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09-13-2016, 01:42 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37KT
State: Michigan
Posts: 282
THOR #2628
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Just added 5 star Tuner
Well bought a 5 Star Tuner to our Challenger. Ill test it out on Thursday on the way home. Looking forward to it.
KC
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2015 Challenger 37KT
Progressive Industry EMS-HW50C, Winegard Trav'ler Sat dish, Magnashades, 5 star tuner, lots of indirect lighting.
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09-13-2016, 02:25 AM
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#2
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Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Challenger 37KT
State: California
Posts: 69
THOR #3681
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Used it on my old 2005 6.8L and it did great things. I thought these new units would be more tuned from ford but I guess not. I added one to my 2016 which has the new ford 6 speed transmission. Right off the bat I noticed 3 things:
1. Smoother shift pattern
2. Engine braking improved as the stock only dropped one speed.
3. Kept in gear longer on a large hill (Cajon Pass)
4. MPG went up about 0.6 MPG - long hall.
To me the biggest is the transmission downshift for engine breaking when in TOW/HAUL mode. Saves Brakes and keeps speed lower when coasting down a large mountain.
You will love it.
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Garrett
Southern California
2018 Thor Challenger 37KT
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09-13-2016, 10:22 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Nexus Viper 27V
State: Georgia
Posts: 1,666
THOR #2142
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Gauthig,
How many things?
Question: Can the 5 Star Tuner be transferred to a second vehicle if one upgrades RV's (as long as it is also a V-10)??
Doc
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Sheree & Michael NCNG LTC(ret) with Munpi, RC and Sheba (cat).
2019 Nexus Viper 27V, E-450, 5 speed "Ms. Enterprise", Infotainment Center, HUD, , Safe-T-Plus, Curt SpareTire Mount, ext. WiFi Antenna, Roadmaster Tow Sys& Invisibrake.
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09-13-2016, 11:43 AM
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#4
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Axis/Vegas Enthusiast
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMike
Question: Can the 5 Star Tuner be transferred to a second vehicle if one upgrades RV's (as long as it is also a V-10)??
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Yes/No: If the second vehicle has the exact same calibration then conceivably yes you could.
In reality: No. The first thing the tuner does is make a backup of the stock calibration before downloading the new one in. I don't think there is a spot in the tuner for a 2nd backup.
5-Star requests the calibration # of your current engine (its on a sticker somewhere, or you can get a tuner first and read back the calibration via the OBD-II port before getting your new one). Thus it is very likely your 2nd engine will have a different calibration on it.
(Had a 5-Star tune on my F-350 and loved it.)
Note: You can also tweak the tune if you like: e-mail them requests (like different shift points, etc.) and they will accommodate you.
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09-13-2016, 12:08 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Nexus Viper 27V
State: Georgia
Posts: 1,666
THOR #2142
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Jamie,
I'm thinking of asking Santa for the 5-Star Tune, approaching $500 it's a bit much for just a .6mpg increase...but some of the other fixes (eliminating/delaying the 2 gear downshift going uphill, better engine speed control going downhill) sounds good.
Doc
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Sheree & Michael NCNG LTC(ret) with Munpi, RC and Sheba (cat).
2019 Nexus Viper 27V, E-450, 5 speed "Ms. Enterprise", Infotainment Center, HUD, , Safe-T-Plus, Curt SpareTire Mount, ext. WiFi Antenna, Roadmaster Tow Sys& Invisibrake.
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09-13-2016, 12:45 PM
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#6
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Axis/Vegas Enthusiast
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMike
I'm thinking of asking Santa for the 5-Star Tune, approaching $500 it's a bit much for just a .6mpg increase...but some of the other fixes (eliminating/delaying the 2 gear downshift going uphill, better engine speed control going downhill) sounds good.
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Yeah you do get a bit more than just the .6mpg increase. In my F-350 I didn't really get a mpg increase because the extra power made the truck much more fun to drive and negated the mpg . Not sure if anything could make driving an RV more fun LOL but the power increase is welcome along with the other bonuses.
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09-13-2016, 03:31 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Windsport
State: Florida
Posts: 746
THOR #3918
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GREAT something else for me to buy. I will have to stop coming on this forum.
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09-13-2016, 08:55 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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I thought I read somewhere that the 5 star tune might void your engine warrantee if you had an engine problem and Ford found out that you had installed it. Is that not true?
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09-14-2016, 12:44 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2023 Jayco Precept 31UL
State: Florida
Posts: 2,916
THOR #1589
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Looking at just the MPG boost, has anyone done the math on payback? My very rough calculations, with several assumptions, estimate around 25K miles to recover the $500 expense of a tuner. Real world results will vary.
