V10 upgrades

[86Scotty]

Thanks for explaining that above CarringB. You did a better job than I could. I'm not going to argue with Steve Dinan's expertise but the guy a BMW guru who works with very complex modern BMWs. Those BMWs are sold as performance cars to begin with and probably don't have quite the same aggressive emissions minders that Fords do. They are totally different animals in my book. and I own and love both.
If anyone doubts the improvements of a 5-star tune on a Triton motor, especially the v10, then they need to take a test ride in one and they will become believers. I don't understand it all, but it's magic. It's $500 magic that works.

[winmag4582001]

Now it's ON son!

Unless your butt dyno is scientifically calibrated, I have no choice but to argue!
Gear ratio change: huge difference in feel and performance.
FBW throttle adjustment: huge difference in feel and performance
Shift point and shift time change: huge difference in feel and performance
Yet zero HP/Torque changes.
All those things can be beneficial to both gas mileage and feel, I won't argue that.

Think of the Tow/Haul button on the newer Chevy trucks. When you put it into the Tow/Haul mode, the truck is a completely different animal. Holds RPM longer, shifts harder and quicker and even advances the timing to lower the torque curve. But it is in no way shape or form, more power. The vast majority of truck owners do not drive around in Tow/Haul mode because they don't like the higher revs and harder shifts, even when it would probably give them a little better gas mileage in the city. The whole point of the Tow/Haul selection is to give a good smooth feel on the highway with decent gas mileage while towing nothing. Then when you have a load, it focuses on getting the weight up to speed quicker and more efficient giving better gas mileage.

Has anybody on here dyno'd a bone stock 5.4/6.8 before and after a "tune"?
I haven't. I just want to get a hand held unit to change my shift points and FBW settings. I do plan on emailing 5Star and seeing if they will put together a trans/FBW tune for me without touching the timing or fuel....

[JWA]

Originally Posted by winmag4582001

I just want to get a hand held unit to change my shift points and FBW settings. I do plan on emailing 5Star and seeing if they will put together a trans/FBW tune for me without touching the timing or fuel....

I've flirted with buying the AutoEngineuity offerings, an advanced-level PCM scanner that can be bundled with their Total Ford Scan Tool bundle: https://www.autoenginuity.com/produc...l-bundle-sp03/.

If I properly understand how it works and its capabilities it might allow you to change things on your own and tweak those changes too?

Also from what I've read about 5 Star Tunings is Mike will do almost anything you request.

[bet on black]

Originally Posted by winmag4582001

Now it's ON son!

Unless your butt dyno is scientifically calibrated, I have no choice but to argue!
Gear ratio change: huge difference in feel and performance.
FBW throttle adjustment: huge difference in feel and performance
Shift point and shift time change: huge difference in feel and performance
Yet zero HP/Torque changes.
All those things can be beneficial to both gas mileage and feel, I won't argue that.

Think of the Tow/Haul button on the newer Chevy trucks. When you put it into the Tow/Haul mode, the truck is a completely different animal. Holds RPM longer, shifts harder and quicker and even advances the timing to lower the torque curve. But it is in no way shape or form, more power. The vast majority of truck owners do not drive around in Tow/Haul mode because they don't like the higher revs and harder shifts, even when it would probably give them a little better gas mileage in the city. The whole point of the Tow/Haul selection is to give a good smooth feel on the highway with decent gas mileage while towing nothing. Then when you have a load, it focuses on getting the weight up to speed quicker and more efficient giving better gas mileage.

Has anybody on here dyno'd a bone stock 5.4/6.8 before and after a "tune"?
I haven't. I just want to get a hand held unit to change my shift points and FBW settings. I do plan on emailing 5Star and seeing if they will put together a trans/FBW tune for me without touching the timing or fuel....

not a van, but it is a ford 5.4L (ford lightning). i think my dyno chart is on another computer, but i picked up about 20 rwhp with the tune. same day, minutes apart stock tune vs aftermarket calibration. that is a forced induction application, so i would expect less on an N/A vehicle.

honestly in my 20 years of modifying vehicles, i've found that diesels will pick up a lot of power with an aftermarket tune/calibration, and on gas motors, there is a little to gain with a tune, and don't expect more than about 15 hp increase. you might get more area under the curve, which is noticeable, and while it doesn't increase peak numbers, it will make the vehicle feel more powerful, and go down the racetrack in less time. really on a gas motor, the tune is not a magic bean that adds a ton of power, rather the tune is just a matter and a means of optimizing fuel and spark delivery for the motor setup.

[carringb]

Originally Posted by winmag4582001

Unless your butt dyno is scientifically calibrated, I have no choice but to argue!
Gear ratio change: huge difference in feel and performance.
FBW throttle adjustment: huge difference in feel and performance
Shift point and shift time change: huge difference in feel and performance
Yet zero HP/Torque changes.
All those things can be beneficial to both gas mileage and feel, I won't argue that.
.

You're right, my butt dyno is not scientifically calibrated.

Yes, gear ratio changes make a big difference in acceleration off the line, especially when towing. But since it does not add horsepower, and it alone may not improve pulling in the mountains. That was my case. The gear change still didn't let me pull mild hills in 3rd, or steep grades in 2nd. In the Rockies, and some of the Cascades passes, I'd be stuck in 1st gear, which tops out about 35 MPH.

The speedometer doesn't lie. My pulling speeds in the mountains are now 55MPH+. The Banks kit makes more power across the entire RPM range, and doesn't fall off at higher RPMs. They have the dyno charts published. I considering dyno'ing mine, but I didn't think of it until after all the changes. But most dynos won't do a butt this heavy, and the one I found still required pulling the outer duals, which would have meant buying another set of lug-nuts, and in the end I didn't really care. It pulls better, and that's that.

I'm sure I won't convince you, and you either must not tow, or must be more patient than I am. I don't like slowing down when I'm towing, so the upgrades have been well worth it to me.