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

dodge guy wrote:
As usual the people that have never used a tuner know more than the people that have used it and can tell you the real before and after differences.

On the other hand the folks that plop down serious bucks for a chip or tuner think the chip tuner folks know more about their vehicle than the manufacturer... Just sayin.

:R

As usual the people that have never used a tuner know more than the people that have used it and can tell you the real before and after differences.

Desert Captain wrote:
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

Excellent information and advice!

Driving 49mph on the highway might be more ridiculous than thinking a tuner will save you more money in fuel than you spend on it…

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.

Today, here in California (Los Angeles area), I just bought Chevron (Pearson Fuels) E85 for $3.85 a gallon. (over 100 octane fuel) Regular 87 octane fuel was $5.50 at the same station. Do the math. See what works best for you. I've used up to a 30%/70% mix of E85/87 octane in my 1999 Class A F53 V10 with no drivability issues. There is a slight hit in the fuel mileage, but hey, . . . at 7 to 9 mpg already, that's not what's bunching my undies.

Chip tuning for economy/power (while meeting emission standards), . . . . please, . . . tell me when to stop laughing. IMO, these "chip tuning experts" will never beat the Ford factory engineers with repeating reliable verifiable data. It's all marketing and advertising XXXXX.

Chum lee

What does the chip cost? How much fuel $$ is burned in a year?

Johnny G1 wrote:
I don't know how you can drive @50mph and not get run over even on 4 lane roads, just pulled my 5th from Regina this past summer and 110kph was about as slow as i could go with out getting run over, so much for that, I have tuned lots of gas engine's in the last 50 yrs and one thing you got was extra power but milage did very little change and those engine's were done by a good engine builder in Selah Washington that are famous for the circle track racing crowd. Just my thoughts but I only pull with an ole 5.9 400hp Cummins that is chipped.

I don't even get honked at.

The thread is about saving fuel. Apparently that just doesn't happen with "tunes".

I don't know how you can drive @50mph and not get run over even on 4 lane roads, just pulled my 5th from Regina this past summer and 110kph was about as slow as i could go with out getting run over, so much for that, I have tuned lots of gas engine's in the last 50 yrs and one thing you got was extra power but milage did very little change and those engine's were done by a good engine builder in Selah Washington that are famous for the circle track racing crowd. Just my thoughts but I only pull with an ole 5.9 400hp Cummins that is chipped.

Also the factory tune is made for different people and different uses and loads. What is good for one driver and truck is awful for the next person. A tune tailors a specific vehicle to its use and driver.

"Then there is the ones who don't believe that the OEM has their "best interest" at heart and believe their "rights" to "roll smoke" have be trampled on..

OEMs like Ford, take a lot more than HP/TQ and mileage into account when they design, build and execute the design. That means a fine balancing act between HP/TQ/EMISSIONS and longevity.

Once you decide that you know all and more than the OEM knows and hack and rewrite the code you have now tossed all caution to the side and one or more items will end up being thrown into the waste can..

For what it is worth, Ford did a good job with the design of the V10, it can be capable of more HP/TQ, but consider a few things.

Once you move to the Super Duty platforms Ford does intentionally "derate" the engines and drive train. It is done for a purpose and not to be a fun buzz kill.

The idea to derate is to save and protect the engine and drive train under industrial continuous heavy duty use. In other words the duty cycle increases as you derate.

If I remember correctly Ford did an additional derate to F and E450 and heavier platforms and that is due to the commercial customer use aspects of those platforms in order to get the highest longevity with the least breakdowns. The engineers are not stupid..

Tuners remove the derating which in turn does indeed reduce the duty cycles, reducing it's over all life if you continually flog it..

If you tune it, it isn't like your gonna drive it like a little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays.. No, your gonna stomp on it, a lot.

Ford did a lot of homework on the modular series and other than a few tarnishes like skimping on the sparkplug threads and a few yrs of a weak oil pump they are decent engines with very long service lives.. I had a 2003 5.4 for 16 yrs, when I sold it, there was just under 250,000 miles on the engine. That engine purred like a kitten all of it's life. Oil changes, one plug change and one set of COPs was all it needed while I owned it. Never used a drop of oil, never had cooling issues..

I just leave things bone stock and things tend to be very reliable for me.

Contrast that to my Dad who was constantly trying every little moonshiners tricks under the sun to make more power and get better mileage while towing.. Very often the hop up mods left him stranded somewhere along the road.. Higher compression (shaved heads, decked the block, different pistons), more aggressive cams, over advancing the stock timing settings.. Multiple times took the ends right off of sparkplugs, multiple under hood fires, burned up wiring harnesses and plug wires, boil overs and the worst was shattered holes right through 6 out of 8 pistons 10 hrs from home with a 5th wheel in tow..

Leave the tuners to the teeny boppers trying to prove they are better on main street and the midlife crisis guys trying to relive their lost youth again.. "


Wow, what a well written spot on post...Thank You!
The after market industry has some of the best advertising on earth... but the truth all too often gets lost in the BS. From suspension modifications that could be avoided with proper alignment and psi to chips and tuners promising to turn your Motorhomne into a high performance race car the nonsense goes on and on.

The placebo effect feeds their marketing as they know that if you spend several thousand dollars on improvements that are at best measured subjectively you will believe they work.
Then it's off to the RV Forums to tout the huge improvements you were able to gain by merely writing a check. :S

Sorry if I seem a tad cynical but leaving them stock has been working real well for 50+ years as I have yet to meet any individual who knows more than the engineers who built the vehicle. Now when it comes to creature comfort accessories that is a different matter altogether.

As always... opinions and YMMV

:C