Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum banner

Everything Tune related

126K views 204 replies 66 participants last post by  Heavy_GD 
#1 · (Edited)
So we already have a general modification thread (that everyone should still read if you own a 6.4) and it briefly goes over tuning options. So I would like to cover some delete basics and come up with a place people can ask questions and post tune reviews.

Before I get into it and throw my experiences with 6.4 tuning over the last 2 years, I do need to get something out of the way. Any time you run anything higher than a stock or tow tune hp wise you are no longer doing this for longevity. Yes if you have self control a 150hp tune shouldn't hurt anything, but any performance tuned diesel is operating outside its design parameters... If you take this info and run a 200+hp tune and blow head gaskets or crack a piston please do not blame it on the truck, tuner, tunes, or anyone but yourself. Anywhere you go on the internet you will be told: "Delete it and forget about it". I will be the first (and not the last) to tell you if you forget about your 6.4 it will eat your life savings. These trucks do not take kindly to abuse, so if you don't have the money to rebuild your motor or at the very least a HG job stick to the low hp tunes. And yes unfortunately the only way to get 15+mpg on a 6.4 is going to be running a high hp tune.

Now that we have that out of the way... What are your options for tuning?

Lets start with the cheapest... The Gearbox DPF-r (there are a few different versions) is probably the cheapest flash tuner you can buy for a 6.4. They offer very little in the way of performance or trans tuning. They are great if you are selling your truck and want to hold on to your more expensive tuner. I don't usually recommend them for a few reasons. 1. From what I have seen on the forums their customer service is lacking to nonexistent (anyone with experience feel free chime in). 2. The tunes are lack luster at best and there is nothing in the way of trans tuning. The 5r110w transmission in our trucks can take a lot of abuse, but any time you tune a truck its always advisable to up shift pressures and change shift points. 3. This is the big killer for me... There is NO custom tune support what so ever and they have no plans to ever bring this on board. Anyone who has ever tuned a vehicle before understands the importance of custom tuning. Every truck is different, canned (Tunes that come on a tuner) tunes are generic tunes that will work over a wide range of VIN's. If you have an issue with one of these tunes there is little you can do to have things changed.
Long story short... You get what you pay for.

So, what other options do you have? There are 3 main tuning options out that work well for 6.4s. SCT, Spartan, and H&S.

Lets start with SCT.
There are 2 options if you want to delete/tune with an SCT device. The first and cheapest is the SCT X4. This is actually what I use (I will put a full review along with custom tunes at the bottom of the post) and have had on my truck for 2 years now. This is one of the more popular tuners because it is under $1000 and has custom tune support. It also has the ability to monitor (all be it limited) so you definitely get pretty good value there. One thing to note about the x4 is you must make sure its an "Off Road" tuner. Whenever you order and x4 for delete purposes it will come with custom tunes. And this is where the x4 is worth the extra $$$$$ over a DPF-r. You can fit up to 10 custom tune files onto the tuner. If for whatever reason one of these files doesn't shift the way you like, the throttle response isn't right, or you have any other issue all you have to do is call whoever wrote the tunes and they can revise them. This is HUGE for towing or any DD truck. Even something as simple as shift points can kill your fuel economy and make the truck annoying to drive.
Down sides? Welll........ The biggest for me is getting those delete tunes. You can't just call up Gearhead, Quick Tricks, KEM, PIP, or any of the other big name tuning companies and get delete tunes anymore. And without the deletes written into the tune you are out of luck with the x4. The EPA has kinda screwed us over here. There is hope however, there are vendors here on the .org that sell the x4's with custom tunes already installed. But the x4 is still less flexible than other if you don't have someone who can get you those custom tunes.
Another issue is the monitoring. Before I say anything, if money is tight this is a GREAT tuner because you can still monitor and the whole package is less than $1000... But, it does not allow you to watch things like fuel rail pressure and a lot of the readings seem a bit skewed. Pids like EBP (even when you correct for baro pressure) never quite match the true numbers. But you can still watch ect, eot, egts, map, maf, and a lot of other pids. If funds are there I still recommend getting a true monitor like an EDGE CTS2 Insight. But that's another $350+....
Another down side to the x4 is there is no shift on the fly. It takes a good 20-30 min to retune the truck. This doesn't bother me, but there are a lot of people that can't stand it. Also every time you retune the trans will need to go through a relearn. This means you will have a period where the trans can seem a bit confused while it relearns your driving habits. Its actually good to do this every now and then because not all trans tuning will disable the adaptive learn function within the tcm. Its another way to keep shifts nice and sharp.

