FICM mileage

[International350]

I just got PHP FICM programing and all runs great, only thing is i didnt get anything for MPG. Im still getting the same 11MPG ive been getting. I had Innovatives ficm programing before and also didnt have any increase. What am i missing? I do have a SCT with one custom tune from ID its a mild street tune. Though i can put it into stock and still get no increase. Is there some tuning to the PCM or another tune that i can use? I do like the occasional stop light race so i dont want to go backwards in power if possible.

Also i was looking into PHP extreme tune and wondering how drivable this tune is? Does it lock each gear until 3K rpms or is it more drivable? Also is it 140hp over stock? Thanks

[legends13]

I second this. I had mine done back in January. I wanted to wait until the "winter fuel" was all used up to see if the MPG improved, but it hasn't. Any suggestions?

PS, there is nothing wrong with the FICM Programming, just wasn't what I expected I would see on the gains side...

[International350]

Yeah the FICM works great, the mileage is the only downfall. I just want to see if there is something else that we need to check on our trucks that are killing mileage, like on gas motors if the O2 sensor or maf sensor, or spark plugs is bad your mileage drops. Is there something our trucks have that should be looked at.

[Jeremy]

I think the people that see the increase in mpg are people who had the latest ford flashes with the I.H. strategy. They noticed the mpg go down when they were flashed, and wanted it back. If your truck was never flashed with a I.H. flash they you probably won't see a difference. Perhaps the PCM needs to be returned to an original program as well? :confused:

Mine were, and I noticed it went down, the PHP ficm brought it back to where it was originally.

That may not always be the case. IMHO 11 mpg is pretty poor for your truck, I doesn't look like you have much of a lift or larger tires in your picture. So i at a loss as to why it so poor. :shrug:

[International350]

I think the people that see the increase in mpg are people who had the latest ford flashes with the I.H. strategy. They noticed the mpg go down when they were flashed, and wanted it back. If your truck was never flashed with a I.H. flash they you probably won't see a difference. Perhaps the PCM needs to be returned to an original program as well? :confused:

Mine were, and I noticed it went down, the PHP ficm brought it back to where it was originally.

That may not always be the case. IMHO 11 mpg is pretty poor for your truck, I doesn't look like you have much of a lift or larger tires in your picture. So i at a loss as to why it so poor. :shrug:

Yeah my truck only has a level kit on it, and tires are just 33s. I use to see 17mpg back in the day, but that was before 3 trips to Ford so Im sure i lost some somewhere. Im waiting for a custom program to come back from you guys to download with my SCT, if im understanding right that is the PCM tune right? Hopefully that will bring it up.

[Jeremy]

What I meant with PCM programming was to return the truck to the Original ECM and TCM program files, to do that you would have to ship your PCM to Bill for reprogramming.

Now I'm not Bill nor do I share an ounce of his knowledge, so getting a SCT program from him may do the trick, I don't know. If it doesn’t you may want to try getting everything returned to the factory programming and then getting SCT programs for that Strategy. Though I can't imagine there is something in the origional programs that a tuner cannot correct with the SCT/Gryphon, to get the issue resolved.

Perhaps Bill will comment on this at some point.

[International350]

Yeah when i talked to him I did ask if the custom tunes on the SCT covers all the parameters on the ECM and he said yes if i understood him correctly, that when you put your tune on it should do the trick. Ill prob have my tune in monday or tuesday from him so i can check it out for sure. I appreciate all the help.

[sonic blue l]

so how long have you been waiting for tunes from php?

[International350]

I just sent out the request this past firday, so only couple days. You been waiting a while? They had my FICM back to me in 5 days.

[sonic blue l]

over 2 months and still nothing.

sorry not tring to hi-jack, just was curious about the wait time others were experienceing.

A guy at work, whom i told about php ordered then same time as i. His chip/burner and tunes only took a couple weeks, but that was also for a 7.3 so perhaps that was the difference.

[International350]

You may want to give them a call, I know they were moving locations couple weeks ago. The first time i faxed and emailed my request they didnt get it, the fax was down and from what their site says they dont get to emails very often, so when i called they just had me refax the request. Hope this helps

[sonic blue l]

i've had problems previously aswell, i think its growing pains.

When they were first on f150, before this site i got up and running i got a tune from Bill and it took no time at all with great customer service.

I understand emails and that, but im starting to think the canned tunes will just be fine anyway. I'm debating about just seeing if i can cancel.

I was just wondering if other's had Bill's tunes and if they found them better then the canned tunes.

