I didn't really know anything about tuners before I got my ecoboost. Now I'm interested. I do have a couple of questions so basic that I can't seem to find an answer.

1. If you have a tuner and get multiple tunes, do you have to reprogram the truck every time you want to change or is it as simple as picking the tune you want to use on your tuner and "clicking" it?
2. What happens if for example you have a 93 tune and go somewhere they only have 91 octane? Does the truck run okay or do you have to remove the tune?
3. Is there a "best" tune (i.e. performance v. performance tow, etc) if what you really want is more low speed grunt like 0-60 and passing like 50-70 but not so much need for top end?

Thanks for any answers for a total newbie when it comes to performance.

 

1. If you have multiple tunes you need to stop somewhere and load the new tune in. It takes a few minutes to load up (10-15min). You may need a laptop if you use something like a HP RTD.
2. Most tunes will leave all of the factory knock protections in place, so if you run 91 on a 93 tune it SHOULD be ok. I've never done it though and I would not romp on the engine doing that. Your tuner is taking advantage of additional octane to increase boost and increase timing. That mixed with low octane fuel is a bad recipe.
3. The best tune is subjective. If you just want to go fast and have a fun daily get the performance tune. The performance tow tune likely has different transmission behavior, and is down tuned slightly so you can run the engine at a higher load level for extended periods of time. I think you'll find the transmission changes play a big part in the tune. Yes the engine is making more power, but the trans allows the rpm's to come up more under part throttle which really wakes the truck up during daily (normal) driving.. It also probably won't skip shift and have all that weird lazy shifts like the stock tune has.

I personally have a 93 perf, 93 tow, 87 tow... and I only ever run the 93 perf tune.

 

Thanks for the good info.