I’ve been looking at this a lot and the simple answer is, per your post, you can’t have both economy and performance with a tune. The tuner will sell you a specific tow tune, but you must use premium fuel to get the additional HP and torque - so economy is out. In addition, the performance gain is insignificant compared to the cost - less than 10 hp. You will also be told you’ll get better shifting with a tune which could be correct but you should be in TOW/HAUL anyway which essentially does the same thing.
If you want better performance for free, reach up under the grill, disconnect the plug that manages the airflow, and flip the louvers open so they are open all the time. On my expedition there are no codes and the stock intercooler is getting ambient air all the time - no “heat soak”. Power comes in quicker because you’re not waiting for the louvers to open AND start cooling the IC. Remember, whoever applies power quicker wins, so this is a no-brainer. If you’d like to see proof (screen shot graphs) that this works, PM me.
PS - if you’re tow a lot, for example, every month, over a 1,000 miles, you might want to consider a quality aftermarket intercooler as there a slight gains to be had over the long term. Tunes are cool if you like going fast under wide open throttle and like spending money. Remember, you said economy.
