I've been looking into the 5 star SCT tuner for my 09 4.6 3V.

I'm wanting to get some input on what everyone thinks.

The biggest thing I want is to be able turn the 6th gear off when towing and shut off the traction control. Some firmer shifts would be nice too.

I'm not looking for big power. The 3V does pretty good on its own.

Is the economy tune worth it, or are the performance tunes the way to go?

How are the tunes with E10?

Pretty much everything around here is E10, but when I travel you never know.

Chris

 

5Star is a reputable company and a sponsor of this site. SCT is an excellent programmer. You would have to consult with 5Star to decide what would be the best programming for you. But custom tunes would probably be your best bet to achieve the results you are looking for. The area that I have noticed the biggest improvement with a gas engine is drivability. You won't notice big power or fuel economy gains on a gas engine like that can be had on a diesel engine. but drivability is greatly improved. At least it was on my '06 5.4L F150.

 

I have 5 Star tunes, running an 87 octane Performance/tow tune for over 3 years now. Much firmer shifts, I like the drivability and a few extra hp. Afaik traction control can't be turned off, unless this is a recent development, only if you depress the button on the dash for ~6 seconds

 

I have used my 5 Star 87 Econo tune for only a short while. I disliked the power loss in comparison to the Performance tune. I use the Perf tune as my daily driver and still manage equal to, or better than, stock fuel economy.
The tunes for my 2013 will not remove the Traction Control function. I still have to turn it off with the dash button by pressing it for 5 seconds.

 

Ok please explain why you feel the need to turn off traction control?

 

For me, it's when I hit an off camber while turning and it engages, making that loud groaning noise. Almost sounds like the tire is hitting the fender well. That's all I use the disable button for

 

I hate it when my truck "pulls fuel'' when accelerating to merge into traffic, and on turns onto a busy street. I don't feel I have the "driver control" I'd like. There is a hesitation before the throttle "kicks in" that can be annoying and somewhat hazardous not knowing how quickly your vehicle is going accelerate. It takes a little finesse of the skinny pedal to accelerate without lag or hesitation due to the ATC. It does seem to do a bit better when it's turned off. I do, however, leave it on when road conditions are slick. For the most part, I just leave the ATC "on". I haven't decided if I'm seeing that much of a gain with it "off". I guess this part of the "nature of the beast" with electronic throttle bodies.

 

I've hated the traction control since day 1.

It never fully goes off, even after pressing the button. I also think it's ridiculous that you have to press a button every time you start the truck.

In the winter time, I feel it's dangerous. There's been more than one instance in the winter time that I didn't think I was going to get going, when pulling out into traffic.

 

In my research, I came across the DiabloSport tuner. They claim the ability to disable traction control.

I was assuming it is a funtion others can do as well.

 

You might make double sure it can do it on your truck. I know the SCT advertisement was generic and listed things it could do for various vehicles, some of which were not options when I tuned my Ecoboost. For example, I did not have choices between mileage, tow, and performance. Just choices for octane levels.