I was recently offered an edge evolution cs for my 2013 5.0 4x4 for $350. I have never had a programmer before so I have little knowledge on the subject. The guy had the programmer on his 5.0 for 2 months before buying an ecoboost.

Any information, advice, pros/cons would be greatly appreciated before I decide to buy it.

 

Just bought the programmer. Any installation or settings advice?

 

Update it first. Otherwise, not much else.. Plug and play.... Start with the economy setting.. Otherwise you'll want to keep it in the performance setting... Lol

Made a decent difference on my 5.4

 

Yep. Download the software and make sure the programmer is up to date.

Follow the install instructions to a T and dont unplug it unless it tells you too. If it tells you to remove a fuse during install, do it.

After its in the truck, always give your truck time to warm up before "hammering" on the throttle. Also, You may have to adjust the gap on your plugs if you get some hesitation.

 

I had one on my last truck and liked it, let me know how you like the new one

 

Got it all hooked up and it certainly made a difference. It has 3 power levels, economy, towing, and race. So far I have only used economy and race.

On Economy the mpg difference is surprising. I went from 13mpg average to 17mpg. 20mpg with the cruise set on 55.

On Race I don't notice a huge increase in acceleration from a dead stop. But I do notice a much greater acceleration while at cruising speed. (When passing up cars)

However, there are some things I don't care for.

Changing power levels takes a long time and it seems like it takes the truck a few days to fully adjust. I started in economy mode and at first I didn't like it at all. The truck would shift hard, die out when put in reverse, and the gear display on the trucks information screen had disappeared! But a few days later the gear display had returned and it was driving much better.

When I switched to Race setting I noticed all of the same symptoms as when I first installed it. Shifting hard, dieing out in reverse, no gear display, and an all around weird feel to the truck. After a few days everything was back to normal. Not sure what's causing this or if it is normal.

It also changes my truck settings when I switch modes. Like the radio settings and the rearview camera settings.

Anyone have any info on if this is normal or if I should be concerned? Because I can't find any info anywhere on exactly what this thing does to my truck in each different mode.

 

It's called adaptive learning. Your truck adjust different parameters based on how you drive.

Wayne

 

Yea I figured that.

Also, when changing levels it says that 87 octane is required for economy and towing and 91 octane is required for race level. How important is it to do this? What if I switch from race to econ with half a tank of 91, or econ to race with half a tank of 87? How serious is this?

 

If it says 91 is needed do NOT use the tune with 87 in the tank!

Higher octane is needed for the higher timing that the performance/race tune has.

Wayne

 

x2