Increased mileage and horsepower

Dmorrison74 · 08-09-2015, 10:18 PM

Has anybody added an after market product to a triton v10 6.8litre that would improve horsepower and gas mileage? If so what is the brand?

JamieGeek · 08-09-2015, 10:35 PM

I have had good luck with a 5-Star tune in the past with our V-10 powered pickups.
Got a 2006-2015 V10 RV ? - 5 Star Tuning
Their customer service is second to none.

Squid · 05-26-2016, 12:33 AM

Did you get the "5-star tuner"? Does it work as advertised??

Scott · 05-26-2016, 12:59 AM

This does look interesting and also wonder if someone has used their service and did they see results.

JamieGeek · 05-26-2016, 01:24 AM

I did on my F-350 and was very happy with it. It definitely increased the overall power.

Have been thinking about getting a tune for the Axis.

Chance · 05-26-2016, 02:22 AM

A tuned right foot works great to improve fuel economy.

DocMike · 05-26-2016, 02:24 AM

And the ability to run between 60mph and 65mph as max speed.

Doc

axis earl · 05-26-2016, 02:32 AM

Just wondering if anyone has installed the Banks header exhausts.... I would be a bit concerned about increased doghouse noise.

pdeter · 05-26-2016, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott

This does look interesting and also wonder if someone has used their service and did they see results.

I installed it in my F-450 chassis Freedom Elite 28H and took my first trip of about 8 hours (both ways of course) through the hills of Georgia. I wanted to get better control on the down shifting which seemed to be at every overpass before I installed it. I did see a noticeable increase in horsepower and on the hills of the shifting was much better. I didn't notice any increase in fuel economy but that wasn't what I was looking for. I averaged 10.7 mpg for the trip which I think is actually pretty good pulling a car.

Bob Montgomery · 05-26-2016, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdeter

I installed it in my F-450 chassis Freedom Elite 28H and took my first trip of about 8 hours (both ways of course) through the hills of Georgia. I wanted to get better control on the down shifting which seemed to be at every overpass before I installed it. I did see a noticeable increase in horsepower and on the hills of the shifting was much better. I didn't notice any increase in fuel economy but that wasn't what I was looking for. I averaged 10.7 mpg for the trip which I think is actually pretty good pulling a car.

Amazing! I would be happy to get that without pulling a car. I didn't figure my actual mileage on my last trip but the computer would say I could travel around 550 miles or so on 80 gallons when I was pulling a car which would work out to about 7 mpg or so. I know I used a lot of gas and never traveled over 60mph. I haven't taken a long trip without pulling a car yet, but plan to make a 1000 mile trip in a month without pulling a car. I hope I can get 10mpg or better on that highway trip.

Forest Grump · 05-26-2016, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chance

A tuned right foot works great to improve fuel economy.

Couldn't agree more! Great comment.

Chance · 05-26-2016, 08:06 PM

Unfortunately that can only take us so far.

Driving a 28A which is similar to a 28H but without a slide (basically a little lighter), I only managed mid 8s over 5,000 miles; and that was mostly highway and driving conservatively between 60 and 65 MPH, and not towing.

To go from that to 10.7 MPG takes a lot more of something I can't explain. And I figure towing a mid-size car would have reduced my average by roughly 1/2 MPG. Had I towed a car it would have been closer to 8 MPG.

Most guys driving much smaller and lighter Axis don't normally break 10 MPG.

Bob Montgomery · 05-26-2016, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chance

Unfortunately that can only take us so far.

Driving a 28A which is similar to a 28H but without a slide (basically a little lighter), I only managed mid 8s over 5,000 miles; and that was mostly highway and driving conservatively between 60 and 65 MPH, and not towing.

To go from that to 10.7 MPG takes a lot more of something I can't explain. And I figure towing a mid-size car would have reduced my average by roughly 1/2 MPG. Had I towed a car it would have been closer to 8 MPG.

Most guys driving much smaller and lighter Axis don't normally break 10 MPG.

