To Tune or Not To Tune, that is the question?

[MontanaV73]

My main purpose would only be for towing and MPG's, just not sure if I should.  I'm starting to hear the pros and cons of tuning from some and not sure its worth the time, effort and money. 

I just hit 40k so I'm changing out the plugs and gap to.030 

I like the SCT x4 and livewire tuners

Also thought about AFE mag force stage 2 intake

Any thoughts?

 

[ZSHO]

Definitely like that Beast of an intake and should see some modest gains & sound and to answer your other question would honestly hold off especially with the summer-blend transition essentially upon us and take it from there,think it will be a great time to change/flush out the fluids especially if your concerned about towing.  Z    http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=11031

 

[r1crusher]

How often are you towing and how much?  You shouldn't expect to see double digit mpg when towing anything except maybe a small 6x10 open trailer or similar even with a tune.  It might be possible to get very low teens pulling a small enclosed also.

You should see a few mpg though just with normal driving tuned.  As pointed out before in your other thread, it's not guaranteed but it is typically the norm.  You can ask the tuner for less performance and more economy but it usually always results in more performance anyway.

If you just pick up an X4 to try it out and decide it's not getting you the value you're expecting you can resell it pretty easily and recoup most of your money.  Just remember to flash back to stock to unmarry it from you truck before you sell it. 

 

[BiGMaC]

I agree with r1c... Buy a real tuner, so there's an aftermarket and try it... Sell it if it is not to your liking. You'd have to save a lot of gas for the price of the tuner.

On a side note... Pulling has been most economical for me over the last 40 years with a diesel... I get 17-18 mpg in my F250 SC, in town and on the. Highway, empty or pulling up to 30-35k pounds trailer weight... Plenty of pick up even to pass and the newer diesels are hard to recognize as diesel from noise, etc. Of course buying a new vehicle is not economical either