Should I just get the Five star tune and get it over with!

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by ddgoodtimes

I need some more help please. I got my X4 tuner with the RV tune in the mail. Reading the booklet that came with it on chapter 3.0 There are two different files to download? 3.1 and 3.2 3.1 says preloaded tune file and 3.2 says custom tune file. Will I have to choose one of these (If so witch one) or will it do it by it's self. I sure would hate to mess this thing up right before my trip. I am very mechanical minded but the opposite for computers.

I just got mine in the mail yesterday and have been studying the instruction manual in between relatives from out of town here.

First I downloaded the SCT X4 Power Flash Ford Programmer Device Update Software to my home computer from the SCT website. I will install it on my laptop later so that I can update the X4 on the road if needed.

SCT Performance - More Power! Less Fuel! This allows me to update the device or tunes through the "Device Settings" menu if I have WIFI access for the X4.

The X4 that is received in the mail is pre-loaded with the one tune for our motorhome. A custom tune is not pre-loaded and is one that is made up by SCT in case you are running a turbo charger, etc. on your engine. It is sent to a person through email.

In our case, the preloaded tune is all that we need. So we follow the instructions in Chapter 3.1 of the instructions. That's basically the point that I am at now.

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by K3wtf

all i recieved was the rv tune... only 1 file

Yep, that's all we need. I am ready to hook mine up and follow the steps in Chapter 3.1.

[aauummm]

Update:

When I got to step 5, under "pre-loaded tune" it said "vehicle unsupported" and under "custom tune" it said something like "87 daily tow", so that is what I selected. I was not given any options for other octanes as the instructions say it will.

I continued following the steps until done. Now we'll see how it goes!
I think I'll call SCT tomorrow and ask them about step 5 and also about chosing the correct octane rating when only option was given.

[al2ride]

Originally Posted by aauummm

Update:

When I got to step 5, under "pre-loaded tune" it said "vehicle unsupported" and under "custom tune" it said something like "87 daily tow", so that is what I selected. I was not given any options for other octanes as the instructions say it will.

I continued following the steps until done. Now we'll see how it goes!
I think I'll call SCT tomorrow and ask them about step 5 and also about chosing the correct octane rating when only option was given.

Like I said, you have to load the custom tune. You only bought one tune from 5 star...the custom one. The pre-loaded ones are typical tunes for most cars/pickup trucks. Not sure why you would want other than 87 octane for your RV.

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by al2ride

Like I said, you have to load the custom tune. You only bought one tune from 5 star...the custom one. The pre-loaded ones are typical tunes for most cars/pickup trucks. Not sure why you would want other than 87 octane for your RV.

Yep, you are correct. In going through the flash process, the X4 in step 5 calls the "87 RV daily-tow" a custom tune and that is the only one loaded into the X4. What is confusing is that on the sctflash.com and 5startuning.com websites they say that custom tunes are ones provided by their local dealers and are emailed to you, not pre-loaded. So I am getting conflicting information between the X4 and the website.

I like to use 91 octane or higher when traveling in mountainous areas and I'd like to know that my tune is getting the most performance out of the higher octane fuel. In mountainous areas I am only concerned with increasing the horsepower and torque and not concerned about economy.

In the User's Manual, Chapter 3.1 it says: "Gasoline Engine: Tunes are based on Octane, make sure you choose the correct octane rating based on the octane you are running in your vehicle.
-87 Octane
-91 Octane
-93 Octane"

So my question becomes where do I choose the octane rating as I didn't see that option during the flash process or do I need a separate tune for each higher octane rating? Again, I'm getting conflicting information.

The other possibility is that we just load the custom tune "87 RV daily -tow" tune and don't be concerned about any conflicting information or what octane is used as that information only pertains to pickups, cars, vans, etc.

I'll take the MH out for a test run this afternoon around my 20 mile "test circuit" and see how it performs. Should be interesting.

[al2ride]

Originally Posted by aauummm

Yep, you are correct. In going through the flash process, the X4 in step 5 calls the "87 RV daily-tow" a custom tune and that is the only one loaded into the X4. What is confusing is that on the sctflash.com and 5startuning.com websites they say that custom tunes are ones provided by their local dealers and are emailed to you, not pre-loaded. So I am getting conflicting information between the X4 and the website.

I like to use 91 octane or higher when traveling in mountainous areas and I'd like to know that my tune is getting the most performance out of the higher octane fuel. In mountainous areas I am only concerned with increasing the horsepower and torque and not concerned about economy.

In the User's Manual, Chapter 3.1 it says: "Gasoline Engine: Tunes are based on Octane, make sure you choose the correct octane rating based on the octane you are running in your vehicle.
-87 Octane
-91 Octane
-93 Octane"

So my question becomes where do I choose the octane rating as I didn't see that option during the flash process or do I need a separate tune for each higher octane rating? Again, I'm getting conflicting information.

The other possibility is that we just load the custom tune "87 RV daily -tow" tune and don't be concerned about any conflicting information or what octane is used as that information only pertains to pickups, cars, vans, etc.

I'll take the MH out for a test run this afternoon around my 20 mile "test circuit" and see how it performs. Should be interesting.

If you look at all of the dyno charts they are all based on 87 octane. If you want to use higher octane I would contact Mike to see if he can program one for you. Not sure which coach you have, but our 35 footer climbs steep hills like a car.

All RV X4 devices come with 1 custom tune installed for price listed.

Works on 1996-2014 Vehicles

[KSCRUDE]

Originally Posted by al2ride

If you look at all of the dyno charts they are all based on 87 octane. If you want to use higher octane I would contact Mike to see if he can program one for you. Not sure which coach you have, but our 35 footer climbs steep hills like a car.

