6 Speed Settings
 

Early 99 F250 7.3 4x4 6 speed

I'm looking to order my chip here towards the end of the month and was wondering what tunes would be best. I read a post on the forum from over a year ago saying that since the towing tunes only change transmission settings, they aren't necessary for manual transmissions. Is this true? I tow nearly every day, not huge loads, but I still don't want to tear anything up.

Should I just stick to performance tunes? If so, I was thinking of:

1-Stock
2-80hp Daily
3-100hp Performance
4-120hp Race
5- Whisper Mode
6- Smoke Show

Make any suggestions you like. I was almost considering the 140, but I don't want to tear anything up. I see me rarely using the 120 too, but figured it'd be fun to have.

Also, I'm going to be making a few thousand mile road trip in a month and like everyone else, I'm looking for the best mileage, is it best to run on stock settings for hours on end, or which is best for economy?

Thanks

That's what I thought about the 120 also but seems like the switch wants to stay on it, ha ha. Whatever Bill or Cody suggest will probably work just fine, they hit the nail on the head with mine. You got guages? I know they woke my truck up & my egt gets on up where it probably should have been all along. You can bet that you gonna feel like somebody put new eng in the truck. Wish I would have put PHP in a long time ago.

You're right, the biggest thing about the tow tunes has to do with the automatic transmission shift strategies. Since you're the one who has control over the shift feel and shift points, that doesn't apply to you. However, the tow tunes are a specific power output and are designed to keep EGT down while towing and make the accelerator pedal input "feel" better for hauling stuff. You didn't mention how much weight you're pulling, but if it's over 8-10K, you might run into an EGT issue with an 80 HP program. I'm not trying to tell you what programs to get, but pulling really heavy loads for long periods of time with an additional 160 ft. lbs. available isn't the best thing for the transmission, u-joints, or rear axle. If you're pulling up 5-7% grades for a few miles, things will get warm really quick.

You will be fine driving across the country in any of those tunes...and if you can drive sanely, you should get better economy in all of them over stock. The 100 Perf. will probably be your best bet for economy while driving empty. You will probably find yourself in that tune most of the time and won't even use the 80DD. I'd probably stick with a lower HP tune for towing (either the 40 or 65) so you can tow whatever you want and not worry about EGT or overpowering your drivetrain.

If you have any other questions, please ask.

After just putting the fu package on my manual truck, in the tow tunes, from take off up to about 1800-2000 rpms is about like a stock truck. You have to keep the rpms up to keep it pulling good but it also keeps the truck cool when it comes to egts. Even the 80 DD setting kinda feels this way to me. I really like the 100 performance setting for daily driving with my manual. Has a lot of power off the bottom and really really daily driver friendly. Doesn't smoke a lot unless you just lug the truck real bad. Around town I actually use my 100 performance while towing and being easy on the throttle b/c it gets things rolling easy without revving on the truck a lot. On the highway i go back to the tow tune to keep egts down and it has plenty of power pulling hills.

I appreciate the quick, informative response, thank you.

And yes, I will be getting guages before I get the chip. I already have an intake and 4" exhaust.

I tow light loads, less than 8k lbs usually, but do tow farm equipment a couple times a year if needed and that can be quite a bit. I wouldn't get a setting specifically for that though, if needed I'll just run in stock setting as I do it so rarely.

That being the case, should I get the light tow setting too just in case? Maybe loose the 80hp daily all together as you mention I prob won't use it. More like:

1 - stock
2 - 80 or 65hp Tow
3 - 100 hp performace
4 - 120 race
5 - whispermode
6 - smokeshow

I'm just trying to get the best ones. If you dont think I need a towing tune for light loads, then I won't get one. Maybe loose the whispermode and the tow all together and get only 4 positions, although I've always heard guys say they wish they would've gotten more when they do that.

Thanks for the help

Bump this up, any info?

Thanks

Your selections look fine to me. I'd probably opt for the 65 tow instead of 80.

I agree with cody, and if you haven't put a wicked wheel or something to cure the surge, its gonna surge when towing something even on in the tow setting. That 60 tow setting, has a lot of power still for towing.

If I'm not mistaken, the early 99s have a wicked wheel from the factory. Either way, I will go with the 65 hp tow, just to protect it that much more.

Not to get off PHP topic, but I see you've got fuel pressure as one of your guages. I'm torn whether to add a 3rd guage since trans temp isn't important to us. Is fuel pressure for a stock rig with only an intake, exhaust, and (soon) chip a good option, or should I stick with 2, egt and boost?

Thanks to you and Cody for the info.

I just did it b/c glowshift sells a 3 gauge pillar in a kit. they don't do just two. Its not really necessary but I like knowing it now. Plus I had a fuel pump go out one time and at first driving down the road I wasn't sure what happened, but its just an extra gauge to know whats going on with the truck. Sometimes lack of fuel causes a lot of bad running issues that people can't always tell.