Locking out gears

[Snakebitten]

Curious if getting an aftermarket tune would make the shift strategy different. I really want something between normal and sport. I just want to truck to choose to cruise at 1500-1600rpm and not 1200. It feels like it lugging at that rpm. sport mode revs pretty high for my liking and tends to hold around 2000rpm cruising.

That's exactly what you will get from having your 10r80 tuned. Especially if the tuner is a tranny tune guru.

I don't know how much has changed in the Gen14 tuning VS the Gen13, due to the fact that SCT and HPTuners haven't had much time to master the new trucks. Perhaps they are similar enough that the expertise can carry over?

GearHead tuning (Matt) tuned my 2018 KingRanch Ecoboost to perfection. I have no clue if he's tuning these trucks.

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[powerboost]

Sometimes when I start truck and know I am just dogging around town under 40, I will lock out 7-10 or even 6-10 as we have curvy and hilly roads nearby. Truck is always responsive as it is never dogging in too high a gear. Then if I am jumping on freeway, add back some or all gears so it can cruise at low rpms. I just got 600 miles on a tank at 22mpg. I love my Powerboost.

 

[EricR]

I lock out 9,10 every day on my commute. (46 mile round trip)

I do it to keep the truck from cruising at low RPM. (pretending what gear I would be in if it was a manual transmission and it was ME shifting)

In Normal mode the factory shift strategy will literally attempt to cruise at an RPM as low as 1200? Like riding a 10-speed bicycle at low speed but a tall gear.

There's a long stretch on my commute where the cruising speed is 55-60. I will unlock 9th if traffic is light. But not letting the truck have it's 3rd overdrive at that pace.

I monitor a lot of what is going on in the combustion chamber. If you have a digital Boost gauge and you change the range from 0-20psi to -5<>20 psi, you now have a vacuum gauge.

So when in cruise control, you can experiment with which gear is getting you the best fuel economy and least strain, so to speak. A vacuum gauge is an old school Normally Aspirated tool for things like that.

Notice below that at only 50mph, I have to lock out 10th. It's crazy. It's already cruising at only 1300 rpms, but it WILL try to use 10th in Normal mode.
And 8th gear IS already Overdrive.

Yesterday's trip from South Houston back to rural home. Summer temps, of course

Odd.

The best MPG with my PB (according to the instantaneous MPG gauge) is on the nearby flat State highway in the 55-60 MPH range in <wait for it> 10th gear.

In that scenario, the instantaneous MPG gauge is reaching for 30 MPG.

 

[EricR]

Living out in the mountainous West, I'm fairly active with locking out/adding-back the gears while towing. Locking out 10-7 as needed to reduce boost going uphill. Then as the road flattens out, I monitor the boost and add back a gear at a time.

 

[Snakebitten]

Odd.

The best MPG with my PB (according to the instantaneous MPG gauge) is on the nearby flat State highway in the 55-60 MPH range in <wait for it> 10th gear.

In that scenario, the instantaneous MPG gauge is reaching for 30 MPG.

Not really odd as long as the terrain isn't requesting additional torque to maintain speed.

Torque request = fuel
The least amount of torque required would be what requires the least amount of fuel?

That 10-speed bicycle in a tall gear won't give you thigh burn if you don't have to go against a gust of wind or an incline.

Perhaps an oversimplification, I admit.
I just watch all the PIDs. It's a "dance" with a whole ensemble participating.

Vacuum/Boost,
KR/Timing advance

At some point the torque converter is locked, so at least that loss is out of the equation.

 

[Uncorked]

I did some test driving around the county with 9-10 locked out and I liked it. Thanks for the info @Snakebitten .

 

[Snakebitten]

I did some test driving around the county with 9-10 locked out and I liked it. Thanks for the info @Snakebitten .

My pleasure.
If Ford didn't want us to, or didn't think we should, they would NOT put that button near our thumb.

I would prefer paddle shifters, but I'll not whine too much.

 

[Ziggy73]

Interesting thread. I noticed when driving home from Granger that my truck would downshift at any bit of incline. I've also noticed it running in 10th gear as low as 45 mph.

I might have to play with this feature.

Yeah, 10th is really high, you can tell by going to 9th and you only see about a 100rpm raise. I wouldn't stress 10th much at all.

 

[Atlee]

If your asking about the sway control, the truck and sway control in the WDH end up fighting each other. I don't understand the physics, but I've experienced it. I always remember to cancel sway control as I pull out of my driveway. I often forget when I stop for fuel or food. It doesn't take long once back on the road to be reminded that you forgot to disable it. I have the E4 Equalizer btw
[/QUOTE, and have never experienced any negat

Interesting. I've never turned off the sway control in either truck when towing.

