Looking at getting some tuning for my 2012 3.7 crew cab F150, 214k miles, I figured if Im gonna keep it for the long haul I might as well invest some money to somewhat increase the performance/mpg. Five Star tuning seems to be pretty popular amongst F150 owners. Who on here has their tuning and likes it? I plan on doing an 87 and 91 economy tune, along with a 91 performance/tow tune. I have a resonator delete pipe on the way also. With the stock muffler intact it shouldnt be loud at all.
Five Star tuning
- Thread starter mobilnissan1991
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I did the 5 Star tune on my 2009 5.4L 3V. It was necessary on that engine, because Ford "forgot" to open the throttle valve until 4500 RPM. No kidding, the throttle plate would remain about 30% open until 4500 RPM, then open fully, only to reach the 5000 RPM redline and shift. The difference was stunning. The truck went from being a dog, to being quite lively and an absolute pleasure to drive.
But that was a unique situation. Look at his dyno graphs for the 3.7, a 93 tune gains about 10HP and 10 foot pounds torque.
But that was a unique situation. Look at his dyno graphs for the 3.7, a 93 tune gains about 10HP and 10 foot pounds torque.
I have some 5* tunes for my 2018 F150 3.5 eco. I primarily used the adaptive tune. But I removed it because of some really bad mpg and cooling fan running constantly. I did not contact them to get a new file because I didnt really think the tunes really did all that much. Or I was expecting to much? I will add, I didnt have any revisions done on the original files either. I wanted the tunes to change shift strategies primarily, though more power is always fun. The shifting strategy was marginally better and same with the power. The mpg was never better. At some point the file must have become corrupt or something and the mpg tanked and the fan rans constantly.
I flashed back to OEM and everything went back to normal and I have just left it.
It maybe worth it if you want to data log and get revision’s, if you are looking for every last bit of power.
I flashed back to OEM and everything went back to normal and I have just left it.
It maybe worth it if you want to data log and get revision’s, if you are looking for every last bit of power.
I have a ‘19 F150 3.5 with 5 Star’s 87 Perf-Tow & E30 tunes. With the 87P-T tune in, a judicious foot, and mostly flat terrain on the highway, I can routinely knock down 24.5+ depending on if there’s a tailwind or not. On some occasions (~60 mph, staying in R lane) I’ve seen over 27mpg but it drops to upper 21s- low 22s if the speed is above 75. Light foot mpg is better than anything stock, having some fun ends up costing 0.5-1.2mpg but the great thing is it’s your call. Supposedly about 45rwhp stronger than stock, but the torque management is much better so the truck is sneaky quick in the 2000-3500 range.
The E30 tune is insane, according to their dyno charts it adds roughly 200rwhp to an otherwise stock truck, and I believe it. I’ve got a vid on here of my truck with the E30 tune & S&B intake as only mods and the truck ran a 10.65ish second 0-100 with a lazy start. It chops about 2.5-3mpg off where the stock tune is, and there’s no hope of coming close to that, due to higher ethanol content and the truck is just so dang fun to romp on it. Throttle response is great; the only downside is when in sport mode the last two downshifts before a stop can be quite harsh. I may ask them to send me a newer file, but I only usually leave this tune in short-term because of the hazard to my license! And to think that another 100+ rwhp is just waiting for the taking if I were to install a new in-tank and high-pressure rail fuel pump!
The E30 tune is insane, according to their dyno charts it adds roughly 200rwhp to an otherwise stock truck, and I believe it. I’ve got a vid on here of my truck with the E30 tune & S&B intake as only mods and the truck ran a 10.65ish second 0-100 with a lazy start. It chops about 2.5-3mpg off where the stock tune is, and there’s no hope of coming close to that, due to higher ethanol content and the truck is just so dang fun to romp on it. Throttle response is great; the only downside is when in sport mode the last two downshifts before a stop can be quite harsh. I may ask them to send me a newer file, but I only usually leave this tune in short-term because of the hazard to my license! And to think that another 100+ rwhp is just waiting for the taking if I were to install a new in-tank and high-pressure rail fuel pump!
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- Aug 15, 2023
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This might be too late to be relevant, but have monitored your coolant temps at all?
I ask because I too have an 18 with the 3.5 ecoboost and as soon as I installed my 91 perf tune, my fans were on basically all the time. Tuns out my thermostat was faulty. Not enough for the temp gauge to move or for the overheat light to come on, but the engine was about 20-30 degrees hotter than it should be.
The 5star tune basically revealed the problem because they lower the fan threshold in all their tunes.
I monitored the temps and regularly would see 230-240 degrees when I was in the boost. And it never came down lower than 215
After I replaced the thermostat with fords revised part (the 2018 trucks came with an older design) the temps went back down to 200-210 and the fans are NEVER on, even with the 5 star tune loaded and longer periods of boosting.
As for power, I noticed gains after the thermostat change. I'm pretty sure the ecu was lowering the boost on hard pulls because of the heat.
Just something to consider...
