Tunes 101

[Troutrad]

I’m a newbie and probably on the one wrench side of mechanically gifted. This Forum has helped me Immensely. I’ve got a ‘19 Screw which I’ve added an Airaid CAI, and Borla ATAK exhaust and various other mods unrelated to this discussion.

Reading up on Tunes and I just don’t understand the nuances. I see some with mounted programmers, others with smaller devices mounted on the dash which are hardwired, and then others where you tune and remove... You can stop laughing now. I know I’m a complete idiot when it comes to how tunes work, but doesn’t mean I don’t want to play in the sandbox.

I’m looking for obviously an easy to install tune with good support when I screw something up (and that’s pretty much a guarantee) and that I can easily revert to stock. Max octane available to me is 91 though I’ve heard of at least one tune which is variable with difference octanes which is intriguing. Looking for the best performance tune and perhaps a 2nd tune for mileage. Don’t tow much so unnecessary for me.

The more basic explanation the better.

Not completely stupid (heck, I made it through Med School fine), but pretty stinking ignorant when it comes to this new hobby which I’m having a blast with.

Thanks for all the help

 

[nikhsub1]

Tunes are flashed to the ECU - they rewrite the programming and you flash and can remove the device that flashes the ECU if you like. People also will mount their flashing device (Cobb, nGauge, etc) for other functionality such as logging or additional gauges. Not necessary. Then there are what are known as 'piggy back' devices that are physical boxes that plug in and piggyback off the ECU - these don't flash the ECU or rewrite the code, they essentially trick the OEM programming into running outside it's normal parameters. Since you aren't flashing the ECU, it is safer in terms of your warranty being compromised with a true tune.

You don't get any sort of transmission tuning/benefit from the piggy back devices and they generally don't boost the power as much as a traditional tune. Once such device that always seems to get good feedback is the JB4.

Hope this helps.

 

[Troutrad]

Tunes are flashed to the ECU - they rewrite the programming and you flash and can remove the device that flashes the ECU if you like. People also will mount their flashing device (Cobb, nGauge, etc) for other functionality such as logging or additional gauges. Not necessary. Then there are what are known as 'piggy back' devices that are physical boxes that plug in and piggyback off the ECU - these don't flash the ECU or rewrite the code, they essentially trick the OEM programming into running outside it's normal parameters. Since you aren't flashing the ECU, it is safer in terms of your warranty being compromised with a true tune.

You don't get any sort of transmission tuning/benefit from the piggy back devices and they generally don't boost the power as much as a traditional tune. Once such device that always seems to get good feedback is the JB4.

Hope this helps.

Huge help. Thanks a Lot! If you can revert back to Stock with the flashing device, is there much of a Warranty Risk?

 

[Kmorgs]

If they dig deep enough anything is traceable, JB4 is good rout

 

[subzero05]

Id say stick to the piggy units if you are concerned about a warranty situation , since you can remove it super easy and shouldn't cause any issues with a dealer. RaceChip has one and I think burger does as well

 

[goblues38]

they essentially trick the OEM programming into running outside it's normal parameters. Since you aren't flashing the ECU, it is safer in terms of your warranty being compromised with a true tune.
.

BUT!!!! These "piggy back" devices are the most dangerous and can and have caused catastrophic failure of engines.

As said in the quote...they "trick" the ECU into doing something it normally would not do. They do this by changing values of what is reported by various sensors. So for example, if an o2 sensor is reporting a value of 3 for example (made up).....a device like this would change that to a value of 5 (made up)....the Ford ECU would see the 5 instead of the true 3 and deliver fuel and timing based on those bogus numbers, thus changing performance.

the danger is, if a sensor is reporting a problem, and the "piggy back" device changes that problem value...the ECU could do potential harm ...... or the "piggy back" device could fail and cause several sensors to report to the ECU correctly and damage the engine. Imagine what happens to a motor when timing, fuel, and air are all incorrectly reported, or and the wrong values are set.

General concensus by any reputable tuner is to stay away from "piggy back" devices.

 

[goblues38]

Huge help. Thanks a Lot! If you can revert back to Stock with the flashing device, is there much of a Warranty Risk?

yes....

even if you revert back to stock....there is a digital bread crumb trail that Ford can find. If they chose to look, they will know you flashed your ECU...no way to hide it.

some dealers go looking for tunes more then others...but it is a risk you have to take. Tune your ECU, you have to live with the potential of a voided warranty for major parts of your power train. Doesnt matter if the tune "caused" the issue or not. Ford can use that as a way to not replace a $10,000 long block.

 

[Troutrad]

yes....

even if you revert back to stock....there is a digital bread crumb trail that Ford can find. If they chose to look, they will know you flashed your ECU...no way to hide it.

some dealers go looking for tunes more then others...but it is a risk you have to take. Tune your ECU, you have to live with the potential of a voided warranty for major parts of your power train. Doesnt matter if the tune "caused" the issue or not. Ford can use that as a way to not replace a $10,000 long block.

Appreciate both posts. But now I’m paralyzed..haha. I do feel like I’m willing to take a risk but want to keep it to a known tried and true product and service. Any recommendations? My Max octane is 91 though would be nice to run 89 or 87 without causing problems.

 

[goblues38]

Appreciate both posts. But now I’m paralyzed..haha. I do feel like I’m willing to take a risk but want to keep it to a known tried and true product and service. Any recommendations? My Max octane is 91 though would be nice to run 89 or 87 without causing problems.

if you are going to do it...get a flash tune. No way I would do a piggy back module.

There are a couple reputable FLASH ones out there. COBB for example. They 99.9% of the time are harmless, but there is the risk of breaking something, you just have to be aware and willing to risk any warranty issues. And again, a FLASH tune will not always void your warranty.

We can get 93 octane here. In my SHO I ran a 93 tune. In the event I was forced to fill up on lesser 91 octane fuel, you just baby the car until you get better fuel. you don't have to re flash, but you can. As long as you are not going wide open throttle for long pulls, the computer will not need to advance timing to levels where lower octane fuel would be a problem.

 

[nikhsub1]

Appreciate both posts. But now I’m paralyzed..haha. I do feel like I’m willing to take a risk but want to keep it to a known tried and true product and service. Any recommendations? My Max octane is 91 though would be nice to run 89 or 87 without causing problems.

If you aren't going to run the best fuel possible, why bother tuning?