Backtest evidence

Across 200 QQE parameter sets, which settings and timeframes stay profitable?

QQE Settings Compared: 200 Settings Tested

Finding

The hourly chart was the steadiest. Running the same 200 combinations on each timeframe, 194 were profitable on hourly bars in 2025 and 188 in 2024; on 15-minute bars only 78 were profitable in 2025 and 4 in 2024; four-hour bars led 2025 at 197 but fell to 138 in 2024. The largest hourly result in 2025 came from RSI period 17, smoothing 3, factor 4.236: 465 trades, +3,341.0 pips and a 42.37% win rate. A different setting made +4,027.1 pips in 2024 but only +1,186.1 in 2025, below that year's +1,822.3 pip median. The defaults returned +2,182.3 pips in 2025 and +2,309.7 pips in 2024.

Key results

Profitable settings by timeframe
hourly 194 / 188, 15-minute 78 / 4, four-hour 197 / 138
The defaults on hourly bars
+2,182.3 pips in 2025 and +2,309.7 in 2024, against medians of +1,822 and +2,088
Restricting the defaults to Tokyo hours
win rate 42.89% to 47.90%, annual net +2,182.3 to +1,281.0 pips

Scope

  • USDJPY, 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31, with 2024 run identically for comparison
  • 15-minute, hourly and four-hour bars; 6,226 hourly bars in 2025, 24,903 on 15-minute, 1,610 on four-hour
  • 8 RSI periods (6-25) x 5 smoothing values (2-12) x 5 factors (2-5.236) = 200 combinations, run per timeframe and per year
  • Flat 0.3 pip spread, 0.1 lots, no slippage

Method

Measured with Formiq's backtester. A long fills at the close of the bar where the QQE line crosses above its signal line and a short where it crosses below; the only exit is the opposite crossover, taken on the same bar that reverses the position. No stop, no target, no time exit.

Limitations

  • The sample covers USDJPY in 2024 and 2025; it does not include other pairs or periods.
  • QQE implementations vary between scripts; these figures come from Formiq's and may not match another script fed the same parameters.
  • Entries and exits both fill at bar closes. Real fills differ.
  • The spread is modelled as a flat 0.3 pips for the whole period. Real spreads move with the session and around data releases.
  • Four-hour settings range from 67 to 257 trades a year, so win rates and profit factors from the smaller samples vary more.