Has anyone tried a tuner on the 6.8? I see several online. (e.g. SCT). Some allow a remote display. When we had diesels I used to display engine and transmission data on an iPad on the dash. Looks like these will do the same with the added benefit of modifying shift points and other functions.
jor
In years past, a lot of Forum members installed the Banks system, which included a transmission tuner.
None of the system appears to still be available.
I stayed away from aftermarket tuners and the Banks systems, not wanting to burn more fuel. To make more power, more fuel is needed, along with more air..
Larry
With my 2003 Midbath, I was determined to do whatever it took to make it the best motorhome possible. So I installed the full Banks system, including tuner chip, at a cost of $5,000+. It provided a barely perceptible improvement in performance, and no improvement in fuel economy. And there have been several accounts of motorhomes conking out when the tuner chip malfunctioned or simply came loose in its socket.
I also spent several thousand dollars to have the often-recommended Henderson's Line-Up upgrade the suspension and steering systems. The outcome was similar: a barely noticeable improvement in handling.
The one upgrade I don't regret was the thousand-plus dollars I spent to have John Wood rebuild my transmission and install a larger transmission cooler. Could I tell the difference when driving? No. But when I saw the stamped-metal parts that he replaced with custom-forged parts, I knew I had a much sturdier transmission, much less likely to fail. Unfortunately, Mr. Woods retired and closed his business some years ago.
My conclusion: Ford's engineers knew what they were doing. Even the transmission was well enough designed; they just cut corners in manufacturing.
Jor-
I installed a 5-Star tune on my Class A (three-valve V-10, circa 2007) and tested it. It did what was claimed: provided a bit more acceleration from a stop and most importantly eliminated the two-gear downshift on overpasses (dropping two gears sent RPMs from 2400 to 4000, a loud increase), if cruise control was not engaged.
The tune did not change improve or degrade gas mileage, as near as I could tell.
There seem to be many satisfied 5-Star owners, but I wasn't one of them. With cruise control engaged my coach would not downshift until the engine was way below correct RPMs, at which time it would drop out of cruise control. So, I backed out the tune, the coach worked as before, and I sold the tune for about half of what I paid for it.
I learned to reduce the two-gear downshift by using the accelerator pedal more adroitly.
As Joan said: "Your Mileage May Vary."
Mark H.
I know several LD owners who installed the Banks System and suffered failure of the tuner. One couple, Jonna and Mimi (anyone remember them?), had theirs fail in the middle of nowhere in Mexico.
The fix was to remove the tuner.
At about 100,000 miles, our LD's transmission developed a noise that had me concerned. Pulling a heavy Jeep for most of those miles definitely could wear the transmission.
Researching builders, I found that John Wood, the same shop Andy used, was the place to get a heavy-duty transmission built to diesel specifications. Located in California's Imperial Valley, the shop was close to thousands of snowbirds who come every winter to enjoy the warmth, many with hotrodded diesels that produce much more power than what the Factory transmissions could handle. John developed and manufactured many beefed-up internal transmission parts to handle the extra power.
John rebuilt our transmission with the diesel internals and tuned it to perform just as it had always operated. 55,000 miles later, it operates the same as when new.
I added a larger transmission cooler, twice the size of the original, and it never overheats.
Larger transmission cooler E450 | Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157648794273051/)
None of this was cheap, but reliability is priceless.
Larry