Thinking of tuning your 1.5? DO IT ALREADY!

[Mark S.]

For certain vehicles in Ford's lineup, there are Ford Performance Tunes available for them that can be dealer installed and do not affect warranty coverage.

Ford Performance parts are considered "aftermarket" for the purposes of warranty claims, therefore a Ford Performance tune DOES affect your warranty. When you buy a Ford Performance tune it comes with its own warranty...from Ford Performance. They generally will provide a 3yr/36K warranty for damage caused by the tune, but the warranty starts from the date of vehicle purchase. If you install a Ford Performance tune on a two-year-old vehicle with 24K on the clock the warranty is only good 1yr/12K. After that, you revert to your New Vehicle warranty which covers the powertrain for 5yr/60K with exclusions for damage caused by aftermarket software.

I considered a Ford Performance tune for my EcoBoost Mustang. I spoke with the local dealership that sells Ford Performance parts. On the phone the parts guy assured me my New Vehicle warranty would cover engine damage after the Ford Performance warranty expired. I emailed and asked for clarification--I wanted to get that statement in writing. Despite several requests, I never got a response. Caveat Emptor.

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[rugedraw]

Ford Performance parts are considered "aftermarket" for the purposes of warranty claims, therefore a Ford Performance tune DOES affect your warranty. When you buy a Ford Performance tune it comes with its own warranty...from Ford Performance. They generally will provide a 3yr/36K warranty for damage caused by the tune, but the warranty starts from the date of vehicle purchase. If you install a Ford Performance tune on a two-year-old vehicle with 24K on the clock the warranty is only good 1yr/24K. After that, you revert to your New Vehicle warranty which covers the powertrain for 5yr/60K with exclusions for damage caused by aftermarket software.

Interesting. This I did not know. If that's the case, then I see no benefit to going with a "Ford" tune.

 

[thomasm23]

This topic reminds me of all the promoters of “jailbreaking” the iPhone. These people always were vocal that everyone should jailbreak their device.

I resisted and am glad I never went down that road.

 

[Mwittke5857]

Thinking about tuning your 1.5L Bronco Sport? Do it.


I finally pulled the trigger and went with 5 Star Tuning. They set me up with an HP Tuners MPVI interface and provided three custom tunes—calibrated for my oversized tires and with the auto start/stop feature disabled.





The result? My BS feels like a completely different vehicle.


The power band is smoother, shift points are right where they should be, and that jerky transmission behavior at low RPMs is gone. Everything just feels more refined and responsive.





Now, a quick word of caution: I’m still under a Ford Protect warranty, so technically this is a risk. But you do get to save your stock file in case you ever need to flash it back before a dealer visit.





All in all, I couldn’t be happier. If you’ve been on the fence—this might be the best upgrade you make. I already know a few members are going to squawk at this but it’s the happiest I’ve ever been with my sport since it was brand new.
If your in SW Florida and considering tuning your are more than welcome to come take mine for a drive and see if you like the difference as much as I do.

My first mod was a PeddleMax, then purchased the 5-Star tune. Same results but, the tune didn't pull out as much throttle delay as I would have liked, so I run both. MPG tanked a little but it's an SUV, not a Prius and still a heck of a lot more than most.

 

[Stircrazy]

Thinking about tuning your 1.5L Bronco Sport? Do it.


I finally pulled the trigger and went with 5 Star Tuning. They set me up with an HP Tuners MPVI interface and provided three custom tunes—calibrated for my oversized tires and with the auto start/stop feature disabled.





The result? My BS feels like a completely different vehicle.


The power band is smoother, shift points are right where they should be, and that jerky transmission behavior at low RPMs is gone. Everything just feels more refined and responsive.





Now, a quick word of caution: I’m still under a Ford Protect warranty, so technically this is a risk. But you do get to save your stock file in case you ever need to flash it back before a dealer visit.





All in all, I couldn’t be happier. If you’ve been on the fence—this might be the best upgrade you make. I already know a few members are going to squawk at this but it’s the happiest I’ve ever been with my sport since it was brand new.
If your in SW Florida and considering tuning your are more than welcome to come take mine for a drive and see if you like the difference as much as I do.

if you drive nice does fuel milage get any better?

 

[rugedraw]

if you drive nice does fuel milage get any better?

