5 STAR CHIP ADDED TO 2013 V-10 ENGINE

[bostonbernie]

I OWN A 2013 FLEETWOOD BOUNDER AND AM CONSIDERING BUYING WHAT IS  CALLED 5 STAR CHIP TO ADD TO MY V-10 ENGINE. IT HAS BEEN FEATURED IN A FEW MOTORHOME MAGAZINES AS A REPUTABLE PRODUCT AND ITS CLAIM TO FAME IS FEAR NO MOUNTAIN.I AM NOT MECHANICALLY INCLINED AT ALL {NOT STUPID EITHER} I WAS WONDERING IF ANY ONE HAS TRIED OR HAVE PURCHASED ONE. IT IS USED TO BOOST THE CLIMBING POWER WITH OUT DOWN SHIFTING ON EVERY SMALL INCLINE.ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED, THANK YOU BOSTON BERNIE

[hermanmullins]

Bernie,

If not said before, Welcome To the Forum. Not a fan of messing with the engine set up by the factory. I beleive that the engineers at the factory are way smarter then I am with regards to the engines they manfacturer. Making a change to the ECU also doesn't help the Transmission.

PS, just a side note, writing in all capitols is an indication that you are shouting and I don't beleive that is your intention.

Herman

[five]

15 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

...Not a fan of messing with the engine set up by the factory. I beleive that the engineers at the factory are way smarter then I am with regards to the engines they manfacturer. Making a change to the ECU also doesn't help the Transmission...

Same here, most engines put in the MHs do the job.  If you are set on doing this, be sure to check that the transmission can handle the extra power.

[wolfe10]

Guess I will be the "contrarian" here.  Most Ford V10's will downshift when they "think you may be near a highway overpass".  I find the objectionable, from a noise standpoint, wear on transmission standpoint and MPG standpoint.

If all the controller does (actually all I would want it to do) is change the shift parameters to overcome this downshift issue, it would be well worth it to me.

[jleamont]

I cannot speak to the specific make of chip you are referring to. I did on our old coach add a Banks trans programmer (among other Banks items). I will say it defiantly improved my down shifts (stopped 70% of the unnecessary) and firmed up all of the others. My transmission temps dropped also, which is a big contributor to transmission failures. As always later I added a reinforced all aluminum transmission pan (BD Diesel product) which solves another common Ford problem....case warpage from torque and heat. Plus it gave me another few quarts. 

FYI the gas and diesel share a similar transmission, well same pan anyway in 2003.

[wildebill308]

Well you would think that the factory engineers would get it just right, but they have to meet specific criteria that may not produce the best tune for all occasions or in this case for RV applications. The 5 Star tuner tries to do a better job of tailoring the tune to a RV application. You can if you feel the need for more performance specify what octane gas you want to use all the way to 93 octane. One of the biggest advantages is it modifies the shift points so it doesn't down shift just because it is thinking about a hill. 

BOSTON BERNIE, The 5 Star will ad some performance and will help the shift points. The improvements aren't as dramatic as on the earlier V10 engins.

Bill

[bostonbernie]

Hey great thanx for the input,the chip cost is $500 but in the v10 if it even senses a incline it down shifts.The pulling power seems fine in the Mts..(as long as one of the site see r's don't jump in front of you) but as said it does wear on the tranny.I have done some research on the 5 star brand and they are not a fly by night company,but the jury is still out on whether to spend the $500 . I am leaning towards it though. I welcome and respect any and all in put,thanx a bunch Boston Bernie