All RV X4 devices come with 1 custom tune installed for price listed.

Works on 1996-2014 Vehicles

Yes ours does also. I see no need for higher priced gas. You will gain nothing from it.

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by KSCRUDE

Yes ours does also. I see no need for higher priced gas. You will gain nothing from it.

I agree. I did some research on octane ratings and found that higher octane fuels do not give us more power or better gas mileage. I had assumed (like many consumers) that higher octanes were better. Not so.

Ford recommends 87 octane. What will give better mileage and power is switching from 87 octane with 10% ethanol to straight 87 octane regular gasoline.

[ledoylefcco]

Aauimmm. I agree if you can find it. Only a few places in Nebraska and Wyoming have I found it. Definitely more power and improved MPG.

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by ledoylefcco

Aauimmm. I agree if you can find it. Only a few places in Nebraska and Wyoming have I found it. Definitely more power and improved MPG.

Yep, the midwest is heavily weighted toward the ethanol blend. In Iowa we even get the gasoline tax break for using ethanol so that 87 octane with 10% ethanol is some 20-25 cents cheaper per gallon than 87 octane regular.

I do run across 87 octane regular in my travels so I usually end up with a mixture of the two in my tank.

[TeJay]

aauummm,
You had me wondering for awhile when you said something about gaining horsepower by using 91 octane.

I would pose this question to my students when we began our advanced discussions on fuel, fuel injection and computer controls.

Using two identical cars at the 1/4 mile one with 87 and one with 91 octane. "Which would get the best times??? Assuming identical drivers or same driver as well.
They always said the higher octane would get better times. When I told them NO that's when the discussions and explanations would begin.

Since many, many consumers don't know why here it is in a very simple explanation.

If both cars were identical except one had 8:1 compression and one had 9:1 compression then and only then would the 91 octane improve the performance. Higher compression gives you the potential of getting more HP. The higher octane is necessary to prevent and to avoid pre-ignition of the fuel due to heat of compression.

TeJay

[aauummm]

Originally Posted by TeJay

aauummm,
You had me wondering for awhile when you said something about gaining horsepower by using 91 octane.

I would pose this question to my students when we began our advanced discussions on fuel, fuel injection and computer controls.

Using two identical cars at the 1/4 mile one with 87 and one with 91 octane. "Which would get the best times??? Assuming identical drivers or same driver as well.
They always said the higher octane would get better times. When I told them NO that's when the discussions and explanations would begin.

Since many, many consumers don't know why here it is in a very simple explanation.

If both cars were identical except one had 8:1 compression and one had 9:1 compression then and only then would the 91 octane improve the performance. Higher compression gives you the potential of getting more HP. The higher octane is necessary to prevent and to avoid pre-ignition of the fuel due to heat of compression.

TeJay

Yep. I was like a lot of consumers and just assumed that higher octane would give more power. You guys got me to thinking about that in the discussion about the 5 Star Tune and the different tunes for different octanes. I even called 5 Star Tune about it. I also started studying up on it on my own. (Reread my owner's manual also) I found that it's exactly as you, and others and 5 Star Tune says it is.

Also, the gasoline companies have done a good job in clouding the issue and fooling us into buying higher octane fuel when it is just money wasted but more profits for them.

[TeJay]

Now you can join the ranks of the educated and you won't waste $$$$ on higher octane fuels.

Yes the oil companies do cloud the issue. They also try to market the injector cleaners as well as other crap that is supposed to help.

Engines today do a great job of managing the fuel delivery while keeping the emissions down very low. That's evident in the fact that plugs last 60,000-100,000 miles. Excess fuel (hydrocarbons) are what fouled the plugs.

They were forced into doing it back in the late 70's and 80's by the Feds. That's one time the feds did something intelligent. Fortunately it was so complicated the government didn't actually try to do it themselves like our current health care screw up system. They had to improve fuel mileage and lower emissions on a time schedule. As it turned out if you lowered the emissions you improved mileage. It was a win, win situation for everybody.

TeJay

[jamesrxx951]

Originally Posted by TeJay

aauummm,
You had me wondering for awhile when you said something about gaining horsepower by using 91 octane.

I would pose this question to my students when we began our advanced discussions on fuel, fuel injection and computer controls.

Using two identical cars at the 1/4 mile one with 87 and one with 91 octane. "Which would get the best times??? Assuming identical drivers or same driver as well.
They always said the higher octane would get better times. When I told them NO that's when the discussions and explanations would begin.

Since many, many consumers don't know why here it is in a very simple explanation.

If both cars were identical except one had 8:1 compression and one had 9:1 compression then and only then would the 91 octane improve the performance. Higher compression gives you the potential of getting more HP. The higher octane is necessary to prevent and to avoid pre-ignition of the fuel due to heat of compression.

TeJay

I don't think I agree with this this. For one the only way to really tell a difference is on an engine dyno. Since the potential power gains are minimal. Because higher octane is a resistance to burn, you use higher octane if you want to advance timing, add boost, or very high compression. On either car you could see a slight gain in power if the timing was advanced. But the gain in power from the timing and not the fuel. The fuel just allows the mixture to not start the burn prematurely. A very good buddy of mine was very heavy in motorcycle drag racing in the 80's (had some high name sponsors to) and just recently got back into drag racing. With a stock Suzuki Hyabusa engine on a dyno (11 or12:1 compression ratio) running 91 octane would loose 5 HP vs 87 octane which the programming was set for. BTW he is running 8.20's at 161/162 MPH with a pretty much stock busa engine with a longer swing arm and wheelie bar. He built a larger engine that pushed it to 168 MPH but the 60foot was terrible because of a lack of traction. He would have to go with a wider swing arm to put the power to the ground and he really don't want to spend that kind of money.