Superchips Fastpaq tuner

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   A while back I posted about my Aeroforce Interceptor, which is like the Scangauge but without any programming needed.  Shows oil/coolant temp, transmission slip, etc.  That has been working well.  On a 4 week trip right now along the entire east coast and have hit many mountains north of the Mason-Dixon line so it is nice to see the temps and adjust speed on the longer climbs when necessary.

My new toy for this trip is the Superchips Fastpaq tuner.  I stuck with the factory tune for the flat states south of PA, and also went a few days in the mountains to get a good feel of it, the last day or two with 91 octane to see how the computer reacted to it (I did feel some additional power available).  Then I installed the towing tune, and adjusted the cooling fan activation to 180 degrees (factory is about 196).  They require 91 or higher octane while running this tune which is why I ran with it on the factory tune so I could compare.  It does feel more peppy with the tow tune, with some shifts noticeably harder which I could do without.  Factory on 87 and 91, and now with the tow tune it just doesn't like to downshift to 2nd and 1st some times when it should, so I'm still manually forcing that on the big climbs.  I will keep the tow tune in place for the rest of this trip, then later I'll try it with and w/o for more comparison.  

As for the temperature adjustment, I have seen a definite lowering of the coolant temps and as a result of the oil and slight change of the trans temp (since all the coolers are in the same stack, some are inter-coolers).  On the flats and moderate pulls.  Long steep pulls is about the same as before with maybe a slightly longer time before it hits max temp.

Since my TV is my daily driver I will also try out the gas-saver tune (not sure what it is called) once I go back to work.  I'll post later with those results.

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techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062	Topic: Superchips Fastpaq tuner Posted: 22 Jul 2015 at 10:38pm
	A while back I posted about my Aeroforce Interceptor, which is like the Scangauge but without any programming needed. Shows oil/coolant temp, transmission slip, etc. That has been working well. On a 4 week trip right now along the entire east coast and have hit many mountains north of the Mason-Dixon line so it is nice to see the temps and adjust speed on the longer climbs when necessary. My new toy for this trip is the Superchips Fastpaq tuner. I stuck with the factory tune for the flat states south of PA, and also went a few days in the mountains to get a good feel of it, the last day or two with 91 octane to see how the computer reacted to it (I did feel some additional power available). Then I installed the towing tune, and adjusted the cooling fan activation to 180 degrees (factory is about 196). They require 91 or higher octane while running this tune which is why I ran with it on the factory tune so I could compare. It does feel more peppy with the tow tune, with some shifts noticeably harder which I could do without. Factory on 87 and 91, and now with the tow tune it just doesn't like to downshift to 2nd and 1st some times when it should, so I'm still manually forcing that on the big climbs. I will keep the tow tune in place for the rest of this trip, then later I'll try it with and w/o for more comparison. As for the temperature adjustment, I have seen a definite lowering of the coolant temps and as a result of the oil and slight change of the trans temp (since all the coolers are in the same stack, some are inter-coolers). On the flats and moderate pulls. Long steep pulls is about the same as before with maybe a slightly longer time before it hits max temp. Since my TV is my daily driver I will also try out the gas-saver tune (not sure what it is called) once I go back to work. I'll post later with those results.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062	Posted: 01 Aug 2015 at 3:09pm
	I keep a record of my stats on long trips, and with this year's trip now over I can share some info. I don't keep track of side trips w/o the camper but I doubt we are unhitched more than 5% of the total mileage. Many sightseeing trips are between campsites so the camper goes with us. But, the unhitched miles @ 17.5 mpg do skew the numbers upward slightly. 3414 miles factory tune, mostly flat territory (MD to FL back to southern PA), all on 87 octane gas. Average mpg for that section was 7.2. 379 miles factory tune, hills of PA, two tanks of gas 91 and 93 octane. Average mpg was 8.8. Since this was only 2 tanks I'm sure there is some error in that number. It may include some non-towing sightseeing. 1825 miles tow tune, from hilly to steep mountains (PA, upstate NY, VT, Acadia in ME, NH, through PA to MD), average octane was about 92. Average mpg was 8.1. Mpg increase with the tow tune was 12.5% while the cost increase was 16.8% (the two tanks with higher octane and factory tune aren't included in these numbers). This is really comparing apples to oranges though, with most of the terrain so flat before and hilly to very steep after. Yet that makes the mpg increase more interesting. Future steps include more towing miles with higher octane and the factory tune, daily driving with higher octane with and w/o the tow tune, daily driving with the performance tune, and daily driving with the economy tune.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062	Posted: 10 Aug 2015 at 9:58pm
	The first leg of my testing is done. High octane and the tow tune on my daily commute. At 87 octane with the stock tune I almost always get 17.5 mpg. I ended up with 19.2 mpg, or a 9.7% increase. Next up, high octane and the factory tune.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual