5star tune - poor mpg and traction controll light issue

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CJBax

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FYI. My 2021 is running the Livernois 91-93 Performance Soft shift tune and has the same problem with the traction control light. My questions for you are 1) what size tires are you running and 2) did you adjust the revs/mile using the tuner?

My theory is that my actual revs/mile are off by a larger amount after adjusting them than before, which is freaking out the traction control system when I accelerate at higher speeds.
I have the stock AT tires, 265/65/R17 I believe. I did not make any tire adjustments or the like with the tuner.
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CJBax

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How long did you leave the tune loaded? When I first loaded my 87 tune from 5 star the truck behaved similar to what you describe less the T/C light. After driving about 120 miles the shifts were smoothed consideribly, close to stock. Also I got about the same fuel mileage as stock.
I had the 91 tune loaded for over 1000 miles and it did not improve, at all. I have since reflashed, first back to stock for about 300 miles then the SCT pre loaded which I've been running for about 200 miles now. I will reach out to 5star and see what they can do.
 
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Just get an Unleashed Tune and be done with it....I've tried too many to keep track of and you will be hard pressed to find a better and "smoother" tune than Unleashed. IMO.
Do you know if Unleashed will do a tune for the SCT BDX programmer?
 

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I think some of these tuners are getting sloppy. Some (5-Star for me) start out fine and then go down-hill from there. Especially if there are issues. Its disconcerting that now some are starting off on a bad note. Hopefully a pattern does not develop.

I want to vote for Unleashed. Great service and tunes. You can use the tuning device you have. Just pay for the tunes.

Good luck. Be very detailed with them if you are asking for a revision and take a few datalog runs and not just at WOT.
 
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When I first flashed mine with the 93 Octane tune from 5* the transmission shift points were rather harsh and at times too aggressive for normal every day driving. I flashed it back to stock then tried some of the other tuning files I have from them 87 perf, 87 tow, 93 tow but ultimately settled on the 93 perf. tune. It took about 200 miles of city driving for the transmission to settle down and for the most part it behaves nearly the same as stock now, but will still break the rear loose when going into 2nd if I stomp on it. I also had 5* adjust the transmission shifting on the tunes to be back to 100% stock but ultimately went back to the original 93 perf. version as it had settled down to a firm but not unmanageable drivability. Just give the system a little time to re-learn and you may be surprised and pleased with how it responds.


As for mileage on the 93 perf tune I average 24-26 in the city and 27-29 on the highway with an overall tank average at 24.5 with a decent mix of city/hwy driving. This is based on miles driven/gallons filled.
 
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CJBax

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When I first flashed mine with the 93 Octane tune from 5* the transmission shift points were rather harsh and at times too aggressive for normal every day driving. I flashed it back to stock then tried some of the other tuning files I have from them 87 perf, 87 tow, 93 tow but ultimately settled on the 93 perf. tune. It took about 200 miles of city driving for the transmission to settle down and for the most part it behaves nearly the same as stock now, but will still break the rear loose when going into 2nd if I stomp on it. I also had 5* adjust the transmission shifting on the tunes to be back to 100% stock but ultimately went back to the original 93 perf. version as it had settled down to a firm but not unmanageable drivability. Just give the system a little time to re-learn and you may be surprised and pleased with how it responds.


As for mileage on the 93 perf tune I average 24-26 in the city and 27-29 on the highway with an overall tank average at 24.5 with a decent mix of city/hwy driving. This is based on miles driven/gallons filled.
Those mpg numbers are stellar for this truck. What region(mostly level roads, hills, mountains, etc) are you driving in? Perhaps my low mpg is due to living in PNW with lots of steep hills?
 
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I'm in Houston. The biggest "hill" we have are freeway overpasses. I do drive out to the Texas hill country from time to time and provided I keep it under 72 mph I can hit 28 MPG but it will dip down to 25.5-27 mpg of if I drive faster. The truck averaged 26.8 mpg on a 500 mile round trip with the wife kids and a bed full of camping gear. The only other engine mods I have are a K&N drop in filter and a Dynomax Super Turbo 3" muffler.
 

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Thanks everyone for your input! Much appreciated.

I am going to get an Unleashed tune since I can use the programmer I already have. I will also give 5star a chance to fix my tune, I figure if it turns out to be a nice tune it won't hurt to have the choice between 5star and Unleashed. Though I will likely just decide which I like better and leave it at that.

After I settle into a good tune I'll be doing another dyno run, just for fun really. I'll post it in the dyno thread after I get it, not that the dyno charts are very interesting though, since most folks get pretty similar numbers on this truck anyway.

