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5 star tune on F-53 chasis (V-10)

RJL
Explorer
Explorer
We tow our Jeep unlimited behind our 2010 Damon Challenger 368 (37'). Anyone have the 5 star tune on a similar RV? We bog down pretty good on some uphills and the like. Seems like a cheap enough fix, Just want some intel.

Thanks

Bob
2010 Damon Challenger 368, F-53 Chasis
2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon unlimited, Toad
2018 Ram 1500 4x4, Club Cab, 6.4 bed,3.92 gears, 5.7 HEMI
2019 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body, 6.4 HEMI
15 REPLIES 15

Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Explorer II
RJL wrote:
Great write up Dale. Thank you. I agree, when the tranny downshifts and the motor sounds like its gonna explode drives me crazy while going up an incline with a toad. We just got home yesterday from a 1250 mile drive from SW Fla to our home in S Jersey with our Jeep toad and I'm seriously considering this upgrade. I'm gonna stay tuned for your report after your trip with the toad.

Bob

Made it up I40 thru NC and could not be happier with the tuner. I drive by RPM and set the cruise for 2500 which sets my speed at around 65. Good speed for reasonable fuel mileage without impeding others too much. Most of the the drive the coach stayed in O/D with occasional downshifts to fifth thru the rolling hills of the NC Piedmont. Never dropping to third and 4000 RPM as before.

Once past Hickory NC and climbing into the Smokey Morticians the fun began. There's a short hard climb west of Hickory that the coach didn't like (lots of up and down shifting) so I manually down shifted to hold third gear and 40 MPH. Beyond that the tuner pretty much as expected and I did not see a downshift below fourth or an RPM of over 4000 on the other minor climbs. No more shifts to fifth for a few seconds followed by the dramatic down shift to third and 4000+ RPM.

My opinion of the tuner, it's an excellent option available to the an owner. The Ford programming worked OK but wasn't optimum for the end application of an RV, or at least my RV with how I load the the chassis. I do like the change and if an owner has the RV budget to buy it I would encourage such. Bringing fourth gear back into the shift pattern made a big change, and is in my opinion, the most dramatic change to the power train.
2006 Hurricane 31D built on a 2006 Ford F53

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
How does the 5 star tuning compare with the full banks system? What are the HP gains from the 5 star tuning compared to the full banks system? My understanding is the newer V-10 with the 362 HP is a lot more efficient than the older V-10's and 460's so the performance gains are not as great.

RJL
Explorer
Explorer
Dale.Traveling wrote:
2006 F53 with the 3 valve engine, 5 speed OD transmission, 18,000 lbs. chassis. Normal rolling weight is around 16,000 lbs.

Installed last week and went out on our the first weekend trip thru the rolling hills of central Virginia east of the Blue Ridge. Did not take the toad along. Power and throttle response felt improved but the real change was the transmission shift points and the gain of fourth gear. Up shifts happened at lower RPM during moderate acceleration at around 2750 and dropped the RPM down to around 2250 for each shift from third up into OD. Hardly felt the shifts. Smooth and smoother. Picking up fourth made for a very smooth acceleration to interstate speed.

With cruise control engaged the coach pretty much stayed in overdrive all the time. My usual pace is to drive at 2500 RPM which is around 63 MPH. The before shift pattern that used to cause a downshift from OD into fifth for a few seconds then the screaming 4000 RPM drop to third never occurred. Much quieter and smoother without the prior downshifts when encounter a moderate hill or overpass. Coach did appear to hold set speed much closer than before. Much less loss of speed and the associated downshifts.

With hard acceleration performance was a bit improved but now with gain of fourth gear the up shifts were not as dramatic as before with the prior third to fifth shift. In tow/haul the shift points do appear to be a touch later as they were before 5 Star. Downshifts in tow/haul also behaved as before with hard downshifts when approaching a stop.

