Ford Performance Tune

[st8]

By what has been posted so far, sure it's worth it. That is if you feel good spending $1,000.00 to get your transmission to shift like it should have from the factory with marginal performance improvement which could have been achieved by running E-30. Just sayin

Why are you here if you have no interest in this tune and are just gonna bash it? You clearly are missing the point of this tune.

 

[st8]

You act like this is the only place people talk about this. Quite a few people have tested and are testing it…they just don’t post here.

I’ve seen a couple posts on fb but that’s it. Anywhere else it’s being discussed? Love to read more reviews.

Overall, this tune seems to be getting good praise and it seems everyone is happy.

 

[LopezST]

Among other things, folks are passionate about their specific tunes. To each his own.

 

[18Ventura]

I hadn't read of anyone doing this yet and I know that Ford wants you to have their FP Dealers install the tune. I've probably just missed where someone has done it. This shouldn't be any more difficult than the Tunes most of us are used to installing. I'd like to read about someone doing so and their experience.

The installation is straightforward. I'm summarizing for brevity, but you load and backup the stock tune to the ProCal tool. Then download and install the Performance tune on your vehicle. Both tunes are stored on the ProCal and can be changed very easily back and forth.

Plug and play.

The complete instructions can be found here: https://performanceparts.ford.com/download/instructionsheets/FORDINSTSHTM-12655-F.PDF

 

[TMac]

May I distill this down in a nutshell? For those who think this "tune" is going to give them a few extra HP (and perhaps better shifting) and not void their warranty- they have a point, and I get it. For those who think that 30 HP is not worth the amount of money over a tune that could provide them a lot more HP (and perhaps better shifting) at the same price point- they have a point, and I get it.

However, if you believe that if you "pop" your engine while on the Ford tune the dealership and warranty service guy are just going to "pop" for the repair, good luck with that! Just because they say it doesn't void a warranty, unless you find a nice dealer who needs the work; and that work pays well, you're going to be out of your vehicle for awhile.

However, if you're on the stock turbos- neither the Ford tune nor a dedicated octane ZFG tune should cause any worries. I hesitate to include other tuners simply because looking at their dyno maps, they are not addressing the boost spikes around 3K RPM which can lead to detonation problems.

The biggest concern with a dedicated octane tune is when all of your correction maps are on (say) 93 octane gas. You, your pal, your high school son, etc, decides to fill it up with 87 to save money on a dry 30 degree day and then decides to make a WOT run. That is a recipe for problems.

In the end, I don't blame anyone for wanting a bit more HP so they can say they're tuned and they believe they're keeping their warranty intact. It's your money after all.

 

[mwinn]

Why are you here if you have no interest in this tune and are just gonna bash it? You clearly are missing the point of this tune.

Not missing the point at all. I'm here because like many of us I like to improve what I know about this platform. I enjoy reading about things I didn't know before and use this forum to question things I don't understand or agree with. It's called conversation. My feeling is the lack of solid performance results, especially from FP causes me to question the product. No one can say that the factory shift settings on the ST are without some rough edges. Selling a tune that removes those rough edges, that in my mind, should be done with a TSB makes great sense for FP, for the consumer, not so much. Actually I really hope the FP tune works out as advertised, it will give many owners an option and hopefully piece of mind. I've decided to go a different direction, but that doesn't mean I won't continue to follow the topic

 

[CareerFiremanGuy]

Not missing the point at all. I'm here because like many of us I like to improve what I know about this platform. I enjoy reading about things I didn't know before and use this forum to question things I don't understand or agree with. It's called conversation. My feeling is the lack of solid performance results, especially from FP causes me to question the product. No one can say that the factory shift settings on the ST are without some rough edges. Selling a tune that removes those rough edges, that in my mind, should be done with a TSB makes great sense for FP, for the consumer, not so much. Actually I really hope the FP tune works out as advertised, it will give many owners an option and hopefully piece of mind. I've decided to go a different direction, but that doesn't mean I won't continue to follow the topic

While I disagree with your untested "marginal performance improvement" remark, there's several uneducated trolls on these forums that you'll have to deal with.

Just put them on your ignore list like I did and their rants will be muted forever!

Regarding the FP tune, its most outstanding feature is not voiding your warranty. There's nothing "marginal" about that.

 

[n5tz2000]

I've been reading about the FP ST tune and considering getting it. Does anyone know if you load the tune if it will still keep the 87 octane mapping as well as the 91/93 ? I.E. can I run 93 octane and realize the additional performance but also run 87 octane with reduce performance ? I haven't been able to determine that from the FP documentation. Maybe I just missed it.