If your asking about the sway control, the truck and sway control in the WDH end up fighting each other. I don't understand the physics, but I've experienced it. I always remember to cancel sway control as I pull out of my driveway. I often forget when I stop for fuel or food. It doesn't take long once back on the road to be reminded that you forgot to disable it. I have the E4 Equalizer btw

Interesting. I have never experienced this when towing.

My last truck was the most planted 1/2 ton I could ask for. It was a 2014 SCAB HDPP 4x4, the last steel bodied F150. I pulled a 2017 Jay Flight 23RB, GVWR 6500#.

My current truck is a 2022 4x4 PB. I now pull a Freedom Express 20SE, GVWR 6000#.

 

[Atlee]

When I'm towing, before I start to move, I automatically lock out 8 thru 10 gears. Up until now I've always left the truck in normal drive mode so I could get benefit of the electric only mode. I think this fall when I make my normal treks out to VT football games, I will put it in Tow-Haul mode to see if there is any major difference in tow fuel mileage.

I may even lock out 10th some during my local driving to see what that will do for me.

 

[Wolverine7]

It makes sense for torque and hilly areas. On flat roads around here the one I wish I could skip was 8 (in favor of 9). Seems like the 45-47mph range by default wants 8th, but if you get to around 48mph you can force it to go into 9th and then slow down to 1.2 on the RPMs. Gives better mileage, at least on flat roads.

 

[Davexxxx]

Interesting. I have never experienced this when towing.

My last truck was the most planted 1/2 ton I could ask for. It was a 2014 SCAB HDPP 4x4, the last steel bodied F150. I pulled a 2017 Jay Flight 23RB, GVWR 6500#.

My current truck is a 2022 4x4 PB. I now pull a Freedom Express 20SE, GVWR 6000#.

I think on some things, its not a one sized fits all. Depends on the trailer.

I've read people have trouble towing with sway control on but they always had a sway control hitch. Maybe its perfect without?

This guy, until recently, had a PB and loved it. Tows for a living. He shows immediate sway, when using lane centering, while heavy but no problem, once lighter.

 

[Atlee]

I think on some things, its not a one sized fits all. Depends on the trailer.

I've read people have trouble towing with swap control on but they always had a sway control hitch. Maybe its perfect without?

This guy, until recently, had a PB and loved it. Tows for a living. He shows immediate sway, when using lane centering, while heavy but no problem, once lighter.

Just watched the video. He has 2 features I do not have in my truck. He has Adaptive Cruise and Lane Keeping. I only have regular Cruise Control. I have never had anything close to what his truck & U-Hall trailer did when the adaptive Cruise was engaged.

I am assuming he didn't have a WDH with sway control when pulling the U-Hall trailer.

 

[dogboye]

This entire discussion seems backward to me. And I see the numbers, so I believe it (well, I would believe it without seeing the numbers displayed). But I just don't understand how the Ecoboost (or Powerboost, for that matter) is getting/using turbos for torque if you keep the rpm low, but not if you use higher rpm by locking out gears. I always thought you needed high rpm to get usable boost from turbochargers.
But then you throw the Powerboost option with the ~100ft-lbs torque from the electric motor... and I don't know where it goes.
I think I need to read this entire thread a ... third... time.

 

[Snakebitten]

Drive from Albuquerque to Durango.
Empty. No towing.
Set cruise control at whatever the speed limit is on HWY 550

Your Ecoboost (& Powerboost) 10r80 will definitely be in 10th at that speed.

Now watch your boost gauge at each incline. It will steadily climb to meet the torque request generated by cruise control expectations.

Now let's say it reaches ~7lbs
Manually downshift (lockout 10)
Immediately rpms increase, and boost decreases. Perhaps to 3lbs?

Drop to 8th. Rpms increase yet some more and boost might drop to 0lbs.

Remember, the Ecoboost is a torque management engine management system. It literally is interpreting the throttle position (or cruise control speed) into a mathematical torque request value. So when you downshifted, you increased the amount of torque that the engine was producing via rpms, so the pcm had no choice but to reduce the boost in use because it would otherwise be exceeding the torque request.

Torque management can take a bit to get your head around. It doesn't exactly reflect how we grew up thinking about the throttle being a command for more fuel.

But that's a digital command VS an analog/mechanical command.

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