My next project is a custom travel trailer build. I just ordered the base (without furniture) trailer but the lead time for it to be built is pretty steep so I won't take delivery until almost November. Which reminds me, I should def get a good tow tune from Unleashed as well.

Regards.
 
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Last update. I ordered two Unleashed tunes earlier today, asked for an 87 tow tune and a 91 performance tune with shifts that aren't too harsh. Got an email less than 2 hours later that I could cloud sync my tunes. Loaded the 91 tune and drove the same 36 mile route I've been using for testing. The route is part highway part city, with two 3/4 mile very steep inclines. First thing I noticed was that when driving normally the shifting feels a lot like stock, which I like, but when I step on it the shifts are firm and quick without being too aggressive. There is plenty of power and I can still break the tires loose if I want, while still giving me a relaxed feel when commuting and driving conservatively. After my test route the average mpg is showing 20.1 mpg, driving the same as I did for all the other testing. Also the weird traction control light issue is not happening with this tune, yay! If I drive how I normally do, the mpg is about what it is on the stock tune. I am so glad this was an easy solution. Overall I am super happy with Unleashed so far. I am glad I went with them, was a bit worried I'd just end up with endless tune issues until finally leaving it stock. Plus, I was able to use my current programmer. Thanks everyone!

Regards.
 

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Last update. I ordered two Unleashed tunes earlier today, asked for an 87 tow tune and a 91 performance tune with shifts that aren't too harsh. Got an email less than 2 hours later that I could cloud sync my tunes. Loaded the 91 tune and drove the same 36 mile route I've been using for testing. The route is part highway part city, with two 3/4 mile very steep inclines. First thing I noticed was that when driving normally the shifting feels a lot like stock, which I like, but when I step on it the shifts are firm and quick without being too aggressive. There is plenty of power and I can still break the tires loose if I want, while still giving me a relaxed feel when commuting and driving conservatively. After my test route the average mpg is showing 20.1 mpg, driving the same as I did for all the other testing. Also the weird traction control light issue is not happening with this tune, yay! If I drive how I normally do, the mpg is about what it is on the stock tune. I am so glad this was an easy solution. Overall I am super happy with Unleashed so far. I am glad I went with them, was a bit worried I'd just end up with endless tune issues until finally leaving it stock. Plus, I was able to use my current programmer. Thanks everyone!

Regards.
Your mileage and shifting will improve after a tank or so of gas.
And if you want any changes just email Torrie….he’ll make changes and get the update back to you ASAP.

I tried 3-4 tunes from 5-Star and I didn’t like them at all. Again JMO.
 

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Last update. I ordered two Unleashed tunes earlier today, asked for an 87 tow tune and a 91 performance tune with shifts that aren't too harsh. Got an email less than 2 hours later that I could cloud sync my tunes. Loaded the 91 tune and drove the same 36 mile route I've been using for testing. The route is part highway part city, with two 3/4 mile very steep inclines. First thing I noticed was that when driving normally the shifting feels a lot like stock, which I like, but when I step on it the shifts are firm and quick without being too aggressive. There is plenty of power and I can still break the tires loose if I want, while still giving me a relaxed feel when commuting and driving conservatively. After my test route the average mpg is showing 20.1 mpg, driving the same as I did for all the other testing. Also the weird traction control light issue is not happening with this tune, yay! If I drive how I normally do, the mpg is about what it is on the stock tune. I am so glad this was an easy solution. Overall I am super happy with Unleashed so far. I am glad I went with them, was a bit worried I'd just end up with endless tune issues until finally leaving it stock. Plus, I was able to use my current programmer. Thanks everyone!

Regards.
I never used it myself but I come from the Sport Trac world where people swear by Unleashed Tuning.
 
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With any universal tune, you need to send a data log to the tuner and have adjustments made. Your engine and conditions are not the same as the engine and conditions with/in which that tune was developed. Minor adjustments are always needed and help prolong engine life. If they tuner doesn't offer at least a review of a proper data log, then you need to move on.
 
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I have 5Star tunes and I have been happy. The performance tunes do downgrade your MPG's, but if you are driving for "performance", you are probably driving with a heavy foot on both the gas and the brake... at least I do. That will have a negative MPG impact as well. I sent a turbo off to CR Performance in Canada and as a result, I can't really use a factory tune. For my everyday driving tune, I use the "Lone Ranger" tune from 5Star. Works great. The "Lone Ranger" tune is supposed to be an adaptive tune or something like that. It adjusts to the fuel you put in the tank I believe. Fuel mileage is much better than the performance tunes and there is plenty of power.
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