Winter and tuning for it!

[originalrocket]

Ive had a COBB tuner for a while, didn't win the gold one, enjoying the 93tune.

Now that in a few weeks I'm going to mount the winter tires and rims, I was wondering if I should switch to economy tune.

Couple of reasons, primary is to save the winter tires. So I don't burn them Up like I'm doing with these stock summers. Also it would make modulating power easier on icy roads.

Does economy tune allow use of 87 octane?

Just wondering people's thoughts. I've never tried economy tune, I don't travel highway speeds much, but I wonder how much power I'm actually losing.

 

[dyn085]

Technically you aren't 'losing' power, you'll just be limiting it. The economy tune can use 87 octane and targets spring pressure boost, which is roughly 5-6 psi or so. I've run the economy tune a few times out of curiosity. For 'normal' acceleration you won't notice a difference in the first two gears but it's pretty evident in third or above.

If you have the latest update you may want to see if map-switching is already enabled. I could be wrong but I think the OTS octane tunes have the economy tune switchable. If so then you only have to do a quick map switch if you think it will help for your driving conditions, instead of loading the economy tune by itself.

Map switching is awesome.

 

[BRGT350]

I too am wondering about changing tunes for the winter. With winter grade fuel, I don't trust the quality of the fuel to run the 93 octane map. I also don't need any additional power in the winter, and in fact, could use about half of it. For January and February, it is unlikely the road conditions will even allow the car to reach the speed limits posted. Last winter, it wasn't until late in March before I drove 70mph on the highway. Amazing how fast 70mph feels after months of going 55-60.

I am considering running the stock tune or perhaps the 87 octane map with 89 octane fuel when winter is at its worst.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

So what's the difference between the stock map and economic map? This might be a good idea actually. I'd appreciate any input on this.

 

[dyn085]

So what's the difference between the stock map and economic map? This might be a good idea actually. I'd appreciate any input on this.

The stock map well ruin the parameters established by Ford. The economy tune well either run those parameters with the altered boost target or the Cobb 87 tube with the altered boost target.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

The stock map well ruin the parameters established by Ford. The economy tune well either run those parameters with the altered boost target or the Cobb 87 tube with the altered boost target.

Is one better or worse than the other? I've never ran them. Just always ran 93 but I wouldn't mind saving some cash this winter. Ha.

 

[dyn085]

Is one better or worse than the other? I've never ran them. Just always ran 93 but I wouldn't mind saving some cash this winter. Ha.

If I were going to run 87 octane then I would prefer to run the Cobb 87 maps over stock, but if someone wants the limited boost then they're stuck with whatever the base map is that had the reduced boost target. If I had to guess, I would assume the economy tune is the Cobb OTS 87 base map.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Yeah that's the way I'm understanding it also. That economy map is 87.

Would it be harmful to run that through the engine all winter?

 

[dyn085]

Yeah that's the way I'm understanding it also. That economy map is 87.

Would it be harmful to run that through the engine all winter?

Our cars are programmed to be able to run on 87, so there shouldn't be a reason to worry about it. In fact, there's really no need to worry about changing maps at all unless you're on a custom tune that is tuned to the absolute edge of performance. Winter fuel isn't 'bad' or 'worse' than summer fuels, it's just blended differently because it can be a little more volatile due to the lower ambient temperatures.

People think the fuel mileage loss of winter-blends of fuel is due to the fuel being worse, but realistically it is more a result of the ambient temperatures that causes it. It is harder and takes longer for your engine to reach operating temps due to the outside temperature and harder to maintain due to both the outside temperature and the use of the heater. The fuel itself is probably within 2% of the same energy content as summer fuel.

Those that are talking about switching maps most likely have the AP3, and you can datalog and monitor ignition corrections to see if the fuel you're using doesn't work with your map. A few small negative corrections are not a bad thing, but if you're seeing consistent or large negative corrections then you should probably de-tune a bit. Use the data you get on your vehicle in your area to make an educated decision as it's going to be much more accurate/informative than anything I or anyone else can tell you.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

That makes sense. Maybe I'll just uninstall my port altogether for the winter. Nothing to worry about then. Then just ran 87 all winter.

 

[razorlab]

You could look into really dialing in the new boost per gear feature for way less boost in the lower gears.

There is also torque reduction you can do per gear. That has always been there with the OEM programming feature set.