Hello from South Dakota

[88Racing]

Jack,
My specs for the truck are this:
3.73 gears
4x4
5.4 3v with cat back exhaust/tru-flow xdi cai
Lariat
2006 with 22k
Weekend trip truck

For instance;
Around Sioux Falls 11.5-13 mpg
Mixture of driving on 87oct straight.
From 25-75 mph
10.5-12 89oct e10 blend

Went on a trip this last summer:
Started in sf with full tank of 87oct
Averaged 13-15 mpg to Tomah WI
Filled up there, with their 88oct
(did not see blend sticker)
Averaged 14-18 mpg to Springfield IL
Filled with 87oct
Averaged 16-20 mpg to Ohio

The whole point is the further east I went the better the mpg until after Ohio.
Coming back the same data was collected in reverse.

True I was not probably hammering down on it like I was at home. Kept it around the same speed 65-75mph.

So right there adds a little to your conclusion also Jack that states probably do blend gas differently.

Now f150 owners around here with 3.50 gears get 1-2 mpg better in town and 17-21 mpg on highway. The down side of this gear when they tow is they are back down their with the 3.73 mpg. Now I tow with mine and I have consistently the same mpg as long as it's not a high profile type trailer.

-Lars

[Jackpine]

Your truck is very similar to mine Lars. Possibly you have different tires, mine are 275/65R18s, and, I have the bed cap that adds to wind resistance and 200+ pounds of weight.

I get in the mid 15s in highway mpgs, closer to 14 in Tucson, which doesn't have a lot of stop lights where I'm driving it. My trailer is a low profile type for towing (check my galleries), but it does weigh 3600# and it brings my mpgs down to the neighborhood of 12.5 when I pull it at 65mph. However, I have gotten as high as the mid 14s pulling it, again, in different states, at higher altitudes where the gas is 86 or 85 octane. And, like you I didn't notice if it was E10 or not. I DO know, though, the gas I use here IS E10.

This has been a good discussion. I think you've brought up points that add to our understanding of why fuel economy seems to vary so much among our members.

- Jack

[88Racing]

Jack,
Forgot to add in the specs. I run the Ford 20" rim with the Pirelli scorpion atr. Not around the truck right now to remember the exact tire size. The other killer to mpg's in the winter is ____? If you guessed remote start and or idling your correct!(Kind of gets cold up here) Also gas companies blend the mixture differently between summer and winter. Do not know why or how but that is what the people at the tank farms tell me.

-Lars

[Jackpine]

And, the truck WILL be getting a richer fuel mixture when the engine is cold, as well as probably idling faster. I think the winter blend fuel is formulated to either ignite more easily or, to burn more "cleanly", or both, compared to summer grade fuel.

- Jack

[88Racing]

Jack,
In your opinion is the gryphon the best for the price or the awesome support php has?
I had been leaning towards the troyer sct lw@$650 but with the posts, feed back, and brain power that php has in this forum, I think the pendulem has swung towards the gryphon! Another question for you is this: are the canned tunes the same as the edge or better? Just wanted to know what I am getting into.

Thanks
Lars

[Jackpine]

Oh Boy! Lars, I'm prejudiced!

The easy question first: The canned Gryphon tunes are the same tunes that you find on the Edge. They were developed with a great deal of help from Bill Cohron when he worked for Edge and are "generic" tunes that will improve the performance of any f150, but, are not customized to specific models, driving styles, locations or usage patterns. I'm not really sure what percentage of the tunes is due to Bill's input, but, from his post regarding tuning the 2009 f150, I suspect he did most of the work on them.

Now, the second one. Here, I can only give you "opinions". The Livewire gives you gauges too, and, they can be set to simulate an analog gauge if that blows air up your skirt. I think you can monitor up to six things at a time vs the four that the Gryphon offers. I believe you can switch things that are monitored easily, at the touch of a button with the Livewire. With the current Gryphon, you'd better pull off the road if you want to change the display, but, Bill is thinking about some enhancements that will allow rapid switching between two sets of four PIDs.

If the Livewire tuned by Troyer costs $650, then the Gryphon custom tuned with three tunes is $489. The savings will buy a lot of scotch (or tequila)!

Mike Troyer has an incredible reputation in the tuning world, but then so does Justin Starkey at VMP and, of course, our Bill Cohron at PHP.

If you have spent as much time as I have on the "Chips, Tuners and Programming" forum in f150online as I have, you will know (and appreciate) how many times Bill has come to the rescue of someone needing information on custom tuning - and those people don't always have Edges/Gryphons either. Without casting aspersions, note the number of helpful posts by Mike and Justin.

I'm quite confident that there is not a significant difference in the quality of the tunes delivered by these three experts. Each approaches the task in a different manner, so there will be some, but I doubt it's anything you can "feel".

Bottom line: If I'm going to put something in my truck that is going to effect how it runs and that has the potential of disabling it, I want to go with someone who I feel has MY interests at heart. Someone who maybe I could call at O-dark-thirty on the weekend who would get back to me quickly with help. I think Bill and Corey are that team, and that's why I call myself a "PHP Groupie".

Hope this helps you. I know it's a tough choice.

- Jack

[Jackpine]

And, Lars, I'm not trying to stack the deck here but look at this thread I just posted in on another forum (at the end): http://www.f150online.com/forums/chi...ft-points.html

There Do seem to be differences in the hardware that are more than just "cosmetic".

- Jack

[88Racing]

Jack,
Thank you for all the info. The post link to f150 was quite informative. "Set it and forget it" just a quote from an info-mercial. Do not remember who or what product. That's my moto when driving down the road. See way to many accidents from people messing around with hair to hand helds in a month. I rather just stop and adjust then on the fly.
Reason behind this: power seat fried controls out as I was adjusting it @ 80 mph in a caddy of all cars, pinned me up against the steering wheel in a heart beat! Later found out that somehow a wire shorted out melted in the harness doubled up voltage in the motor. The force of the increased speed broke the stops in the rails as it traveled forward. I was lucky to get the cruise off and coast to a stop. So that's why that quote sticks in my head to this day. Sorry about drifting off the subject.
The Gryphon does seem to have a good foundation and support. But like all of the other posts I have been reading each and every tuner has its own problems. The positive thing I find about the gryphon is that its mount to the dash makes it look stock to the vehicle. No suction cup mounts or drilling in a pedestool bracket. Less likely for a theif to take also the way it looks on the dash. Also the post on the shift points is good thing to know.
Thank you again

-Lars