I did originaly have vxcf4 when Bill tuned my truck way back before php had their website.

Ford has had many flashes for many reasons, for example if you had cold start issues there was an update, egr concerns, etc. So for a truck of my era you could have a vxcf4, vxcf5, vxcf7, vxcf9 which were all done to address concerns. Thats the reason for the changes.

An example for your truck would be a flash to update a shift concern on some trucks, so thats one update where as a diesel of the same era would have multiple.

On the otherhand as a paying customer php should not care how many times i change base calibration and order tunes for the new cal aslong as i am paying for the change. My truck is just an average ussage vehilce, however consider those who race their vehilce. I'm sure they try multiple combinations of tunes and base calibration changes.

I appreciate your help .

I'm not in a huge rush however i would like an update. In my tickets there is an area where Bill can reply, yet i have not recieved any comments. I will say that Bill did contact me by phone shortly after the ticket was created. However being at work i could not answer. He suggested that perhaps an ebp sensor was at fault, i quickly replied back with my findings and without a response i am unsure if he knows the issue still exists. (i replied with my findings in the ticket a couple of times)

Thanks again, for your help and im sure you read my comments under the pegasus forum where i just wanted to try and load the original tune to help resolve the concern. The new files i purchased are a bit different then the original one, but since i was familiar with the original i thought trying that tune could give us a baseline to work off of. Perhaps even apply the changes i was looking for to that tune?

Btw its a proven fact that people are much more patient when they know whats going on. For example, look at when you down load a file, you have a progress bar. If you did not have a progress bar how patient do you think you would be having no clue on eta?

 

I understand the reasoning behind the strategy updates. But, the part that confused me is you want to go back to the vxcf4 strategy. If it had problems, I can understand wanting to update it, but it seems there were no problems? (So why did you let the dealership flash it?)

I certainly would have my truck flashed if I noticed problems in the stock tune (other than the crappy shift strategy that Ford designed into these things), but I don't - so, I simply ask the dealer to refrain from flashing unless he clears it with me. (That's the "ain't broke, so don't fix it" philosophy I was referring to.)

The real problem is, Ford has been known to issue a flash to "detune" trucks. They did this with the 6.0L Powerstroke in the 2003 f250s - It was a nice engine when it originally appeared, but with the strategy changes, it became a dog (and more of a fuel hog too). My Sister has one of those things and I can't convince her to get it tuned.

Yes, I agree that people are much more patient when they know what's going on. And, I publicly acknowledge that progress reports seem to be a weak link in PHP's otherwise solid support. We, who are Mods over there, do what we can to make things more transparent.

- Jack

 

Update: Got my custom calibrations from PHP. Just now downloaded them and am really psyched to reinstall CS in the truck. Thanks Corey for finding the "glitch" (my fault) in the timeline to get my tunes done and thanks to Bill for getting them done and into Fushion!!! Can't wait to fire it up and take it for a spin.

 

Good deal

 

congrats and let us know how you like them.

Again sorry for hi-jacking your thread, it was not my intent.

 

I was re-flashed as when you replace a ficm you have to program the ficm, which in turn programs all modules (tcm, pcm, ficm) to the latest calibration. (thats why i had the vxcf9). Prior to that was inductive heating for injector sticktion (cold start issues), then a relash after that to soften the inductive heating. (ficm issues)

I would leave my truck at vxcf9, however i was told by php that they could not provide a usable tune for that base calibration file and they recommend to revert back to a earlier calibration. (a common one they use is vxcf4, thus i put it back to vxcf4)

FYI if your under warranty and there is a tsb related to your concern that requires a pcm update, then the tsb has to be done before any other repairs can be performed. This is why ford reflashes vehilces, but only if the tsb applies. So for example if you had a shift concern that was address by the tsb and you told them that you did not wish to have your truck reflashed, then they should NOT perform any other work on your vehilce.

I'm not sure if i agree with you on the theory that ford has taken milage away on tunes. A lot of the problems come from how people service there vehilces. You would be surprised at what a set of injectors will do for milage on a poor maintained vehilce. Aswell if milage was taken away as much as some claim then my milage should have increase dramatically from the switch to the vxcf4 from the vxcf9. However it did not. I also have 8 new injectors (fuel station had there tanks filled improperly and i got gas instead of diesel)

Ford updates do limit how much the aftermarket can play with timing, which is why i believe vxcf4/amz2al12 vs the vxcf9/arz2al11. Btw a truck with old injectors on a arz2al11 ficm will start night and day better then when on an amz2al12 (ind. vs non)

 

Just thought I'd update this thread...

Bill uploaded my 2 custom and 1 PHP canned tune last Friday.

I flashed to the custom 87 performance on Saturday morning - truck would start, then die. E-mailed Bill and opened a trouble ticket on Saturday (or Sunday).

He told me he had to look into it and would have to upload my tunes again (another customer was having the exact same problem). During our e-mail exchange, I asked if he would allow me to keep the canned Edge tunes (3) as well as the custom 87 performance, 87 tow, and PHP canned 93 performance.