The other SCT option is the Livewire. I don't have much experience with this except for the fact that its a bit easier to get custom tunes. The tuner itself will prompt you to disable the egr and dpf meaning that the custom tunes don't have to outright write the deletes into the tunes. (someone please correct me if I am wrong) Beyond this it can act as a monitor but again it reads the same as an x4 just with a bigger screen that is touch activated. I will let someone write a review of this that has more experience than me and just add it in here. The down side to the Livewire to me is the cost... You are right at or around $1000 and you don't really get a whole lot more than with the x4. You get some convenience wit custom tuning but aside from a slightly more attractive display you don't really gain much for the extra money. BUT you still do have custom tune options and those tunes are a bit easier to come across...

Now for Spartan... I have mixed emotions about the Phanalnx platform. Spartan has always had by far and away the best canned tunes on the market. The Phalanx does not allow for custom tunes, but Spartan has gone out of their way to deliver the best canned tunes that you could ever load onto a 6.4. They have also done a very good job with trans tuning. However, if you want performance and do not have traction bars your truck will feel like your rear axle is having a light sabre battle with your driveshaft... Any hot tunes with decent trans tuning will require trac bars on a 6.4 (our trucks have really bad axle wrap) but the Spartan trans tuning takes that to a whole new level. There isn't much more to say about the tunes... They are overall very solid and VERY clean (except for the race tunes) and well written.
Now.......... For one of my favorite aspects of going with Spartan. Not only do you have a great tuner but you get one of the best monitors on the market. There are people who switch from Spartan to H&S or SCT for custom tunes but keep the Phalanx just for its ability to monitor... And again I can't stress this enough, just like a 6.0 you REALLY do want to monitor your 6.4. Many times you can catch small issues before they spiral out of control into you needing a new motor. Seriously... Monitor your truck above all else.
The other thing I will say about Spartan is they have done a very very good job of standing by their product and their customers. Their tunes are also very well proven to make the power that they claim... Ohhh yah, the team from Spartan has been pretty good about staying active here on the forums as well.

Time to jump onto a long time favorite of everyone involved with 6.4s and tuning... And also one of the biggest reasons we all hate the EPA and wish they would die in a fire. H&S for a long time provide the best software/tuning platforms on the market. For a lot of people their products are still the end all be all of the tuning world. Unfortunately the software development wing of H&S does not exist anymore. There is absolutely no support from H&S regarding their tuners anymore.
That does not mean you can't acquire them from various vendors though.
Sooooo... Why are there so many die hard H&S fans out there? I mean after all the tuners are even more expensive than Spartan. Welllll... Lets start with canned tunes. First thing is first, SHIFT ON TEH FLY! This means that you don't need to wait 30 min for the tuner to flash the pcm with a new tune. You pull over, and you can jump from tow to race in a matter of seconds... Makes life a bit easier if you want to go from a street tune for fuel economy down to a tow tune because you need to move your horses across the country. Or because you have an idiot for a friend that needs to be pulled out of a ditch and you don't want to wait to retune from a 300+hp tune (No stuck friend is worth a $7000 HG job...).
The other great part about H&S is just the sheer number of canned tunes and power levels available. The trans tuning is on par as well... Just the same as any hot tunes make sure you have trac bars. Axle wrap can ruin a good ride, the race against your friend in his duracrap, or trying to get on the freeway with 18000lbs behind you...
So what makes the price tag worth it? I mean there isn't much else here that other tuners don't offer... Well, you are gonna have to spend a bit more but the MCC unlock allows you to pretty much tune your truck your way. It gives you the options of custom tuning from Gearhead, Kem, and others... AAANNNDDDD It allows you to pretty much change any parameter within your tunes. H&S has delivered one of the most flexible and customizable tuners that the diesel market has ever seen. It has also been the cause of more blown motors than anyone could ever imagine... They aren't actually the fault of H&S though. Both the MiniMaxx and XRT Pro make it easy to run hot tunes. And because of the way its written you can be running the HD300 tunes but think you are in a tow tune. That means that the timing tables loaded into the pcm are advanced the the point that you can add 300+hp given enough fuel and air. So you may select the tow tune and it will restrict some of that fuel and air... But the timing is still there adding massive amounts of stress to the motor. So if you choose to go H&S PLEASE pay attention and understand what you are doing. Don't be afraid to as questions and find out what different options are really doing.
The MiniMaxx also has the ability to monitor the truck as well. It isn't the greatest monitor but I would still put it a few steps above the X4.
The biggest downfall aside from price though is going to be the lack of support. And its a shame because it is still the most capable tuning platform available for our trucks. You can still get unlock codes and some limited support from vendors though. And until Spartan releases a tuner capable of custom tunes H&S is still probably the most versatile tuner because unlike Spartan if you decide you want to build the truck you can have tunes written specifically for your mods. -----EDIT------ One thing I forgot to note about H&S... Part of why so many people love them is their built in safety feature. The tuner will automatically defuel the motor if certain parameters are met. For example, if egts get too hot the tuner/pcm will acknowledge that and lower the power of the truck so you don't damage anything. You can of course set all of these yourself (including trans temp for towing) to whatever you like. Personally this is one of my favorite aspects of H&S.

