A simple, non-performance focus tune?

[DavidR]

I don't have much to add, but I'm going to follow this. I don't know if it's possible, or even if it *is* possible whether it would stress the transmission or reduce its lifetime, but like the OP, I think it would be nice if there was a tuning for the transmission that would not change shift points but rather make shifting a bit more quick and positive. I actually don't find the shifting in "D" all that bad, but would really appreciate snappier shifting when it's in "S" and I'm manually cycling between gears on mountain downgrades. That's where I really notice it. All of our previous vehicles' transmissions have shifted more quickly and positively in this mode. Manually shifting between gears in S mode just seems very sluggish by comparison to those. I've gotten somewhat used to it and think ahead a bit to anticipate the gear changes more, but I still miss the responsiveness.

I know a lot of effort went in to designing this transmission to be lifetime-fill and theoretically not need any maintenance for 150,000 miles, so I don't know if some of the sluggishness people notice is due to reducing wear.

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[RedlandRanger]

I use "sport" mode all the time. Yes, RPM is higher when shifting, ~ 3,100 RPM. 10th doesn't engage until about 65 MPH. I've done some experimenting between Sport and Drive and find - in specific cases - the MPG is actually better at a higher RPM with the reduced load than at a lower RPM with the higher load. This is likely due to increased turbo boost at higher loads. Additionally, in Sport mode, when slowing with brakes applied, the transmission will shift down to a lower gear raising the RPM, BUT the MPG is still 99 plus, since little to no gas is being supplied in trailing throttle regardless of RPM.

Over a measured distance of 135 miles, I've gotten 2 MPG better in sport mode with both my wife's 2.0 Escape and with the Ranger. Although the test was not scientific, and was out in Sport and back in Driver, I still need to reverse the trip modes (out in Drive, back in Sport vs. the reverse) for a more accurate test, but the result is Sport vs Drive results in very similar economy..

I had exactly the opposite experience - I suffered a drop of 2-4 MPG when I drove in sport mode. It was a VERY noticeable drop, and I don't think I drove any differently in sport than I did in normal mode.

It is interesting to see everyone's experiences with this. There are certainly a LOT of factors that affect MPG.

 

[Indy650]

Everyone says S mode but you can't just always leave it in S mode unless you want your gas mileage to plummet. I know you can pop it back to drive in slow traffic areas but it can get annoying going back and forth. You could also just in standard mode if you know what you are doing it will shift and drive just how you want. In that case though Im convinced the computer can shift better than a human especially with a 10 speed tranny in S mode. It's my opinion that the 2.3 turbo with this transmission is downright EPIC!! Though mine even in drive shifts great in D, I have seen some ppl mention that they get sluggish shifts of which I have gotten but only rarely and it seems less as I rack up the mileage. It also depends how a transmission is broken it to how good it shits. PPL out there who rip on their stuff from the get go are more likely to experience problems.

 

[DavidR]

It also depends how a transmission is broken it to how good it shits. PPL out there who rip on their stuff from the get go are more likely to experience problems.

Or maybe they're more likely to have it shit on them That was too classic of a typo, couldn't pass on that one.

I also think it shifts well enough in D or in S when it's auto-shifting. I just wish it was a little less sluggish when shifting manually in S, which I sometimes have to do on steeper mountain downgrades. This transmission is actually pretty good at downshifting by itself, but in some cases it doesn't downshift aggressively enough on its own.

 

[AzScorpion]

I had exactly the opposite experience - I suffered a drop of 2-4 MPG when I drove in sport mode. It was a VERY noticeable drop, and I don't think I drove any differently in sport than I did in normal mode.

It is interesting to see everyone's experiences with this. There are certainly a LOT of factors that affect MPG.

I too suffer MPG's in S mode. I do drive it way more aggressive though so it's expected. It's to fun not to.

 

[TexTazManiac]

I know this is a pretty late post, but to get rid of auto-stop-start, I have installed this wiring harness. I didn't use a tune because I was worried about Ford's ability to tell if the ECU had been changed and most dealers in my area are sticklers for 'sticking' it to you if you do tune your vehicle. This harness allows you to turn the feature on when you go into the dealer and unless they take apart your console, they can't tell it is installed. Took me about 20 minutes to install... by the way.

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/ford/products/2019-ford-ranger-autostop-eliminator

As for tuning out the whole 'skip shift' feature in this truck (which drives me nuts).... I'm waiting until I'm out of warranty. Driving in Sport or Town-Haul when I do need the performance.... I do have 3 other Ford vehicles -- all with 5 Star Tuning and all after warranty. Getting the right tuner/tune is pretty key. Looks like we have a lot of options to choose from.

 

[DavidR]

I'm new to tuning, is it conclusively known that the shop can tell if you install a tuning and then return it to stock?

I know this is a pretty late post, but to get rid of auto-stop-start, I have installed this wiring harness. I didn't use a tune because I was worried about Ford's ability to tell if the ECU had been changed and most dealers in my area are sticklers for 'sticking' it to you if you do tune your vehicle. This harness allows you to turn the feature on when you go into the dealer and unless they take apart your console, they can't tell it is installed. Took me about 20 minutes to install... by the way.

https://www.autostopeliminator.com/collections/ford/products/2019-ford-ranger-autostop-eliminator

As for tuning out the whole 'skip shift' feature in this truck (which drives me nuts).... I'm waiting until I'm out of warranty. Driving in Sport or Town-Haul when I do need the performance.... I do have 3 other Ford vehicles -- all with 5 Star Tuning and all after warranty. Getting the right tuner/tune is pretty key. Looks like we have a lot of options to choose from.

