The 1715 did wonders to regain power with my 35" tires and I am running on the preformance setting. Thaniks Mike T.

I know I am not supposed to tow anything with the 1715 on performance, but what about carrying a heavy payload? Wouldn't that be the same as towing, given they are the same weight?

I am about to purcahse an ATV and I don't want to ruin my engine if the ATV is place in the bed of my truck.

 

Hi Indamud,

Carrying something in or on the truck (hauling), and then "heavy towing" are two completely different and separate ratings, and completely different tasks. For example, no F-150 has ever been made that can carry it's rated towing capacity on board. I'd suggest reading thru your vehicle's owners manual to familiarize yourself with all of the truck's various different capacity ratings, etc., they are covered in the owners manual. You'll find that the rated towing capacity is *far* more than your truck's rated on-board carrying capacity, including both passengers in the cabin and max bed weight load allowed.

If that truck had the stock tires, or had the appropriate 4.56 gear ratio installed to compensate for those 35" tires, then I would say you can load the truck right on up to it's full rated ON-BOARD carrying capacity and still use the max performance tune - just don't tow anything. But since you have 35" tires while still running the original gear ratio, I wouldn't put much beyond groceries in the bed and maybe a couple of passengers in the cabin for maximum allowed additional weight carried in or on the vehicle when running on the maximum performance tune, just to give you a rough idea of how I would look at that if it were my vehicle.

What has to be remembered here is that running 35" tires without doing a gear ratio change reduces torque multiplication and puts more load on the powertrain. Adding raw power, while certainly making it feel better to drive and helps overall performance, doesn't actually "cure" that condition. The engine is now working below it's power band in some driving conditions, because it's not turning as many rpms for a given speed & gear any more. Then the automatic transmissions (or every component related to the clutch assembly in manual-tranny trucks) have more load due to the reduced torque multiplication from the taler tires and increased power levels. That's not the end of the world of course, just be aware of those basic facts and then operate the vehicle accordingly - until you can get the 4.56 gears installed at some point later on, hopefully.

We're delighted that you're happy with what the 1715 Micro Tuner has done for your truck's performance - and a fair number of people will do exactly what you're doing, using the Micro Tuner to add HP & torque at any throttle position, while saving up enough to get the gear ratio change done.

In short, just take into consideration the additional load on the powertrain and operate it accordingly - if you need haul something really heavy, go ahead and put one of the towing-compatible tunes in the PCM, I'd say.

Have fun,

 

Well, I have 3:55 gears and 33's, but they measure out to 30" - 30.25", so they're not that much larger than the factory tires, but they weigh 65lbs. a piece as opposed to the stockers that weight about 30 I believe. Don't know what effect that has.

I have a 2001 F-150 SuperCab FlareSide 4.6L 4x4 manual. My GVWR is 6,250 lbs. My vehicle weight is 4,651 lbs. & payload is 1,595 lbs.

As a general rule, does this mean I can basically carry an additional 1,600 lbs. in the truck with the "max performance" tune, including fluids, people, accessories, and junk in the bed without risk of melt down? I believe with both my girlfriend, myself, the dog, the added weight of the tires, the custom sub & box, two dirtbikes, fliuds, accessories, and camping equipment, that puts me right at about: 1,600 lbs. What do you think?

 

larger diameter tires and wheels = more rotating weight which is worse than the equivalent of stationary weight!