I'm going to add this in from Toren as well:
A TRUE custom tune is one where the truck is strapped to the rollers or live driven and tuned and repeat until the tune is perfect for said driver.....ALL others are just glorified "canned" tunes that another company wrote and applied to the trucks serial numbers. This is why some LOVE GH tunes, and other hate them and so on and so forth for all the other guys. If one wants a truly custom and great driving tune, expect to pay north of $500+ for a single tune. Usually takes a good couple to three hours just to get the driving style and power dialed in. This is true for ALL platforms. The 2 that currently allow for user adjustability are H&S and the SCT. Both have steep learning curves and require lots of time of trial and error. Both cost about the same amount for the ability to tune ones OWN rig.....300 bucks. Once the skill of tuning is acquired and honed, it is an indispensable skill that will serve for years and can even make money....

I am sure there is more that I am missing, this is just for people trying to decide what they want to have a place to start. By all means, anyone with extended experience please please please feel free to chime in.


Now that we have the different platforms out of the way lets talk tuning a little and what to expect.

I pretty much use my truck as a DD. She doesn't tow anymore nor does she get driven hard. My truck has turned into a hobby and I don't race either. I personally do not have the money to deal with a cracked piston right now. That means I will not be giving any reviews on the race tunes from River City Diesel or Gearhead. I am sure Toren and others will chime in with their experiences.

Currently I am running an X4 with both River City Diesel tunes and 2 sets of tuning from Gearhead. One was written by Lars and the other Matt.

I will start with the RCD tunes. They came with my x4 so I got quite a bit of experience with them right away.

The 70 hp tow tune... Where do I start with this train wreck of a tune. I was expecting roughly stock power with a little added turbo spool and some trans tuning. What I got was quite a bit different though. Obviously with a tow tune you can't expect any kind of performance but the truck felt down on power. I found myself wishing that the truck was still stock. Once I started watching rail pressure I understood why. Until I had my foot on the floor rail pressure wouldn't build over 10k psi... I am still convinced something was amiss with the tune itself but needless to say there was no support from RCD. Compounding the boost and power issues were the trans tuning problems. Any time I would turn and try to accelerate the trans would act like it wanted to down shift from 3rd to 2nd and then just get stuck in neutral then rev slam back into 3rd. It was never bad enough to cause much issue with the tow tune because the motor was creating almost no power. I learned to catch it and keep it from happening. The trans itself isn't showing any signs of abnormal wear. I have had the pan off, no metal and the fluid is fine... RCD has told me that their trans tuning changes shift points and shift pressure. From what I can tell I call bs on this...
Long story short, I can't really recommend this tune even for towing. The truck doesn't seem to be able to get out of its own way much less get a trailer moving. I would also worry about the trans a bit with a heavy load back there. Ohhhhh yah and 9 mpg...

