Hello all,
New user to this forum and figured I would post a detailed review about a few different tunes I have been using on my 2018. In my research I found a few reviews but none that included the big 3 (in my eyes). She's mostly a bone stock XLT with about 80,000 miles. My only modifications are Bilstein 5100s all 4 corners and NGK heat range 7 plugs (1 step colder than stock). Oh and I removed the front bumper chin lip
She is perfectly maintained all around, with regular trans and diff services, and she gets Amsoil SS oil every 5,000 miles.
My tuning companies of choice are and always have been MPT, 5 Star, and Gearhead. All 3 tunes have their pros and cons, and I still work with all 3 and am still making a few revisions with them. I am overly sensitive with the way my vehicles drive, especially transmission behavior and overall drive ability. I have used these 3 companies on several different vehicles over the years. With that being said here is my breakdown:
5 Star - I am using the 87 Daily Tow, 91 Daily Tow, and 93 Performance. I have not had any of the customer service issues that people sometimes report with them.
-------------Daily Tow Files - Excellent! The first version they sent out by default is the one I have kept loaded. Both the 87 and 91 daily tow have razor sharp throttle response. Very sensitive throttle. Something that I need to clarify for other readers is this tune DOES still skip shift gears 1-5 under light throttle situations. But the way it does it is smoother and it does not jerk you around like stock. Under heavier loads you will still hit all 10 gears. Sport mode is all 10 all the time. Unloaded, both keep the RPMS up versus stock, with average cruising shift points coming in around 2000 RPMs versus 1500 of stock. With a trailer in tow (4000 pound dump trailer), NO ONE can beat this tuning. The shift points and engine braking with a trailer in tow are unbeatable. Also noteworthy is I swear the engine is running quieter and smoother on both of these tunes. On both tunes I am running 93 octane in the tank. OAR readings are always -.96 with both and I am always in the negative with knock, so 5 Star is leaving some power on the table for what I assume is reliability reasons. 0-60 runs were 7 seconds on the 87 DT tune, and about 6.2 on the 91 DT Tune. I should note that the 87 DT tune felt slower than stock at WOT, however I imagine a revision with 5 Star would bump these numbers up.
------------93 Performance File - Not a fan of this one. It pulls a little bit harder than the daily tow tunes, however my 2018 did not adjust well to this tune. Throttle response felt like it was all or nothing and it just did not feel refined. Turbo was spooling hard at very low RPMS which gave me concern. Tune was still healthy and knock and OAR were perfect I will say. This is NOT a dog against 5 Star, because I never mentioned any of the issues with it to them. Frankly, I don't plan on ever running this tune anyways. The power felt stronger than the DT tunes, but felt lacking in the top end compared to MPT and Gearhead. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds on this one.
-------------Overall, 5 Star is exclusively the tune I will tow with.
MPT - I am using the 87 Daily Tow and 91 PRX tunes. Customer service is EXCELLENT. The best out of all 3 in my opinion. These guys really know their stuff.
------------87 Daily Tow - Smooth driving, at light throttle and around town it is smooth like stock, throttle response is greatly improved over stock, but does not quite have the "bite" in the throttle like 5 Star does. Not a bad thing, just preference based. MPT can crank it up for you if you like. Where MPT really shines is the shifting. After going through the adapting phase, I cannot feel shifting on this tune at all! Silky smooth, but quick so it's not riding the clutches. Will still skip shift under light throttle but you do not feel it. This tune gets into torque converter lockup in a hurry and makes the truck feel very torquey around town versus the 5 star tunes. At WOT, this tune feels significantly faster than both 5 Star daily tow tunes. Felt on par with the 5 Star 93 performance. Reviewing PIDS it appears MPT is extracting the maximum power out of their tunes. That said, everything still looked healthy. One thing I will say is MPT lugs the engine a little more around town versus 5 Star, however it will downshift and or spool the turbos quickly. I don't plan on towing with this tune, as it holds the RPM a little low for my taste.
-------------91 PRX - In town, it feels nearly identical to the 87 daily tow. Mike at MPT has a Youtube video where he says the 87 Daily Tow is bascially a 87 PRX, and I believe it. But put that throttle halfway down or more, and the PRX is INSANE! The turbos spool quickly and before you know it, your pushing 20 PSI of boost and hitting 60 in about 5.3 seconds. I have even seen a brief spike of 22 PSI under WOT running 93 octane fuel and cold plugs. Even with the high PSI, PIDS were healthy and I have no concerns about long term health with this tune.
-------------Overall, if you want to go fast and have excellent customer service, MPT is the way to go.
Gearhead - Matt at Gearhead is famous in the 6.0 Powerstroke world (where I came from) and also in the Taurus SHO world, so I gave him a shot. I only purchased the Adaptive Octane Performance Tune from him. Like others have said, I would describe this tune as a "Stock Plus" tune. Throttle response is improved over stock especially at midrange throttle. The biggest improvement is in shifting. It feels like GH uses a shift pattern similar to stock, but it takes all the slop out of the shifts. Bascially, this Gearhead tune is how the 10R80 should have come from the factory. WOT runs with this tune pull hard and are smooth. 0-60 runs with this tune running 93 in the tank are getting me about 5.5 seconds, which is nearly as quick as the MPT PRX. I am currently working with GH on some part throttle low load pinging issues with this tune (starting to think I have some bad gas), so I haven't been able to test it a whole lot, however, once I have the pinging issues worked out, this will likely be my daily driver tune when I am not towing, as it is smooth, feels like it won't ever cause reliability issues, and shifts amazing. Emails sent to GH are responded to very quickly I must add.
