Did you ever drive one with an automatic? I am curious about the differences between the two. I am sure the manual is better but it doesnt fit my needs that well.

 

the city government i used to work for loved the newer super dutys because they could wire all the extra lights to these switches instead of having to put in toggle switches and drill into the interior

as for auto vs stick, i havent driven a stick but i hate the drive by wire trucks, the throttle response is horrible and the shifts seem strange as well. I spent most of my time driving either a 98 ranger 2.5 auto or a 01 f250 5.4 auto but every now and then id have to take out an 06 f250 5.4 auto and i didnt like driving the 06 at all except that it was an xcab and the 01 was a reg.

 

Melt the f150 with a tuner is 300% better. Throttle response, shifting, power, everything.
Zach I would be curious how the 5.4 is with a newer torqueshift as well, can't say I have driven that combo.

 

I've driven one. Its ok. Mostly the transmission likes to fall into 5-6th at like 35 and when you stand on it its a large delay to get down into second or so. In normal driving you cannot feel any shifts at all. Its very smooth. Throttle response is ok. It seems to control launches on its own. Say you stuff it when the light goes green. Well it doesn't like that, so it does half throttle for about 2-3 seconds then it stuffs it and your off. Nice for a daily cause you cannot get it to whiplash anyone. But oddly enough, it power brakes and breaks them loose without that problem. I think its only if you do a hard mash on the gas. If you roll into the throttle there is no delay at all. Passing on the freeway is excellent. It will ALWAYS go into the gear both you and the truck want. Its very nice.

 

I talked to the guy who wrote my tunes, and he commented on the late model drive by wire stuff at length.

The throttle in my F250 is a fly-by-wire thing no doubt, but it really is a torque on demand system. He said that it only allows a certain amount of engine power at a particular pedal position. This makes the driving experience smooth, but mostly I think it reduces emissions by building in a little "lag" time into the throttle, ie. a driver might "punch it" momentaritly, but not be so inclined to hold it to the floor for more than a few seconds on a regular basis.

Another computer trick the factory does is put a large delay in switching between closed loop and open loop. The factory tune would start a 10-15 second timer to open loop whenever the throttle was opened and high engine loads were encountered. With the aftermarket tune loaded and my ScanGauge hooked up, I can watch the computer instantly switch between open and closed loop by simply pressing on the throttle.

Gas engines don't get the big, wild hp & tq gains from a tuner like a diesel does. But just those two adjustments make a noticable difference in the power delivery your engine already makes stock, which equates in to a more "spirited" feel even with a 5.4L in a F250. The dyno charts on the company's website talk about ~25hp gains with the tuner on a 3valve 5.4L, and I guess I'll have to take them for their word on that, but I'm simply happy that my engine doesn't feel as lethargic anymore.


To answer Zach's question about the 5.4L + TorqueShift combo, yes, I have driven one and it felt a lot less powerful but I think that was because it had 3.73 gears. That was one of the main reasons I went with the 4.10 axles on this truck. I have yet to drive a 5.4L F250 with the auto and 4.10 gears; they're actually kind of hard to find in this area.

 

3.73 to 4.10 wont make much difference though. I am sure it is slower I just have no use for the manual, I used to have one, dont mind driving with one but I just dont want to shift gears.

thanks! not that i want to buy something right now anyway.

 

Omg! beautiful truck ya got there. Wanna trade? jk i already know the answer lol

 

lol he had a ranger prior to getting this truck