The other RCD tune I have run (and its been on my truck the longest) is the 215hp performance tune. The tune itself runs great... Very controllable egts and little to no smoke. I also can get a solid 17-18 mpg on a long road trip. The only gripe I have is again... The limp trans tuning. Only with 215hp added the trans really doesn't know what to do with that power. If you are in 3rd slowing for a light and go to take off the trans pretty much says nope... It will slam into third and throw a hissy fit. The throttle response is so damn sensitive that you hit a bump in a turn and you risk a drift any time its raining. And again, getting them to adjust a tune is damn near impossible.
I also got the feeling that most of the hp was from timing... This within itself isn't bad, but it doesn't leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling about my pistons. I would have expected egts to be a bit higher with a 215 tune but it actually ran comparable to the tow tune egt wise.

Now for Gearhead...
So if you have read any of my posts about tunes you will know that for a long time I was not happy with their tuning. The street tune that I ran the most really felt lacking on power and the shift points were god awful. She wouldn't shift until about 2100 rpm and I was literally getting somewhere in the realm of 8 mpg... 8!!! Lars rewrote the tune once for me and it helped a little but the shifts still weren't right. After talking to various people I was hearing the same things from them. I pretty much gave up hope and switched back to RCD.
Fast forward and I managed to get an updated set of tunes... As of right now I can tell you that they are different in every way. I have run the Tow tune the most at this point and love it. Fuel economy isn't great, but for a 70hp file what can you expect. This tank of fuel has been about 14mpg... That is acceptable to me... The truck drives exactly like it did stock with the exceptions of trans tuning. The shift points have been adjusted and they are a lot firmer than any of the rcd tunes. The adaptive learn has also been limited fixing my rev slamming... It does run a bit hotter egt wise than I would like for a tow file, but for my purposes it is perfect. I attribute the egts to added fuel instead of timing. And that's perfectly fine... Added fuel is better than timing in my book. As of right now I am having a hard time trying to find a negative to this tow tune.
---EDIT---
Been running Matt's tow tune for roughly a week now and so far it is still shifting exactly how I want. The ONLY down side I have found is fuel economy. I am averaging about 11-12. I have only put 2 tanks worth of drive time in and those numbers are done by pen and paper. My cts is telling me 12.5 so it isn't far off.

As I run the other tunes I will throw reviews up on here as well. but all of mine are geared toward a DD truck that is just that... A truck. I don't care to go fast and nor do I care about fuel economy. Its purely about keeping the truck happy and how well it drives.


-------------------------------------------------------------------

I invite anyone and everyone to throw their 2 cents in here about their tunes and tuners. As we start getting more and more reviews feel free to link this to posts from newcomers so they have a place to as their questions.

I do ask that we keep this on topic so relevant information is as accessible to members as possible. If you have general modification questions please refer to this post as I will be deleting any non tune related question. http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/general-6-4l-discussion/281380-general-6-4-modifications.html
 
See less See more
#2 ·
You have it all covered.

I have ran all of Innovative's tunes and one Gearhead tune. I'll give my best review of all of them.

IDP tow- first I'll say that I don't tow much and this tune is definitely written for towing. It runs constantly with boost above 10psi. Cruising on the highway at 70 its pushing 17-20 psi. Smooth power and shifting. Crappy fuel mileage, average around 10-11mpg empty. Nice little bump over stock. I've towed a couple 8-10k loads on this tunes and have no complaints.

IDP street- another good drivable tune. Noticeable gain in power and mileage compared to the tow tune. Boost will stay lower when just cruising. At 70mph it's at 13-15. No smoke. Mpg 12-13

IDP extreme street- another good jump in power. I think it's a 250 hp tune. Gets the best mileage out of all of their tunes at 14-15 mpg. Smokes quite a bit til it builds boost. Shifting is firm but still smooth.

IDP exteme race- terrible tune, smoky, Laggy, touchy pedal. I'm not sure what happened here but it's not drivable in the least and even at the track it didn't perform. I didn't run it long enough to get any mileage numbers.

IDP extreme X- my favorite tune out of the five. Pretty much smoke free. Great power and shifting. Drives like stock until you lay into it, then it wakes up its gone. Very good tune.

