I purchased a 1715 tuner from an individual (sorry but I'm a penny pincher and got it cheaper) and it contained all of the documentation - which I read and I have scanned thru too many posts to mention before I decided to post here.

When I installed the Towing Perf and adjusted the 2-3 shift point to 2 notches above ST (see I have read your posts), I noticed that all of the other settings are set for "SuperChips" - what does that mean? Is that just the setting for that program? I was just wondering because I may like to adjust differences from the SuperChips setting and needed to know what those default setting were so I could tweak up or down from there.

I'm not looking for "blow the doors off" settings like most. My truck completely stock and I only plan on adding dual FlowMasters (months down the road) and a K&N drop in filter (next week). Mostly I'm looking for the towing improvements because I tow a 6300 lb camper. I'm going to test the current setting this weekend as I am towing to a local weight station to get my combined weight before we go on vacation next month.

Also, any other tweaks you could suggest for my situation.

Finally, I test dorve the truck after the install and now the ABS light is on - is this noram or a problem?

Thanks,

 

Hi Mark,

Ahh, so you bought it somewhere else, but now you want help from us, eh? Hmmm........ (I'm just teasing with you!)

All kidding aside, let's get to answering your questions.............the only change we advise everyone to make automatically when towing heavy loads (or even just driving in general) is the 2-3 upshift being bumped up exactly 2 notches above the centerline (ST).

The default upload from the Micro Tuner, depending on it's internal firmware revision, will be called "Superchips," or "ST," etc. That is the center point of those screens with the lines on them (like the screen you see for manually adjusting shift points). That generally works very well, and we do not advise making any changes from that other than bumping up the 2-3 by exactly 2 notches.

Now for quickest acceleration at WOT (wide-open throttle) with the stock 12" torque converter and say, an intake kit and a good cat-back exhaust so the motor can breathe a bit better, you want an upshift point of 5400 rpm on the 1-2. (Well, actually the best acceleration would be had with a 5600 rpm 1-2 with the gear ratio spread of these transmissions, but the stock 12" non-Lightning F-150 torque converter can sometimes "balloon" after 5400 rpm.) Then for the WOT 2-3 you also want 5400 rpm, and then to protect the transmission, not more than 4700 rpm on the WOT 3-4 (at which point you'd be *flying* anyway, well over 100 mph).

Some trucks, usually the heavier 4WD configurations, have lower WOT upshift points stock, and so they won't be as high as 5400 rpm with the default upload from the 1715 Micro Tuner in *some* cases. So there are a few that will need to have the shift points bumped up a bit manually to achieve a 5400 rpm 1-2 upshift point. HOWEVER - what we advise doing even on those trucks, is to get the 1-2 at about 5400 rpm, but on the 2-3, just bump it up exactly 2 notches above the center line to get the benefit of it getting back up into Overdrive (4th gear) quicker after a load event causing a 4-3 downshift (a hill, mountain, grade, etc.). That slight adjustment to the 2-3 shift point gives a very nice benefit to the **3-4 upshift** after a "load event" that caused a downshift out of Overdrive (especially when towing!). In other words, it's a neat little trick to get the tranny back up into Overdrive much quicker after going up a hill, for example. The longer the grade, the longer it takes after cresting that grade for the tranny to get back up into Overdrive - in some cases 15-20 seconds or even a bit more! That 2-3 adjustment of bumping it up 2 notches will dramatically reduce that amount of time, allowing the tranny to get back up into 4th gear (Overdrive) much quicker after a 4-3 downshift.

Now for towing a heavy load like that, what I would do is *only* adjust the 2-3 like I mentioned - unless the WOT upshifts are happening abnormally low (like only 4700 rpm, for example - for towing, I like to see at least 5000 rpm WOT 1-2's), I'd leave the 1-2 and the 3-4 alone, and just bump up that 2-3 by 2 notches.

I can't tell you what's going on with your ABS light - other than it's of course not normal to have that come up just from flashing the PCM with a Micro Tuner. You might want to see if Superchips can shed any light on that by calling them directly at the number listed in your documentation.

Hope that info helps, & have fun!

 

Thanks for the reply Mike.

I have called SuperChips and spoke with Al - he's looking in to it and is supposed to get back with me.

I also ran the diag and found code P1635 Tire/Axle Out of Acceptable Range - not sure why. I left the axle ratio alone at first, but then after the light came on I adjusted to 3.55 for my rear end, but the light still comes on.

I also get P1000 Monitor Checks Not Complete-More Driving Required , so I'm wondering if the PCM is just confiused.

Again, thanks for your reply.
- Mark