Tuning the 3 cylinder

[Dan.Bronco]

This was my biggest reservation, my previous vehicle was a 2015 s5 but needed something bigger and more capable on mountain passes.

I wanted a Defender, but it’s was a little to pricey, my wife talked me into looking at the sport, for the price and mainly because the goat commercial was cute. I did reluctantly, my local dealer had an OB OB package 1.5l in shadow black, I instantly fell in love, it’s not fast, but in sport mode it’s not slow either, it surprised me. but it is still thrilling to drive, it’s higher stance than my previous car gives some body roll and makes cornering really fun at speed.

to summarise, don’t pre judge this little engine, you are not going to beat people out of the lights but there is still plenty to enjoy about driving this vehicle.

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[fastlax16]

Simply because It shifts farther up the Tac. BUT
BUT Is the fuel mapping changed,,
OR variable valve timing ??
Anyone know ?

throttle response is also quicker according to Ford. Haven’t seen anything regarding vvt/fueling changes but I wouldn’t expect either to change.

 

[69cuda340s]

I see 5 Star offers a tune for the 1.5:

https://5startuning.com/product/2021-bronco-sport-1-5l-eb-hp-tuners-rtd-with-your-choice-of-5-star-tuning-custom-tunes/

 

[Stangman66]

Simply because It shifts farther up the Tac. BUT
BUT Is the fuel mapping changed,,
OR variable valve timing ??
Anyone know ?

Sport Mode change shift points, length of time in the gears, timing, steering feel and suspension feel. I definitely notice the difference.

 

[johnardsg]

Sport Mode change shift points, length of time in the gears, timing, steering feel and suspension feel. I definitely notice the difference.

Is there a way to make the sport mode as the normal mode?

 

[Osco]

Is there a way to make the sport mode as the normal mode?

Just make it part of your start sequence. I start my bronc and hit a few buttons, what ever I choose.
It varies.
No biggie.
FWIW, Eco still does nothing for my MPG's.
I play with sport occasionally,
I leave it in normal mostly as my 3 banger and it's turbo do just fine with a bit of creative throttle control..

 

[christopheru]

We have a 2017 2.L escape, and then I got a 1.5L 4cyl escape for my work vehicle...and HATED it. No guts, the 2L was hands down superior and could really go.
Then we get the OB Bronco Sport 1.5L 3 cyl and I was tentative. But I will say this...the torque on the 1.5L is impressive. On a hairpin corner on a steep hill here, the Bronco handles it with ease with its torque.
It's not gonna break 0-60 records, but it has power. But yeah the 2 L will blow every car at the light in the dust.
I agree with the other posters here, it does sound like you guys like the zip, the 2L will give you that. But the 1.5 has the power, and decent go.
Good luck

That is a fair point. This isn’t a stoplight car/engine combo. It does pass quite briskly though. I pretend it is a truck and simply don’t care about the power to weight ratio. If I wanted fast, I would have tuned my Golf and gotten a lot of speeding tickets.

 

[christopheru]

Horsepower comes from RPMs -- times torque. At equal RPMs, bigger -- or boosted -- engines already making bigger torque (if that doesn't drop off to much at higher RPMs) already have a head start. But smaller engine designs that can go to huge RPMs -- 9,000 (Honda S2000!), 10,000, 12,000, more -- can generate just as much or more peak *horsepower* as many of the big engines. Most of us don't drive around in anything that revs that high though.

Except for turbo cars done right. Remember Saab? I recall a 4th gear sprint between a 9000 2.3l turbo and Saab’s competition. It was a real world test not some dumb drag race. The Saab jumped from 80 to 120 kmph in about two seconds - it struggled to avoid burnouts doing that in 3rd gear with traction control on. Stock car. Thing had stupid torque down low. Every lagless turbo since has copied them and has only gotten better.

 

[maximumwang]

The 1.5 is more than enough for me, especially in sport mode. Even quicker when empty, but I'm not a car junky and just want something cool, reliable, that will hold all my gear.

yeah totally, sport mode is no joke. Maybe just buy the Base or Big Bend, and run it in sport mode all the time. The extra gas you burn through is still probably way cheaper than premium of the fancier models. But I'm just guessing

 

[RSH]

In a performance aspect, the 3 cylinder in the Bronco Sport is pushing almost 4000lbs when loaded, yes you can get more power out of it, but at what expense, power costs money, you will be possibly giving up reliability as well as the warranty if you buy new, maybe that's a non issue for you. If power is really a concern, I would choose the Badlands or First Edition and call it a day.

 

[ZeroCool]

Honestly sounds like the hp is standard norm for BSport. Honestly if it’s not enough maybe try a performance car.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g26339934/most-powerful-suvs/

 

[ZeroCool]

Putting it a different way, the 0-60 on the 2001 escape is 7.6-8.8 (I see different numbers) assuming the best of 7.6 the 3 cylinder Sport does 8.6 secs. So you’re literally talking about a second.
I suggest if she wants a fast suv get a edge st. They scream.

 

[fastlax16]

Putting it a different way, the 0-60 on the 2001 escape is 7.6-8.8 (I see different numbers) assuming the best of 7.6 the 3 cylinder Sport does 8.6 secs. So you’re literally talking about a second.
I suggest if she wants a fast suv get a edge st. They scream.

We got her a badlands. She didn’t want fast (my golf does 0-60 in around 3.5 and she finds it terrifying/I'm no longer allowed to floor it with her in the car.) we just felt the 1.5 was sluggish. Plus the badlands was only around a grand more than an outer banks once we priced both out with the options we wanted . Unrelated, I understand the value prop for the base and big bend, but don't understand the appeal of the outer banks when apples to apples the badlands costs fractionally more. (supply issues notwithstanding).

There have been times I've wanted more passing power out of the badlands on the highway so I'm glad we went with what we did.

 

[ZeroCool]

We got her a badlands. She didn’t want fast (my golf does 0-60 in around 3.5 and she finds it terrifying/I'm no longer allowed to floor it with her in the car.) we just felt the 1.5 was sluggish. Plus the badlands was only around a grand more that an outerbanks once we priced both out with the options we wanted .

There have been times I've wanted more passing power out of the badlands on the highway so I'm glad we went with what we did.

Ha ha 3.5! Thats supercar acceleration yo!

 

[fastlax16]

Ha ha 3.5! Thats supercar acceleration yo!

I wish, old super car numbers. Still needs more power. Trying to figure out how to subtly upgrade the turbo to a bigger one without her noticing. Would drop it under 3 and into the 10s quarter mile. Or I can sell it and go nuts on the sport.

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