The last tune and my favorite tune yet it's Gearhead hot street. I figured I would try it as I've heard nothing but good about their tunes. Completely smoke free. Power is very similar to IDP extreme X, shifting is even better, the shift points are slightly different than all of IDP's trans tunes and the Converter unlocks later. Example- I'm cruising on the highway at 60, it's in 5th with converter locked and I need to slow down to 40, it will shift down into 4th with converter still locked vs. IDP that will unlock the Converter and stay in 5th.
The only thing I would change with this tune is to have the Converter lock in 3rd under partial throttle.

Note: I have traction bars which help big time with shifting. I ran a couple of these tunes before installing the bars and some of the shifts were a little harsh.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
#3 ·
GearboxZ KOR Series Tachyon Tuner:
I started out with the GearBoxZ KOR Series Tachyon tuner. It was pretty good for what I needed. It had 5 Performance levels:

According to their Dyno testing:
Level 1- 20 hp Below Stock
Level 2- Stock
Level 3- 50 hp
Level 4- 100 hp
Level 5- 120 hp

Although i will say their support for questions (phone and email) I never heard back and still haven't to this day. Another downside to it is you can't fully delete the EGR. You can only install the block off plates. I've ran it for 30k miles with no issues. I also didn't run anything over level 3, so i can't speak for levels 4 & 5. It was pretty simple to do the install as it has a voice guide that tells you exactly what to do. It also came with a booklet that would tell you everything you would need to know as far as installing/unistalling, changing tunes, reading/clearing DTC's, etc. I managed to average a 16-19.9 MPG's all highway driving. The shift points were right where i would have put them.

Byall Tuning:
I have since switched to the H&S Mini Maxx with MCC tuning unlocked. So far the canned tunes seem to be pretty good. Shifts are much firmer which I like. I am currently trying Byall economy tuning. It sounds mean at idle since the VGT vains are closed. As for the shift pattern, the torque converter locks in 3rd which is taking some time for me to get used to. The shifting is also firm which I like. I will get back when I put some miles on the truck with it and get an MPG average.
 
This post has been deleted
This post has been deleted
#7 ·
Matt above me pretty much nailed what I was about to post. The mileage increase is always welcome, but the piece of mind is priceless. CAI is cheaper than a new turbo any day. PM me and i'll hook you up.
 
#6 ·
Pm Jeremy@NoLimit and talk with him about tunes and other things. I had the same issues when I ordered my x4 from river city. Took some calls and a little pestering to finally get any kind of descriptions for the tunes.

The stock filter is just fine as long as you keep an eye on it. Once it starts to get full you are putting strain on the high pressure turbo. When the lp turbo can't flow enough air for the hp turbo to pressurize it will literally start eating its own seal. That's a big reason why a lot of us have switched to a CAI. I personally prefer dry filters because you don't cause issues with the MAF sensor. But as long as you keep on top of filter changes I wouldn't worry too much...
 
#8 ·
Yeah I'm not gonna name who or where it was from but I couldn't get much out of the guy. I mean to me it's false advertising, I paid for 5 tunes and got shorted one. I kinda wish I bought an H&S just due to the lack of monitoring that this SCT can do. Now I'm only 2-300$ short of an H&S if I decide to buy an edge monitoring unit.


Matt above me pretty much nailed what I was about to post. The mileage increase is always welcome, but the piece of mind is priceless. CAI is cheaper than a new turbo any day. PM me and i'll hook you up.

As far as the CAI, I just don't see the justification for myself... Now that being said, I definitely understand the benefits, do not get me wrong there. But what if I bought an AFE drop in filter, preferably an oiled filter, rather than buying an entire new set up for 3-$400? I try to be as preventative as I can be for this vehicle, but is buying just a new tube and new air box really that crucial? I mean I'm sure aftermarket set ups flow better, but is it that much of an improvement for a guy like me? I'm not quite sold just yet. and that's just my opinion. I don't like to say who's right whos wrong. everyone has a need or want that differs from the next guy.


Rather save up for the lift and tire combo I want that's gonna get done....eventually haha :please:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Asiegel and rmc1815
#10 ·
is there any word or possibility spartan will allow custom tuning or shift on the fly?

great write up crazy. really nails down what tuner is the best for your needs and budget

Finding a H&S is getting harder and harder now..

