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The guys at 5-Star Tuning in South Carolina shipped us their brand new tuned Ford F-150 with the 2.7 EcoBoost V6 reprogrammed to pump out more than 500 hp. The idea? Show just how fast and powerful Ford’s mighty-mite truck engine can perform, even at altitude here in Colorado. And boy did it.
The 5-Star Ford F-150
In addition to the tune, 5-Star upgraded to CR Performance Turbos, added an exhaust system, the wheels, and the turbos. Then they upgraded to a massive S&B air intake system and Mishimoto intercooler. The mods, including the tune from 5-Star total around $7,700, but as André says in the video after keeping up with a 500-hp Mustang Shelby GT500 at the drag strip, “What else do you want from a pickup truck?”
0-60 MPH Tow Battle
Our first demo had André hook up roughly 5,000 pounds of trailer and tiny EV to our 2020 Chevy Silverado 1500 Trail Boss 4×4 with a 5.3 V8 and 355-hp and conduct a 0-60 mph speed run. The Chevy clocked a respectable 16.54 seconds. Next up the all-new 2021 Nissan Titan XD 4×4 with a 5.6 V8 and 400 hp running on premium gas. The heavy-duty truck notched a 16.1. Not bad considering the extra heavy-duty heft it had to haul.
Before setting the 5-Star tuned Ford F-150 loose, André plugged in 5-Star’s “91/93 Octane Performance Tow” setting to recalibrate the engine and transmission mapping. Several minutes later, he was ready to go, and go he did. The Ford ripped off a 12.1 second time, spanking the Nissan by 4 seconds. Woah!
At the Drag Strip
Seeing what 5-Star could do to a Ford F-150 for towing power, we had to see what it could do unladen in the 1/4-mile. So it was off to the drag strip. As fate would have it, the F-150 ended up side-by-side with a previous generation Mustang GT500 convertible with a manual transmission. André had a near perfect launch, while the driver of the ‘stang didn’t have a perfect run. Still, the full-size pickup help its own with the sports car until the very end. André notched a 6.4 second 0-60 time, a 14.5 1/4-mile, and a top speed of 97.6 mph. The Mustang finished a little less than a half-second faster, topping out at 100.7 mph. And keep in mind, all of this is at an elevation of 5,800 feet.
Check out the video to see for yourself, and go to 5Startuning.com to check out their full suite of tunes for Fords and SXS/UTVs.
