Banks power equipment

[davedave]

My 2015 Precept UL31 with the Ford V10, downshifts a lot when pulling hills (makes a lot of noise). I travel at 65 mph in cruise control. Would a" Banks Power system" help much?

[Vicr]

Yes, but have you had the Five Star Tune done?

[davedave]

I have not heard of the 5 star tune.

[Darrin1221]

I️ would first suggest not using cruise when running hills. If using cruise in my car with Hills it downshifts constantly, not using cruise it seldom downshifts.
Just a thought

[Vicr]

Originally Posted by davedave

I have not heard of the 5 star tune.

Google it. It reprograms the shifting points of your 5 speed transmission. You can also search it here or on IRV.

[The Logans]

We were prepared to get a 5 star tune, but when we asked Ford about it they said that it would void the power train warranty. So, I didn't want to take a chance on that.

[JesseS]

I have the 5-star tune, made a huge difference in shifting on hills, keeps the RPM in the torque sweet spot of 3200 RPM. Went from 365 BPH to 425 on the V10/v3.
It stores your OEM tune for later re-install if needed prior to smog or engine work. This is so the Tech does not automatically overwrite the tune with an update that makes it look like a second vehicle to the programmer, requiring purchase of another tune. I would much rather have that than going with a banks kit. But that's just me, besides, you can install or remove the 5-star tune in 5 minutes with no labor charge.

[t18skyguy]

If you have tow/haul on your rig it's good to use that. I second no cruise control in mountains. I had a Banks on my old rig. I did very careful pre and post install testing. The headers do give a slight torque boost and mileage increase. Don't waste your money on the ram air, it contributes nothing.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by t18skyguy

If you have tow/haul on your rig it's good to use that. I second no cruise control in mountains. I had a Banks on my old rig. I did very careful pre and post install testing. The headers do give a slight torque boost and mileage increase. Don't waste your money on the ram air, it contributes nothing.

The only thing the Ram Air added to my 32' Fleetwood was NOISE! It was so loud on kick down I took it off.

[ukester]

5 Star Tune

[davedave]

Thanks for all the input on my original post. The 5 star turn seems a good option, except for it voids the warranty. My Precept is a 2015 so I will wait until it is out of warranty.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by davedave

Thanks for all the input on my original post. The 5 star turn seems a good option, except for it voids the warranty. My Precept is a 2015 so I will wait until it is out of warranty.

Are you aware that it takes all of 5 minutes to return the tune to OEM specs? without even having to start the engine. Plug in the tuner, press the 'revert to original tune' button, and you're done.
I did it when I took my rig in to ford for some work, didn't want their SUN machine 'updating' my tune, causing the tuner to think I was trying to load it into a second vehicle, and wanting me to purchase another tune for another vehicle. Quick and easy to return to the custom tune when they were finished. I love the 5 star tune, rig has more power (a lot) shifts better and at the correct spots without the 'roar' most have. Some don't like that it tends to hang on to the lower gear to long after topping a hill, but the trick is to engage tow haul (never use cruise on hills) at the bottom, and at the top release it and the rig will up-shift without issue.
5 Star sent me an update as they are always listening to owners, to install you must return to OEM tune, update the tuner on your computer, then re-tune. The tune did not change my MPG as far as I can tell, maybe a little better, but drive ability is way up.

[edfgrf]

What JesseS said.

[The Logans]

Davedave, that's what Ford told us also. That any modifications to the ECS comps or components would, in the case of failure, void the Pt warranty. He said that changes are logged in the system, which can only be accessed by Ford, the insurance company, and Law Enforcement (I presume for accident investigation purposes).

To me, it's just not worth the possibility of messing up the warranty.

[Mustang65]

When I looked into reprogramming my EcoBoost chip, I talked with a Ford mechanic friend that does most of the electronics work and he said back then, there was a flag (bit) that gets changed, when the chip is reprogrammed. He mentioned that the bit could not be changed by re-programmers. Figured that at the time, it would be better to just keep everything to factory specs.

Not sure as to if that is still the case today.

Don
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