Have a few Questions

[GlockBoss]

Hello, I have few a few questions any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have a 2006 Ford F-150 with the 5.4. I was looking at getting the Gryphon CS with custom tunes. Most of my driving is a mix of city and highway and some bumper to bumper traffic. The truck has a leveling kit, exhaust is a cherry bomb extreme SI/DO muffler dumped before rear axle, AEM Brute Force intake, Airaid throttle body spacer, 22 inch rims on 35 inch tires(325/55/R22). I was planning on doing a 87 performance and 91 performance tune and questioning ordering a third tune for fuel economy or towing. I have seen several references in the forms to economy tunes; however I don't see that as an option; are they no longer offered?

What would be the best recommendation for fuel economy?

If ordering the 87 performance and 91 performance, would there be much use for the custom 87 tow?

If 3 custom tunes are ordered do the canned tunes remain on the Edge or are they erased?

Is there a color option for the mounting pods, or they all the same color?

Thank you every much

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by GlockBoss

Hello, I have few a few questions any help would be greatly appreciated!

I have a 2006 Ford F-150 with the 5.4. I was looking at getting the Gryphon CS with custom tunes. Most of my driving is a mix of city and highway and some bumper to bumper traffic. The truck has a leveling kit, exhaust is a cherry bomb extreme SI/DO muffler dumped before rear axle, AEM Brute Force intake, Airaid throttle body spacer, 22 inch rims on 35 inch tires(325/55/R22). I was planning on doing a 87 performance and 91 performance tune and questioning ordering a third tune for fuel economy or towing. I have seen several references in the forms to economy tunes; however I don't see that as an option; are they no longer offered?

What would be the best recommendation for fuel economy?

If ordering the 87 performance and 91 performance, would there be much use for the custom 87 tow?

If 3 custom tunes are ordered do the canned tunes remain on the Edge or are they erased?

Is there a color option for the mounting pods, or they all the same color?

Thank you every much

First, welcome to the forum! I'm going to try to answer your questions, and others may give their own opinions.

1. You CAN get a tune for "economy", you just have to tell Bill you want it set up that way for the kind of driving you do. And, you need to be VERY explicit about your driving needs/style in the remarks section of the form that is used for ordering. When I ordered my first tune, I typed a separate page that went into detail on this. You could do the same and FAX it to them (include your real name, address and a phone number). They're probably not offering as "specific" economy tune now because most people seem to want "drag-strip" style performance. The two are quite different and you can't have both at once (in the same tune).

2. Your description of your driving here was pretty good, at least to me. I suppose if you could, try to quantify how much is the slow city stop and go vs the cruising highway kind. Bill can tune the engine lean at highway cruise, but not during acceleration.

3. If you tow something over 2000#, I'd get a tune for that task. If you don't, don't bother. And, with the CS, you can ask Bill to leave the canned tunes in place, so you'd have the canned tow tune there if you ever need it. It wouldn't be as good as a custom tow tune, but it would be better than stock. So, that indirectly answered another of your questions. You need to tell Bill you want to keep the original tunes, normally they are replaced.

4. Do you put 91 octane gas in your truck? That would be the ONLY reason to get a 91 "performance" tune. Realize, if you do this, the tank needs to be virtually empty before filling with 91 octane and changing the tune. And, if you refill with 87, you need to get the tune off right away. Personally, I don't see the point of this tune and have never used it. I never fill with anything higher than 87 octane.

5. Pod color is "fixed", I'm afraid. It's a slate grey that should almost perfectly match the dash on your truck if that part of it is the slate grey color too. I'm VERY pleased with my color match. They CAN be painted, but finding a matching paint color might be a bit of a task. The pods take paint very well.

6. Your question about fuel economy is probably going to elicit a few suggestions you may not like, so I'm going to start them off and please understand, I'm not putting you down.

a. I would ditch the Throttle Body Spacer. It does nothing for a fuel injected engine. I don't know that it hurts anything, but EVERYTHING I know about them tells me they don't help.

b. I'm not a fan of commercial CAIs. They tend to cause more problems than they fix, especially when the engine is "tuned". Instead, I'd opt for the "Gotts Mod" (you can do a search on this), if your want to increase airflow into the engine. I did it and I think I have positive results (better MPGs at highway speed).

c. The big tires you have on your truck are probably hurting economy and putting a strain on your transmission. Have you thought of re-gearing to get the effective axle ratio closer to stock? Right now, unless you have re-geared, you are driving in all conditions under a higher engine load than the designers set things up for. This uses more gas and increases operating temperatures.

6. The exhaust should not be a factor. If you like it, tell Bill you have it and that's all you need to do.

Hope I've helped - I know it seems a lot of money to drop on something like this. I did it and have not resented it at all.

