"Tuner" for a V-10

dbbls wrote:
You have to use premium fuel.

I don't run premium in mine with the tuner and its fine.

Dave

Dale.Traveling wrote:

dbbls wrote:
You have to use premium fuel.

Why? Premium or high octane fuel is needed for high compression engines and at 9.2:1 the Ford 6.8L V10 isn't. A very custom tune with a heavily modified fuel injector duration pulse might need it but you'll probably either blow a head gasket or burn a valve pretty quickly changing the much from the original Ford program. Bolt on a turbo, super charger, change out the cam, shave the heads and so on maybe. But an aftermarket tuner specific for an RV application, not likely.

Not really. 9.2:1 is fairly high compression for a naturally aspirated engine using regular gas. (especially for a heavy duty truck engine) I don't know specifically what 5 Star does, but, remapping the ECU usually involves advancing the ignition timing curve under some conditions. The reason the timing is advanced is because under high load conditions it can generate higher cylinder pressures which translates to more power. More power makes more heat. More heat/pressure are the precursors for detonation. If the knock sensors detect detonation, they automatically delay the ignition timing defeating the purpose of the retune. Higher octane gas provides more resistance to detonation. Performance tuning 101!

Chum lee

End goal for this RV tuner is completely different than street or strip.

dbbls wrote:
You have to use premium fuel.

Why? Premium or high octane fuel is needed for high compression engines and at 9.2:1 the Ford 6.8L V10 isn't. A very custom tune with a heavily modified fuel injector duration pulse might need it but you'll probably either blow a head gasket or burn a valve pretty quickly changing the much from the original Ford program. Bolt on a turbo, super charger, change out the cam, shave the heads and so on maybe. But an aftermarket tuner specific for an RV application, not likely.

Most tuners have a different tune for premium fuel. It's an option in the tuner.

You have to use premium fuel.

thanks for all the information and education for me.
the engine is:
F53 chassis
6.8L V-10 320HP
electronic fuel injection
460lb ft torque
6 speed TorqShift tran.

Jim

I put the 5 Star Tuner in our 2005 Itasca class C to fix the fuel mileage, shift pattern and get more power/torque. We've had it for 4 years now and what an improvement. We get 2 mpg average better than it did and and climbs the mountains much better. Most of time I can pull up a grade at 55+ MPH with our toad or motorcycles attached. The max torque point is moved to around 3200-3400 rpm which allows her to pull better without the screaming engine. If it does shift, it will down shift correctly and shift back up as it can. You don't get that long run at high RPM after you top the grade like it used too. All 5 Star says is if you must take it a Ford dealer to remove the software update and place the original back in the computer to prevent it from being overlaid by Ford. It is a simple software update to the computer not an actual chip. Took me about 5 minutes the first time to run the update. The update tool also saves the original load so its easy to remove the update and re-install the original. My recommendation would be install after the Ford warranty expires just in case. I'll probably use it in our next V10 also.

Dave

Drive the coach a few thousand miles before doing anything to either the power train or the suspension. I have the basic Ford F53 5 Star firmware modification to the ECU. My desire was to change the transmission shift pattern associated with my 2006 model year chassis and the 5 speed transmission which the firmware did. No perceived gain in performance or fuel economy.

A 2016 model year or newer chassis is going to be different particularly concerning the 6 speed transmission. What has worked for me might not work as well for you. Drive it before you start spending money in search of improvements.

Will probably void the warranty...and that = BIG bucks for you. Wait until after the warranty expires...then do whatever you want.

But then again, why? That V-10 is a great motor. Why mess with it for (really) no reason?