 

[st8]

Not missing the point at all. I'm here because like many of us I like to improve what I know about this platform. I enjoy reading about things I didn't know before and use this forum to question things I don't understand or agree with. It's called conversation. My feeling is the lack of solid performance results, especially from FP causes me to question the product. No one can say that the factory shift settings on the ST are without some rough edges. Selling a tune that removes those rough edges, that in my mind, should be done with a TSB makes great sense for FP, for the consumer, not so much. Actually I really hope the FP tune works out as advertised, it will give many owners an option and hopefully piece of mind. I've decided to go a different direction, but that doesn't mean I won't continue to follow the topic

Fair enough but my stock transmission is smooth as can be. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever. So I disagree with you about the transmission. I do believe that was early STs that had more transmissions issues. But people are reporting more than just transmission improvements. From what I have read.

I am hoping for more reviews and input. I’m torn what to do.

 

[st8]

I've been reading about the FP ST tune and considering getting it. Does anyone know if you load the tune if it will still keep the 87 octane mapping as well as the 91/93 ? I.E. can I run 93 octane and realize the additional performance but also run 87 octane with reduce performance ? I haven't been able to determine that from the FP documentation. Maybe I just missed it.

From what I have read, you must use 91 and above if you do the FP tune.

 

[Peterfor]

The installation is straightforward. I'm summarizing for brevity, but you load and backup the stock tune to the ProCal tool. Then download and install the Performance tune on your vehicle. Both tunes are stored on the ProCal and can be changed very easily back and forth.

Plug and play.

The complete instructions can be found here: https://performanceparts.ford.com/download/instructionsheets/FORDINSTSHTM-12655-F.PDF

Seems like an easy process although looks like you may have to a PC available for a “qualified” technician to install (warranty) after creating an account? Has anyone completed this through a dealer yet and can explain the process?

 

[Spins4]

No one's done testing on the FP tune yet, so no one can say if it's only marginal. Just FYI ...

I currently have the FP calibration but haven’t installed yet. I plan on getting some baseline dyno pulls for a comparison first and will share before and after on the forum. I tried to get baseline numbers last week but ran into issues. (I failed to realize that when disabling pre-collision assist it doesn’t stay off and defaults to ‘on’ with every key cycle) so I’m a bonehead. Needless to say the ST freaked out on the dyno.

Before I return to the dyno can someone confirm the proper settings? My understanding is:
1. Sport Mode, Manual
2. Turn off traction control / Advance Trac
3. Disable pre-collision assist

Anything else? Thank you.

 

[UNBROKEN]

While I disagree with your untested "marginal performance improvement" remark, there's several uneducated trolls on these forums that you'll have to deal with.

Just put them on your ignore list like I did and their rants will be muted forever!

Regarding the FP tune, its most outstanding feature is not voiding your warranty. There's nothing "marginal" about that.

Clearly you haven’t read all the posts about how the warranty is actually effected. TMac probably stated it the best a few posts back.

 

[TMac]

Clearly you haven’t read all the posts about how the warranty is actually effected. TMac probably stated it the best a few posts back.

He has me blocked as well as several others who didn't agree with him, so he can't see the post!

 

[UNBROKEN]

He has me blocked as well as several others who didn't agree with him, so he can't see the post!

Smart money says the same applies to me. lol

 

[TMac]

Smart money says the same applies to me. lol

Let's take a quiz:
Do you post useful information to the site? Check.
Do you add insight and technical direction that results in hundreds of positive accolades? Check.
Do you occasionally refute nonsensical, false information? Check.
Do a majority of active members of the site acknowledge your contributions? Check.
And finally:
Do you always agree with @CareerFiremanGuy? Ummm....No.
Sorry. You are an "uneducated troll" and are therefore on his "ignore" list and your "rants will be muted forever"!

 

[Dale5403]

He has me blocked as well as several others who didn't agree with him, so he can't see the post!

Smart money says the same applies to me. lol

I'm sure that I am in that club to. He is the only person that I have ever seen brag about blocking people on a web forum.

 

[Blown F-150]

May I distill this down in a nutshell? For those who think this "tune" is going to give them a few extra HP (and perhaps better shifting) and not void their warranty- they have a point, and I get it. For those who think that 30 HP is not worth the amount of money over a tune that could provide them a lot more HP (and perhaps better shifting) at the same price point- they have a point, and I get it.

