Will a tuner shorten the life of my engine?
 

Hello, I have a 2000 F-150 4x4 supercab with the 5.4l. I just bought the truck a couple weeks ago. It has just under 170,000 km's on it (just over 100,000 miles). It seems like it has been well maintained, and there was a pile of receipts when I bought it, for every regular oil change/repair etc.

I have been contemplating buying a tuner. I'd like to get the extra MPG and some extra power can't hurt (although I drive with a very light foot). But I wonder at what cost to the engine/tranny the extra power comes. Do these tuners make your engine run a lot hotter or harder and take away some of the life of your engine, or shift harder and wear on your tranny? I can't afford a new truck, and I'll be keeping this one for quite a while, so I don't want to do anything that will shorten it's life.

The Diablosport was recommended to me. Is it good? Or is there one that is more recommended in the same price range? What other mods should I look (K&N air filter??)

Thanks,
Steve.

Hey Steve150,

I had an 03 F150 SC 4.6L. I bought the Predator. It did not make any difference in my gass mileage that I was able to see. It did make it shift much better, and I could calibrate the speedo.

Was it worth the $$??? I dunno tell you the truth. Kind of a pain a few times when I was on a trip and tried changing tunes at a gas stop and it would fail the download or something. I think this may have been caused by cell phone interference but now positive.

These tuners make a HUGE difference on the diesels. Gas very little.

Hope this helps and welcome to the site!

It shouldnt if you're using the normal tuning settings...it should actually make the engine run even more efficient, especially for your tranny

Adding a tuner shouldn't wreck your engine, though more strain can be put on the transmission. Why? From stomping on the accelerator all the time :-D

After most people (not all) add a tuner to their truck/car, they can't seem to help themselves. Power is intoxicating...

If you don't go too crazy, you should be fine.

FYI, we sell SCT tuners (and others) for Ford.

http://powerstrokegogo.com/index.php?categoryID=84