ANSWER #5:
The durability of the vehicle’s engine and transmission can be directly affected by how and when power is applied. In reality, it doesn’t matter how much power is available on tap, what is critical is how much of the power is applied at specific times. The Ford TorqueShift transmission is a heavy-duty unit that is capable of handling all the power that the Six-Gun is capable of dishing out, but this depends on a few other issues. I like to think in terms of load on the transmission. For instance, more power from the engine places greater load on the transmission. More vehicle weight, more load. Steeper grade, more load. The transmission (and the rear axle) are capable of handling a certain amount of load, but there is always a way to exceed the limits. For instance, if I were to hitch up a 30,000 lb trailer (exceeding Ford’s specifications) and tackle a long 10% grade at full speed, even with the engine producing a stock amount of power, I will likely exceed the transmission’s capabilities and cause a failure. But if I were to reduce my speed (which means that I am applying less of the power that is available) I could probably complete the climb without causing damage. Similarly, if weight was reduced or the grade was not as steep, the chances of avoiding damage will increase.

Transmission life is mostly related to the condition of the clutches (including the torque converter clutch). The clutches are most susceptible to damage during shifts, which occur during the acceleration of the vehicle. The greater the load on the transmission during shifts, the more potential there is for clutch wear as a result of slippage. Because we cannot control the driving style of individual users, we recommend that you do not exceed Level 3 while towing (greater load) in order to prevent the possibility of causing slippage in the transmission. We determined this based on our testing, which involves loading a vehicle to its maximum rated weight, and evaluating under full throttle conditions. In reality, a prudent driver could easily use the vehicle in a level higher than 3 and simply modulate his use of the power such that the transmission would not be subjected to extreme loads during shifts. We must be somewhat ambiguous and conservative as we describe these conditions because we have no way of knowing how a vehicle will be used, how much load will be placed on the transmission or what the user’s driving style will be.

A separate subject is the engine’s ability to withstand EGT. As I have already discussed, your Six-Gun is equipped with a thermocouple which gives it the feature of limiting fuel delivery based on EGT. This limit is set at 1350° for all levels except 6, which is a “racing only” limit of 1500°. (Incidentally, these limits are tunable with the use of a Banks iQ.) Therefore, from the standpoint of EGT alone, any level except for 6 could be considered appropriate for towing. But there are a few things that affect EGT. Higher power levels on the Six-Gun add fuel more rapidly than the lower levels, which will cause EGT to rise faster. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does increase the overall heat profile of the engine. More dramatic is the affect that airflow improvements have on EGT. When I say airflow, what I am really referring to is the air density that is delivered to the cylinders of the engine. The greater the density of the air in the cylinders, the cooler the EGT’s will be, therefore more fuel can be injected and more power can be used within the same EGT limit. A better than stock intercooler is an excellent way to increase air density. Our Techni-Cooler with High-Ram inlet casting increases air density by about 10%, which basically has the same effect as increasing the displacement of the engine by that amount. An added benefit is that the all-aluminum construction of the intercooler is much more durable than the plastic tank design of the stock intercooler. We have seen many failures of the stock intercooler even without added fueling. So to answer your specific question about the benefit of the intercooler, my opinion is that the Banks Techni-Cooler would be a huge benefit to you, mostly because you will be towing a heavy load. You will be able to take advantage of the power potential that the Six-Gun has to offer with less possibility of fuel being limited by EGT because you will have more air density contributing to a lower EGT.

1. In paragraph 1, what is meant by the term “short duration” use for levels 2-6? How long is a “short duration” and why levels 2-6?
2. In paragraph 2, you say that I can use up to level 3 for “towing, climbing a steep grade, carrying a load, etc.” and those activities are not of “short duration” as I understand the term. Paragraph 1 & 2 appear to contradict each other. Why the concern with the transmission since the normal concern is with EGT temps.
3. In paragraph 3, you say that “to use the higher levels (I assume you mean over Level 3, what happened to the transmission concern) while towing or climbing, air flow improvement must be made to lower EGT entering the turbo.” This statement appears to contradict the statement about towing in paragraph 2 and implies that you can tow or climb in the higher levels with the air flow improvement.

