Update on SCT Tuner Experience

[Jackson Ellis]

Update on my experiences. I asked Torrie to send me a towing tune for 87 Octane, and he responded that day. I like it over stock, but I like the performance tunes better.



93 Performance was great, but fuel mileage sucked. MPG wasn't one of my worries since I don't drive a lot, but wow, it sucked. Maybe it needs tweaking? Or maybe my right foot was enjoying it too much? Shifting is fantastic and power is abundant.



87 Performance is great and will likely be what I end up on for the long term. Fuel mileage suffers, but not as bad as 93 performance. Gas costs 45 cents more for 93 vs. 87 at my local fuel stop ($3.15 vs $3.60, 15% increase!). Shifting is fantastic.



87 Econ - N/A Never tried it....



87 Towing - Haven't tried it towing the boat yet. The shifting is an improvement for daily driving over stock and the fuel mileage seems to be equal or close to stock. More power over stock.



Changing tunes takes 5 to 10 minutes to "overwrite" one tune over another. If I go back to stock first (which I do whenever the SCT needs a software update), it takes about 20 minutes to go to stock, and then around 30 minutes to load the next tune.



Disclaimer: All MPG claims above are based on one tankful, inefficient driving methods, and the built in trip computer. I'm most likely going to pick the tune I like the most for daily driving based on driveability and not any quantitative parameters.

 

[Blues Crues]

I got Torrie's tunes too... 87 Performance, 89 Towing & 91 Performance. What a difference! started with the 87 tune and was night & day different. I'm running 91 right now and don't want to go back!:driving: I have yet to try the tow tune.

 

[Doctor CAD]

I love the 87 towing tune, but I'm much more of a torque kind-of guy. I could care less if if your car can go 150 mph if it takes 2 miles to get there. Give me a hard launch and enough guts to go from 35 to 65 quickly and I'm happy.



The towing tune does just that, hard launch, snap shifts and tons of useable torque up to the speed limit. Oh, and according to my OBD device, over the last 2400 miles, I have averaged 19.5 MPG. Those miles include daily commute and city and highway. Moving a heavy truck that easily and still pulling close to 20 MPG...can't beat it!



I really do like the 92 performance, just too expensive to keep filling the tank and replacing rear tires!

 

[Torrie McPhail]

MPG is mostly controlled by your right foot. Trust me I do not inherently build anything into any file that purposely degrades mileage.



Take care,

Mr. Torrie R. McPhail - Owner

Fast Parts Network

Unleashed Tuning

Ford/GM/DCX SCT Custom Calibrator

OEM Ford Parts Specialist

 

[Jackson Ellis]

Since my last post, I've towed my boat with the 87 Towing Tune.

[Broken External Image]:

That rig is about 6000 lbs, including the trailer, and a full 60 gallons of fuel. The ST towed it just fine.



I kept the 87 Towing tune for about 3 weeks, including a couple 100+ mile trips with Interstate included, and it was a really good daily driver tune. After a couple tanks, (and my foot settling down, like Torrie implied), I estimate that the MPG is pretty much the same as stock. Last weekend, I went back to the 87 Performance tune to get a good comparison of it to Towing. Big difference, and in a good way. This is my daily driving tune for sure. Gas mileage is lower, but I'll give it a few tankfuls to see if it's my foot again.