Wanted to make a new thread specifically about Gearhead Tuning on my 2018. Everyone talks about 5 Star and MPT, but I don't feel like Gearhead gets enough love, so here it is.
This is my second thread about tuning, but with the service I got from Gearhead this week, I needed to start another!
I have run 5 Star and MPT on my gas vehicles pretty much exclusively over the past several years and always been satisfied. 5 Star has great towing tunes. MPT has great dragstrip ready tunes with excellent power. MPT has always been my favorite. But I used Gearhead on my 6.0 Powerstroke a few years ago, and his tunes on that were perfection. So I ordered up Matt's 'Adaptive Octane Perforance' tune for my 2018 Expedition.
With the first revision, the tune was nearly perfect. I had some one off pinging issues at light throttle under very specific conditions, however, with a few back and forth emails with Matt directly, as well as a few data logs, he sent me another file which corrected the issue. I think my PCM just did not like the first file for whatever reason. But I have never experienced the personal service from anyone like the service I got from Matt. Very responsive to my emails and he was happy to help.
Now I am as picky as can possibly be when it comes to transmission mapping and overall drivability. I notice things that many people probably don't notice. But Matt's tune is how the Gen 4 Expedition and F150 trucks with the 10r80 and 3.5 should have come from the factory. This tune pulls like mad at WOT, with no surges or on/off switch feelings. I am seeing 0-60 times around 5.5 seconds with my unpopular 3.31 rear end and 4x4 turned off. That is about a whole second, if not more faster than what my stock tunes were running, and not far behind my MPT PRX tune, which is just stupid anyways lol (not in a bad way). This Gearhead tune has silky smooth performance from idle to redline. Very linear feeling. The throttle response is not too jumpy and reminds me of old school physical throttle cable response. Does not feel like drive by wire at all. Matt's tune also has a very "safe" feeling to it. Very hard to describe, but the engine just feels like it is revving better and is healthier and is doing exactly what your right foot wants it to do. I even notice less droning under load with this tune. The transmission snaps into each gear, but there is no shift shock. The trans is not riding the clutches to the point where every shift feels like a pillow, rather it is shifting with more authority and snap with every centimeter you push the throttle down. It quickly drops RPMs from shift to shift with no clunking and no drama. If Ford used Gearheads transmission tuning from the factory, they could have saved a lot of time and money on customer complaints. I also no longer have a clunk shifting from park to reverse or reverse to drive. This is how a 10R80 is supposed to feel.
Anyways, shoutout to Gearhead. Do not hesitate to buy his tunes for the Gen 4 Expedition.
This is my second thread about tuning, but with the service I got from Gearhead this week, I needed to start another!
I have run 5 Star and MPT on my gas vehicles pretty much exclusively over the past several years and always been satisfied. 5 Star has great towing tunes. MPT has great dragstrip ready tunes with excellent power. MPT has always been my favorite. But I used Gearhead on my 6.0 Powerstroke a few years ago, and his tunes on that were perfection. So I ordered up Matt's 'Adaptive Octane Perforance' tune for my 2018 Expedition.
With the first revision, the tune was nearly perfect. I had some one off pinging issues at light throttle under very specific conditions, however, with a few back and forth emails with Matt directly, as well as a few data logs, he sent me another file which corrected the issue. I think my PCM just did not like the first file for whatever reason. But I have never experienced the personal service from anyone like the service I got from Matt. Very responsive to my emails and he was happy to help.
Now I am as picky as can possibly be when it comes to transmission mapping and overall drivability. I notice things that many people probably don't notice. But Matt's tune is how the Gen 4 Expedition and F150 trucks with the 10r80 and 3.5 should have come from the factory. This tune pulls like mad at WOT, with no surges or on/off switch feelings. I am seeing 0-60 times around 5.5 seconds with my unpopular 3.31 rear end and 4x4 turned off. That is about a whole second, if not more faster than what my stock tunes were running, and not far behind my MPT PRX tune, which is just stupid anyways lol (not in a bad way). This Gearhead tune has silky smooth performance from idle to redline. Very linear feeling. The throttle response is not too jumpy and reminds me of old school physical throttle cable response. Does not feel like drive by wire at all. Matt's tune also has a very "safe" feeling to it. Very hard to describe, but the engine just feels like it is revving better and is healthier and is doing exactly what your right foot wants it to do. I even notice less droning under load with this tune. The transmission snaps into each gear, but there is no shift shock. The trans is not riding the clutches to the point where every shift feels like a pillow, rather it is shifting with more authority and snap with every centimeter you push the throttle down. It quickly drops RPMs from shift to shift with no clunking and no drama. If Ford used Gearheads transmission tuning from the factory, they could have saved a lot of time and money on customer complaints. I also no longer have a clunk shifting from park to reverse or reverse to drive. This is how a 10R80 is supposed to feel.
Anyways, shoutout to Gearhead. Do not hesitate to buy his tunes for the Gen 4 Expedition.