[Farmer11]

is it just the canned evo tunes? or the opt calibrations from bill? i know i sure dont like the canned evo tunes. I have just been running stock becasue it shifts bad

[International350]

I will have to say that any custom tune is a ton better than canned tunes no matter who writes them. Custom tunes have a big bump in power that is very noticeable, and your truck just runs a little better on them.

[sonic blue l]

is it just the canned evo tunes? or the opt calibrations from bill? i know i sure dont like the canned evo tunes. I have just been running stock becasue it shifts bad

The canned evo tunes, i recently updated and now there is a performance level in place of the economy tune. Mine seems to shift fine on all of them. I actually noticed that the performance and extreme do smoke where as before they did not. I'm not a fan of that aspect otherwise they seem ok so far.

I don't need lots of power, just a nice clean all around tune, with nice trans shifting.

[sonic blue l]

I will have to say that any custom tune is a ton better than canned tunes no matter who writes them. Custom tunes have a big bump in power that is very noticeable, and your truck just runs a little better on them.

True, i did like my custom tunes that i did have. I did have a problem with them loading wrong and showing that i was on a tow tune when infact i was not. The wierd thing about that was they had been working fine for a long time and then all of a sudden they would not program properly. As if the evo was stuck in one tune no matter what you picked.

I would say the biggest thing that bothers me is when i posted under the order status request. I was told that they some how missed my order and that i was now at the top of their list to get the tune files taken care of. That was over a month ago, so im guessing either they were not telling me the truth or they forgot about me again. Niether of which makes me feel any better.

Anyway sorry about hi jacking your thread

[International350]

Well i actually just called yesturday about my one tune that i ordered 2 weeks ago and paid for last week. They said itll be 7-8 WEEKs, i hit the floor cause i was thinking 2 weeks. They said they were backed up, but i didnt know it would take that long or i wouldnt have paid so early. I get my tax return back twice as fast as that:smiley_roll1:

[International350]

No thats ok, then id have to redo it all. I just griping because i wasnt told that you guys were behind when i made my calls there trying to get request turned in.

[International350]

Hey there,

I'm sorry about the delay, but I'll be happy to refund your $30 and just reinvoice you when the ETA gets closer! Just let me know! :)

Its no worries, i can wait. Now i would like to have my ECM programmed with a stock or tow tune as i think my stock tune is a little crappy. If i sent in my ECM for a stock or tow tune put on it, will there still be a wait time on it or should i just hold off on that until later? Thanks for your time

[cleatus12r]

The ECM can be done immediately.

[Dogman_528]

I was wondering if there is anyway to tell what strategy is in your ficm?

[SICKS-O]

international350, are you calculating your mpg by hand or using the overhead trip monitor?

11mpg is absurdly poor fuel mileage, unless you are doing alot of short trips and/or idling.

just for reference i get 12-13mpg with my 06 towing our 21 enclosed car trailer with a 3500lb car inside. the lowest fuel mileage ive ever had towing that trailer was 10mpg and i had to try real hard to get it to suck down that much fuel. if i tried any harder i would have been arrested for reckless driving lol.

i would say there is an underlying issue somewhere attributing to the fuel mileage you are getting or think your getting.

[International350]

international350, are you calculating your mpg by hand or using the overhead trip monitor?

11mpg is absurdly poor fuel mileage, unless you are doing alot of short trips and/or idling.

just for reference i get 12-13mpg with my 06 towing our 21 enclosed car trailer with a 3500lb car inside. the lowest fuel mileage ive ever had towing that trailer was 10mpg and i had to try real hard to get it to suck down that much fuel. if i tried any harder i would have been arrested for reckless driving lol.

i would say there is an underlying issue somewhere attributing to the fuel mileage you are getting or think your getting.

Yeah thats hand calculated. Im not sure what is killing the mileage. Ive tried Innovatives FICM and now I have PHP ficm, and nothing is working. Also I do long trips daily, I work 2 hours round trip away half city, half highway. I used to get 18mpg and it has just gone down for the past year. Not sure what to check, everything seems to be working pretty good, Not sure if I just need my ECM reset or something. Any help is appreciated for sure.

[SICKS-O]

have your preferences been changed for the increased tire size?

[International350]

Yeah everything is changed correctly per measuring tire calculations. I'm thinking of getting my ECM reflashed since I know ford prob screwed with it last time it was in, that's about when my mileage dropped I believe. I run tunes all the time so my question is will getting a latest or better flash work?

[SICKS-O]

ok as long as the abs module was reprogrammed then youre good. the adjustments in the sct for tire size / axle ratio wont correct the speedo.