2006 Grayhawk Ford e450 v-10: Power increase

[ccchuck]

looking for ideas to increase uphill power -
cheapest to expensive, that you've had success with...

[blownstang01]

ccchuck wrote:
re: 5 Star Tune..
would like to hear from anyone who has installed it on a class c.

I have it on mine. Really helped the transmission, firmer more positive shifts, and less gear hunting. It definitely has more power too, how much ? Negligible maybe, you won't necessarily feel it in the seat of your pants but once you get to a familiar hill or highway, you'll realize that yes it has more power. Mileage was improved maybe slightly, .5 mpg or so, but absolutely scoots up the hills better. A good tune will absolutely not decrease engine life, Mike @ 5-Star knows these coaches and has the tune dialed in. Personally , I doubt you'll regret it.

Edit: Also, if you ever decide to upgrade the exhaust, air intake, etc, Mike can email you an updated tune to reflect the changes.

[ccchuck]

re: 5 Star Tune..
would like to hear from anyone who has installed it on a class c.

[blownstang01]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I have an 11-ton diesel that pulls Donner Summit in 12th gear and 75 mph. That said don't ask about price, near-insane amount of time and effort. My experience with exhaust headers is

They char everything around them
They leak
Run the rig through a splat of cold water and snap-po a crack
Triple jointed tools needed to change spark plugs
Oh joy! A $130 set of Jacobs super-insulated spark plug wires is in your future
Mouse milk improvement in power.


jcobs

I hear what you're saying, and you're old school. But, headers on a Ford V-10 are no where near the plugs and wires. The Banks headers and exhaust really wake the V-10 up (We installed a ton of them), but Bank's sure is proud of his products. Hard to swallow $2,500-$3,000 on headers and exhaust, plus installation, IMO.

[harley-dave]

After doing the weight reduction stuff we installed a 5 Star tuner ($549) on our 2005 Itasca V-10 class C which increases HP but more importantly added torque and moved the peak torque point to slightly lower RPM (3200-3400). Improved both the shifting which really helped and a slight MPG gain. We were surprised how much better she climbed the mountains, passed many Class A's over the years.

Dave

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I have an 11-ton diesel that pulls Donner Summit in 12th gear and 75 mph. That said don't ask about price, near-insane amount of time and effort. My experience with exhaust headers is

They char everything around them
They leak
Run the rig through a splat of cold water and snap-po a crack
Triple jointed tools needed to change spark plugs
Oh joy! A $130 set of Jacobs super-insulated spark plug wires is in your future
Mouse milk improvement in power.





jcobs

[map40]

Headers $2000 or more
K&N air filter $100 and risk of damaging the engine if not maintained propperly
Reprograming chip $1000 and you WILL decrease your engine life
Better gas (Rec 90, no alcohol) but always use that gas so your engine adapts (if you switch back and forth you never get the advantage of the better gas)
Most expensive, replace your V10 2 valve 305HP for a V10 3 valve 365HP like the ones used in Class A motorhomes. $10K minimun

I have owned A LOT of RVs, and the V10 is the most responsive engine I have had. Even more responsive than the diesel pushers.It does like to rev high...

[suprz]

From what I have researched and experienced, you have to let an engine breathe. Increased air in, and increase exhaust flow out.. But in my experience, increasing exhaust flow out sometimes decreases torque. Just sayin

[beemerphile1]

The point being made is increasing output of a gas engine is expensive and complicated. Things that simply increase horsepower will actually make it perform worse as an RV, it isn't a race car.

You need torque, not horsepower. More air flow like with a turbo would work well but cost thousands.

[Chum_lee]

Leave everything you don't need at home.
Travel alone.

Dump your black/grey water tanks prior to leaving home.
Fill your fresh water tank when you arrive at your destination.

Unless you are willing to spend more than your RV is currently worth,
learn to live with the power you have. Chances are you are at or close to max gross weight, so, reducing weight is your cheapest fix.

Sorry, that's the best I can do.

Chum lee

[ccchuck]

DrewE wrote:

pauldub wrote:
Push harder on the gas pedal and let the engine scream, really.

x2 on this. The Ford V10 needs to rev to produce power, more so than many truck engines, and with ten cylinders it sounds like it's about to self-destruct...but it isn't, and it can operate like that as long as is needed.

That said, you of course are not going to get car-like acceleration out of a class C motorhome...even little economy car-like acceleration.

wow... ok - any other advice?

[DrewE]

pauldub wrote:
Push harder on the gas pedal and let the engine scream, really.

x2 on this. The Ford V10 needs to rev to produce power, more so than many truck engines, and with ten cylinders it sounds like it's about to self-destruct...but it isn't, and it can operate like that as long as is needed.

That said, you of course are not going to get car-like acceleration out of a class C motorhome...even little economy car-like acceleration.

[pauldub]

Push harder on the gas pedal and let the engine scream, really.