Hello from South Dakota

[88Racing]

My eyes were opened this past week while researching tuners. Started looking @ sct livewires then on f150 online heard about php! Looks like a good product but one ? How many tunes will it hold? Sct lw has 3canned+3custums what does php have? Lived my life around carbs and distributers this pcm tech stuff is rather untouched in my experiance.

[SinCityFX4]

Welcome...

[88Racing]

So the gryphon only has 3 cannedtunes in it upon arrival? So if custum ones are added they take the place of the canned ones? Just trying to compare both tuners.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by 88Racing

So the gryphon only has 3 cannedtunes in it upon arrival? So if custum ones are added they take the place of the canned ones? Just trying to compare both tuners.

Welcome 88Racing. You've got it right. If you need more than three "specialized" tunes, you'd probably be happier with a different product. But then, you'd be missing out on the chance to work with Corey and Bill, who are two of the nicest, most reputable people you're ever going to do business with!

In all honesty though, three custom tunes is more than enough for me. I don't even need three. I have one that I use for towing and one more that I use when I'm not towing. The third tune is the original "canned" tune, and I never use it. (I only have to pay for the tunes I get, so I see it as a way to save money).

- Jack

[88Racing]

Jack,
Thanx for the info!
I have been looking @ tuners for the last 2 months and have run in to a lot of your posts. Both here and f150 so I respect your input! Decided to join this forum and start asking my own ?'s instead of being a lurker. So what kind of canned tunes does the gryphon come with? I was running a cai but weather got cold, mph went down, and cel came on! Took it to the dealer and they found 2 ironious coded and rebooted the pcu with new calibrations. Knowbody told me what the codes were. Now I'm still running stock air intake. A mechanic friend told me to leave the cai off until I found a custom tuner package. The other ? is that what are the canned tunes based on? Octane? Towing? Economy? My biker buddies from around the usa all tell me that SD has krappy gas. I usually run 87.

-Lars

[Grabber523]

Welcome! What part of SD? I'm originally from the Sioux Falls area and I think the gas down there is great compared to the P!$$ they sell up here!

[Jackpine]

Wow, Lars! Let's see if I can answer your questions:

First, the CAI was probably making your truck run lean. Most of the aftermarket ones "fool" the MAF sensor into thinking your truck is sucking in less air than it really is, so the PCM doesn't increase the amount of fuel to balance everything properly. Custom tunes CAN fix that and you'll be able to use your CAI again.

The Gryphon's 3 canned tunes are the same as the ones you find on the Edge, which is not surprising, since the Gryphon is a "rebranded" Edge that can be custom tuned. The tunes are:

0. Your truck's "stock" tune
1. 87 octane transmission only
2. 87 octane tow
3. 91+ octane performance

I don't even know why there is a Level 1 tune. It "firms up" your shifts, and that's about all. It DOES give you the ability to adjust for different tire sizes, gears, etc. too. But, Level 2 and Level 3 give you these features too. The fueling, spark setting, shift points, etc., in Level 1 are what your stock truck always had.

Level 2 is a "good" tune. It's really designed to pull heavy (2500#+) trailers, but most people find it gives them a much better feeling of "power" and it improves their gas mileage too. It's probably optimized for trailers in the 5-6000# range, but many people use it for daily driving too.

Lots of people like to use 91+ octane gas, and the Level 3 tune is written to improve the power band through the envelope while taking advantage of the anti-knock properties of high-test gas. It has an advanced spark, in addition to different fueling strategies.

The Level 0 tune is what you put back on to your truck anytime you take it to the dealer. You do not want him to reflash your PCM (which they have been known to do) if there is anything other than a stock tune on it.

Corey wrote an excellent explanation of the difference between "canned" and "custom" (and "stock") tunes here: http://dygytalworld.ehost-services13...read.php?t=288 It will probably help you understand better than anything I can say.

In your case, since you live in SD, your average temperature is much less than mine in AZ. That could require a slightly different tune. You may be at a different altitude - same story. I pull a relatively light 3600# trailer, which needs a different tune than a guy pulling a 4-horse trailer full of hay burners.

I personally think 87 octane gas is the best choice, regardless of tune. I say that because unless you can raise the compression, you can't really take advantage of the potential of 91+ octane stuff. You'll get some of it through the advanced spark, but you're still letting quite a bit just flow out of the tailpipe. I don't know why your friends would say SD gas is crappy, maybe it is, but I don't see any reason for it.

Hope this was helpful!

- Jack

[88Racing]

What I figued out about the gas is this;
1/ 75 mph speed limit
everyone likes to run it a little bit faster.[80+]
2/ Most of them like to get by as cheap as possible. So they put in 89 oct which is e10.
3/ Watch out for 92 oct sometimes that is also a e10 blend.

Do not give me a bad time about ethanol its a great new income for farmers and the other agri related businesses. But the auto makers/and other producers should have researched it more extensively before the law makers allowed it on the market.
I know that Brazil has been running it for years before us. Look at the vehicles they run it in. PRE EFI!!! CARBURATED
Well theres my speech on ethanol.

-Lars

[Jackpine]

Interesting that your 89 octane is E10, our 87 is E10! In fact, all our gas is E10. As Bill said in one of his recent posts, about all ethanol is good for is to make your engine run badly.

And, I'm not against farmers either - I think they deserve our utmost support. I AM unhappy with "Big Ag" - ADM, Cargill, and the like, who control agriculture from the cradle to the grave. Who through their lobbying efforts in Congress have made it next to impossible for an "organic", non-industrial farm to ever get a foothold, in spite of the fact that that kind of farming COULD be just as productive and would produce a smaller carbon/pesticide/pollutant footprint on the planet.

I posted a huge rant on this over on the f150forums quite a few months ago. I suppose I should not repeat it here.

Possibly though, the differences in fuel blends used in different States could account for the differences I see in MPG figures reported by our f150 owners?

- Jack

[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