5 Star Ecoboost Tune Reviews
 

I wanted to bring this topic out of the "5 Star in Development” thread and into a review thread since it is already out and the development thread is a bit cluttered. I figured since Mike gave me a great product, at a great price, with great customer service, that it is the least I can do to write a review of my excellent experience. Don’t forget to post your review on Mike’s iTrader page here too.

Year: 2011 Cab: SCrew Bed: 5.5 Ratio: 3.55 Diff: LSD Drive: 4WD Tires: 33" Wrangler Duratracs Tune: 87 perf/tow

The Good

This tune is just awesome. You can really tell that the person making this tune spent hours and days behind the wheel doing actual everyday driving to get it just right instead of just doing some adjustments and driving for an hour. The transmission does not shift too soon in normal driving like stock, and you are always where you want to be in the power band. One of my biggest pet peeves with stock is that it would stay in third gear while making slow 15-20 mph turns leaving you with a brief moment of feeling sluggish until you got around 1500rpm. Neither the SCT 93 tune that I have been running for the past two weeks nor the Superchips 91 tune that I was running for 2 months prior fixed this issue. My friend’s Livernois tune is better on this issue than the SCT & Superchips, but nowhere near how well the 5 Star tune overcomes this by changing up the speed that 3rd gear locks up the torque converter keeping you in the right gear for the right situation. I tested the tune all morning by driving the same roads I travel to work and other commonly traveled roads trying to catch this tune in the wrong gear like the others but couldn’t. Even when I slowed down and then sped up going up hills, the transmission was always where you wanted it giving you more power instantly without having to mash the pedal further so the transmission will drop down a gear to put you where you want to be like you have to with the others.

WOT off the line; this tune is a beast easily outperforming the SC 91, Livernois 87, but right on par with the SCT's 93 throw-you-back-in-your-seat acceleration feel. However, on 20-80/40-80 runs, 5 Star 87 will blow away a SCT 93 tune due to its very quick throttle response and shift points. The drive by wire on the SCT (or the others) is not tuned as well as the 5 Star’s is which also feels like it gives you more throw you back in your seat power at lower rpms for some odd reason. The one place the 5 Star 87 tune gets bested is WOT at 60+mph speeds by the SCT 93 tune. The SCT 93 tune has more power to pull and you can feel it in this situation, but I am sure the 5 Star 93 perf/tow tune will easily best SCT 93 once it comes out. Keep in mind I only ran the SCT 87 for about 10 miles and didn’t like it so I ran the 93 from that point on so that is what I have to compare it to. The closest track was 75 miles away and is now closed down so no runs as of yet.

I have not had a chance to tow with the tune but will report back when I do. It is worth noting that you can tow up to the trucks maximum tow rating with this tune, unlike the others that you would have to switch tunes to tow anything over 3,000 lbs. You can even tow with the 93 perf/tow tune so no more having to retune the truck to a weaker tune just to tow for the weekend and loosing that performance feel you come to enjoy.

The Bad

I did notice traveling along the same roads as I usually travel to work that I was getting a little worse than average fuel mileage that I regularly got with the other tunes. My way into work are back country roads and then a small stretch of highway totaling 10.37 miles one-way. I made three round trips and consistently got -.5/-.8 mpg less than the other tunes I have been running for the past two months. This could be because they were 91/93 tunes using 93 octane and this is an 87 tune using 87octane. It could also be because it does not shift so early like the other tunes do which is what I think it is. It does not bother me none since I did not buy it for better mpg’s, but I at least have to state it to give an honest review.

The Conclusion

This tune was worth the wait and more than worth the cost unlike others that are very hard to justify theirs for what you get. I highly recommend this on your mods-to-do list if you have not already done so. It isn't just geared for performance like some of the others, but also daily driving and the safe usability of the truck as a truck which is just one of the reasons that puts it above the rest.

EDIT: For those who don't know and have asked me. You can get a 5 Star tune as long as you have a SCT SF3 tuner and purchase the tune here even if you purchased the unit from another vendor although Mike has special deal packages on his custom tunes if you purchase through him. The SCT SF3 holds the 3 pre loaded "canned" 87/91/93 tunes, and can store an additional 3 custom tunes. Each 5 Star tune will take up one of the custom tune slots up to three. So if you have a SCT SF3 tuner and a open custom tune slot, then you can have the tune too. You are not limited just because you bought the tuner somewhere else.

Excellent review. I'm gathering funds for a 5 Star tune. I agree, I hate the way the truck stays in 3rd at low speeds when it should shift down.

Nice write up Al. Very in depth.

This is my short review from the other thread:

Here is my report and first impressions of the 87 performance/tow tune:

Milage: I put about 145 miles on. 15 city stop and go traffic. 60 on interstate at 77 mph, 12 on two lane at 67 mph. The remaining 58 at 61 mph. I tried to use cruise as much as possible. Wind 7 or less. Going by the dash 17.1 mpg

Shifting: Much better than stock. Crisper downshifts and upshifts. They happen when you want them too. Driving around town was much more enjoyable. The numbness seems to be minimized.

Power: Squeeze the trigger and it flat out goes. Very enjoyable and you can feel the pull.

Pickup specs: 2012 Platinum with 2200 miles, 6.5 bed, 3.73 gears, stock Pirelli tires on KMC rims

Overall very happy so far. I hope the milage stays up there if I can keep my foot out of it.

I have not put any more miles on yet, so will update more when I do. The short trip did yield me more mpg's but was never getting great results before that.

Mike was great to work with. He fixed my shifting issues and added tons of power to my pickup. One benefit of this tune to me is, I go back and forth towing and did not want to have to reprogram every time. Also the turn around time was very fast. I look forward to what he comes up with next.

A SOLID recommend.

This was just posted by Mike on Facebook.

"91.93 perftow maps releasing on monday. better flat tq about 10-15 more hp and 20-25 ft tq torque over 87.. 87 on roids so to speak. Comes with great shifting and converter lock up strategies and all safety strategies are enabled like factory. Towing netted some low raw egts less than 1400F no matter how hard pushed."

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The 87 tune is 75 rwhp and 100rwtq on his dyno chart.

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An additional 10-15rwhp and another 20-25rwtq that I can safely tow with...... sweet!

Only bad thing for me is that I wish I would have waited to buy the SCT tuner from Mike. When I bought it, he had deal for the SCT tuner(with the 3 SCT canned tunes) and 1 free custom to for $379.00. An additional $105 for another custom tune and $160 for 2 additional tunes. Now he has the SCT tuner with 3 free custom tunes for $449.00. I would have to spend $539.00 to get the 3 custom tunes like the $449.00 deal.:censored: Oh well, it happens and it's only money...

Mike just emailed me the 93 tune ya. Now my next tune will be his 93MPG tune hope it nets 2mpg better that would rock we will see.

93 mpg!!! Not bad!! Lol.

Hell ya mike does magic you did not know that..

Sweet!!!! Just got a nice little 93 octane tune gift in my e-mail inbox a day early. The wife wants to go look at new houses again today. That should be enough miles to have to fill up by tonight. Thanks Mike! Reviews will come soon. Gotta go.

Would that make him Magic Mike? :whistling2:

I got my 91 today too. Need to burn some gas before trying it.

Well.....I'm ready to get Mikes tuner ordered. I need to goto the dealer and have the trailor brake controller activated, when they do this...will they install the latest update in my truck???



Bob