A couple Gryphon questions, what tunes and octane?

[PHS79]

I currently have a Edge Evo that I am looking at upgrading to a Gryphon, but I have a couple questions about the Gryphon tunes, what octanes I should be looking at and also if it is even worth it for me to upgrade.

I have a 04 F150 FX4, supercab, it has the 5.4L running a Airaid Jr. intake and 3" si/so exhaust off the factory Y pipe into a IMCO Pro series muffler, 3.73 gears, and 325/60/18 tires on 18X9 wheels. I use the truck for 70% family mover, 30% towing towing 3000lbs to 8000 lbs.

So now that you have a basic description of my truck and its uses, here are the questions

1.Since my truck is not highly modified, would it be worth it for me to get custom tunes? Would I see that big of difference?

2.Is there a "mileage" tune? I have found a gas station that offers 91 oct that is 100% gas, no ethanol added. By just running the 91 oct and lvl 2 on my Edge I have gotten my mileage up to the 16.5 range. It is possible to go higher with custom tunes?

3.With my Edge drive ability got much better, but it still seems to me that the truck upshifts too early especially when towing. Can custom tunes help with this, and let the engine rev more before shifting?

4.Since I do have the option of 91 octane that is 100% gas vs 87 and 89 octanes which have 10% ethanol, does this make any difference with the tunes and how they can be used?


Paul

[Jackpine]

Paul, I think with the intake, you definitely want custom tunes.

I know Bill can delay the upshifts while you're towing, if that's what you want, in a custom tune, so a custom tow tune is probably indicated.

If you are in the habit of changing the octane rating of the gas you use, you'd want a tune for each octane rating. There aren't enough tune positions for everything of course and I honestly don't see you switching back and forth between 87, 89 and 91 octane either. It all comes down to what you intend to use. If you like the 91 and that's all you put in, then I'd get two tunes set up for it: the tow tune and a different "mileage" tune for when you're not towing. That's what I have, except mine use 87 octane E10 gas for both.

I think if you go on trips much, the "pure gas" 91 octane stuff may be hard to find along the way, so I'd actually favor 87, which is what our trucks were designed to burn anyway.

Can Bill improve your gas mileage? He did mine, about 0.5 MPG over what the canned tunes gave me. I can't promise what custom tunes would do for you though.

One thing I'd worry about is the CAI. 04 and 05 trucks came from the factory tuned pretty lean to begin with and CAIs have the reputation of making things leaner, which can lead to engine damage. Bill's custom tunes will fix that.

Hope these thoughts help.

- Jack

[PHS79]

Thanks Jack!

Here is what I was thinking of for tunes, let me know how you think this sounds.
Lvl1-custom 87 oct tow (with delayed up shifts)
Lvl2-custom 87 oct performance/mileage
Lvl3-custom 91 oct mileage (for 100% gas)

Do these sound reasonable to you? Anything that you would do different?

[Jackpine]

Paul, I think what you have there is fine. My only question is, do you really think you're going to use the 91 octane tune that much? Please understand you have to really run your tank almost empty before you fill with the 91 octane stuff to use that tune safely. IF, you are going to drive around most of the time with 91 octane (while you're at home), then it's fine.

And, there's no problem whatsoever in selecting an 87 octane tune with 91 octane gas in the tank - just don't go the other way, it can be hard on the engine to use a 91 octane tune with 87 octane gas.

I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just telling you what I know Bill and Corey would tell you. Don't buy a tune you don't need. They don't want to see you throw money away any more than you do. Just ask yourself if you really need this tune.

I can tell you I've been VERY happy with my two 87 octane tunes.

- Jack

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by PHS79

Thanks Jack!

Here is what I was thinking of for tunes, let me know how you think this sounds.
Lvl1-custom 87 oct tow (with delayed up shifts)
Lvl2-custom 87 oct performance/mileage
Lvl3-custom 91 oct mileage (for 100% gas)

Do these sound reasonable to you? Anything that you would do different?

The first 2 look good but are you really going to use the 91 oct eco tune that much?

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by 88Racing

The first 2 look good but are you really going to use the 91 oct eco tune that much?

For probably the last 6 months all that I have been running is 91 oct. Mainly because I found that I with 91 oct (100% gas) I have seen a 1.5 mpg increase, I went from a average of 15 mpg to 16.5 mpg.

Right now I am currently running my Edge on lvl2 because I didn't like the "lack of lowend" that lvl3 had. Granted the 1 full tank I did run lvl3, just to check mileage, and I got 17 mpg. But the "lack of low end" that the canned Edge tune seems to have, vs lvl2, is the only thing that concerns me about getting a performance tune. Granted the truck seemed a little funner to drive in lvl 3, once the rpms got above 2K or so, but from a standing stop it just seemed like the truck was a slug and didn't even want to move. Which leads me to another question:

Is there a BIG difference between the custom performance and the canned Edge lvl3? Also do Bills performance tunes have more low end power then the canned Edge?

[88Racing]

From my personal experience with mpg and octane and price here where I live its a wash.
87oct is straight.
89oct is e10.
91-92 is 75% e10, so only 25% of gas stations have the straight gas. Only the larger towns will carry the 91-92 at their pumps.
The price difference between 87 and 91 is $.30-$.50 right now.
Alls I was offering was some personal reflection on why I ordered what I did. That's why I asked you what I did about the 91 tune.
You'd be suprised if you put a pencil to your figures and carve out some real hard numbers.
Some places you do get better results with mpg's and octane than others and it depends how you drive also.
JMHO

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by PHS79

For probably the last 6 months all that I have been running is 91 oct. Mainly because I found that I with 91 oct (100% gas) I have seen a 1.5 mpg increase, I went from a average of 15 mpg to 16.5 mpg.

Right now I am currently running my Edge on lvl2 because I didn't like the "lack of lowend" that lvl3 had. Granted the 1 full tank I did run lvl3, just to check mileage, and I got 17 mpg. But the "lack of low end" that the canned Edge tune seems to have, vs lvl2, is the only thing that concerns me about getting a performance tune. Granted the truck seemed a little funner to drive in lvl 3, once the rpms got above 2K or so, but from a standing stop it just seemed like the truck was a slug and didn't even want to move. Which leads me to another question:

Is there a BIG difference between the custom performance and the canned Edge lvl3? Also do Bills performance tunes have more low end power then the canned Edge?

I've never noticed any lack of power in the low end in my two 87 octane tunes. But, I don't really "stand on it" there either. The power curves ARE fairly low below 2000 RPMs though in any tune, I'd guess. And, I've never used my Level 3 tune, so I don't have any basis for comparison.

You'd really need to talk to Bill about this, and that may be difficult in the foreseeable future. He would not blow smoke at you. The trouble with tunes when upgrading is that they're $60 each.

Using your gain of 1.5 mpg with 91, you're seeing a 10% increase in gas mileage. If 91 octane costs 10% or less more than 87, you would be better off using it. My guess is though, the price increase will be more than 10%.

Still, 91 does give you more power than 87 due to the timing increase and the more controlled burn, so if power is the governing factor, go for it.

You could just about copy and paste this entire thread into an attachment you could include with your order form. If you make sure Bill knows what your driving goals are, he'll be able to write the tunes you want.

- Jack

[PHS79]

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

You could just about copy and paste this entire thread into an attachment you could include with your order form. If you make sure Bill knows what your driving goals are, he'll be able to write the tunes you want.

- Jack

Thanks for the idea, I am going to try and do that. I think the upgrade to the Gyphon and custom tunes will be my christmas present to myself

Thanks to both Jack and 88racing for the help!!

Paul