E-Fans

[TTMX911]

I know the stock fan is electronic, what I meant was after pulling the stock fan off and feeling the weight of it no wonder it robbed HP! What I was getting at is when I held the fan clutch in my hand and spun the fan; there was "a lot" of drag and resistance even though it was disconnected and the clutch was not engaged. Which led to my thought that it may have been a fluid drive clutch. Just kind of a thought to myself.

Anywayz.

I had my doubts about the aftermarket coils claiming more MPG's just was wondering if anyone had tested them or was currently using them.

I'm a pretty firm believer in OEM parts are best, but Motorcraft plugs seem to be pretty standard low quality copper core sparkplugs. I have upgraded everything I own to either NGK or Denso Iridium plugs and have always had excellent luck with them. I know different plugs won't persay increase performance, but an Iridium plug will definately last a hell of a lot longer and give more consistant performance over it's lifetime than a std. copper core. As well as a less likelyhood of fouling due to the harder finer tip and chance of coming up with a dead plug; better built higher quality.

Anyone have any other thoughts on the E-Fans??? Going to dial up the Temp. to 205 today and see if that helps. Also, info on the new CS seems so vague. Does anyone know if it retains the AVMPG or the IMPG features?? Is there any real performance advantage with the CS???? Remember I'm referring to MPG's!!!I'm always up for testing and troubleshooting, but if the CS with custom tunes isn't any advantage over the Gryphon with custom tunes I might as well stick with what I've got.

Oh yes, I did take it in for a 128 point inspection and 30,000 mile service. Had the tranny flushed, oil changed, fuel filter replaced. Other than that everything checked out! They did recommend a power steering system flush as well as fuel system flush and injector cleaning. Didn't spring for that yet, but it's in the back of my mind.

[Longshot270]

The only difference between the regular gryphon and the CS is a color screen. Tune wise they are exactly the same. The CS/CTS also does not have an average mpg feature yet, only the IMPG. I'm sure you will see an improvement in mileage with the efans.

[Jackpine]

There's going to be no performance or economy increase in using the CS over the older Edge/Gryphon platform. Bill told me they use the same tunes. But, the CS DOES let you monitor a few more things and it definitely has more "bling".

One thing the CS and CTS platforms don't have at the moment is an Avg MPG readout, and Bill cannot program them to datalog like he can with the older Gryphon. Edge says they are going to add the Avg MPG PID once they work out some details on making it more accurate.

I'm really puzzled though about your RPMs. What is your idle set at? If the engine is idling faster than it used to, that would eat gas and, you could lower it using the custom options in the Edge.

I also think you could LOWER your part throttle upshift and downshift points by the max values (-2, -3, and -5, I think). AND, lower your part throttle Torque converter lock/unlock points by the max too. (-2, -3, -5, -10 is what I remember those values to be). Those changes will get you into higher gears sooner and keep you there longer, which will reduce the "rev" feeling you are experiencing.

As 88 said, I'd really stick with OEM coils AND plugs. I've heard of too many problems with other brands.

- Jack

[88Racing]

Ahhhh
I was just inputting my $.02!
My skills of reading between the lines have grown weak the older I get.
There comes a point when trying to get a brick to get the best mpgs possible becomes non cost effective venture.
Another way is to gear lower and maintain stock tire size but then passing power is sacrificed along with towing/hauling capabilities.
Peace!

[TTMX911]

No, thank you all for your help. I appreciate the input. Well, if the only difference between a CS and the Gryphon is the screen then I guess I'll stick with the std. Gryphon for now...... Eventually, I will end up with the CS though once they get the AVMPG figured out. Gotta have the bling! Mines pretty accurate though. I remember speaking with EDGE and them telling me they were getting rid of it. I was like why?? Mine works fine. Besides.....if I had the CS and put on any type of background you know my g/f will start asking why I don't have a picture of us for the background. maybe I'll just stick with the Gryphon after all. I'm going to stick with the stock coils, but at 60,000 miles I'm going to have to switch to NGK Iridiums. I'm anal, stubborn, and stuck in my ways I'm not that old though .......I'm only 27 lol maybe thats why I'm not married! My idle is stock. That was one of the first things I thought to try when I first got my EVO was turn down the idle. Well, you can't. You can only turn it up. I adjusted my shift points and TC Lockout points to the max(s) a few months back when I finally read the online manual for the Gryphon!! PHP should be writing the user manuals for EDGE b/c I don't think they even touch on half the stuff you can do with the EVO and it's pretty vague! I'm an inquisitive little gear head aren't I?? As far as adjusting the gearing I've got 3.55 in it which is stock and actually went with bigger tires to drop the RPM's at Hwy Cruising speed 65-70. Running 33" tires don't really want to go bigger to drop the RPMs any further b/c 35" tires are EXPENSIVE. Then again lowering the gearing would probably bring 4th into play a lot sooner. The only times I feel it shift into 4th is when I'm passing someone at about 80 Mph. I need to switch one of my PID to the Gear indicator and see whether or not I'm even using 4th. If I'm not then lower gearing would definatley help by bringing the taller gears into play a lot sooner! Any other thoughts??? I'm all ears!