However, if you believe that if you "pop" your engine while on the Ford tune the dealership and warranty service guy are just going to "pop" for the repair, good luck with that! Just because they say it doesn't void a warranty, unless you find a nice dealer who needs the work; and that work pays well, you're going to be out of your vehicle for awhile.

However, if you're on the stock turbos- neither the Ford tune nor a dedicated octane ZFG tune should cause any worries. I hesitate to include other tuners simply because looking at their dyno maps, they are not addressing the boost spikes around 3K RPM which can lead to detonation problems.

The biggest concern with a dedicated octane tune is when all of your correction maps are on (say) 93 octane gas. You, your pal, your high school son, etc, decides to fill it up with 87 to save money on a dry 30 degree day and then decides to make a WOT run. That is a recipe for problems.

In the end, I don't blame anyone for wanting a bit more HP so they can say they're tuned and they believe they're keeping their warranty intact. It's your money after all.

A Ford dealer is not going to make the choice to proceed with warranty work on your vehicle based on it being FP tuned or not. If you have an aftermarket tune, there’s a chance they won’t want to go through the effort to submit a claim and tell you it’s going to be out of pocket. Factors that are more likely to have a impact you you getting service are their Service Backlog, Technician capacity (both resource and ability) and if the Service Manager is an asshat and doesn’t want the lower $$$ of a warranty job that they just may have to sit in for months due to parts back orders and dealing with a grumpy customer because of it. They will submit the service request for approval based on what see and know, send pictures as requested and show the regional rep if Ford Corp makes the request.

Also, please keep in mind that Warranty isn’t “void” due to a modification, it just isn’t. It’s a claim by claim situation (even though the mod will likely be noted in Oasis for you serial number). The claim can be denied however and regardless about anyone want to sing the praises of the Magnuson Act (doesn’t exist for us Canadians anyway) the onus quickly shift to the vehicle owner to lawyer up if they want to fight the denial.

Having close family and friends that work at 4 different dealerships, I can tell you the FP tunes are regarded as “mild” and I have yet to hear about any warranty claims being denied due to them on the Mustang or Focus.

The FP tune is VERY low risk from a warranty or even a potential issue standpoint. This is coming from someone that has tunes from three different aftermarket tuners for mine.


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[CareerFiremanGuy]

I currently have the FP calibration but haven’t installed yet. I plan on getting some baseline dyno pulls for a comparison first and will share before and after on the forum. I tried to get baseline numbers last week but ran into issues. (I failed to realize that when disabling pre-collision assist it doesn’t stay off and defaults to ‘on’ with every key cycle) so I’m a bonehead. Needless to say the ST freaked out on the dyno.

Before I return to the dyno can someone confirm the proper settings? My understanding is:
1. Sport Mode, Manual
2. Turn off traction control / Advance Trac
3. Disable pre-collision assist

Anything else? Thank you.

Sorry no one has responded to you yet.

For me, I have no problem with FP's dyno numbers. What I meant by "testing" was using a Dragy or going to the drag strip.

Because additional hp/torque alone will not give the whole story on acceleration improvements, it's also about where that hp/torque is placed and for how long.

Do you have a dragy? If not, have some fun with your dyno session.

 

[Spins4]

Sorry no one has responded to you yet.

For me, I have no problem with FP's dyno numbers. What I meant by "testing" was using a Dragy or going to the drag strip.

Because additional hp/torque alone will not give the whole story on acceleration improvements, it's also about where that hp/torque is placed and for how long.

Do you have a dragy? If not, have some fun with your dyno session.

In

It does depend on the vehicle and the tune. But in the event anything else goes wrong on the vehicle, that tune voids any warranty you had, that is the issue. It's not an issue of the tune causing damage. There are too many things that can go wrong with today's vehicles that the average home mechanic cannot fix, at least not easily or at a big expense. So some of us want to keep our vehicles extended warranty in place, that's all.

Sorry no one has responded to you yet.

For me, I have no problem with FP's dyno numbers. What I meant by "testing" was using a Dragy or going to the drag strip.

Because additional hp/torque alone will not give the whole story on acceleration improvements, it's also about where that hp/torque is placed and for how long.

Do you have a dragy? If not, have some fun with your dyno session.

Appreciate the response. I’ve asked the same question about dyno settings on one of the Facebook pages too and haven’t received a confirmation. I’m sure someone will respond and confirm eventually.

I agree that dyno numbers won’t tell the whole story especially when the transmission shift strategy is changed, that could certainly help acceleration. I do have a Dragy and already have some baseline data to reference back to. I’ll share both after I make some runs with the FP calibration.