I am guessing towing my VW Beetle on a dolly between 50-65 I only averaged 6-7 MPG. It really takes a hit when you tow with the Ford V10.

Chance · 05-26-2016, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Montgomery

I am guessing towing my VW Beetle on a dolly between 50-65 I only averaged 6-7 MPG. It really takes a hit when you tow with the Ford V10.

If everything is working right, there is no way for towing a small car, even on a dolly, to make a great difference. My guess is that unless you have issues with your dolly and/or toad, that the problem is your ACE is not as fuel efficient as you hope.

There is nothing inherently bad about the V10 when towing.

If you had a V10 in a pickup, and then towed a 5th wheel, obviously the MPGs will drop like crazy, but that's because the load on engine is much greater, not because it suddenly became inefficient.

Similarly, if you have a huge Class A it's going to get low MPGs because the load on engine is high. Adding a small car behind the Class A can't make that big a difference -- assuming things are set up and working correctly.

I think +/- 1/2 MPG reduction when towing a mid-size car is a good approximation. If it's a lot more than that I'd start looking for problems.

JamieGeek · 05-26-2016, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chance

If you had a V10 in a pickup, and then towed a 5th wheel, obviously the MPGs will drop like crazy, but that's because the load on engine is much greater, not because it suddenly became inefficient.

Not really like crazy: more like about 3 mpg (Our F-350 with V-10 alone approx 11mpg, pulling our old 5th wheel approx 8mpg). Granted 3 mpg is about a 30% drop or so; so yeah like crazy LOL.

Strangely enough: We got worse mileage with our TT behind the F-250 V-10 than we did with the 5th wheel. The TT was basically a brick with a ton of air resistance. The 5th wheel hanging over the bed actually provides a nice air path off the cab and over the 5er.

I did pick back up about 1mpg on the F-350 when I got the 5-star tune though (towing).

Bob Montgomery · 05-26-2016, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chance

If everything is working right, there is no way for towing a small car, even on a dolly, to make a great difference. My guess is that unless you have issues with your dolly and/or toad, that the problem is your ACE is not as fuel efficient as you hope.

There is nothing inherently bad about the V10 when towing.

If you had a V10 in a pickup, and then towed a 5th wheel, obviously the MPGs will drop like crazy, but that's because the load on engine is much greater, not because it suddenly became inefficient.

Similarly, if you have a huge Class A it's going to get low MPGs because the load on engine is high. Adding a small car behind the Class A can't make that big a difference -- assuming things are set up and working correctly.

I think +/- 1/2 MPG reduction when towing a mid-size car is a good approximation. If it's a lot more than that I'd start looking for problems.

On our way home we noticed the engine was surging and the closer to home we got the worse it was. We took it to Ford the next day, they spent about three hours on it. The computer didn't find the problem but the Tech said something about the throttle body and air sensor and now it runs great. It could be the reason I used so much fuel. I had figured with 80 gallons I could go 800 miles like my last Class C (it was shorter and lighter) and I always got 10 mpg or better unless fighting a strong head wind (you think the wind blows in Wyoming and Montana?) ....I will be watching it. My new KarKaddy SS likely wasn't set up right at the dealer but that is a story I will share later in another thread.

Chance · 05-26-2016, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Not really like crazy: more like about 3 mpg (Our F-350 with V-10 alone approx 11mpg, pulling our old 5th wheel approx 8mpg). Granted 3 mpg is about a 30% drop or so; so yeah like crazy LOL.

....cut.....

Jamie, not to get picky, but I expect that when you drove the F-350 alone you probably drove quite a bit differently than when you were towing a 5th wheel. If so it's comparing apples and oranges.

My only point was that Ford V10s are not bad for towing. For example, when my brother-in-law tows his 16,000-pound 5th wheel, his MPG drops from close to 20 MPG alone to around 10 MPG. That's a lot more of a drop (10 MPG or 50%). Should we say GM diesels take a hit when towing? In a way yes, but shouldn't it be expected?

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