I'm conducting a little experiment with this on my girl's 2.0L. Before I flashed the tune, I updated the PCM and wiped the learning tables clean. Waited for the tank to be on E and filled it with 93 octane fuel and reset the IPC trip computer to zero. She drove it until miles to empty showed 0, and filled the tank now with 87 octane to see the difference. The tune I am using is a hybrid tune that advances/retards the timing automatically based on what fuel you put into it.

This is what it showed after a full tank of 93 octane. Once she runs the tank dry with the 87 octane, I'll post another pic. Mind you: I know my girl and I am sure she was not driving it with optimal fuel economy in mind. lol It is also important to note that one tank of gas is not enough to properly gauge what the fuel economy is, but I just wanted to get a base to compare if the fuel economy difference between 93 and 87 octane warrants the cost of using premium fuel or not. Even with 87 octane, it is MUCH better than stock performance wise, so if we see that 93 octane only nominally improves mpg's, we will be going with 87 octane going forward.

IMO: A tune is more about smiles per gallon than miles per gallon. When she sent me this text, I knew I did good by tuning it.

 

[FleaBeard]

Flashed mine on Friday. I have an SCT X4 tuner from my last car (2017 Lincoln MKZ) so I just had to pay for the tune.

So far I’m loving it. Much more responsive, lots more torque at low RPM and doesn’t feel like it’s gasping for air at high RPM.

I do wish there was more aftermarket support. I had all kinds of goodies on the MKZ. Big intercooler, colder plugs, colder water pump, cold air intake, sway bars, etc.

 

[redbucky2022]

Flashed mine on Friday. I have an SCT X4 tuner from my last car (2017 Lincoln MKZ) so I just had to pay for the tune.

So far I’m loving it. Much more responsive, lots more torque at low RPM and doesn’t feel like it’s gasping for air at high RPM.

I do wish there was more aftermarket support. I had all kinds of goodies on the MKZ. Big intercooler, colder plugs, colder water pump, cold air intake, sway bars, etc.

I agree on all the above. Eventually I's like to figure out what can cross between models and possibly fit.

 

[Stircrazy]

I'm conducting a little experiment with this on my girl's 2.0L. Before I flashed the tune, I updated the PCM and wiped the learning tables clean. Waited for the tank to be on E and filled it with 93 octane fuel and reset the IPC trip computer to zero. She drove it until miles to empty showed 0, and filled the tank now with 87 octane to see the difference. The tune I am using is a hybrid tune that advances/retards the timing automatically based on what fuel you put into it.

This is what it showed after a full tank of 93 octane. Once she runs the tank dry with the 87 octane, I'll post another pic. Mind you: I know my girl and I am sure she was not driving it with optimal fuel economy in mind. lol It is also important to note that one tank of gas is not enough to properly gauge what the fuel economy is, but I just wanted to get a base to compare if the fuel economy difference between 93 and 87 octane warrants the cost of using premium fuel or not. Even with 87 octane, it is MUCH better than stock performance wise, so if we see that 93 octane only nominally improves mpg's, we will be going with 87 octane going forward.

IMO: A tune is more about smiles per gallon than miles per gallon. When she sent me this text, I knew I did good by tuning it.

with that milage I guarantee she is not driving with any fuel milage in mind haha.

luckily I have my f350 diesel to "play" with, it is tuned and getting the rest of the delete done over the winter, just the tune alone made a huge difference, but with diesels the more power you put into it the better milage you get if you drive nice.

my BS was bought to replace my 2010 fusion as a commuting to work vehicle and general run about so fuel milage was fairly important. I always wondered if the tuners are just putting the BS into "sports" mode all the time and not actually changing anything. there is a huge difference between normal and sports mode for driving around town, even on the highway at 70mph there is a difference

 

[FleaBeard]

I agree on all the above. Eventually I's like to figure out what can cross between models and possibly fit.

There should be some cross with the maverick and escape. Time to start some research.

 

[Mark S.]

I always wondered if the tuners are just putting the BS into "sports" mode all the time and not actually changing anything.

Increased throttle response is pretty much a given with a software modification meant to improve engine performance. There's only so much you can do with boost/fuel/spark control to squeeze significantly more power out of an engine without increasing engine wear and the risk of catastrophic failure. Power increases less than 10% over baseline don't add significantly to risk, but are generally indiscernible to the average driver; a change in throttle response is instantly noticeable.

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