Performance Tune with Warranty

[John Rathjen]

I have been doing some research in an attempt to find a way to increase the performance of my truck. Ideally it would be something that wouldn't void my factory and extended warranty. With the cam phazer and other issues, I really want to keep my warranty.

The DTE Powerboost Control Module and the JB4 units look promising, as they don't alter the tune to your PCM. They can be removed prior to going to the dealer, and therefore have almost no digital signature. They both increase power roughly 50-70 hp, depending on the mode you select and the octane of the gas you're running. JB4 says they are CARB approved for up to the 2018 models. DTE is currently working on CARB approval and should have it later in the year. Of course if you need a smog check, it's literally a 5 min job to disconnect the modules, so honestly that's not really a big deal. The one drawback to these setups is that they do nothing for the transmission. These are engine only "tunes".

Next up would be tunes and packages that offer their own warranty. This would be the Whipple and Rousch packages.

The Roush package includes a tune and a CAI. Adds 57 hp. Price of the kit is about $900. I have seen it advertised for a little over $1K, which includes installation AND A 3 YEAR WARRANTY. Seems like a pretty good deal, honestly. One bummer about this kit, is that if you live in CA, it does NOT have CARB approval. Rousch works very closely with Ford, so I'd feel very confident that it's a good tune. The included Rousch warranty covers up to $11,500. Maxes of $7500 engine, $2000 trans, $1000 transfer case, etc.

Lastly is the Whipple setup. About $2K. In addition to the tune and CAI, Whipple includes an oversized stock-location intercooler. The advertise about a 100 hp increase. Pretty nice. That $2K does NOT include installation and does NOT include the 3 yr warranty. The 3 yr warranty runs another $795. the kit does have CARB approval, at least through the 2018 MY at this point. Whipple was nice enough to send me a copy of the warranty, which I'll post up. Honestly I'm not liking it at all. Maximum coverage is $7500, with a max on the transmission of $2K (still a part of the $7500 though). Here's a big thing though - if you got to larger tires (read 37") it completely voids this 3 yr warranty. How many guys modifying their trucks also wanna run 37's? Quite a few I bet. I include myself in that list.

Honestly, for $2800 plus the cost of installation, and the crappy warranty, The Whipple setup doesn't sound all that great. The Rousch unit is WAY cheaper, the warranty is better, and even though the power is lower, I think it's a better deal. Rousch has no intention of applying for a CARB approval, so that is an issue. You could do a work-around by just going back to the dealer before a smog check and have them re-load the stock tune back in, then one more trip after the smog check to load the Rousch tune again. Could be a little pricey though, and a hassle though if you have to travel to an out-of-state dealer for the tune. I'm kinda thinking any CA dealer wouldn't load the Roudch tune for you since it's not CARB approved.

So for me, I think I'm leaning towards the DTE setup. No warranty or smog issues. The downside is no transmission tune. Now if I can find a SoCal dealer who will install the Rousch tune - maybe a different story.

Rousch Warranty:
https://www.roushperformance.com/media/pdf/LimitedWarranty.pdf

Whipple Warranty:

 

[nikhsub1]

If you are really worried do the JB4 or DTE - word of warning though, they are not undetectable. If they go through the ECU looking they will find values outside the norm, indicating a piggyback. Also, there is no way in hell that Ford would deny a phaser warranty because of a tune - it's a widespread problem that is documented.

 

[John Rathjen]

I wonder how common it would be for them to dig that deep?

 

[Rednose]

I wonder how common it would be for them to dig that deep?

It is a common thing and they will definitely dig deep if they were suspicious about the vehicle.
we had an incident here engine failure and a cracked piston the dealer was investigating for about 2 months because they knew the truck was tuned and they wanted to void the warranty but over 130 ignition starts/stop for 1 minute just saved the guy a lot of $$ the Dealer could not find the tune or they just got bored of checking but it worked and they replaced the whole engine.

Please note: There was a escalation to this case and my friend have emailed ford middle east couple of times before the approval came on the engine replacement.

 

[smurfslayer]

I wonder how common it would be for them to dig that deep?

I think a lot of this depends on the dealer. If they have to check for codes, they’re probably going to look for mods and the question then becomes, is the dealer going to make this a thing. A lot of the mechanic / SA stop right here and call the customer saying there’s a tune on the truck, your warranty doesn’t cover this repair. That’s not legally true unless they’re proving it but the rub is, once this conversation takes place, there’s about a 90% chance you’re going to have to go to court, spend thousands of dollars to get Ford to cover it. I agree, there are enough cam phaser issues, and at this point an SSM covering the current gen 3.5TT that it’s going to be tougher for Ford to prove that a tune caused the cam phaser park failure.

The best insurance you can have practically is to have a good working relationship with your stealership service department, and I’d get the service manager in a conversation and ask them point blank how much mod leeway you have. That is a good indicator how the department will be run.

Obviously, if you’re running some tuner’s ‘stage 3, +120hp tune’ and hole a piston, you really can’t seriously expect Ford to cover that under warranty. OTOH, if you’re running bolt ons or a daily driver tune and lose a cam phaser, I’d question that being related.

 

[Pure745]

I vote COBB.

 

[OffroadAlliance.com]

@John Rathjen

We ran the DTE system on 3 of our shop trucks for over a year and really liked them. They plug in directly under the hood and not the ECU. So much less of a digital footprint if you’re focused on warranty. They can be installed, and if you're worried when you take it to the dealer, un-installed in about 30 minutes. Power is around 50HP and 75TQ. It is definitely an immediately noticeable power uptick. Having run some other name brand piggy back type units, this is the only one that did not throw error codes, cause misfires, or just leave us stranded on the side of the highway.

We’re a stocking dealer for DTE and have a few on our shelf. Let us know if we can help!



Link ----->>>> OFFROADALLIANCE.COM

 

[Badgertits]

I think the only "fool proof" way to have a fully tuned vehicle & 100% protect your warranty is to do what the "big boy" car guys do - entirely new ECM/TCM swaps - like actually swapping out the brain, taking the original stock ones matched to your vin out, & tuning the duplicate "dummy" computers & installing in place. If you had a catastrophic issue could swap back to the original ECM/TCM units & voila - stock w/ no way of arguing otherwise.

Have not heard of a Raptor owner doing this, nor would I care to do so myself as it'd be costly.....and I truthfully do not think most dealers will really look for a tune regardless of the issue especially if its a mostly stock looking truck & you have a normal dealer relationship

 

[John Rathjen]

Thanks guys. Good info

Badger - that's a very interesting idea. Pricey like you say. I'm also wondering if you did that, drove for a year, had a problem, switched the stock computers back in, - wouldn't the dealer look and see it showing the truck "wasn't driven" for a whole year??? I'm sure they'd be highly suspicious of that

 

[Kirby Lastinger]

Anyone in here running the JB4 unit? I like the wireless connectivity and switch on the fly modes.


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