Greetings from NW Montana

[DeanG]

I recently purchased a 2002 F250 w/ 7.3 and a 6 speed. I am looking at the possibility of a custom tuner as apposed to the run of the mill programmer. I am interested in your Phoenix line but have some questions about the value of some of these tunes with a manual tranny. I know that a lot of emphasis is put on tranny tuning when running an auto but what tunes will work best with stick? I will do lots of empty running on the highways around here and also hauling a slide in camper while pulling a 5000lb trailer up over some pretty steep passes...on the highway and sometimes off. What do you recomend?

[Power Hungry]

First, welcome! Glad to have you with us.

As far as tunes go, you are correct about the manual transmission having much less bearing on the calibrations than an automatic. Differences between towing, economy and performance programs often revolve heavily around shifting characteristics, although there are other factors to consider such as throttle curve, low boost fuel, and few other things.

On a manual trans truck that occasionally pulls the load you indicated, here's what I'd suggest:

Position 1 - Stock (No charge for this)
Position 2 - 40 Towing (Good for up to about 12K)
Position 3 - 80 Daily Driver (Good performance and economy, low smoke)
Position 4 - 100 Performance (Play program, up to you if it's necessary)
Position 5 - 1100 RPM High Idle (Those Montana winters are cold and it makes for a good warmup program)
Position 6 - No Start (No charge for this)

The only questionable position is the 100 HP, whether you need a play position or not. We could swap that down for a 65 Tow if you have plans for pulling just a trailer (without the slid-in) or you can leave it blank and save $30.00. Your choice on that.

Let me know if there's anything else we can answer for you.

Take care.

[DeanG]

Thanks! So far I'm impressed with the fact that you even answered this late. Are you a night shifter like me or do you just say no to excessive sleep? I think when it comes time to buy (soon) I would pick the added 65hp tow and delete the no start option. Vehicle theft in my neck of the woods is not a big problem. Everything is protected by Smith and Wesson or Ruger around here.

[Power Hungry]

Sounds like a plan. If there's anything else you can think of, we'd be happy to get you some answers.

As for late night? That's pretty normal for me. Corey handles most of the day stuff which leaves me to field tech calls and such during the day. Doesn't take much focus for that and I can catch a nap once in a while if needed. Get much more accomplished at night when phones are quiet and everyone's asleep. Also don't need more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep, which is good and bad I guess.

Take care.

[JWBFX4]

Welcome to the forum

[AZFX4]

Welcome!!!

[cleatus12r]

Bigfork.....

How's the weather?

Reed Point here.

[Corey Cohron RIP]

:welcome3:! Don't let Bill fool you... he's up most nights until 4AM, 5AM, or later. Lately, he's been coming to bed between 7AM and 8AM! He can go like that for a week or two before crashing. Heck, here it is a quarter to one, and we're both up answering posts.

[88Racing]

Welcome to the forum!

Lars