Also, one additional related issue is the part about going through the speed runs to enable the transmission to “learn” the new power settings. If after the speed runs in level 3, I leave it in level 3, but I then begin driving for economy (staying in level 3) and later begin towing, will the trans. Remember the setting that I have been in all of the time or will it have reverted. In which case will I have to go through the whole speed run process again? This issue is not adequately addressed.
Read on for the answers…

ANSWER #4:
It is important to remember that the Six-Gun is a versatile product that meets the needs of a broad cross-section of users, from those that tow heavy loads to those that “race” their diesel pickup trucks. As a result, the instructions need to be written with all users in mind. I can understand why the resulting language may seem a bit confusing.

The over-riding principle that we are trying to emphasize is that as the operator of the vehicle, you need to be somewhat aware of the Six-Gun setting that you are operating on and the current load conditions that the vehicle is being subjected to. For instance, it would not be prudent to install the Six-Gun and Speed-Loader, set it to level 6, hitch up to a 20,000 lb trailer and climb a 6% grade. The potential for engine and/or transmission damage would be elevated in such circumstances. While it is not likely that most people would operate their vehicle this way, we have to assume that some people would be capable of such operation, and therefore our cautionary language has to be aggressive in nature.

The benefit that you have is that the Speed-Loader comes with the thermocouple which activates a temperature limiting feature with the Six-Gun. With this feature you have very little to worry about under all operating conditions, with the exception of the use of level 6. The EGT control point for Levels 2-5 is 1350° F, for level 6 it is 1500° F. Since our maximum recommended temperature for sustained use is 1350°, you can actually operate the vehicle in any level up to 5 while towing a load, and it will control fuel delivery to keep EGT at 1350°. You can operate the vehicle for long durations at that EGT level, if necessary. Level 6 will allow the EGT to go as high as 1500°, which is acceptable for short duration use, such as a 1/4 mile drag race, but it is NOT acceptable for any sort of sustained use or towing conditions. Level 6 should NEVER be used for towing.

We suggest Level 3 for towing for a couple of reasons. The first is that each level offers progressively more “accelerator pump”. This is a term that we use to describe the boost-based fueling; that is the aggressiveness with which fuel is introduced as boost rises. If you were to select Level 5 while towing, although EGT would not be an issue, the more aggressive nature of the accelerator pump fueling could be hard on other drive-train components. A prudent driver could easily tailor his use of the accelerator pedal to prevent problems, but the fact that the power is available in those higher levels could result in problems if the operator was not paying attention.

The second reason has to do with the transmission, and it is here that I will be able to answer your other question as well. In the interest of saving some typing, I am going to copy-paste a response that I wrote for another customer that was asking some questions about transmission learning:

The Ford TorqueShift transmission is controlled by what we call “adaptive” electronics. This means that the transmission is constantly adjusting to operate ideally under changing conditions. When dramatic changes occur, such as the sudden availability of more power, the transmission may not perform optimally until it “learns” that more power is present. Symptoms of this may be delayed or harsh shifts. These symptoms should not last long because as the conditions continue, the transmission electronics will adapt, and the shift characteristics will improve.

For the average user (someone who is not overly aggressive with accelerator pedal application), it is not really necessary to be concerned with the learning sequence. Along the same lines, it is not recommended that a user progress from a low level to a high level or from a high level to a low level followed by aggressive accelerator pedal application without going through a learning sequence because this will cause the transmission learning to lag, and thus will increase the potential for transmission damage. The real key to dealing with the transmission adaptive learning is consistency. Avoid dramatic changes in driving style. For instance, if you are generally a conservative driver (applying the accelerator pedal gradually, etc), and one day you decide to drag race the truck at the local track, if you do not go through the steps described in the Owner’s Manual, it is likely that you will get an awkward shift pattern. If you continued with multiple runs, the shift pattern would gradually improve as the transmission adapts.

The adaptive learning of the transmission would be affected by adding weight (towing) in a similar way as if more power were added. The recommendation of Level 3 helps to avoid dramatic changes that could result in awkward shifting.

