Tuner or Performance Chips - Do they work?

[dlt123me]

Not really sure where to post this so popped it in here...

I am interested in possibly putting a performance chip in my 1995 Jamboree Rallye 30ft MH with a Ford 460 V8 engine. I just bought it and it currently only has 37,000 miles on it and it runs like new. I haven't done a thorough MPG test, but I figure I am getting about 8.5 - 9 MPG.

Would a performance or tuner chip help with my gas mileage and improve my engine performance? I found a link -- HERE -- that discussed it to some degree, but has anyone added one of these chips to their existing MH and seen any improvement? Again, I am mostly looking to add better gas mileage, even if it's 2-3 more MPG if possible. Maybe just dreaming. LOL

I also found this Performance Chip Comparison Review Website that tested some of the chips.

Any feedback is appreciated from those who added a turner or chip system to their MH.

Thanks,
Dennis

[free_radical]

Only way to improve mileage is to make Rvs more aerodynamic
Why cant anyone build something like this
🙂

[beemerphile1]

Tuners can achieve great gains on turbocharged diesels,

on normally aspirated gas engines = not much.

[Chum_lee]

Veebyes wrote:
Have always run vehicles bone stock & have always gotten long service lives out of them.

My view is that the R&D people who design engines have far more resourses & much more knowledge than me. They design engines with the best combination for overall durability & performance. Get more performance, the lifespan & durability goes down. Ask anyone who races. The maintenance is constant, & expensive, to keep the performance level high. Durability & reliability goes out the window.

Use better than OEM filters. Perform OEM maintenance. Do not abuse the vehicle & it will last a long long time without major issues.

Yep! Ask Mr. Banks how much data logging he's done on his chipped performance vehicles. When the deer in the headlights look gets unbearable, thank him and move on before he tries to show you all his dyno tests. Owners just don't seem to understand that there's more to increasing overall performance (reliably) than a tuning chip. For major improvements, it requires improvements throughout the vehicle. OEM's know this. That said, that doesn't prevent OEM's from doing some remarkably stupid things too. Three spark plug threads on the initial V10's for starters. They pay dearly when they screw up. Not so Mr. Banks. That's on you! I've got no issue with chipping a MH, just know the potential pitfalls going in.

Chum lee

[Lynnmor]

One point I believe that is missing in this discussion is that the manufacturer needs to meet certain emission standards. Some improvement in fuel mileage and power may be gained by tuning that disregards those standards.

[Optimistic_Para]

I'll throw a couple of random thoughts into the mix here.

Using a pickup truck as an example - I know the original poster mentioned a motor home, but this is a generalized thought - the designers have no way of knowing if you'll be running empty or pulling a massive fifth wheel or carrying a 4,000 lb. truck camper. They don't know if you'll be running at sea level or high in the Rocky Mountains. Summer temperatures in Death Valley or Winter Temperatures in Frostbite Falls. They have to come up with a set of settings that work sort of ok under any of those conditions.

I speculate that SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING could use a tuner to fine tune to optimal settings for his exact conditions. It's the 'somebody who know what he is doing' part that suggests this might not work out in the real world.

As far as the oem engineers knowing best, all I can say is, that after watching what a disaster both the 6.0 and 6.4 liter diesel engines were, either Ford has the most clueless design engineers in the world, or else they were repeatedly over-ridden by their incompetent pointy-haired boss.

[carlos85]

Give it a try. I have installed a Stage 1 Chip on my MH and I'm sure it's doing 3-4 MPG. These chips need to be programmed for your MH in order to work. What I did, I have sent a message to their website and they programmed the Chip for my MH. I'll post you the link so you can contact them. ***Link Removed***

Hope this works for you.

[mike_mck]

jfkmk wrote:

mike mck wrote:
Give this a try. If nobody there has an answer you don't need to know it.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum28/

Tried the link but it didn't bring me to any specific forum, so I'm not sure where you stand on the question.
One thing to remember....no tuner can give you displacement, compression or greater flow of fuel mixture. Your vehicle is already programmed to give you the optimal fuel to air ratio. A tuner can do things like change shift points and timing, but it can't change the basics you need to produce more power, at least not on any kind of appreciable level.

It takes you to the 87-96 F150 and larger forum. If you post the question there you will have Ford truck Gearheads from all over the country responding.
As to tuner not being able to give a change to air fuel and already being optimal A/F ratio I would disagree. We Dyno tune our 94 Lightnings 408 stroker all the time. Change it based on time of year, outside temp and altitude.
Optimal? Ford averages the tune to cover a wide range uses.
If all your looking at doing id buying a preprogramed chip off the net well it's a******shoot.

