Question on Ford Performance tune and shift schedule of the 10 spd

[Dgc333]

This question is directed to those that have installed the FP tune on their Ranger.

My question is specific to how it impacts the shift schedule in DRIVE, not really concerned about SPORT.

After 500 miles on my Ranger I am finding that when steady state cruising the transmission programing up shifts the transmission to a gear that drops the engine rpm below 1500 rpm. After almost 100k miles on two Ecoboost Mustangs I found that the 2.3 Ecoboost is not happy when the rpm drops below 1500, the Ranger 2.3 is showing the same characteristic. It is rough, almost like it is lugging.

My question is does the FP tune raise the minimum rpm that is allowed in a gear before down shifting above 1500?

Thanks

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[Joeiconic]

If you want to keep the RPM’s above 1500, just lock out the 9th and 10th gears. I just saved you $700 dollars.

 

[Trigganometry]

Even at 500 miles I think the tranny is still learning your driving style. As mentioned, I just lock out gears I don’t want to be in. For instance, around town I lock out till 7th. If I slow down enough so it lugging I’ll take it to 6th.

I’m at 10K now and about 8 months in. Still will lug here and there and I just manually down shift. That’s all in while in drive.

A trick in sport is if you want it to go back to auto shift mode just hold the button in ether direction for 2 to 3 seconds. You’re now in auto shift mode.

 

[Dgc333]

I want a more elegant and permanent solution than having to lock out gears everytime I pull out of the driveway. I am hoping someone with the FP tune will chime in. I am quite sure one of the tuners like Unleashed can do it but it's not enough of an issue to risk having an engine failure warranty claim denied.

 

[Megawatt]

If you want to keep the RPM’s above 1500, just lock out the 9th and 10th gears. I just saved you $700 dollars.

Nope.

Locking out the 9th and 10th gear will have no change to the truck at speeds under 55mph. Drive around at 35 mph and 9th and 10 gear are never in play. So locking out these gears will have no effect at those speeds.


This gear logic I think is 300rpm too low for whatever gear it chooses to be in while cruising (not accelerating). It is on the verge of lugging the engine but once you touch the pedal it will drop 2,3,4 or more gears depending on what your accelerating needs are. But once you stop accelerating the trans goes back to the highest gear.

 

[Joeiconic]

Nope.

Locking out the 9th and 10th gear will have no change to the truck at speeds under 55mph. Drive around at 35 mph and 9th and 10 gear are never in play. So locking out these gears will have no effect at those speeds.


This gear logic I think is 300rpm too low for whatever gear it chooses to be in while cruising (not accelerating). It is on the verge of lugging the engine but once you touch the pedal it will drop 2,3,4 or more gears depending on what your accelerating needs are. But once you stop accelerating the trans goes back to the highest gear.

i don’t disagree, but I believe OP’s question was about RPM’s at interstate cruising speeds, not low speed driving. At low speeds I just drive in S mode. Point being, the truck has tools available to combat the engine lugging at all speeds, if the driver chooses to use them.

 

[Dgc333]

i don’t disagree, but I believe OP’s question was about RPM’s at interstate cruising speeds, not low speed driving. At low speeds I just drive in S mode. Point being, the truck has tools available to combat the engine lugging at all speeds, if the driver chooses to use them.

I guess I wasn't clear in my original post I am talking about cruising in the 35 to 50 mph range. Haven't done enough hiway driving to know if it really is an issue at hiway speeds.

It's all well and good that the truck has "tools" to avoid it running in a potentially harmful rpm range but you shouldn't have to. The programming of the shift schedule should be such that you can put it in drive and forget about it.

As I have said already I am only interested in hearing from people with the FP tune and how the tune effects the shift schedule in drive.

 

[Joeiconic]

As I have said already I am only interested in hearing from people with the FP tune and how the tune effects the shift schedule in drive.