If spartan gave the ability to custom tune down the road for a build up, and offered shift on the fly.. that would be the best set up money could buy IMO.
 
#11 ·
They have said they have been working on custom tunes and all that stuff, but it's been almost a year and nothing.. :poke
 
#12 ·
They keep saying soon. They have a few beta files out for job 2 and 3 trucks But no software up

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
#14 ·
Yes sounds normal. Remeber the type of injectors the 6.4 has and their ability. In the 6.0 timing and pulse width will go hand and hand, but with the 6.4 and the Peizo sticks it has, timing can be "set" if you will and then PW can be manipulated to active the power level desired. Also factor in the pilot injection aspect and it gets more acurate while leaving timing at a nominal setting.

I like lamp...
 
#15 ·
Ty toren, I actually just had a convo with a guy over on FTE about this very thing. The key to how and when a 6.4 makes power is pilot injection. A really really simple way of explaining what pilot injection does is it spreads out the combustion event. That's why most tow tunes leave it on (and by on I mean enabled to a certain degree, there is more to it than that but again... simple) as you don't get any cylinder pressure spikes. When pilot injection cuts off you are dumping fuel much faster and with a 6.4 you only get the "single shot" injection (lack of pilot injection) when there is enough boost. The injection timing you see in your cts really doesn't tell you much about what those injectors are doing. You will get a better idea if you watch rail pressure and rpm (and boost when talking big power).


All of this is the very reason a 6.4 will not roll coal unless you manipulate tuning by a lot (and get into a fist fight with the pcm). The injectors have the ability to control fuel to such a degree that just watching 1 reading on your cts isn't going to tell you much...


Hope that helps, and Toren if I am off base please correct me... Its 1 am and I have been up for 22 hrs.
 
#17 ·
#18 ·
Anyone think it'd be worth it to switch to an h&s from the Livewire with custom tunes. I found a really good deal but wonder if it's worth it or of my custom tuning is better.
 
#19 ·
It is a lot easier to get custom tunes for an h&s device with MCC than it is for any of the SCT tuners (except the older variants from before the EPA decided modified diesels were going to destroy the planet), that said... There are people on these forums that can still acquire custom tunes for you. One of those people has posted here and is very active in the 6.4 and 6.7 world here on the .org.

Considering I have not run H&S on my truck I can't really compare the two, that might be a question for Toren or Jeremy
@toren302
@Jeremy@NoLimit
 
#20 ·
I've had an H&S Mini Maxx for a few weeks now and don't have head studs. It's been mainly for the deletes and fuel economy thus far, truck longevity is my goal here. I've been trying to figure out how the tune levels are grouped and just get a broad/generic idea of what each of the tune levels are doing.

I don't really intend to mess with the tunes themselves, mainly just want to choose the correct one. What I'm trying to figure out is the timing, pilot injection, etc for various tune levels...as those parameters seem to create excessive stress on the engine, which I'd like to avoid. For the purposes of mileage, I'd like to run the strongest tune and do not want to sacrifice the engine in the process.

1. Are there any other parameters that should be known and kept in check?
2. What dictates the timing adjustment of the Mini Maxx tunes...s it the power level group selected at the time of download (eg. Easy/Mild/HD300), or is the timing adjusted within the individual power levels (the ones that can be switched-on-the-fly, eg. Stock/Tow/Street/Performance)?
3. Same question regarding pilot injection...?
4. Anything else that should be limited for the sake of longevity?

Maybe I'm getting too nitty-gritty here...thoughts?
@toren302
@Jeremy@NoLimit
 
#21 ·
1. Are there any other parameters that should be known and kept in check?
2. What dictates the timing adjustment of the Mini Maxx tunes...s it the power level group selected at the time of download (eg. Easy/Mild/HD300), or is the timing adjusted within the individual power levels (the ones that can be switched-on-the-fly, eg. Stock/Tow/Street/Performance)?
3. Same question regarding pilot injection...?
4. Anything else that should be limited for the sake of longevity?

Maybe I'm getting too nitty-gritty here...thoughts?