[Longshot270]

What are your rpms at 65-70 because I was thinking about doing the same. Did you have an improvement in that range. It makes me mad because 45-55 I get 18+, same for 75-85. But I get 16 at 60-70 and guess what speed I'm supposed to be driving over here?

On the two manuals just keep in mind that the gryphon has options/improved options compared to the edge evo like the datalogging.

[TTMX911]

Maybe I'm speaking motorcycle when I approach the gearing subject and thats why things might not make sense. Everyone has a different way of explaining things. We'll see if we can clear this up. You would be correct I do use 4th when cruising. I've upped my shift firmness in all gears so I can usually feel them, but when I'm passing I'm guessing I don't feel the down shift to 3rd and then when I'm hitting around 80 mph WOT I feel it shift good and firm to 4th. Long shot......As far as gearing/tires goes I'm seeing what your seeing 50-57 MPH=18+MPG
60-70 MPH=17-17.6 AVMPG
75-80 MPH=18-20 MPG 4th Gear TC Locked out
Irritating isn't it?? My RPMs at Hwy speed 60-70 MPH 33" tires is between 1800-1950. With stock tires RPMs at Hwy speeds were between 1900-2150 if I remember right. It did help a little, but not significantly enough to be worth the money if your tires are still good. Mine were brand new!! and the tire shop only gave me like $40/tire for them b/c they don't sell General Tires!!

Jack: We're saying the same thing.......just differently.
Lower Axle Ratio/Bigger tires= Taller Final Drive Ratio= Longer pull in each gear/less RPM
Higher Axle Ratio/Smaller Tires= Lower Final Drive Ratio= Faster Revs/Goes through gears faster
I don't know about going to a Lower Drive Gear Ratio......I don't think the ROI would be worth it. Honestly I value your opinion and appreciate the input, but I think I'm over thinking this Very interesting concept indeed!
But if anyone wants some first hand experience or has any thoughts on the e-fan setup let me know.

[Longshot270]

yeah....you might be overthinking.
If your tires are bigger but the same weight and width you might see an improvement. But when you increase the tire size you increase the weight which has significant more draw on your mileage.

I was just wondering what your rpms were because I'll be putting on some heavy 32/33 a/ts in a month or two probably.

[Jackpine]

Personally, I think the added mass has only a modest effect on the acceleration when you go to larger tires. Yes, there's more weight to get moving, but that's a small increase. Using my tire as an example, increasing the diameter by two inches adds 15# per tire, 60# for four (about the weight of a child in the truck). Remember, a tire is mostly air.

Of course, there's more rotating inertia to overcome with a larger tire but:

My tires (about 31" with "squish" factored in) spin at about 650 rpm at 60 mph, hardly a dizzying rotational speed. 33" tires spin at 611 rpms and 35" tires spin at 576. So even though there is a small increase in rotational inertia, a larger tire doesn't even have to be brought up to the same rotational speed, there's a "cancellation" effect. Once the tires reaches that speed, it wants to stay there.

But, let's assume you see 250 ft-pounds of RW torque at the real axle. This translates to a "pushing" force of 193.5# at the road contact surface of a 31" tire. If you increase the tire diameter to 33", that force drops to 181.8#. With a 35" tire, you are down to 171.5#. The change from 31 to 33 inch tires gives you a 6% reduction in accelerative force, and a change from 31 to 35 inches reduces the accelerative force you feel by 11%.

Those percentages are significant and are the result of a loss of "mechanical advantage" caused by the larger tire. It is not the weight of the tire.

- Jack

[Jackpine]

Yes! DO put the gear PID into your display! Some of what you posted doesn't make sense to me. You should NOT see 4th gear during a passing maneuver! I would expect the transmission to drop probably into 2nd, but at least into 3rd when you are passing at WOT. You'll only see 4th when the load on the powertrain is low, at "cruise", probably above 45-50 mph, depending on how you have things set up.

The low gears and bigger tires MAY keep you in 3rd up to, say 55, but I would not expect it to be much more than that. A lower axle ratio is going to put more load on the powertrain and that will keep you in 3rd gear longer. You INCREASE your axle ratio, or mount smaller tires if you want to get into 4th gear sooner.

- Jack