Fuel mileage gain will need a couple of trips and I don't fully believe what Scan Gauge reports. The trip out to the campsite was 7.2 MPG while the drive home via a different route Scan was reporting 8.5 MPG average. Way too much of a gain for a single trip to be accepted as what the new normal might be. Coolant and transmission temps appeared unchanged. Engine hovered around 200 degrees and the transmission at 160 with the early spring cool air temperatures.

We're heading out in two weeks for a week long 1450 mile trip taking us thru the Smokies Mountains and across the coastal plain of the mid Atlantic which will be a better scenario to judge the changes. What I'm looking forward to is the drive up I40 into the Smokies of western NC pulling the toad. Never used this route in the past but did drive I64 thru West Virginia last summer. Did most of the drive in what felt like third gear and 4000 + RPM climbing thru the Allegheny Mountains.

Overall the changes are a definite benefit. If I can pick up a couple of tenths of improved fuel mileage it might even pay for itself in 30,000 miles or so.

For more information and the group buy discount CLICK HERE.


Great write up Dale. Thank you. I agree, when the tranny downshifts and the motor sounds like its gonna explode drives me crazy while going up an incline with a toad. We just got home yesterday from a 1250 mile drive from SW Fla to our home in S Jersey with our Jeep toad and I'm seriously considering this upgrade. I'm gonna stay tuned for your report after your trip with the toad.

Bob
2010 Damon Challenger 368, F-53 Chasis
2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon unlimited, Toad
2018 Ram 1500 4x4, Club Cab, 6.4 bed,3.92 gears, 5.7 HEMI
2019 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body, 6.4 HEMI

Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Explorer II
2006 F53 with the 3 valve engine, 5 speed OD transmission, 18,000 lbs. chassis. Normal rolling weight is around 16,000 lbs.

Installed last week and went out on our the first weekend trip thru the rolling hills of central Virginia east of the Blue Ridge. Did not take the toad along. Power and throttle response felt improved but the real change was the transmission shift points and the gain of fourth gear. Up shifts happened at lower RPM during moderate acceleration at around 2750 and dropped the RPM down to around 2250 for each shift from third up into OD. Hardly felt the shifts. Smooth and smoother. Picking up fourth made for a very smooth acceleration to interstate speed.

With cruise control engaged the coach pretty much stayed in overdrive all the time. My usual pace is to drive at 2500 RPM which is around 63 MPH. The before shift pattern that used to cause a downshift from OD into fifth for a few seconds then the screaming 4000 RPM drop to third never occurred. Much quieter and smoother without the prior downshifts when encounter a moderate hill or overpass. Coach did appear to hold set speed much closer than before. Much less loss of speed and the associated downshifts.

With hard acceleration performance was a bit improved but now with gain of fourth gear the up shifts were not as dramatic as before with the prior third to fifth shift. In tow/haul the shift points do appear to be a touch later as they were before 5 Star. Downshifts in tow/haul also behaved as before with hard downshifts when approaching a stop.

Fuel mileage gain will need a couple of trips and I don't fully believe what Scan Gauge reports. The trip out to the campsite was 7.2 MPG while the drive home via a different route Scan was reporting 8.5 MPG average. Way too much of a gain for a single trip to be accepted as what the new normal might be. Coolant and transmission temps appeared unchanged. Engine hovered around 200 degrees and the transmission at 160 with the early spring cool air temperatures.

We're heading out in two weeks for a week long 1450 mile trip taking us thru the Smokies Mountains and across the coastal plain of the mid Atlantic which will be a better scenario to judge the changes. What I'm looking forward to is the drive up I40 into the Smokies of western NC pulling the toad. Never used this route in the past but did drive I64 thru West Virginia last summer. Did most of the drive in what felt like third gear and 4000 + RPM climbing thru the Allegheny Mountains.

Overall the changes are a definite benefit. If I can pick up a couple of tenths of improved fuel mileage it might even pay for itself in 30,000 miles or so.