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Life is better when you cry a little, laugh a lot, and are thankful for everything you've got!
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09-14-2016, 01:22 AM
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#10
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Axis/Vegas Enthusiast
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Axis 24.4
State: Michigan
Posts: 9,837
THOR #1150
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Well if you assume a .5 mpg boost. Using my mpg figures I'd go from 8.5mpg to 9mpg.
Current gas prices around here are ~$2.20/gallon thus 9mpg = $0.2444/mile and 8.5mpg = $0.2588/mile. The net difference is $0.0144/mile which rounds to about 35k miles.
You really can't think of the 5-Star tuner as an investment (just like you really can't view the RV as an investment either! LOL its more like a $$ hole). In that respect the tuner is also a great $$$ hole
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09-15-2016, 01:28 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chance
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Thanks for the link to an interesting article. If answered my question on possible warrantee issues but did not really make me want to run out and spent $500. I put 60,000 miles on two 5 speed, Ford V-10s over the past five years - all over the Rocky Mountains and to Alaska and back and I just returned from a 6000 mile trip in my 2016 6 speed Axis thru the Colorado mountains. I found the difference between the two power trains substantial both in gas mileage and performance. I got abot 10% better gas mileage with the 6 speed and I found performance up hill to be much improved. I found I could "ride" most hills by bleeding off some speed and listening to the engine rather than allowing it to downshift. I felt I had much better control of when the engine downshifted with the 6 Spd. Down hill performance using the tow/haul button was also much better. With the 5 Spd, I was continuously engaging and disengaging the tow/haul as the engine downshifted two or more gears and the rpms went above 4000. That happened much less with the 6 Spd. Again, I felt I had much better control even down long, steep grades. I not saying that 5 Star Tune would not make the 6 Spd V-10 better, but I would have to see some hard evidence before I want to dish out $500.
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09-15-2016, 02:45 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
Posts: 6,187
THOR #2121
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneilkeys
Thanks for the link to an interesting article. ....cut.....
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It's difficult to conclude much of value from a few data points. There's no doubt some drivers will report MPG improvements, but there are others who may see no change, or negative change.
I'd bet that if Motorhome Magazine ran those tests again, they would get different numbers. Individuals driving normally could have even greater variations in MPG.
Personally, I wouldn't buy any tune based on saving fuel to pay for it.
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09-15-2016, 12:14 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
Model: Travato
State: Florida
Posts: 2,475
THOR #1765
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I agree. Anyone who buys it expecting to make up the cost in gas is probably going to be disappointed. If you are buying it to increase power and for better transmission shifting, for the 5 Spd transmission it looks (from the article and many other positive reviews that I have read) that it may be worth it. For the new 6 Spd transmission however, the jury is still out.
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09-15-2016, 12:58 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Brand: Still Looking
State: Texas
Posts: 6,187
THOR #2121
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneilkeys
I agree. Anyone who buys it expecting to make up the cost in gas is probably going to be disappointed. If you are buying it to increase power and for better transmission shifting, for the 5 Spd transmission it looks (from the article and many other positive reviews that I have read) that it may be worth it. For the new 6 Spd transmission however, the jury is still out.
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Exactly, couldn't agree more.
As to transmission differences, yeah, there should be a huge difference. I've driven motorhomes with the 5-speed 5R110 and didn't care for the way it drove. Gear spacings between overdrive, drive, and next lower gear were too wide, almost as bad as the previous 4-speed 4R100.
When I looked into the specifics, I found that the 5R110 was based off the 4R110, with the main difference that they can engage the "overdrive" gear on all 3 main gears (making for 6 gears total -- one combination is not normally used). The previous 4R100 like I had in Class C engages overdrive only in combination with drive.
When driving these 5-speed motorhomes in mountains, going from overdrive to drive increases RPMs by nearly 50%, and going down to 3rd gear will more than double RPMs (compared to overdrive). And with V10 being so loud at high RPMs, I doubt a mild tune would do enough good to satisfy my performance expectations. I'm glad Ford went to 6-speed and hope they replace V10 with smoother V8 next.
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10-05-2016, 12:40 PM
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#16
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Junior Member
Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: Connecticut
Posts: 3
THOR #5626
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I don't even know what my gas mileage is at all, but I like the other advantages it gave me. I was talking to a guy with a Newmar gas coach and he was going to get rid of it and buy a diesel until he put a 5 Star Tune in it. $500 isn't anything after spending $ on all the other stuff including buying a new coach.
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