Road Trip Vs Tune

[Wytchdctr]

Got a road trip coming up. I'd like to think it's fine to keep the 93 octane tune going for the better mpg and passing powa.
..

But am I missing anything?

Any reason to flash it back to stock or a lower tune before heading out.

Especially with the way these things can tow up mountains... I think it can handle cruising with a bit more power.

Thoughts?

Smartass comments?

Thanks ahead of time.

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[AzScorpion]

Got a road trip coming up. I'd like to think it's fine to keep the 93 octane tune going for the better mpg and passing powa.
..

But am I missing anything?

Any reason to flash it back to stock or a lower tune before heading out.

Especially with the way these things can tow up mountains... I think it can handle cruising with a bit more power.

Thoughts?

Smartass comments?

Thanks ahead of time.

I'd leave it in. When we went on our trip back in June I left my 91-93 soft shift tune installed. It ended up being a 5,000 mile trip and I got great mpg with it in.

Just make sure you have a damper installed for the added hp/tq gains. ?

 

[AzScorpion]

Here's a thread I did on it and you can see some of the numbers I was getting. We drove through a lot of mountains in CO & SD some as high as 14,000' which was Mt Evans.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/mpg-during-our-road-trip.20287/

 

[D Fresh]

Which mountains?

Be aware that up here in the Rockies our premium is 91 only. It is said to be the equivalent of 93 at our altitude but YMMV. Most tuners allow their 93 tunes to be used with 91 at altitude but I'd check with your tuner if you're coming out west.

For what it's worth Ford says never go below 87 even at altitude.

 

[Wytchdctr]

Which mountains?

Be aware that up here in the Rockies our premium is 91 only. It is said to be the equivalent of 93 at our altitude but YMMV. Most tuners allow their 93 tunes to be used with 91 at altitude but I'd check with your tuner if you're coming out west.

For what it's worth Ford says never go below 87 even at altitude.

Oh not me. I was talking in general about the Ranger. The closest thing to a mountain in my area of Texas/this trip will be an overpass. That said... Some of Houston's overpasses might count as small mountain climbs.

 

[Dereku]

As long as your not redlining it for miles on end there should be zero negative effects on your truck. I have only had tuned vehicles. Pretty sure always made sure I was tuned prior to a road trip. How else can you go fast... ?

 

[Frenchy]

I didna road trip to Michigan and back to Colorado with the Tow Tune with my Lift and tires. Without the tune I would of had worse fuel mileage. The extra power does help because you wont need to use as much.

 

[landiscarrier]

Keep it loaded and forget about it and just drive.

 

[RangerPNW]

So long as you can find the correct octane of fuel (by the sounds of it you aren't leaving the state) there won't be any issues.

 

[yamahaSHO]

Which mountains?

Be aware that up here in the Rockies our premium is 91 only. It is said to be the equivalent of 93 at our altitude but YMMV. Most tuners allow their 93 tunes to be used with 91 at altitude but I'd check with your tuner if you're coming out west.

For what it's worth Ford says never go below 87 even at altitude.

I've heard this a bunch over the years... This may be more 'accurate' for an NA vehicle, however, a turbo vehicle will do a few things:

- Turbo runs less efficiently
- Intercooler cools less efficiently

...which all result in a higher charge temperature, and would benefit from higher octane.

Ideally, a tune with a small [OEM] turbo should be requesting less boost (or power) at lower baro. There have not been a lot of tuners that I have found to understand altitude differences very well... Especially when you get over 6k ft.

 

[D Fresh]

I've heard this a bunch over the years... This may be more 'accurate' for an NA vehicle, however, a turbo vehicle will do a few things:

- Turbo runs less efficiently
- Intercooler cools less efficiently

...which all result in a higher charge temperature, and would benefit from higher octane.

Ideally, a tune with a small [OEM] turbo should be requesting less boost (or power) at lower baro. There have not been a lot of tuners that I have found to understand altitude differences very well... Especially when you get over 6k ft.

Absolutely.

Personally, I always run premium wherever I'm at.

It's for this reason I don't really trust canned tunes out here and would prefer a cutom/local tuner. Tuning in general is a lot more complicated than most think. Add in the complexities of altitude and it can get a little difficult.

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