Fun question. Do you modify your engines? If so what is your mods?

[Shadowhawk]

Here is a fun question.

So I really like our 2017 3010ds and the Triton V-10 has plenty of power to do what needs to be done. But me being a gearhead I always have that little voice in the back of my head saying "I bet we can pump more power out of this thing".. So that got me to thinking. Has anybody else added more high performance parts to their Sunseekers? If so, what did you do to squeeze more horsepower out of your RV?

 

[TitanMike]

Here is a fun question.

So I really like our 2017 3010ds and the Triton V-10 has plenty of power to do what needs to be done. But me being a gearhead I always have that little voice in the back of my head saying "I bet we can pump more power out of this thing".. So that got me to thinking. Has anybody else added more high performance parts to their Sunseekers? If so, what did you do to squeeze more horsepower out of your RV?

At some point in one's life they stop listening to that little voice. Right after they realize that upping the horsepower more often than not can result in "downing the reliability"

Most manufacturers build with parts meant for the Horsepower they advertise.

 

[Shadowhawk]

Ok.... I guess this isn't the place for moar powah. Oh well.

Here's a long shot though. Anybody have any experience with this?

https://5startuning.com/product/7015fs/

 

[Oaklevel]

I purchased a used Dodge 3500 with a Cummins Diesel. It had an upgraded graded turbo and a power tuner............... Took them off, replaced with stock parts....................... Truck ran better, has more power, better economy..


Only cost me $4500 to get rid of the aftermarket junk and have a better stock truck. Trashed the tuner and turbo.

More power NO,, waste of $ yes, Ruin your engine / transmission likely.

 

[MGD1961]

On my old RAM Hemi I had tuned exhaust. Cold air intake and a performance chip. Towing the trailer I got 8.8 mpg.

New truck same engine. Stock. No mods I get 11.6

No brainer.

 

[Tex94]

Ok.... I guess this isn't the place for moar powah. Oh well.

Here's a long shot though. Anybody have any experience with this?

https://5startuning.com/product/7015fs/

It’s clearly not…goodness.


That said I had a 2v 5.4 and it was rock solid but a total dog. The 6.8 is largely the same to my knowledge. Reliability is your big win with those.

 

[Gidyupgo]

ShadowHawk, we have the same powertrain that you to. I was never happy with the way it would downshift, not 1, but 2 gears at once, when pulling a mild grade. I put a five star tune on it and that problem is gone. It will hold a gear longer on those mild grades and maintain speed. If it is a steeper grade and it can't maintain speed it will downshift 1 gear at a time as needed. There is no change in MPG.

https://5startuning.com/product/7015fs/

 

[Shadowhawk]

ShadowHawk, we have the same powertrain that you to. I was never happy with the way it would downshift, not 1, but 2 gears at once, when pulling a mild grade. I put a five star tune on it and that problem is gone. It will hold a gear longer on those mild grades and maintain speed. If it is a steeper grade and it can't maintain speed it will downshift 1 gear at a time as needed. There is no change in MPG.

https://5startuning.com/product/7015fs/

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has noticed this. Sometimes I wish I had more control on how and when the transmission shifts down for a slight hill. When it shifts down and I'm almost turning 4000+ rpm it really makes me cringe. Sometimes I wonder if I'm going to start seeing pistons come shooting through the dog house. I know that's not even a possibility but it just doesn't sound good hearing an engine that big turning rpm's that high for extended periods of time. I just have to remember engines nowadays are more robust than the engines of old.

 

[TitanMike]

. it just doesn't sound good hearing an engine that big turning rpm's that high for extended periods of time. I just have to remember engines nowadays are more robust than the engines of old.

I don't know, I kind of like listening to high reving engines and do so every weekend while NASCAR is on TV.


4,000 rpm's on a modern gasoline engine is really no big deal when you consider the "redline" is ~6,000 rpm. At least my old 2004 V-8 and new Turbo'd V-6 were.

Just watch heat and if engine and tranny temps are normal just drive.

 

[Shadowhawk]

I don't know, I kind of like listening to high reving engines and do so every weekend while NASCAR is on TV.


4,000 rpm's on a modern gasoline engine is really no big deal when you consider the "redline" is ~6,000 rpm. At least my old 2004 V-8 and new Turbo'd V-6 were.

Just watch heat and if engine and tranny temps are normal just drive.

Haha I think there is a little difference between a $100,000 high performance Nascar engine and a V-10 in a motorhome as far as sound goes. I don't know about you but Nascar sounds much better.

 

[TitanMike]

Haha I think there is a little difference between a $100,000 high performance Nascar engine and a V-10 in a motorhome as far as sound goes. I don't know about you but Nascar sounds much better.

