Is it time to "chip" the V-10 in an E-450 class C?

If you have no smog checks, fine. Otherwise, you risk screwing up a computer or two ($$$).

The chip and tuner folks will promise you more power, better shifting patterns and improved mileage...:S

The only one that is likely to be true is a slightly different {not necessarily better} shift pattern. The energy in a gallon of any fuel is finite. You might maybe get a little more power and you might maybe get slightly better mileage but no way you will get both.

Keep up on the routine maintenance, when you want/need more power put your foot into and drive it as the engineers intended and if you want better mileage slow down, run the proper psi and unload any unnecessary gear.

Greater efficiency is at your fingertips when you simply engage the Tow Haul mode. The weight of any E-450 is sufficient to justify the use of TH even if you are not towing... you are hauling 14,500#. Now put the money you just saved into a fund for any unforeseen repairs that may be coming down the road.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Desert Captain wrote:


Greater efficiency is at your fingertips when you simply engage the Tow Haul mode. The weight of any E-450 is sufficient to justify the use of TH even if you are not towing... you are hauling 14,500#. Now put the money you just saved into a fund for any unforeseen repairs that may be coming down the road.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Tow Haul Mode activated causes RPM to go up considerably. I don't see how that could save fuel. But do enlighten me please.

I "pay" myself mileage so there is always a ready repair fund.

Fully loaded (all tanks full and 2 folks with their belongings) I come in at 13750 lbs.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

With fuel prices going through the roof, is it time to "chip" the V-10 engine with the idea of saving fuel? RV is from 2004 so a four speed.

I do drive 49 mph (78 kph) and do get 8 to 10 MPG doing so.

I can not afford a replacement engine, so I do not wish to take any risks.

at 8-10 MPG for that heavy hulk of a vehicle and size of engine I would leave well enough alone.

Technically it isn't "chipping" anymore, it is called "tuning", chips have gone away and what a tuner does it rewrite over the existing ECU program and data tables with a modified program and tables. Basically remapping your ignition and fuel timing and delivery and some tuners additionally alter the transmission shifting points and shifting pressures..

Tuning isn't typically done to net more economy, it is done to increase HP and TQ plus with changes to the transmission programming you might end up with a bit more peppy take offs..

NA gas engines respond very little to tuning, turbo gas or Diesel engines typically respond better to tuning but even then all of the possible fuel savings goes right out the exhaust pipe because folks are doing it to net better seat of the pants performance.

Leave it stock, don't mess with it, you have a good engine and 8-10 MPG in the size and weight class that vehicle is in is as good as it gets.

Don't get caught up in the tuner hype, some folks believe they are getting better mileage, but in reality any slight improvement may be because running a tune often requires premium fuel.

You can buy a vacuum gauge that might be helpful to you but I suspect you are pretty much as good as it gets..



Using a vacuum gauge shows you how heavy you are on the gas pedal, The green area is your ideal vacuum level which will net you the best mileage.

Most all the people that I have talked to that have chipped their engine or add headers etc have never seen any real MPG increase. All have reported improved performance and less shifting on hills. My personal experience with mods like headers, FF mufflers, CAI, advancing the timing all improved performance as measured by 40 -60 MPH times. Times went from 21 sec down to 12 secs but MPG stayed the same at 8.5 MPG. The only difference I saw was when I installed an old vacuum gage I had laying around in my garage, I saw my MPG go up to 8.7. By watching the gage I knew when the transmission was going to downshift so I would reduce the throttle keeping the vacuum above that point. You are right you don't want your transmission to downshift all the time I find my best milage is when I keep the rpms just above max torque which is different for each engine. I must have posted the same time as Gdetrailer.

Just not going to help a stock gas engine to tune it.

The shift tweaking from tow/haul lets the engine run longer in its power sweet spot during acceleration instead of trying to get into overdrive as fast as possible then lugging as you finish gaining speed. Gas engines need RPM to make the most power.

Planning so you reduce unneeded driving and modest speeds are much more effective at saving fuel than any tweaking you might do.

pianotuna wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:


Greater efficiency is at your fingertips when you simply engage the Tow Haul mode. The weight of any E-450 is sufficient to justify the use of TH even if you are not towing... you are hauling 14,500#. Now put the money you just saved into a fund for any unforeseen repairs that may be coming down the road.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Tow Haul Mode activated causes RPM to go up considerably. I don't see how that could save fuel. But do enlighten me please.

I "pay" myself mileage so there is always a ready repair fund.

Fully loaded (all tanks full and 2 folks with their belongings) I come in at 13750 lbs.

Tow/haul changes the shifting strategy and the pressures on the transmission to take better advantage of the HP/TQ curve of the engine. It also will stretch and hold out the upshifts a bit longer and might downshift a bit quicker to prevent lugging the engine below peak HP/TQ for the given load.

T/H basically does what some tuners do if you think about it a bit, but tuners don't do automatic downshift braking..

Tow/haul may or may not improve MPG, sort of one of those "it depends" type of things. Can't say I have ever seen better mileage with it enabled but I only enable Tow/haul when I am towing or hauling something heavy so the mileage drops anyways.

With your already heavy rig, it is possible Tow/haul may improve the mileage a bit if you never use it.. Since you can't shed any weight, I would have to say you really should be using T/H all the time as T/H mode adds in automatic downshift/braking which is a sweat feature and if nothing else T/H will save a lot of money on brake wear. I don't miss the days of manually dropping gears going down grades.

Check out "5Star Tunes"

I doubt the tuner, chip or program will ever pay for itself. Especially at 49 mph.
Run the tires close to sidewall max pressure may help some.

Trick would be to find an uber rider to go the same way at the same time to pitch in on the cost. ;)

pianotuna wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:


Greater efficiency is at your fingertips when you simply engage the Tow Haul mode. The weight of any E-450 is sufficient to justify the use of TH even if you are not towing... you are hauling 14,500#. Now put the money you just saved into a fund for any unforeseen repairs that may be coming down the road.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Tow Haul Mode activated causes RPM to go up considerably. I don't see how that could save fuel. But do enlighten me please.

I "pay" myself mileage so there is always a ready repair fund.

Fully loaded (all tanks full and 2 folks with their belongings) I come in at 13750 lbs.

Try rereading my post... I did NOT say using Tow Haul will improve your mileage. :S That is not its function but in the course of making your drive train more efficient you will in some circumstances actually get better mileage than without it.

Amount other things using TH reduces your trans fluid temperatures significantly contributing to overall efficiency and again, sometimes better mileage. If you are not using TH you are slowly but surely cooking your transmission needlessly.

Since everyone loads differently it only makes sense to use the GVWR of the E-450 {14,500#} for the purposes of this discussion. Most E-450 class C's and virtually all of them over 30 run very close, if not over that number due to their inherent lack of payload. Oh and I do have to ask, why one earth would you run "fully loaded {all tanks full...} ??? Do you enjoy hauling full black and grey tanks? :h

:C