Ford Performance Tune Reviews

[freewayman]

Hey all, would love to hear some thoughts from those of you who have done the Ford performance tune on their 3.5 tremor. I'm mostly curious about how it changes the transmission shift strategy. Does it still like to upshift super early? Have the downshifts changed? How are the different modes (normal, sport, eco) with the tune?

 

[Aandrews109]

Take a look at this thread

Any inputs on a '23 tune? (Ford Performance, MPT, 5Star​

It has some info. Not a lot but some.
Just installed one in my ‘23 yesterday and shifting appears to be vastly better. Since it’s said to be an “Adaptive Tune,” Will need some time to evaluate other performance. Throttle response seems a bit crisper also.
It’s a piece of cake to install.

 

[freewayman]

Take a look at this thread

Any inputs on a '23 tune? (Ford Performance, MPT, 5Star​

It has some info. Not a lot but some.
Just installed one in my ‘23 yesterday and shifting appears to be vastly better. Since it’s said to be an “Adaptive Tune,” Will need some time to evaluate other performance. Throttle response seems a bit crisper also.
It’s a piece of cake to install.

Nice, did you just install it by yourself? Curious if the device has the option to change tire sizes as well? It seems like it does based on the instruction manual, but the ad says it doesn't

 

[Aandrews109]

I did the install myself and it’s very easy. Took less than 15 minutes. Didn’t look to see if tire size could be adjusted.

 

[TexasTea]

Y'all making me real close to pulling the trigger and tuning my 21....

 

[Aandrews109]

Y'all making me real close to pulling the trigger and tuning my 21....

Temptation is real!
Got mine through Levittown Ford. Significantly less expensive than Ford Performance.

 

[TexasTea]

Temptation is real!
Got mine through Levittown Ford. Significantly less expensive than Ford Performance.

That's where I was looking too

 

[zimm]

I did this a couple of months ago while switching to 93 octane at the same time. The truck is peppier and my MPG went from 14 to 16. Lately it seems to be wanting to go even faster- maybe it took a while for the ECU to "learn". As far as shifting, I haven't felt a difference, but it was pretty good from the beginning.
Stock I was getting 16mpg on 87 octane, but the heavy Baja 295 tires I put on dropped it to 14mpg. Now with the tune and 93 it's back to 16 plus I have 50 more HP.

 

[BigTremorEnergy]

The biggest improvement for me is the tighter throttle response. The power improvement was nice too especially when I then went and put on heavier Baja Boss tires. The shifting definitely reset and seemed smoother but nothing drastic. I actually reloaded the tune to reset the shifting once I got the heavier tires as well so it could figure out the heavier weight quicker which seemed to work nicely.

 

[Diggman08]

What does this tune actually do ? Once you buy it is one and done?? Or can you give to others to use and tune their trucks as well?

 

[zimm]

What does this tune actually do ? Once you buy it is one and done?? Or can you give to others to use and tune their trucks as well?

It makes more power with higher boost levels, more aggressive timing and fueling.
One and done.
It's locked to the truck you bought it for, can't pass it around
You're married to premium gas unless you program it back to stock
For me, it's the best mod I did. Now's it's more fun to drive and I'm getting 3 more mpg, which likely doesn't make up for the added cost of premium, but smiles-per-mile.

 

[secular]

It makes more power with higher boost levels, more aggressive timing and fueling.
One and done.
It's locked to the truck you bought it for, can't pass it around
You're married to premium gas unless you program it back to stock
For me, it's the best mod I did. Now's it's more fun to drive and I'm getting 3 more mpg, which likely doesn't make up for the added cost of premium, but smiles-per-mile.

can you freely flash back and forth from stock to the tune?
I'm asking because I would run stock in the winter in my past car, as the snow ruins traction anyway.

 

[zimm]

can you freely flash back and forth from stock to the tune?
I'm asking because I would run stock in the winter in my past car, as the snow ruins traction anyway.

Yes you can program it back to stock whenever you want. You have to plug in the box and upload the stock tune, takes a few minutes. They recommend doing that before bringing the truck in for service too.

 

[Diggman08]

Thanks. Are these really $650. Do you recommend the ford one or after market cheaper? Assuming this won't void the warranty ?

 

[zimm]

Thanks. Are these really $650. Do you recommend the ford one or after market cheaper? Assuming this won't void the warranty ?

If you're asking those kinds of questions, you're not ready to tune your truck.

 

[CAMDENN]

If you're asking those kinds of questions, you're not ready to tune your truck.

 

[TremorLucky]

Yes you can program it back to stock whenever you want. You have to plug in the box and upload the stock tune, takes a few minutes. They recommend doing that before bringing the truck in for service too.

The service department is unable to see you've swapped back and forth? They only see the stock tuning once you've reinstalled it?

 

[zimm]

The service department is unable to see you've swapped back and forth? They only see the stock tuning once you've reinstalled it?

Don't know about either of those questions. I think the reasoning for going to stock is so if Ford reflashes the ECU while it's in for service, it doesn't wipe out the performance tune. It's not to hide anything.

 

[TremorLucky]

Don't know about either of those questions. I think the reasoning for going to stock is so if Ford reflashes the ECU while it's in for service, it doesn't wipe out the performance tune. It's not to hide anything.

Ah gotcha. I was wondering, because I thought I remember reading on the F-150 forum that the dealer can see how many times you've been flashed on the flash counter, or view key cycles since you've been flashed.

 

[zimm]

If they want to find out, I bet they can. My brother worked for BMW- when a motor blew (often) they would dive into the recorded parameters and if anything was beyond stock calibration like RPM/boost/timing going beyond stock limits they knew it was tuned and buh-buy warranty.