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Old 05-20-2020, 10:53 AM   #1
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Question Ford V10 engine tuning

Rather than resurrect this thread again, I thought I would start anew.

The owners of the V10 paired with the 5-speed transmission saw 1/2gal fuel consumption improvement.

Has any one validated engine tuning solutions for the Ford V10/6-speed transmission and seen a fuel efficiency improvement?

That 1/2 gal improvement would save me $80 every time I visit family, and could pay for the update within a few years, if it does indeed work.
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Old 05-20-2020, 12:20 PM   #2
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I have the 5 Star Tune and the v10 with 6-speed. I have not noticed any fuel mileage improvement. If anything I think it's hurt my fuel economy a little bit.

The Tune on a 6-speed has very little effect. I used to own a class c with a 5-speed. I hated driving it on the interstate. Always downshifting to what seemed like 2nd gear on hills. I never got the tune for that RV. But, I bought it for my new 6-speed RV right at the very beginning of owning it. In fact, I didn't really drive the new RV without the Tune installed.

So, to better understand what it was doing, I uninstalled the Tune and drove from San Antonio to Tucson for the Winter. I paid attention to the shifting and the power on hills, etc. And recorded the gas mileage. Then 6-weeks later when we returned home I reinstalled the tune and again paid attention to driveability and gas mileage.

It was pretty much a draw. The tune improves stop light acceleration. It helps shifting on hills a very small amount. And, it got 0.1 worse MPG - 6.4 mpg with the tune and 6.5 mpg without it.

Of course, that could have been the wind or other things. Maybe I-10 is less hilly to drive West than it is to drive East??? It's such a small change. I don't think it's significant.

I've left the tune installed. Because why not? I'm sure it would have helped my Class C with the 5-speed. But it's pretty "meh" on the newer 6-speed model.
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Old 05-20-2020, 12:33 PM   #3
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I have the new 6 speed on my 29 V.E.Winnie and all I can say is that the driveability is improved compared with my previous 2014 26 H.E. Both engines in standard tune and the newer 6 speed giving fractionly less mpg ..In the end I gave up checking..... figuring I am getting 6 or 7 mpg depending on wind and speed...
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Old 05-20-2020, 12:37 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by theSane View Post
The owners of the V10 paired with the 5-speed transmission saw 1/2gal fuel consumption improvement.
What does that mean? A .5 mpg increase? If so, that's just statistical noise unless you have tests over thousands of miles. Just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if you did a full tank repeatedly over the same route that the standard deviation would be well in excess of 1 mpg on most vehicles. Also, remember, people tend to want to think what they did actually did something and that they didn't waste their time and money, so that affects reported results.

Our local ABC affiliate (KOMO) has a consumer reporter who tends to not understand much of anything. She partnered with AAA to add on some of those really goofy fuel saving devices (e.g. the fan like thing that goes into the air intake tube) onto several trucks and her first report was that some of these obviously useless devices saved fuel. But fortunately AAA continued the test for longer and KOMO effectively retracted that position. It's a good example though of how you need to test for very long distances.

This is not to say there couldn't be other changes, such as perceived power. That could more easily be tested by running some 0-60 times.
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Old 05-20-2020, 02:45 PM   #5
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I loaded the 5-star tune in my RV the day after we brought it home (used). It's a 2010 Vista 32K V10 5-speed. We drove a little over 31.7K miles and averaged 6.69 mpg over that distance trying to keep the speeds around 63-64 mph towing a Mini Cooper Roadster. I know that doesn't really help with the question/comment at hand but it gives you a 3-year average mpg for us with a small car behind us. I guess you can use that as a sort of comparison to what you're experiencing.
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Old 05-27-2020, 04:51 PM   #6
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I like the 5 Star tune, but not for gas mileage. I haven't kept exact numbers like Thom B, but I would consider mileage was about the same with or without. On the other hand, if I can maintain over 55 mph, it will not downshift to that screaming 4500+ rpm. In a typical trip between FL and eastern PA. there are very few hills that I can't maintain above 55 - NC having some exceptions. On those trips, I am maxed out at full allowable weight (26000 lb) and pulling a 3000lb trailer (with motorcycles).
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Old 05-27-2020, 09:03 PM   #7
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You guys are making me feel better about the 8 to 9 mpg I get on my 2001 Adventurer 35U without the tune installed even when towing a Saturn Vue. I watch the power levels and go easy on the throttle climbing hills so I stay below the power level that triggers a downshift. I have a ScanGauge on my F53 and have it set to show MPG, Engine Power Lever (as a percentage), Coolant Temp and Charging Voltage.


Before Ethanol was pushed on us I was getting over 10 mpg. Yes I keep a fuel log on everything I drive and calculate the MPG at each fillup.
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Old 05-28-2020, 05:57 AM   #8
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I've got the 5 Star tune on the 5spd trans. If there was a change in mileage I didn't notice it. There is such a large fluctuation in mileage from tank to tank based on where I'm driving (lots of in town driving really hurts the mileage) and the weather (head winds or not) that there is no way I'd be able to say "Yep, I'm averaging .5 mpg better" - or worse, for that matter.
The tune improved the shift points, both in town and up hills on the highway, that's all I was looking for.
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Old 05-28-2020, 06:42 AM   #9
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Thank you for all of the responses. It now comes down to driving my RV in the next week and seeing if I feel like the performance tune is necessary for my driving style. I have a few mountains to climb to get out of the valley, but after that it should be mostly rolling hills that I have to deal with.

I look forward to the trip and seeing how the motorhome handles it.
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