Airflow improvements are always recommended, especially when towing, to get the best overall results from your Six-Gun. Airflow improvements help to lower EGT levels, and in a case where fuel limiting is taking place based on EGT, added airflow will allow you to use more of the power that the Six-Gun has to offer. Since the Six-Gun can be purchased as a stand-alone item (without airflow improvements) it is in the customer’s best interest for us to remind him of the benefits of airflow. It is conceivable that a user could install the Six-Gun and operate the vehicle under conditions where the EGT would rise to the 1350° limit point, and the Six-Gun would remove additional fueling to the point that no added power was available. Added airflow gives more opportunity to use the power that is available with the Six-Gun.

ANSWER #3:
1) When the question of the factory warranty and how it relates to aftermarket products comes up, I find it best to be familiar with what the language in the warranty statement actually says about the subject. This is useful in handling most warranty situations. After reviewing a current Ford warranty booklet, I find one section that addresses the use of aftermarket products. It reads as follows:

“WHAT IS NOT COVERED?

Damage Caused by Alteration or Modification

The New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover damage caused by:

- alterations or modifications of the vehicle, including the body, chassis or components, after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company

- tampering with the vehicle, tampering with the emissions systems or with the other parts that affect these systems (for example, but not limited to exhaust and intake systems)

- the installation or use of a non-Ford Motor Company part (other than a ‘certified’ emissions part) or any part (Ford or non-Ford) designed for ‘off-road use only’ installed after the vehicle leaves the control of Ford Motor Company, if the installed part fails or causes a Ford part to fail. Examples include, but are not limited to lift kits, oversized tires, roll bars, cellular phones, alarm systems, automatic starting systems and performance-enhancing powertrain components, and performance ‘chips’.”

(I added emphasis to some parts with bold and italics.)

The operative words here are “Damage Caused By”. Ford has every right to deny warranty coverage if an aftermarket product causes damage or some sort of functional problem, but there is no provision for them to deny warranty coverage simply because an aftermarket product simply based on the presence of an aftermarket product, nor is there provision for Ford to VOID a warranty altogether based on the presence of aftermarket products. It is worth pointing out that there are other provisions by which the warranty can be voided, such as vehicles that have had the odometer tampered with or vehicles that have been declared “totaled” by an insurance company.

The jist of all this is that a properly designed aftermarket product such as the Six-Gun will have no negative affect on the warranty. There may occasionally be resistance from a Ford dealer if some problem should occur, but being familiar with the warranty and armed with the information above will resolve most issues that involve the dealer’s service department. You also have the added benefit that the Six-Gun is transparent to the vehicle electronics and does not leave any indication that it was present should it be removed, unlike some programmers that are on the market.

2 and 3) Of the Six-Gun’s six levels, Level 1 leaves the fuel at its stock calibration, so no gain in fuel economy would be realized in that level. Levels 2-6 offer progressively more power by means of increasing the fuel pressure, increasing the length of the fuel injection and advancing the timing. Aside from improvements in airflow such as exhaust and intercooler upgrades, fuel economy benefits are most directly related to injection timing advance. In this case, the higher the level, the more advance. Generally I would say that if you are able to keep your driving habits the same, you would find the best fuel economy in the higher levels, although there will be some trade-off at some point, because the higher levels also increase the acceleration response rate. I find that most people that tow prefer to operate around Level 4, which is also the recommendation in our Owner’s Manual.

ANSWER #2:
The addition of a Six-Gun will most definitely reduce the downshift characteristic. The reason that the vehicle downshifts is because the engine cannot produce the power needed at a given RPM as load is increased. If we consider the scenario that I described in my previous answer, lets say that you are cruising at 60 MPH on level ground at a horsepower requirement of 100, but then the road reaches a slight incline. As the slope increases, the power requirement increases, lets say to 150. The engine is only capable of producing 140 at 1700 RPM (for the sake of this example), so the transmission downshifts, increasing the engine RPM to a higher point at which more power is available to meet the demand of the 150 HP requirement. If you could have just 10 more horsepower under those load conditions, the transmission would not need to backshift. That is exactly what the Six-Gun would provide. Since the scenarios that I have been describing are all partial load conditions, I cannot tell you based on test data exactly what that power increase is, but based on the curves that are available to us, if I were to extrapolate to a lower RPM value, I would feel confident in saying that the Six-Gun would increase the power potential by at least 50 HP at your cruising RPM. That would mean that in our example, the power requirement could be increased to 190 HP before a down shift would be required, which would translate to a 35% improvement.
In general, I would say that this is only loosely related to boost; boost is a basic indicator of what the load on the engine is. The primary load indicator is throttle position, which would be dramatically reduced with the Six-Gun.
You are correct that factory power curves are produced on an engine dyno, but they are also usually produced without many of the accessories and the exhaust system that would be found in the vehicle. This is why rear-wheel horsepower is so much more meaningful in our line of business; it is an indication of what you will experience in the real world.