So there ya have it. If anyone has any questions about the tunes, let me know. I need to get my post numbers up so I will respond
New user to this forum and figured I would post a detailed review about a few different tunes I have been using on my 2018. In my research I found a few reviews but none that included the big 3 (in my eyes). She's mostly a bone stock XLT with about 80,000 miles. My only modifications are Bilstein 5100s all 4 corners and NGK heat range 7 plugs (1 step colder than stock). Oh and I removed the front bumper chin lip
She is perfectly maintained all around, with regular trans and diff services, and she gets Amsoil SS oil every 5,000 miles.My tuning companies of choice are and always have been MPT, 5 Star, and Gearhead. All 3 tunes have their pros and cons, and I still work with all 3 and am still making a few revisions with them. I am overly sensitive with the way my vehicles drive, especially transmission behavior and overall drive ability. I have used these 3 companies on several different vehicles over the years. With that being said here is my breakdown:
5 Star - I am using the 87 Daily Tow, 91 Daily Tow, and 93 Performance. I have not had any of the customer service issues that people sometimes report with them.
-------------Daily Tow Files - Excellent! The first version they sent out by default is the one I have kept loaded. Both the 87 and 91 daily tow have razor sharp throttle response. Very sensitive throttle. Something that I need to clarify for other readers is this tune DOES still skip shift gears 1-5 under light throttle situations. But the way it does it is smoother and it does not jerk you around like stock. Under heavier loads you will still hit all 10 gears. Sport mode is all 10 all the time. Unloaded, both keep the RPMS up versus stock, with average cruising shift points coming in around 2000 RPMs versus 1500 of stock. With a trailer in tow (4000 pound dump trailer), NO ONE can beat this tuning. The shift points and engine braking with a trailer in tow are unbeatable. Also noteworthy is I swear the engine is running quieter and smoother on both of these tunes. On both tunes I am running 93 octane in the tank. OAR readings are always -.96 with both and I am always in the negative with knock, so 5 Star is leaving some power on the table for what I assume is reliability reasons. 0-60 runs were 7 seconds on the 87 DT tune, and about 6.2 on the 91 DT Tune. I should note that the 87 DT tune felt slower than stock at WOT, however I imagine a revision with 5 Star would bump these numbers up.
------------93 Performance File - Not a fan of this one. It pulls a little bit harder than the daily tow tunes, however my 2018 did not adjust well to this tune. Throttle response felt like it was all or nothing and it just did not feel refined. Turbo was spooling hard at very low RPMS which gave me concern. Tune was still healthy and knock and OAR were perfect I will say. This is NOT a dog against 5 Star, because I never mentioned any of the issues with it to them. Frankly, I don't plan on ever running this tune anyways. The power felt stronger than the DT tunes, but felt lacking in the top end compared to MPT and Gearhead. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds on this one.
-------------Overall, 5 Star is exclusively the tune I will tow with.
MPT - I am using the 87 Daily Tow and 91 PRX tunes. Customer service is EXCELLENT. The best out of all 3 in my opinion. These guys really know their stuff.
------------87 Daily Tow - Smooth driving, at light throttle and around town it is smooth like stock, throttle response is greatly improved over stock, but does not quite have the "bite" in the throttle like 5 Star does. Not a bad thing, just preference based. MPT can crank it up for you if you like. Where MPT really shines is the shifting. After going through the adapting phase, I cannot feel shifting on this tune at all! Silky smooth, but quick so it's not riding the clutches. Will still skip shift under light throttle but you do not feel it. This tune gets into torque converter lockup in a hurry and makes the truck feel very torquey around town versus the 5 star tunes. At WOT, this tune feels significantly faster than both 5 Star daily tow tunes. Felt on par with the 5 Star 93 performance. Reviewing PIDS it appears MPT is extracting the maximum power out of their tunes. That said, everything still looked healthy. One thing I will say is MPT lugs the engine a little more around town versus 5 Star, however it will downshift and or spool the turbos quickly. I don't plan on towing with this tune, as it holds the RPM a little low for my taste.
-------------91 PRX - In town, it feels nearly identical to the 87 daily tow. Mike at MPT has a Youtube video where he says the 87 Daily Tow is bascially a 87 PRX, and I believe it. But put that throttle halfway down or more, and the PRX is INSANE! The turbos spool quickly and before you know it, your pushing 20 PSI of boost and hitting 60 in about 5.3 seconds. I have even seen a brief spike of 22 PSI under WOT running 93 octane fuel and cold plugs. Even with the high PSI, PIDS were healthy and I have no concerns about long term health with this tune.
-------------Overall, if you want to go fast and have excellent customer service, MPT is the way to go.
Gearhead - Matt at Gearhead is famous in the 6.0 Powerstroke world (where I came from) and also in the Taurus SHO world, so I gave him a shot. I only purchased the Adaptive Octane Performance Tune from him. Like others have said, I would describe this tune as a "Stock Plus" tune. Throttle response is improved over stock especially at midrange throttle. The biggest improvement is in shifting. It feels like GH uses a shift pattern similar to stock, but it takes all the slop out of the shifts. Bascially, this Gearhead tune is how the 10R80 should have come from the factory. WOT runs with this tune pull hard and are smooth. 0-60 runs with this tune running 93 in the tank are getting me about 5.5 seconds, which is nearly as quick as the MPT PRX. I am currently working with GH on some part throttle low load pinging issues with this tune (starting to think I have some bad gas), so I haven't been able to test it a whole lot, however, once I have the pinging issues worked out, this will likely be my daily driver tune when I am not towing, as it is smooth, feels like it won't ever cause reliability issues, and shifts amazing. Emails sent to GH are responded to very quickly I must add.
So there ya have it. If anyone has any questions about the tunes, let me know. I need to get my post numbers up so I will respond