[Veebyes]

Have always run vehicles bone stock & have always gotten long service lives out of them.

My view is that the R&D people who design engines have far more resourses & much more knowledge than me. They design engines with the best combination for overall durability & performance. Get more performance, the lifespan & durability goes down. Ask anyone who races. The maintenance is constant, & expensive, to keep the performance level high. Durability & reliability goes out the window.

Use better than OEM filters. Perform OEM maintenance. Do not abuse the vehicle & it will last a long long time without major issues.

[dodge_guy]

Yes, the older "chips" didn`t do much. the newer "tuners" do make a difference. I have one from 5star tuning and it made a huge difference in my V-10 X. I got it mainly for the improved shift strategy and power gains, but I did also gain .5mpg towing.

[holstein13]

I purchased a flash kit from http://www.5startuning.com/got-a-v10-rv/ about two years ago.

There was no noticeable improvement in fuel economy. I did it to help performance and speed up the shifts.

[dlt123me]

Boy, it looks like I will forego chipping my MH. It sounds like they may be more of a pipe dream, at least in my case, so I will just leave it as it is and take my lead boots off when I drive.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[tatest]

I know that there is a module from JET that fits on the connector to a Ford ECM and tells it lies about what inputs it gets from sensors. Since most of the market for this one is people who want more power at wide open throttle, the lies it tells are meant to encourge the ECM to advance ignition timing and inject more fuel, but there is a limit on this, as what is maximum on the fuel and timing maps will still be the maximum after you tell the ECM the appropriate lies. Thus it is not a reprogramming of the ECM.

Something like this is what most people are talking about when they say they are "chipping" a gas engine. JET module is about $250 for most Fords, from JEGS or Summit Racing, probably some other speed shops as well.

My brother put one on a truck engine, the 4.0 Cologne V-6 in a late 1990s Ranger. He said it gave him a bigger "kick" when he floored it at mid-range RPMs. It cost him about 4-6 MPG in his daily driving, probably because wanting to feel the "kick" changed his driving habits.

Banks sells a PowerPack system for the 460 V-8 of that vintage, claims 85 HP boost, 118 lb-ft peak torque in the motorhome installation. Problem is, most of what makes those gains is external plumbing, and it doesn't fit in the E-series. Gains for a similar system for the F-series 460 V-8 are a bit smaller, but that one doesn't fit the E-series either.

Although you can't get one for your motorhome, a PowerPack for the 460 costs $1500 to 1800 as a kit, depending on which vehicle has to be fit, and you can double that to cover installation, particularly on a motorhome.

The PowerPack does include a reprogrammer for the ECM, so that it can be tuned to match the new exhaust and intake systems. I don't think the Banks reprogrammer sells separately, and if it did, you would have to find someone who knows how to tune it for what it is you actually have.

Performance improvements for the 460 as an off-road engine are certainly possible. While this engine series is not as popular as some generations of the Chevy big block, or Ford's FE series that preceded it, you can get free-flowing heads, intake manifolds for at least two different tunes, several types of exhaust headers, cams custom ground to match your intake and exhaust tuning, high flow carbs or aftermarket EFI. The 460 is not a performance orphan, just not a real popular build.

You can even buy a 575 HP crate engine from Ford Racing (about $10K without fuel, exhaust, ignition or engine management systems) but it won't be street legal, and you will struggle to find the plumbing that fits under the engine cover of an Econoline.

[ScottG]

TXiceman wrote:
Tuners may make a small difference in performance. The larger gains are from intake and exhaust improvements. Also, just about any increase in power comes at the expense of more fuel. A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power, so more power means more fuel.

Ken

I would mostly agree with you with a minor caveat;
A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power BUT, modern engines are still not very efficient. The fuel they use has a specific amount of energy but less than 25% of the fuels energy is actually used to propel the vehicle. The other 75%+ is wasted making useless heat and emissions.
Tapping into that wasted energy is where mileage gains are to be found and that's where they have come from in that last several decades.

[TXiceman]

Tuners may make a small difference in performance. The larger gains are from intake and exhaust improvements. Also, just about any increase in power comes at the expense of more fuel. A given amount of fuel has a limited amount of power, so more power means more fuel.

Ken