Quote:
Originally Posted by DbleDutch
Thanks GMTech,
I have been one enjoying the discussion. I have been interested in a tune to correct the towhaul shift pattern.
We frequently take our RV from 800ft to 8000ft and back down. The stock V10 tune does a horrible job of releasing the down shift. Our GM pickup with our 5th would hold its speed and easily step up a gear with a slight touch of gas. I am looking to gain this back with the V10 tuned.
Enjoy your travels!
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VERY good point on the trans. Yeah I'm happy with the V10, and the Ford 6 speed works well, but it sure would be nice to have that manual gear control that the Allison and GM transmissions have. Not being able to manually select 5th or 3rd gear is a little annoying at times.
The good point is what's capable with tuning as far as "fixing" problems like these. I didn't like the way that the Ford 6 speed would drop from 6th to 4th if it couldn't pull 6th on a grade. I did a couple changes in the shift properties themselves, but I also didn't want to create any side effects.
So what I did was to modify the 5th and 6th gear shift properties in Tow/Haul mode only, so that when it's in T/H, it won't actually go into 6th at all. So now I have a "pseudo" manual 5th gear! If I'm climbing a grade that won't quite pull 6th gear, all I have to do is push the T/H switch and it will drop to 5th and stay there without hunting back and forth or jumping from 6th to 4th. It works for me, obviously it wouldn't work for everyone because if you forget to turn T/H off, you'll never get into 6th gear. Just one of the many things you can customize to your own liking when you tune an engine and trans. And there isn't just one way to "fix" things like this either.
The other part of course for your climbing up and down from 800 to 8000 feet is engine power. The tune will give you a significant increase in torque that will make pulling grades WAY better. Pulling grades is where Ford really neutered these engines and fixing it with a tune will absolutely be noticeable.
The thought I had earlier was about 5 Star tuning. It appears that a lot of you guys have been on the fence about this tuning stuff, and buying a 5 Star tune specifically. Somebody mentioned price, that's what got me thinking...
I called 5 Star today and talked to Chris. It's the first time I've ever talked to anyone there, and I have NO affiliation or ties to them whatsoever. I told Chris the reason I called wasn't for myself, but for you forum members. I told him about this thread and he pulled it up and said he'd read it. I asked if there was anything he could do as far as a "group buy" or some kind of discount to help you guys out. I told him you all seem like good guys and would probably appreciate any help he could give. He totally understood and said he'd work on it. I won't get and don't want anything for possibly saving you guys some money and possibly giving 5 Star some business in the process, I simply did it for the Karma points. lol. I had a very nice talk with Chris and was impressed by his knowledge and interest in helping out forum members. We'll see!
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