GEN 2 5 Star Tuning Reviews

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

titanjc

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Posts
235
Reaction score
135
Location
Lutz, FL
I did a search but didn't find a lot of information - looking for some feedback on 5 Star Tuning. I like the idea that I can buy an extended warranty that covers the tune in the event that Ford would deny a warranty claim. Is the 5 Star 93 octane tune as aggressive as the other major tuners (Cobb, MPT, etc.)? Or did they hold back on the tune due to offering a warranty?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 

spirit

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Posts
122
Reaction score
56
I don't know the answer to your question but I can tell you that I put a 5-Star tune on my 2011 shortly after I purchased the truck new and both the truck and tuner have held-up flawlessly over the years.
 

texas_raptor

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2018
Posts
7
Reaction score
5
Location
texas
I have a 2019 and bought the 5 Star tune both because of the warranty, and also because the MPT tune wasn't out at that point. Honestly, the power gains were great, but the transmission shift points were atrocious. I worked with them, and they have great customer service, and really tried to help smooth out the shift points by sending me multiple revised tunes, but ultimately it really sucked and for me was un-drivable. The main issue was that 1st gear now has a ton of power, but it stalls out by skipping 2nd gear and jumped straight to 3rd where it would lurch forward again (just FYI, this skipping certain gears is how the factory shift pattern works in non-Sport mode on our trucks, not something that 5 Star decided to do). They did modify it to hit every gear, but the shifting was EXTREMELY rough, and uncomfortable to drive. I could never be certain how the transmission was going to shift at certain speed/RPM ranges..very inconsistent and unrefined.

I installed the MPT tune, and it is utter perfection compared to the 5 Star tune; butter smooth shifting and hits every gear. I am currently using the Tow version from MPT vs their normal performance tune, as I found the performance tune actually had too much power making the throttle too sensitive, and I was spinning my 37" tires too much when I wasn't trying to at stop lights (a good problem to have I guess!). But ultimately, I'd go MPT unless you're willing to put in a ton of time going back and forth with 5 Star on trying to clean up the shift patterns they have on their tune.

Just my experience and opinions, so take this for what it's worth!
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
titanjc

titanjc

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Posts
235
Reaction score
135
Location
Lutz, FL
I have a 2019 and bought the 5 Star tune both because of the warranty, and also because the MPT tune wasn't out at that point. Honestly, the power gains were great, but the transmission shift points were atrocious. I worked with them, and they have great customer service, and really tried to help smooth out the shift points by sending me multiple revised tunes, but ultimately it really sucked and for me was un-drivable. The main issue was that 1st gear now has a ton of power, but it stalls out by skipping 2nd gear and jumped straight to 3rd where it would lurch forward again (just FYI, this skipping certain gears is how the factory shift pattern works in non-Sport mode on our trucks, not something that 5 Star decided to do). They did modify it to hit every gear, but the shifting was EXTREMELY rough, and uncomfortable to drive. I could never be certain how the transmission was going to shift at certain speed/RPM ranges..very inconsistent and unrefined.

I installed the MPT tune, and it is utter perfection compared to the 5 Star tune; butter smooth shifting and hits every gear. I am currently using the Tow version from MPT vs their normal performance tune, as I found the performance tune actually had too much power and the throttle was too sensitive, and I was spinning my 37" tires too much when I wasn't trying too at stop lights (a good problem to have I guess!). But ultimately, I'd go MPT unless you're willing to put in a ton of time going back and forth with 5 Star on trying to clean up the shift patterns they have on their tune.

Just my experience and opinions, so take this for what it's worth!

I appreciate you posting your experience. Were you having the transmission issues with their daily or performance tune? My truck is my daily driver, so I don't want to compromise comfort for a little extra power. I've never heard of a bad experience with the MPT tunes, glad that it's working out for you!
 
OP
OP
titanjc

titanjc

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Posts
235
Reaction score
135
Location
Lutz, FL
I don't know the answer to your question but I can tell you that I put a 5-Star tune on my 2011 shortly after I purchased the truck new and both the truck and tuner have held-up flawlessly over the years.

That's a pretty good endorsement for the reliability of the tune if you're talking about 8 or so year. Thanks!
 

texas_raptor

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2018
Posts
7
Reaction score
5
Location
texas
I appreciate you posting your experience. Were you having the transmission issues with their daily or performance tune? My truck is my daily driver, so I don't want to compromise comfort for a little extra power. I've never heard of a bad experience with the MPT tunes, glad that it's working out for you!

I didn't used the 5 star performance tune much, as this is also my daily driver..so all the revised tunes I worked with them on was with the daily tune. It's really hard for me to say how much better of an overall tune the MPT is, at least with my specific truck. And again, the 5 Star tune might be able to get there if you're willing to reach out to them, wait a few days for a response, get a revised tune, try it for a few days then report back your specific issues, and have them get the tolerances improved with each revision...rinse and repeat. Not sure how many exchanges it would take to get it properly drivable, but for me it wasn't worth the effort when there was a proven plug and play product available, and I am willing to risk the warranty issue to fully enjoy driving my truck.
 
OP
OP
titanjc

titanjc

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2019
Posts
235
Reaction score
135
Location
Lutz, FL
I didn't used the 5 star performance tune much, as this is also my daily driver..so all the revised tunes I worked with them on was with the daily tune. It's really hard for me to say how much better of an overall tune the MPT is, at least with my specific truck. And again, the 5 Star tune might be able to get there if you're willing to reach out to them, wait a few days for a response, get a revised tune, try it for a few days then report back your specific issues, and have them get the tolerances improved with each revision...rinse and repeat. Not sure how many exchanges it would take to get it properly drivable, but for me it wasn't worth the effort when there was a proven plug and play product available, and I am willing to risk the warranty issue to fully enjoy driving my truck.
I'm with you, that's more effort than I am willing to go through when there are other options out there. If I'm spending around $700 on a modification, I expect it to work out of the box.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Top