17 Ecoboost

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Savannah Dan

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What I found out about 87, 89, and 91 octane fuel with the factory tune:
I can't find my notes, so I don't have the exact figures. I got about 1 more MPG with 89 than I did with 87. I got about 1 more MPG with 91 than I did with 89. After doing the math, I found out that the cost to run 91 was about the same as running 87 or 89. I was very surprised.
I tried the same with non ethanol gas, hoping to get even MPG, but the results were about the same.

Edited to add post from June 2018:
I ran tanks of 87, 89, and 93 in my 2017 to check the mileage. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the higher the octane, the better the MPG. Ran a bit stronger too. I calculated the cost per mile for each. 89 was about $.15 a mile and 93 was about $.17 a mile to drive.
 
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JasonH

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Does anyone know whether Five Star offers an auto-adjust tune that will accommodate 87 through 93 octane without reflashing? I drive daily on 87, but I can feel that the engine has pulled timing and would like to get a small improvement for daily driving. But I also tow a 7k trailer every few months using 93 octane, and would like to get get the benefit of using 93 octane without reflashing. Is there a tune that adjusts the timing, A/F ratio, and boost on the fly like the stock tune, using Ford's built-in octane auto-adjustment feature?
 
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coolzzy

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Even when tuned, the truck will still compensate for higher octane fuel when you use it. I tow with my 87 octane performance tow tune, but tow with premium fuel as is recccomended in the owners manual.
 

JasonH

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Even when tuned, the truck will still compensate for higher octane fuel when you use it. I tow with my 87 octane performance tow tune, but tow with premium fuel as is recccomended in the owners manual.

But does it use the 93 octane five star mapping, or the stock mapping? My understanding is that Five Star alters shift points as well.
 
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coolzzy

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I don't believe it can change tune parameters on the fly, and loading a tune takes several minutes with the programmer. Shift points can be adjusted as well. In my F150s I had them alter the slowing/rolling downshift points to be seemless instead of the noticeable jerky stock points. The expedition tunes seem to be a little softer than my F150 tunes out of the box. Shifting stays nice and smooth, but I did notice with my tunes that tow mode downshifting was far too aggressive (in the F150 and expedition) for my tastes and had them use stock tow mode downshifting strategy.
 

JasonH

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I don't believe it can change tune parameters on the fly, and loading a tune takes several minutes with the programmer. Shift points can be adjusted as well. In my F150s I had them alter the slowing/rolling downshift points to be seemless instead of the noticeable jerky stock points. The expedition tunes seem to be a little softer than my F150 tunes out of the box. Shifting stays nice and smooth, but I did notice with my tunes that tow mode downshifting was far too aggressive (in the F150 and expedition) for my tastes and had them use stock tow mode downshifting strategy.


You are correct, I confirmed this with Five Star a few days ago. I guess I would use the 87 performance tune for daily driving, and 93 for towing without a tune. My wife drives the vehicle, so I wouldn't want to keep flashing on the off chance we might use the the wrong octane rating. We also use 87 when we get to our destination, as we usually stay for 2 or 3 days and make repeated trips between the campsite and softball fields.
 
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coolzzy

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You will still benefit from using higher octane fuel on an 87 octane tune. Especially when towing in hot weather. I only use 91 octane when towing my trailer despite running an 87 octane tune. I went all last summer without my tune, and got worse mileage towing regardless of fuel grade, compared to when I had my tune loaded.
 

3tonsoffun

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I just picked up a 17 EL 4x4. I had a great performance tow tune in my 5.4 F150 that I traded in (returned to stock tune first). What benefits will I get out of tuning the ecoboost expedition? It will be a daily driver for my wife but will also be towing my travel trailer now that the truck is gone. I don't want harsh shifts or to mess with my powertrain warranty but the electronic throttle improvements would be nice.
All boost no eco. I have a 16 EL with 5 stars 93 perf tune I daily and it’s on revision 7.10. It is literally night and day difference from my wife’s stock limited. Shifts perfectly and hauls ass for a 6400 lb SUV on 35s. My best 0-60 has been 5.7 sec with stock tune running a 8.8
 
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