Towing with Superchips
 

I am going to be towing about 6000lbs in the next couple of weeks. Should I set my Superchips to the "Tow" setting? I'm currently running the 91 octane tune with my own trans settings. What octane is required for the "Tow" tune? Has anyone towed this much weight on the 91 octane tune? Is the trans shift schedule the only change between the 91 and Tow tunes? Thanks for any feedback.

Performance tune has a Max Towing Rating of 2000 lbs., so yeah you need to install the Tow tune which also requires a minimum of 91 octane fuel. There are a few more differences between the perf. tune and the tow tune. Timing is advanced a good bit more on the perf. tune for one...

I believe that, even with the performance tune, once you put it in Tow/Haul your truck reverts back to that stock configuration. Can't remember where I read it though. At any rate yes put it to the tow mode on your programmer.

Tow it is. Thanks for the quick responses.

Got some info for you as I just towed a 6500 lb Hybrid TT and put in the Tow programming with my 3865 programer. I also used the tow haul feature on the truck. Went to the campsite in tow haul mode and programming and got 8.5 MPG up and down hills and shifting was okay to say the least. On the way back , I was thinking and thought I should not use both programs and use either the Superchips or the trucks built in tow haul. . SO , i disabled the trucks tow haul mode and kept the superchips towing programming. Major difference, it went up and down the same hills nearly effortlessly and mpg went up to 11.5.... Now i will return the truck to stock and try the same route with the trucks tow/haul mode and see what happens. Anyone else do this????

The answer is: Well, it depends....

If you have the Tranny shift schedule add-on update:

1. Stock "Engine Tune": No difference between normal driving mode and Tow/Haul mode

2. Performance "Engine Tune": No difference in engine tune between normal and Tow/Haul mode but different "Custom Shift Schedules" can be loaded for normal mode and Tow/Haul mode.

3.Tow "Engine Tune": No difference in engine tune between normal and Tow/Haul mode but different "Custom Shift Schedules" can be loaded for normal mode and Tow/Haul mode.

Conclusion: In both "Performance-Engine Tune" and "Tow-Engine Tune" you can load different shift schedules for the tranny Normal mode and tranny Tow/Haul mode.

Example:

Selected Tune = Tow

Selected Shift schedule for Tranny in Normal mode = Custom or Superchips Cannned Schedule

Selected Shift schedule for Tranny in Tow/Haul mode = Custom schedule that is different from Normal tranny Mode above.

In this configuration you have the same engine tune regardless of Tow/Haul switch on or off but different shift schedules with Tow/Haul switch ON versus Tow/Haul switch OFF.

I have my Cortex set up this way and loaded into my truck full time.

My Normal tranny mode (Switch = OFF) is Superchips canned shift schedule for zipping around in traffic.

My Tow/Haul tranny mode (Switch = ON) is a custom shift schedule that allows less aggresive downshifts for towing and/or slightly increased MPG. Note: If I temporarily desire a more aggressive downshift; I simply manually select the gear I want with the ERS (Electronic Range Selector) +/- on the shift lever.

I would remove your custom tranny settings. That makes the tranny shift harder, or I should say at higher RPMs and when pulling considerable weight that is not a good thing for the tranny.

Good question, I would post this on the SC forum. From my Ford days with the F150 and visiting with a couple custom tuners on the SCT platform, you never would tow with a performance tune, the tow tune was a richer A/F mix. You could also have whatever octane tow tune you asked them to build ( I would an 87 octane tow tune to save on the fuel expense ) Not sure if these canned SC performance tunes are leaned out as much though. I need to look at my SC tuner after I reflash back to stock for final dealer free PCM flash update before the 36k mile warranty expires, don't recall a tow tune option but was really only looking for 93 performance when I was playing with the new TM settings when they came out.

Also, it would be nice to know some facts if the tow/haul mode did more than adjust the shift schedules, does it alter the fuel mix ?

Umm, OK....

The tranny shift schedule does not alter what RPM your truck shifts at.... WTF! It sure does.

He is running his "own shift schedule"
He has a pic of his truck at the track. I do not have to ask what he did to his schedule I am sure he made it aggressive.

Take the aggressive schedule out of your tune for towing. While the tune could actually help you start moving and give you more pull up hills it will cause a lot of additional strain during the shifts. The increased RPMs, plus pulling a lot of weight equals hard on the tranny during shifts. I will also go out on a limb and bet his TM management setting is douwn around 7-8%. The truck has enough power to do it without his custom schedule. It would be better to have less get up and go than a dead tranny.

Bottom line is do what you feel is right. As you can see there is going to be arguements for and against.

We also can not compare the shift schedules of the 91/93 and towing tune. Those are SC schedules, which they do not allow us to see and they do not give them out. I wanted the 93 schedule so I could use it as a base to modify mine... No go.