.pdf

1st Gear - 3.11
2nd Gear - 2.22
3rd Gear - 1.55
4th Gear 1.00
5th Gear - 0.71


The "Tow/Haul" feature of the Torqshift transmission has a "strategy" which does the following (see link below). Your 4R100 transmission will never do this...
New 5-Speed TorqShift Automatic Gives Customers More of Everything | Ford Motor Company Newsroom

"The new transmission also features a new control system that monitors the engine, transmission, overall vehicle speed and driver inputs to help optimize shift performance. TorqShift’s control body employs electronic solenoids to manage the transmission’s clutch elements, eliminating the variability experienced with more conventional hydraulic spring/valve systems. The solenoids are placed close to the clutches, minimizing response time."


You may want to replace your SuperChips tuner with one from 5 Star Tuning. Mike can "tune" your transmission for better towing using his custom tunes (see link below).
Got a V10 Ford F250/350/450/550?

Torque Converter Schedules

In all 2v and 3v V10’s Torque Converter strategies can be reworked to lock up sooner and stay locked longer at light cruising speeds to also help with economy...A locked converter is power to the ground. Some times a stock truck when you hit any incline the truck will unlock OD gear and down shift. We can get your truck to hold OD longer and not unlock... now of course on large hills it will down shift...like it should...
On the 3v V10’s, the Ford Strategy is to NOT use all 5 gears in the Torq Shift transmission. Hard to believe I know. In non-tow/haul modes Ford uses only 4 gears when going up through the gearbox. With a custom tune from 5 Star we will use all gears in our shifting and torque converter lock strategies. You will also see quicker shifts, as the truck will proceed into OD quicker than stock strategy. This will provide better power and economy out of your 3v V10.

Shift Schedules

Can be modified to an economy or towing calibration. An economy calibration up-shifts will be sooner. Towing calibration shifting will occur higher in the RPM ranges to keep vehicle from lugging and take advantage of the engines peak torque. In 2v V10’s that do not have Tow/Haul mode this can be beneficial when towing. On the 3v V10’s, the Ford Strategy is to NOT use all 5 gears in the Torq Shift transmission. Hard to believe I know. In non-tow/haul modes Ford uses only 4 gears when going up through the gearbox. With a custom tune from 5 Star we will use all gears in our shifting and torque converter lock strategies. You will also see quicker shifts, as the truck will proceed into OD quicker than stock strategy. This will provide better power and economy out of your 3v V10.

 

changing shift points with a superchip only changes it at wide open throttle. A custom tune from Mike at Five star will have a tow tune that changes the part throttle shifts. He can change the shift points to any speed you like, when i first got mine i didnt like the 1-2 shift while towing, so i called mike and had him raise it 10mph higher so my 5.4 could use more of the first gear to get a heavy load moving. its much better now and i can say that towing with a 5.4 is not hair pulling no more

 

My opinion is to sell the superchips tuner and get tunes from 5 Star. My reason for this is if your looking for answers on thier product, they've lead you down the wrong path. The 5 Star tunes are sweet, specially when you consider the customer service. I bet if you had 5 Star tunes you wouldn't be asking this question.

 

Thanks guys. First, let me say that I have heard a lot about 5 stars products. When I got the Superchips, it was ONLY in an effort to gain fuel economy. After setting it (and learning more about it) I realized it had a lot of "general" tweaks you could do. (i.e. Tire Size, shift points, shift pressure, etc)

Thats when I got to thinking about "mirroring" what a tow/haul would do. I didn't purchase the tuner new, I believe I paid a buddy maybe $100, so it was worth that gamble to me to see if it was a miracle worker. It wasn't.

That being said, I'm open to purchasing a product that would benefit me more. I just didn't know if it were possible with my existing "out of the box" tuner.

I'll be contacting 5 star in the near future. Thanks for all the help!

J