Just remember, if the mfr thought 4,000 rpm's was bad for the engine they'd lower the redline on the tach to reflect that.

The annoying part is the lack of engine compartment sound insulation. Some have enough you don't notice engine noise when just letting tranny shift as necessary for hills.

 

[D W]

Yup, "bolt-on" horsepower is a far fetched dream in the scheme of things. If you want more HP then get an engine that is built from the ground up for HP.

I know plenty of folks who decided to "tune" their gas and diesel engines only to find out that the results were not what they expected. The all gained one thing, but lost another.

 

[ChrisParise]

Lots of us with V10s have reprogrammed their engines with tunes from 5 Star, Banks, or in my case UPFORD.

On 5 speed V10s the performance gains are quite noticeable. Shift points are changed to hold gears longer and drastically reduce downshifting.

Your stock settings are saved and you can restore them anytime especially if you're getting a major tune up

It's all plug and play diy through your ODB port

Go to their websites for performance testing and data

About $550

Wished I would have done it sooner

You can also replace your headers, exhaust and air cleaners with the same companies above. Ceramic headers are quite popular

 

[DSurette]

I did the 5 Star Tune on my 2013 Encounter a few years ago and I echo Gidyupgo's experience. Before 5 Star even a slight rise in the road would cause a downshift resulting in a screaming engine. Now it actually downshifts one gear at a time.

 

[D W]

Lots of us with V10s have reprogrammed their engines with tunes from 5 Star, Banks, or in my case UPFORD.

On 5 speed V10s the performance gains are quite noticeable. Shift points are changed to hold gears longer and drastically reduce downshifting.

Your stock settings are saved and you can restore them anytime especially if you're getting a major tune up

It's all plug and play diy through your ODB port

Go to their websites for performance testing and data

About $550

Wished I would have done it sooner

You can also replace your headers, exhaust and air cleaners with the same companies above. Ceramic headers are quite popular

The problem is, more often than not, their testing is done on a dyno in a controlled environment, i.e. no wind resistance, loads or grades. How long does it take to regain $550 back?

 

[NXR]

The problem is, more often than not, their testing is done on a dyno in a controlled environment, i.e. no wind resistance, loads or grades. How long does it take to regain $550 back?

First, use their iRV2.com discount page and then it's only $470.

Second, decisions like this are rarely dollars and cents-based. They are driveability-based, especially since there is no MPG gain promised or realized.

Third, dynamometers can be easily adjusted to simulate different driving conditions. As for loads, the difference between fully unloaded and fully loaded is often less than 20%. Ours is only 13%.

Add on the car for GCWR and it's less than 30%.My Equinox is roughly 15% between empty weight and GVWR.

I'm neither a fan or a naysayer on these changes. I just like reading people's impressions.

Ray

 

[ChrisParise]

The problem is, more often than not, their testing is done on a dyno in a controlled environment, i.e. no wind resistance, loads or grades. How long does it take to regain $550 back?

As far as a payback period on gas mileage, practically speaking there is none. I don't really care about the price of gas. If I did, I wouldn't own a 6.8 mpg motorhome

There is a performance gain. I haven't seen one review claiming otherwise.

The biggest gain is reduced rpms by staying in higher gears with an increase in hp and torque.

Banks and 5 Star in particular have done a nice job detailing how they've measured performance. Banks is a pretty trusted name in performance.

 

[Tombsy]

I have the 5-Star tune on my 2016 Forester and recently added the Banks long tube header kit, and I had the tune updated to reflect the change.
I the shift points were already much better with the tune but the headers added a ton of low end torque to easily climb the worst of the passes in the Canadian Rockies.
My Scangauge indicates about a 1 mpg savings as well.
I’m really happy with it all.

 

[Dakota 1120]

I updated my last tow vehicle with Borla exhaust, low restriction cold air intake so the engine would breath far easier and had the dealership 're-set' the engine computer module - fuel mileage went up about 4mpg and the power was very noticeably increased. It was money well spent!

 

[ChrisParise]

I have the 5-Star tune on my 2016 Forester and recently added the Banks long tube header kit, and I had the tune updated to reflect the change.
I the shift points were already much better with the tune but the headers added a ton of low end torque to easily climb the worst of the passes in the Canadian Rockies.
My Scangauge indicates about a 1 mpg savings as well.
I’m really happy with it all.

Glad to hear. Before I bought my tune from UPFORD I looked at the performance packages offered from Banks. Besides the tune, ceramic headers were high on my list but I had just had both my manifolds and studs replaced and didn't want to go through the header expense too - although my mechanic wanted to do it!

I may still do it but probably on my next motorhome.