Sorry if I have upset you by offering up some practical and alternative solutions, in lieu of buying a tune, to address the complaint you raised. That’s what most are looking for here.

 

[Rp930]

the rpm range was selected by Ford to meet the mileage requirements
whether you believe that range is damaging your engine i guess is a personal opinion at this moment. No one who comments about the perceived lugging has any concrete data to suggest damage is occurring.

just get the tune and be done with it.
there's enough people on here with the tune, I'm surprised none of them have chimed in with a generalized, speed vs rpm comparison for you by now. Maybe they arent helpful people.

Ok RP embarrassed me into it. I have the Ford tune. One of the biggest benefits of the tune is the improved transmission shifting. I don’t think about it lugging anymore. No longer noticeable. And Sport mode works much nicer.

 

[Dgc333]

Sorry if I have upset you by offering up some practical and alternative solutions, in lieu of buying a tune, to address the complaint you raised. That’s what most are looking for here.

Didn't mean to come as an ass and for that I apologize.

I did post this question over on the Ecoboost Mustang forum and got several responses from those with the 10 speed. They experience the same thing in Drive but after adding the FP tune the shifting in Drive is much smoother and the minimum rpm before a down shift is about 1800 rpm. This is what I wanted to hear and will be installing the FP tune after I get a couple thousand miles on the truck. In the mean time I will continue to lock out gears to keep the min rpm above 1500.

 

[Dgc333]

Ok RP embarrassed me into it. I have the Ford tune. One of the biggest benefits of the tune is the improved transmission shifting. I don’t think about it lugging anymore. No longer noticeable. And Sport mode works much nicer.

Thanks for the response. ?

 

[JaysOnTheEDGE]

Transmission will go into the highest gear for the speed as soon as possible for fuel economy mine will be in 6th or 7th at 35 MPH if I am just cruising with the tune. It likes the 1300-1500 RPM range if I am a low speed area for awhile I usually just lock out 9th and 10th. If I am doing a maneuver I know will require sudden acceleration like a merge I usually drop into sport a bit before to raise the RPMS and downshift and then go

 

[importfighter01]

Thanks for the response. ?

I have FP tune. Drive still lugs more often than I think it should. Tow mode though, is awesome. It’s the only way I drive it now. The way it aggressively up shifts and downshifts is perfect. City driving it never goes above 7th gear. 9th on interstate.

 

[dondonbabyraptor]

Okay I stayed out of the discussion because I didn't care for your response from just general helpful responses, even if they weren't directly tied to your question. However, noticing that perhaps it was just an off-moment and you seem like a good guy... I will share my experience. Lugging happened way less on flat roads when FP tune is applied, keep in mind I installed FP tune, Roush CAI, and FP exhaust all at the same time. With this extra airflow and less resistance on the engine to provide power(correct me if I am wrong please more knowledgeable mechanic/engineering folks) it still had lugging issues with low throttle going up hill on D, S no problem.

Keep in mind, I rarely drive in D but when I do(gf appreciates a calmer ride) I notice this immediately when I hit a hill. Doesn’t happen 99% of the time unless I literally barely touch the throttle, like almost nothing now that I have upgraded intercooler charge pipes. I almost forget I am on D nowadays when I drive with the gf with upgraded intercooler charge pipes, CAI, exhaust and tune. It feels as if having the full upgraded airflow really improved D to feel like S on a tune... before it was a tune makes new D feel like pre tune S… so big change when you have low restriction airflow from charge pipes to intake to exhaust oh and afe air scoop I’m sure helps a bit.

S just feels stupid fast now, I laugh at all those Mercedes owners with their luxury 60k E350's and get gapped hard. Sorry but you bought luxury, not luxury sport. Pay a bit more and get an AMG if you want to flex vs a supposed weaker truck sorry got on a tangent but it happened the other day and was hilarious.

 

[Dgc333]

Thank you for the incite, your response is what I was looking for. It will definitely help me decide whether to go FP or a custom tune.

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