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Old 12-09-2017, 08:30 AM   #11
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Maybe my gearing is the sweet spot for my day to day and occasional towing usage?? Also, I've only got a rudimentary grasp of things, but I feel like I've got to be extra delicate on the throttle to manage shift under heavy load. Am I understanding correctly that transmission tuning can address this, as suggested by TheletterJ?

Well, I think you've just told us your problem, at least partly. The Triton motors are built to rev. Buy a ScangaugeII for tranny temp or add a guage, then put the pedal on the floor and just watch the tranny temps. As CarringB can tell you the Triton will rev to the moon and it needs to to make power. Just pin the thing and don't overheat your transmission. Then, when you come back still frustrated in a year or so, buy a V10.

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Old 12-09-2017, 12:00 PM   #12
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Yeah, I was confused by that comment too. If you aren't mashing the pedal to the floor, and you want to go faster, the easiest fix is to mash the pedal to the floor. It won't hurt a thing, at all.

What a tuner will do is reduce the amount of "hunting". So if you that's what you're trying to fix, it can do wonders there. But if your's isn't hunting, and you're actually stuck in 2nd gear and can't go faster, a tuner won't help much.

If you do breathing improvements, a tuner can open up further power, especially up high. After I added the Banks Powerpack to my V10, it was pretty clear it was upshifting before it hit peak HP. I raised both the shift points at rev limiters, which means when I top out a gear now, it's not lugging the next gear up, and it doesn't slow down after an upshift anymore.
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Old 12-09-2017, 02:12 PM   #13
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I'm guessing he's experiencing lugging in 3rd, followed by a "bouncing off the rev limiter" downshift to first, followed by a long drawn out mushy upshift to second. I know that's what my 4r100 did before adding a programmer, so I would just manually downshift to 2nd when I felt that it was lugging in 3rd. Just don't forget that it will not automatically downshift from "2" (it will stay in 2nd all the way down to a dead stop, and still be in 2nd when you start going again.)

Even my nothing special programmer made a noticeable improvement in keeping the converter locked longer, revving higher before upshifting (so as not to lug in the next gear), and downshifting sooner (and only 1 gear at a time!) when under load. Even if a programmer didn't produce any more hp at the crank, it certainly gets more power to the wheels by making the transmission's shifts more efficient.

I've heard tons of reviews from people that said their 5 Star program made their 5.4 feel like it gained 2 cylinders. I'd bet most of that feeling was due to the shift schedule, so I'd expect a significant improvement from your 4.6 as well.
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Old 12-09-2017, 05:42 PM   #14
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Many here have recommended a 5-star tune, which I do also, but I didn't on this thread because I didn't think 5-Star did a tune for the 4.6l. I was wrong. They do. I'd do this FIRST! I have tuned several Triton Fords with 5-star, all of them have been a huge improvement.

1998-2014 E-Series 4.6L/5.4L Archives - 5 Star Tuning
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Old 12-09-2017, 07:02 PM   #15
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Well I guess my problem is lacking familiarity with the capabilities of my van. I was worried I'd cause some major damage if I kept flooring it. I kind of experimented with driving practices and experienced both what LetterJ and CarringB described. I settled on what I thought was driving more conservatively. I had visions of catastrophic breakdowns on the side of the highway.

I might've been scared off by hearing the transmission noise. By comparison to my daily driving where it's nearly mute, it sounded like it was screaming. Understanding and being able to monitor the wellness of the transmission would probably give me some peace of mind. Is that something that a scangaugeII can do without a separate trans temp gauge? On that note, now that i'm looking at these 5 Star offerings, will the sct x4 device accomplish this as well?

Clearly, I'm not too knowledgable on all this. Thanks for the insight
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Old 12-09-2017, 07:23 PM   #16
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FWIW, when I researched tunes for my 4.6L in my Crown Vic, what I primarily found was that the best you could expect was about a 10-15HP gain. Maybe 5 Star can do more?

Regardless, my 4.6L tune gives me that, plus some modified shifting strategies.


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Old 12-09-2017, 07:41 PM   #17
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Understanding and being able to monitor the wellness of the transmission would probably give me some peace of mind. Is that something that a scangaugeII can do without a separate trans temp gauge? On that note, now that i'm looking at these 5 Star offerings, will the sct x4 device accomplish this as well?

Clearly, I'm not too knowledgable on all this. Thanks for the insight
Yes, a ScangaugeII will give you trans temp. It doesn't offer this out of the box though. You need to go to their website and follow the instructions to add the capability. You do this by putting in a series of numeric codes which allow the device to read trans temps for your specific vehicle. It's not difficult. There are different codes for different vehicles. I have no idea why they haven't added this to all the Scangauges out of the box yet. The Scangauge, at around $150, is the most bang for your buck in monitoring lots of things under the hood. You could add a dedicated gauge if you like but it's a whole lot more difficult and almost as expensive, or maybe more. With a Scangauge you just plug the thing in to your OBDII port. Obviously I'm a fan.

I do not know if any of the tuners with displays will give you trans temp.

Don't hesitate to ask questions here. I know of no better place to learn the in's and out's of these vans.

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Old 12-10-2017, 06:52 PM   #18
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I do not know if any of the tuners with displays will give you trans temp.
I can confirm that a SCT Livewire TS+ can display Transmission Temps. I have have one and it does. It will also monitor: Speed, rpm, coolant temperature, oil temperature, intake temperature, battery voltage, load and many more. It's a couple hundred dollars more than the X4. I highly recommend it and agree with everything others have said about it. It really helped my 5.4. You can't go wrong with either product.
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Old 12-27-2017, 05:11 PM   #19
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Well, I think you've just told us your problem, at least partly. The Triton motors are built to rev. Buy a ScangaugeII for tranny temp or add a guage, then put the pedal on the floor and just watch the tranny temps. As CarringB can tell you the Triton will rev to the moon and it needs to to make power. Just pin the thing and don't overheat your transmission. Then, when you come back still frustrated in a year or so, buy a V10.
+1. My 3/4 ton chevy van didn't tow well either, but towing greatly improved at speeds 75+mph....once you got it there.
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Old 06-12-2018, 12:46 PM   #20
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Well, a bit of a follow up here. Some months ago I ended up contacting 5 Star and purchasing a SCT X4 upon the recommendation of one of the guys there. I opted the 87 performance/tow, 87 economy, and 91 perf/tow. They suggested a 93 perf/tow, but I went with 91 because I don't see myself using 93 octane due to price and less availability.

I've only taken one trip with the travel trailer since, about 1000 miles round trip. No mountain climbs and some strong headwinds. I ran the 87 perf/tow tune the whole time. Can't say I'm able to draw conclusions about increases in capabilities with the tune while towing because I also mellowed out my approach and just kept it slow and steady. In addition, I allowed myself to be comfortable at higher RPMs when the drive demanded it. All in all, adjusting my expectations of the vehicle's capabilities was the largest contributor to easing my "tow woes."

Wish I could offer more usable information, but perhaps I can keep better track on the next trip. As far as the seat of my pants goes, when not towing, the 91 perf/tow feels just way more fun than the stock tune.

PS: The guys at 5 star told me that the X4 is capable of tracking trans temps, but it requires the installation of another app, which I've yet to explore or remember the name of.
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