I also stand by everything you said except the first line; because there is no chip on my shoulder about it. Re-reading my posts : I can see why you thought that, but really I am just the kind of person that wants specific information. I don't believe in "free lunch"- so I want to know specifics. I understand part of it is 5Star trade secret but without specifics it's just voodoo.

But really, I agree with everything else you said also.

 

We're good.
While I think that programming improvements can, in fact, be a free lunch, if you are really interested, why not give them a call.

843-536-1244

Hours:
Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (Eastern)
Saturday 9am- 12p.m. (Eastern)

 

I didn't start logging regens until after I tuned because someone said that tuning without deleting would clog the DPF.
My logging revealed that my regens intervals are between 500-600 miles and that is extraordinary as I had suspected prior to tuning that it was around 350 miles. While I had thought that the Opti-Lube, AR6200 and AR9100 might have helped in that regard, I contacted Mike at 5-Star about it. He confirmed that their testing had also shown extended regen intervals and attributed it to more torque at less throttle. This is huge and certainly could explain the fuel mileage improvement.
The stock Ford tune uses torque management to reduce torque to the wheels at low speeds and throttle inputs. 5-Star modifies this to reduce the impact of torque management yielding more torque to the wheels at low inputs.
Edit:
Apologies for posting this in a gasser thread though.

 

I'm very skeptical of a gas tuner that would give 30 HP and 30 ft lbs of torque Can you show me a dyno test from someone not from 5 star getting these kind of numbers? Thanks

 

What would a tuner do for my 03 fx4 5.4 good hood ram air hood. Air raid ram air filter helix power tower vortex throttle body spacer. Gibson stainless shorty headers and flow master cat back duel exhaust. 50 series big block muffler. 6-speed manual 3.73 33 in tires.

 

A good tune should do more than any of the previous mods.

 

Three weeks ago I stopped at 5 Star in Florence SC on my way home and had them personally put a tune on my 6 month old SD 6.2 Best $$$ I spent on this truck. I arrived in a Dog and went home to Ohio in a Cheetah.

 

How much did it cost?

 

$437.00 which included install and tax. Well worth it. Letting them do it takes away any uncertainty or doubt you may have. The best part for me was Santa Claus paid for it. What a woman!

 

Been reading on the tune but I have not even ordered my truck yet. May like it as it is, who knows. One question I have is if I got a tune for daily driving and one for when I tow, how do you switch between the tunes? Mike???

 

No problem, you just load the other tune with the SCT device.

 

OK. I'm over 50. What is a SCT? Does that come with the tune or is it on the truck? Is it like popping out one thumb drive and popping in another? Does everything load automatically? How long does it take? The one thing I can do to any computer is lock it up and I would hate to lock my truck up!

 

Not acceptable! I am 70!
The SCT device (there are a few) and let's assume the SCT X4 is a device that comes with pre-loaded (canned) tunes. For diesel, I think that is a tow tune, a street tune and a performance tune. You connect it to the ODBCII port on your truck. It can show you the PCM and TCM strategies for your truck's computers and it sees if it has tunes for your particular strategies in storage. If so, you can go ahead and select an engine tune and, if desired, a transmission tune to load. The first time can take 30 minutes or more as it saves copies of the original stock tunes to the device. It will feel like it takes forever! If you order custom tunes, like 5 Star, you have to provide the strategies to 5-Star. The most cost effective deal I have found is to order the SCT X4 from 5-Star and you get 3 custom (Daily Tow, Performance and Transmission only) tunes that will be emailed to you for loading to the SCT.
The SCT devices give you the option to scan and clear codes, load canned or custom tunes, or return to stock. The X4 and Livewire also have gauges that can monitor engine functions. If you are only using it to tune, you disconnect the device from the ODBCII port afterward. If a canned tune for your device is not in its storage, you will have to connect the device to your Windows based PC and use the SCT Updater program to update the device. You have to do the same to load up to 10 custom tunes on the device.

 

Did you get a SCT device with yours?

 

Yes I did. They loaded it with the tunes then they loaded it into the trucks computer. Then a test drive and after less than an hour I was on the road to Ohio.