ANSWER #1:
First I must address your overriding concern about test data at engine RPM’s lower than 2000. It is important for you to know a little bit about how our testing is done. All the power data that you see in our brochure is the result of full load testing. That means that the vehicle is brought to full throttle application in a fixed gear (in this case 4th gear which is direct) and a load (resistance) is applied to the rear wheels in order to maintain a specific engine RPM. These conditions give us the most accurate measurement of the engines power output. Our tests normally start at the top of the RPM range, in this case 3600 RPM. The vehicle is held under this set of conditions while data is taken; this will commonly last about 30 seconds. Then more load is applied to draw the engine RPM down to the next test point, usually done in increments of 200 RPM. This is repeated until the RPM reaches a point at which the vehicle electronics determines that load is too great and a downshift to the next lower gear is commanded, in this case 3rd gear. This scenario can only be compared to climbing a hill at full throttle while the hill gradually gets steeper and steeper.

The scenario that you describe of cruising at 60 or 65 MPH at 1700 to 1750 leads me to believe that you are indicating a situation that does not require a dramatic amount of power output. If you continued to maintain that speed while climbing a hill, eventually your throttle application would increase and your transmission management would downshift the transmission such that you were no longer operating at 1700 to 1750 RPM. This brings up an important point of vehicle dynamics and power application. Any given set of road conditions will require a certain amount of horsepower to accomplish a task. For instance, your GCWR is 23,000, and your vehicle with trailer has a certain aerodynamic profile. If we assume that you are traveling on a perfectly level road on a day with no wind at 60 MPH, there will be a certain amount of power required to accomplish that task. For the sake of argument, lets say that is 100 HP. Your engine needs to produce 100 HP at 1700 RPM to keep that vehicle moving at 60 MPH. We can assume that it is capable of doing so in its stock condition. The addition of a Monster Exhaust will not change that power requirement. the engine will still produce 100 HP to keep the vehicle moving at 60 MPH. HOWEVER, by removing restrictions to airflow, it will be able to do so more efficiently, which translates into better fuel economy. Every one of our airflow products will have this effect. Once one of these conditions changes (faster speed, acceleration, steeper road, heavier load, headwind) then the power requirement also changes.

The added power potential of the Monster Exhaust, Techni-Cooler and the Six-Gun Tuner will be used when your power demand is increased. This occurs when you want to accelerate faster (ideal for taking a heavy load up to merging speed), pass slower traffic more safely or climb a hill faster or in a higher gear than previously possible.

You may occasionally see power curves from other manufacturers that show data at lower RPM levels, but those tests are performed on an acceleration dynamometer that never applies full load to the vehicle. Tests are performed by running the engine rapidly through its RPM range. This data is not a proper representation of the conditions that your vehicle is subjected to on the road, especially one that weighs 23,000 pounds.

I hope that this gives you a better understanding of why it is difficult to answer your questions about what the power increase is at a lower engine RPM. This data could be gathered from a vehicle with a manual transmission, but then it would not be applicable to your vehicle with an automatic, and since it is impossible to operate the vehicle at that RPM under full load anyway, it is meaningless information. With that in mind, allow me to attempt to address each of your questions:

1) The Monster Exhaust will typically offer increases of 15-20 HP and 40-50 lb-ft, with these improvements occurring within the RPM range that has already been illustrated. Based on the discussion above I could not venture to guess what this increase would be at 1750 RPM.

2) Based on the discussion above, I do not have horsepower and torque data for the Six-Gun at 1750 RPM.

3) I agree with you that a product that would allow you to manually select 4th gear would be valuable, and there is the possibility that we will develop such a product. There are a number of things that can be done to improve the overall performance of the Ford 5-speed automatic and we are doing testing now to determine what path we might take for a product.

I hope this is helpful to you. Please let me know if you have additional questions.