- Jack

[GlockBoss]

Thank you very much for your quick and in depth response I REALLY appreciate it.

2. Summing up my driving habits in detail is tough because it can change so often. Any given day will bring city driving, non-traffic(high speed) highway, or heavy traffic(slow) highway. Any increase in overall economy throughout general driving conditions would be great with me, if that's possible.

3. That's great that the canned tunes can be kept because I occasionally tow and don't find it happens enough to get a custom tune. The canned tow one should do just fine when its needed.

4. I currently rarely run 91 octane in my truck. I remember reading that these trucks would barely see a performance gain by running 91 octane without a performance tune of some sort. I would run 91 octane if i would be truly getting the performance advantages out of it.

5. Pod coloring be fixed as the slate grey should be just fine my interior is grey. Just wanted to make sure of my options and didn't have to specify when ordering.

6. As for the mods done to the truck I completely understand where you are coming from!

a. The Throttle Body Spacer was a gift so I figured I would use it. I never personally bought one based on having the same idea as you, that they don't help. The funny thing is and surprise to me is that I have actually seen an increase in MPG's since installing it. So I guess it cant hurt!

b. I will look into the Gotts Mod, as I have seen it mentioned before. I am so pleased with my current CAI as I have had issue as of yet! I will keep my fingers crossed!

c. The big tires and rims are definitely the culprit to the poor fuel economy right now. Once those were put on is when things changed. Since then is also when I noticed the transmission shifting a bit different. I hoping that the tunes will improve the shifting as well. I have not put to much thought into re-gearing but that is always another option!

Thanks again!

[Jackpine]

You're actually the second person here who's said the TB spacer helped economy. Working on the principle that, "If it ain't broke...", I'd just leave it in place. And, if you're happy with the CAI, same goes for that. Some people really feel they help, and, who am I to disagree? I think the Gotts Mod helped me, but again, it's just my opinion based on many tanks of gas before and after the mod.

As far as the tires go - when you're in the 32" diameter bracket as OEM, every 2" bigger is going to be a 6% hit in performance (or a 6% increase in engine load, depending on how you want to look at it.) I would guess you've lost about 10% with your tire/wheel combination. The only thing that's going to really recover this is new gearing. A tune will help some, but it will continue to help with new gears too. The changes you noticed are due to the "load" seen in ordinary shifting. Part throttle shifts are based on vehicle speed (which is now wrong due to the big feet) and engine load (actually throttle position, but it indirectly equates to engine load). The load is 10% higher and the speed is probably 10% higher than is being reported to the PCM. I'd be confused, and I think the PCM is too.

I kind of look at it this way: "If you're willing to spend the money for the new feet, you really ought to spend something on the gearing too."

If you always put 91 octane in the tank, you definitely want a custom tune for that.

- Jack

[Longshot270]

If you are focusing mainly on economy, tow tunes have a tendency to get better fuel economy. They may also be beneficial in the type of driving you do. They are designed to get tires turning and keep them turning. My tow based tune gets better mileage than my performance tune because of that. It is also better behaved in crowded city driving because it isn't as jumpy due to a less aggressive throttle map. With the tow based tune my truck is actually the same speed as everyone else, just with more grunt power. The only problem is it does not have the same get up 'n go as the performance tunes until you are at upper highway speeds. If you dont usually use 91, that might be worth considering.

[PhqChevys]

Originally Posted by Longshot270

If you are focusing mainly on economy, tow tunes have a tendency to get better fuel economy. They may also be beneficial in the type of driving you do. They are designed to get tires turning and keep them turning. My tow based tune gets better mileage than my performance tune because of that. It is also better behaved in crowded city driving because it isn't as jumpy due to a less aggressive throttle map. With the tow based tune my truck is actually the same speed as everyone else, just with more grunt power. The only problem is it does not have the same get up 'n go as the performance tunes until you are at upper highway speeds. If you dont usually use 91, that might be worth considering.

Funny... my truck is exactly opposite of yours. My truck get's around 15-16 mpg in 87 performance tune and around 13-14 mpg in 87 tow tune. I asked Bill about this and he said that with the tow tune the A/F ratio is much richer to keep the cylinders cooler while under the heavy load of towing... makes since to me...

[Longshot270]

Yep, goes to show that every truck is different.

The trend is usually better mileage from a tow tune when you have a low axle ratio, bigger tires, lifts and such. There is also a throttle input difference for me as well. My tow tune has a throttle response more lethargic than stock because I had intended to use it for driving off road where I dont want a sensitive pedal. That basically gives me a smarter foot for fuel economy when on the street. It isn't as much fun as my performance tune but I'm not having to visit the gas station as much.