Flashpaq tuning

[udflyer]

I have a 2017 Heritage Glen Lite ( about 7000lbs) and am towing it with a '17 F-150 4x4, 5.0 V8 with tow package. The towing capacity is about 10,500lbs. It seemed as though the transmission was shifting a lot on our trip from Cincy to southern MI even though it's relatively flat. My question: does anyone have any experience with these performance tuners? Supposedly you'll get an additional 25-30HP. Not sure what you can expect for torque.

[SeaDog]

Are you driving in tow mode? If not allot of the shifting may be the torque converter locking and unlocking with the slight change in speed. Do you want more HP or better shift points for the transmission you may be able to have the transmission programed without chipping the engine.

[udflyer]

Thanks for the reply. I was driving in tow mode. This isn't exactly a chip that you put in, but it does affect the shift points as well as adjusting the way the engine performs. Thought I might try this before going to a larger truck.

[SeaDog]

I should have said program the power control module instead of chip hold over from the old days. Now days you can get almost and sort of power and shifting settings you want and it is cheaper then a new truck. good luck.

[k_allison510]

Buying a box tuner for a gas truck is a waste of money. Some of them will advertise to adjust shift points. Most likely, all this will do is simply hold off shifting under WOT for a few hundred RPM's. I doubt very seriously that it will do anything other than that, but in the interest of full disclosure, I am not up to date on tuning gas engines.

If you have any speed shops around you. Or even better, a diesel shop, go talk to them. Ask if they can tune your truck using EFI Live. They will know what you are talking about. If they will do it, they will be able to do all kinds of custom tuning to your liking, including tuning your trans.....AND...your engine. Your not going to get a lot out of a NA gas engine, but it may be enough to keep you from having to have a bigger truck.

[moose074]

What was trans temp also how many gears in your transmission if it’s an 8 speed gonna have more shifting points due to smaller range of each gear having 8 to choose from vs 6 or less

[HorstandTonia]

I have one of these tuners on a 2007 RAM 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference with the tuner. I pull through the mountains fairly often in Western Canada and I did notice a very slight improvement in towing up long steep hills. Unless you are throwing a lot of money at your truck to do other mods as well, you aren't going to gain much. I'm looking to replace my truck with a diesel which is totally overkill for my current trailer, but I know that trailers tend to grown in length and weight over time for some reason

[udflyer]

Thanks for all the input. I know that you'll get a better result if you modify the exhaust as well as upgrading the air intake. I need to take it into the mountains to find out how it really performs before I make any adjustments.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by udflyer

Thanks for all the input. I know that you'll get a better result if you modify the exhaust as well as upgrading the air intake. I need to take it into the mountains to find out how it really performs before I make any adjustments.

Since you have a relatively new truck, be mindful of something that can leave a trace on your truck. You probably still have factory warranty and one of the first things a lot of dealers are doing now is running "finding" software on the truck to see if anything has been manipulated (Finding Software is not the correct term but i'm unsure of what its called) Read a long thread about it on a diesel forum.

[mikeysotp]

So not an expert here but in my opinion is that most of those plug in tuners are junk. You should at the least get a tuner that flashes a tune into your vehicle or at the other extreme get it dyno tuned. Find a reputable company to provide your tunes if you are going with a generic flash.



Be very aware though that you are potentially going to have warranty issues if you do this. Contrary to popular belief they can not void your entire warranty because of it but if you blow your engine or transmission they will likely be able to blame the tuning and not cover it. I just scheduled my truck for a recall fix and the kid at the counter says to me, "you know that by modifying your truck you voided the warranty, right?" Totally not true but it just goes to show how prevalent the notion is. If I go in to get a water pump replaced they have to prove the tuning is responsible for killing the pump which is not likely or reasonable. So my warranty is not completely void. It is my opinion that the aftermarket tuning is going to increase engine life with the right tune in many cases so even though my motor may not be covered under the warranty I'm expecting it to last much longer than it would have stock.

[udflyer]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I think I'm going to hold off for now.