Well yesterday morning I get another e-mail that the issue is resolved.

I updated my CTS with Fusion yesterday at lunch and guess what?!

I now have 6 tunes/levels (plus stock)!

I really like the throttle response and shifts. Based on my MPG records (and taking into account winter blend), I'm also up 1 MPG.

 

Great! You certainly waited long enough, didn't you? I'm glad you got your tunes finally and that things are working well.

Also good to get the feedback on the increased number different tunes possible.

- Jack

 

After the same initial problem as Shotgunz...truck started and died with 87 performance (I was the other customer with the exact same problem ), Bill did try some troubleshooting, and then I guess that southern winter storm got the best of their computers services. Good news is that Bill got my corrected tunes to me yesterday. Runs very strong, other than a slight detonation (waiting to hear back from Bill on whether or not I should back off the timing from the 87 performance tune) Mileage is also up a bit...1.5 mpg or so during my commute today from no tunes.

 

I'm glad your tune works now.

As to detonation (ping), Bill does not turn the knock sensor off, which has been known to be done by some other tuners, so if you're hearing it, you're probably just slightly overadvanced for the specific fuel you are using. I WOULD try retarding the spark. Try a setting of -0.25 in the custom options menu. It shouldn't take much.

It's possible your fuel is somewhat lower in octane than it should be or that, for one reason or another, your engine has a slightly higher compression ratio than it should have had. You will not hurt anything by retarding the spark, other than losing power if you reduce it too much, but pinging (if constant) can be harmful. Ordinarily, the spark sensor will pull timing aggressively if it senses ping so you'd lose more power by leaving it at that condition.

- Jack

 

I read on another thread that Bill @ PHP said the tire calibration on the Gryphon should fix the AdvanceTrac issues when installing larger diameter tires on 09+.. Has anyone had success with this?

 

Thanks, Jack. I am guessing that by creating a custom program in the options menu, that it is still based on the program written by Bill, not the canned, correct? (and I painfully poured a tank of 89 octane in it today which got rid of most of the detonation)

Blackout fx4 - my tires are such a tiny bit larger than stock (33's vs 32's) that I didn't mess with calibrations for them. In fact the speedo now reads fairly consistent with the GPS. Sorry can't help you much there.

 

I am surprised that you are pleased with the throttle response and shifts (do you have the 5.4 with the 6-speed?). With the PHP CTS on my '09, I like the throttle response off the line, but when driving, it still takes well over a second to downshift when I hit the gas - to me, a quick downshift is at least as important as getting my throttle to open quickly.

I spoke with Edge last night about when they would finally support the TCM so the shift points and pressures can be modified. Apparently Bill from PHP has been working with an engineer from Edge (Rob) who would like to support the TCM. Edge's lead engineer, Garrett, needs to approve this work - which he hasn't to date. Even if Garrett approves this work, Rob is fully booked on a current project until the end of February. I put in a call to Bill today to see if he can encourage Edge to finish the job on the CS/CTS for the '09 - '10.

I am also curious about how your tune is performing. I have a custom 87 tune and custom 93 tune. When I run 93 octane, I get detonation at WOT with the 93 custom tune. This backs off the timing, and I have a slower truck than stock (stock 0-60 = 8.2 seconds, 93 custom tune 0-60 = 8.5 seconds). When I run 93 octane with the 87 custom tune, my truck runs great, with a 0-60 in 7.8 seconds . Bill is going to get me a new set of tunes with a little less timing advance in the midrange/top-end in the near future to fix this. Both the "economy" and "towing" canned Edge tunes caused significant detonation in my truck - to the point that I couldn't even drive normally with 87 octane.

 

You are correct, creating a tune using the Custom Options Menu changes values in Bill's custom program, not the "stock" program.

I'm guessing here you might have changed the octane of the gas in your tank to maybe 88 by mixing 89 with the 87 that was left over? (This all depends on how low your fuel level was though.)

To both you and 2009KR, the 09+ platform is new. Bill (and Edge) are working quite a bit on "theory" and are trying to give you the best, safe performance without having actual experience on those model years. I'm not surprised you're both getting detonation. I know Bill does not want that to happen. So, you can both help him. Figure out what reduction in spark advance eliminates detonation and TELL HIM! Helpful feedback from customers is always appreciated.

And, dlsipe1, I think you'll find the spark advance setting to be fairly "sensitive". Try changes in 0.25 increments.

One more thing - if you put your engine under load (hard acceleration or even the effect of larger tires), it increases the likelihood of detonation. Bill reduces the A/F ratio (makes the mixture richer) at load, but tries to make the engine run leaner (possibly even higher than stoich) under no-load cruise for economy. Assumptions about load can lead to detonation too.

- Jack

 

I sure would like to do that. Unfortunately, the CTS for the '09 is only partially implemented (not a widely advertised fact). I cannot adjust timing, shift points... If I could, I would be all over that! I am working with Bill, who is adjusting them a little at a time - as expected, it is a slow process since Bill is so busy. I am confident that we will get the tune just right very soon.