Hi guys,

I've been looking at tuners at 5star for a couple of years now and I really want to pull the trigger, but I just don't have the money to shell out. I have a couple questions, 1. If I was to buy a used SCT tuner, would I be able to change the tunes to fit my needs and 2. what tunes should I get?
My truck is a 99 F250 V10 (obviously) 3.73 gearing with 265 tires, but my next set is going to be 285's. I use it mainly as a DD but I do tow some heavy stuff with it occasionally. I was thinking 87 performance tow and 87 economy, but what would you guys recommend?

 

Check with 5-star, sometimes they have used tuners available cutting the cost way down. Otherwise, still check with 5-star and see if getting a used tuner elsewhere makes sense cost-wise, because they still need to charge for the tunes themselves. And if they aren't making any money on the tuner, the tunes might cost more evening it all out anyway.

If you tow, obviously a tow tune, but the performance vs. economy tune is up to you.

 

I bought a SCT X4 with 5 Star 87 eco, 87 tow/performance, 87 tow/performance w/OD lockout right before Christmas 2017 when they were having a sale. It really woke up my sluggish 2008 V10. I tried the ECO for a couple short trips, but didn't notice a huge improvement in MPG and it felt slightly less responsive than the 87 tow/performance (although much better than factory). Because of this, I have just left the tow/performance tune in the truck. It shifts less, can hold the gears longer before downshifts, and pulls much harder than the stock tune. I'd recommend 5 Star!

 

Sorry for the late reply here, but I appreciate your feedback on 5 Star! I was watching a SCT x4 on ebay but I was at work and forgot about it, went for $225. I'll be contacting Mike to see if I could change tunes on a device.

 

You would have to purchase the 5 Star tunes and upload them to the device.

 

Not really a point in buying the tuner and tunes separately, at least from a money standpoint unless you can get the device pretty cheap.

If you pay $225 for the tuner and $160 for 2 tunes that is $385. You can get the open box X3 with 2 tunes from 5 Star for $380. You don't need the X4 to tune your year. I have an 04' and I am using the X2. My X2 was orignally an SF2 which came with canned tunes.(bought before 5 Star existed) I bought 3 tunes from 5 star and downloaded them on my x2.

I mainly use 87 performance and 87 tow tunes. I have a 91 performance tune also. Never saw the need for an economy tune, mpg is what it is.

 

A few years back, I bought the 5 star package for my 99 F350. The package included 87 econo, 87 tow/haul and 91 tow/haul. The econo in my truck was a dog. 87 tow/haul was good and 91 tow/haul was much better. The 91 tow is the one I use most of the time.