@toren302
@Jeremy@NoLimit
1. EBP, BOOST, EGT, TRANS TEMP, FRP, ECT, EOT

2. Timing tables are set in the selected tune sets. I.E. Easy, Mild, HD 300 are all diffrent timing table setups. Meaning all the tunes in those sets (stock, tow, performance, race) will all have the same timing. Pulse width, ebp, boost, and pilot injection will be what is changed based on power levels.

3. See 2.......

4. Yes.....for longevity......everything should be limited. I.E. a stock delete tune is safest and most likley net the longest lasting motor.

I like lamp...
 
#23 ·
It should be 5-5.5ish at idle and up to 28-30 at WOT. FRP is nice to just watch and can alert you to an issue in the HPF system. Short of watching pulse width, no you can't really monitor the injectors. You will need a scan tool that can watch contributions.

I like lamp...
 
#24 ·
SCT 3015R with custom tunes from RCD installed around 140,000 miles and truck now has over 235,000 miles. When I was delivering new campers across the country I ran their 450 RWHP tune (that's with CAI and DPF deleted according to RCD) I put about 80,000 miles on the truck doing that and half of those miles were empty. Truck got 17.5 mpg stock and I have yet to get over 18.5 mpg with deletes and tunes. That's interstate driving non stop going 70 mph. Towing power with the 450 tune was always awesome, shifted smooth with big 5th wheel campers and 3.55 gears I did find that with the towhaul button engaged if I kept my speed around 55-56 mph the transmission would stay in 4th gear and torque converter locked with the engine turning around 2025 RPM (Ford I want to rated the 6.4L for peak torque around 2,000 RPM). 3.55 gears and towing in overdrive at 65-70 mph worked the truck too hard for my comfort. EGT would be 200 degrees higher minimum(saw average of about 650 at 55 mph in 4th gear), oil and coolant temp would raise almost 10 degrees, boost would go from 8-10 psi to 20-25 psi. For me it worked flawless going up step grades going out to the West coast and for everyday driving with no trailer. EGTs, Oil, Coolant all stayed in the safe zone and I generally got 10-12 mpg towing 5th wheel campers.

First year I had the tunes the 525 RWHP tune had a very sensitive throttle response mainly using the cruise control, but after updating the SCT software last December and getting the latest version from RCD I am now thinking about trying their 585 RWHP tune and installing larger turbos since I now drive the truck for fun and not hire.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 08f250.6.4fx4
#25 ·
ended up puttin resistors back on the egr dongle and the dern gearbox z back on the 6.4! just better pedal response, overall engine noise is quieter shifts smoother and mpg is back up
so got a new programable sctx4 for sale for those that like this style of tuner just not for me $500 pm me
 
#26 ·
Lulz

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
#27 ·
Hi there,

So....I started a new thread before I saw this one....oops. Anyways, anyone have a H&S Mini Maxx 6.8.32 or better software update? I just bought an MCC unlock to start building tunes and found out that I need to update my MM. I tried to get on the H&S website to update it and I think the website is down or gone! I have tried to find it on software download sites and no luck. I hope I didn't just blow $200.00 for no reason. Any other advice or help is greatly appreciated!
 
#28 ·
You are wrong bout the the mpg gains
I started with a gearbox z
Got to reading on here and bought the SCT

My mpg went down with the SCT
Regardless of tune selection

Engine noise went up
Tranny shift was slightly harsh
Pedal response was slower

So I put the gearbox z Dpf-r back on the
6.4
 
#30 ·
Who's tunes?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
#37 ·
I've never used the gearboxz but i can tell you tunes will make a huge difference. If your truck likes the -dpf-r better, great. Every truck is a little different. Many people claim better mpg with 37's than I get with my stock tires and running the same tunes. So they aren't necessarily wrong.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Asiegel and rmc1815
#35 ·
I know that probably wasn't directed at me, but now you're sounding like one by not answering the questions. >:)

Seriously, just trying to help. Answer the questions please.
 
#36 ·
He is correct about MPG being slightly better with the Gearboxz. I experienced this myself. I got better MPG's out of the Tachyon vs my Mini Maxx with canned tunes, but to come on here and bash someone else about their outcome compared to yours.. not making yourself look very good. Every experience is different. After getting some better tune files, I get better MPG's with the Mini Maxx.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top