For more information and the group buy discount CLICK HERE.
2006 Hurricane 31D built on a 2006 Ford F53

bigred1cav
Explorer
Explorer
I have a 2000 V10 in a Pace Arrow. What is 5 star how does it work? What does a 5 star do? Does my transmission automatically shift down when going down hill?

timmac
Explorer
Explorer
RJL wrote:
With just a minimal time spent researching I'm assuming the tune is just a tuner that the consumer (me) can install. Is this an accurate assumption or does a shop have to handle this?


Very easy to install, just plug it in and it will tell you what to do, they also have a YouTube video of how its done..

RJL
Explorer
Explorer
With just a minimal time spent researching I'm assuming the tune is just a tuner that the consumer (me) can install. Is this an accurate assumption or does a shop have to handle this?
2010 Damon Challenger 368, F-53 Chasis
2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon unlimited, Toad
2018 Ram 1500 4x4, Club Cab, 6.4 bed,3.92 gears, 5.7 HEMI
2019 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body, 6.4 HEMI

timmac
Explorer
Explorer
crasster wrote:
I'm assuming that EVERYTHING on the bounder is well maintained right? Great plugs, good oil, good fuel & air filter? How about clean injectors?


Yes well maintained and Royal Purple oil, new fuel filter, Sea Foam used often, etc, only 45,000 miles but planning on changing spark plugs soon, I even replaced the sensors in the exhaust just to keep it running like new.

Why You Ask..

OLYLEN
Explorer
Explorer
The 5 Star tune helps. But you are pulling around a big heavy box and you have added a toad. As said it will help but it ain't going to make it a Vett.

LEN

crasster
Explorer II
Explorer II
I'm assuming that EVERYTHING on the bounder is well maintained right? Great plugs, good oil, good fuel & air filter? How about clean injectors?
4 whopping cylinders on Toyota RV's. Talk about great getting good MPG. Also I have a very light foot on the pedal. I followed some MPG advice on Livingpress.com and I now get 22 MPG! Not bad for a home on wheels.

Gooding__R
Explorer
Explorer
I have installed a 5 Star on my Nemar 35 foot and saw a world of difference. The 5 Star is the only change I have made and I love it. Well worth the money if you hate hills like I do.

RJL
Explorer
Explorer
Nice. Race car RV. LOL. Thanks for the input.
2010 Damon Challenger 368, F-53 Chasis
2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon unlimited, Toad
2018 Ram 1500 4x4, Club Cab, 6.4 bed,3.92 gears, 5.7 HEMI
2019 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body, 6.4 HEMI

timmac
Explorer
Explorer
I bought my Bounder with the Banks system installed so I have no idea how much power I got from stock, its the cold air intake, headers, new Y pipe and 4 inch exhaust/performance muffler, I installed the 5 Star and it improved a lot plus 5 speed trans shifts better and does not go from 5th to 2nd gear in the hills, will hold 3rd or 4th now.

The 5 Star program is worth evey penny from my perspective, I guess with my Banks system it really woke up my V-10 because it rocks and can pull tree stumps if I wanted.

RJL
Explorer
Explorer
timmac wrote:
Yes the 5 Star Tuning does wake up the V-10, I have the 5 Star and full Banks power pack and tow 6500 lbs behind my Bounder without any issues, also you said it bogged down, I would check or replace your fuel filter, it should not bogged down if you keep the RPM"s up in the hills.


Thank you. I probably didn't describe the condition right. It slows considerably with the towed on long, sweeping uphills. I changed out the fuel filter last season so I should still be good. What does the "full banks power pack" include? Did you install both at the same time? If separately which was the better bang for the buck?
2010 Damon Challenger 368, F-53 Chasis
2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon unlimited, Toad
2018 Ram 1500 4x4, Club Cab, 6.4 bed,3.92 gears, 5.7 HEMI
2019 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Wide Body, 6.4 HEMI