 

[Jasper White]

Ok so I've dealt with tuning before. Especially on the 2.3 in my old RS. Mountune was the tuner and supplied the Accessport (handheld tuner made by Cobb if you guys haven't heard of the device).

But I'm not looking for gains. I know these trucks have massive tuning potential but I'm not looking for increasing stress and beyond normal operating parameters just because I don't need them and I don't want to lose reliability or durability. Also, I'd like to not possibly void the warranty if something happens and they can trace it back to the tune.

So, all I want is a tune that can pep up the transmission and disable the auto start/stop. Possibly using the Accessport but I know Cobb doesn't support it just yet. And hey, maybe cost less than a full blown tune?

Anybody have any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Jasper White]

Ok so I've dealt with tuning before. Especially on the 2.3 in my old RS. Mountune was the tuner and supplied the Accessport (handheld tuner made by Cobb if you guys haven't heard of the device).

But I'm not looking for gains. I know these trucks have massive tuning potential but I'm not looking for increasing stress and beyond normal operating parameters just because I don't need them and I don't want to lose reliability or durability. Also, I'd like to not possibly void the warranty if something happens and they can trace it back to the tune.

So, all I want is a tune that can pep up the transmission and disable the auto start/stop. Possibly using the Accessport but I know Cobb doesn't support it just yet. And hey, maybe cost less than a full blown tune?

Anybody have any suggestions or ideas?

Thanks!

I got a tune from the guys at 5 Star Tuning. The 87 daily/tow tune wakes up the throttle response a little but turns the shifts to butter. Oh yes, they also disabled the aggravating stop/start...

 

[JeffCJ]

I've been extremely happy with 5 Star's "Lone Ranger" tune. According to them it's about "80% of their 'daily' tunes" but is octane adaptive so you don't have to run any particular grade of fuel. It feels better without being overly aggressive. I could get more by switching to an (insert octane here) Daily/Tow tune or performance tune, but the Lone Ranger tune feels just right to me for daily use.

 

[kieefer]

I've been extremely happy with 5 Star's "Lone Ranger" tune. According to them it's about "80% of their 'daily' tunes" but is octane adaptive so you don't have to run any particular grade of fuel. It feels better without being overly aggressive. I could get more by switching to an (insert octane here) Daily/Tow tune or performance tune, but the Lone Ranger tune feels just right to me for daily use.

Thanks, I’ve been looking for a review of what they call the “Lone Ranger”.

Personally I think the truck will benefit from a basic tune to clean up the EPA regs. that’s demanded by the Gov and smooth the fueling mapping and shifting out.
I’m not interested in quarter mile performance, daily driving and maybe better fuel economy is what I’m after. The truck is pretty fast as is when you put your foot in it anyway.

I will mention that my truck had the annoying low speed stumble when new and I had the dealership reset the tranny around 4K, see TSB thread, this made a big improvement and now I’m close to 7k miles and it’s very smooth......but I can see improvements still could be made.

 

[tivct]

I'm new to tuning, is it conclusively known that the shop can tell if you install a tuning and then return it to stock?

If you returned to stock, there are indicators (OBD monitor completions are reset to zero, key cycles are reset to zero.) The dealer can't necessarily prove anything, although, these '19+ Fords are modem-connected and they're sharing an awful lot of data back to the company... I'm not sure what it all includes yet. But I have flashed my truck and temporary errors from the modules being offline popped up in my Ford Pass app... you can be sure they were sent to Ford too.

If you're still tuned... many tuners claim their tunes aren't detectable. If you have a dealer that doesn't look too hard, then sure. If Ford calls in an engineer to investigate after a major engine failure, they'll find it. Period.

 

[DavidR]

Thanks for that info. It sounds like it's on the borderline - they can tell if they really look for it, but there's nothing that's immediately obvious without doing some digging. I've also had error notifications pop up in Fordpass, so yeah, they probably do have a record of any errors that have been thrown. For all we know, they're collecting that data even if you don't enable Fordpass, they just don't pass it along.

It probably all comes down to the individual dealers. In theory, they can't decline warranty work because of a mod unless they can show that the problem was likely caused by the mod. The problem with a tuning is that it affects so many things that they can probably be difficult if they want to.

I'm not in a big hurry to get a tune since the truck is powerful enough for me as it is. The one exception is it would be nice to have a little more power when I have the 1200-lb. camper on. With a 60,000 mile powertrain warranty, it would be annoying to wait until it's completely out of warranty, so maybe the compromise is to wait about 10,000 miles, once you're fairly sure it's past the stage where most infant mortality failures will happen, and then take the very small risk that you'll have some catastrophic engine failure occur later that might make them go looking for a tune. I doubt they'll go looking for a tune if you come in with most random stuff like a bad alternator or A/C compressor, etc.

If you returned to stock, there are indicators (OBD monitor completions are reset to zero, key cycles are reset to zero.) The dealer can't necessarily prove anything, although, these '19+ Fords are modem-connected and they're sharing an awful lot of data back to the company... I'm not sure what it all includes yet. But I have flashed my truck and temporary errors from the modules being offline popped up in my Ford Pass app... you can be sure they were sent to Ford too.

If you're still tuned... many tuners claim their tunes aren't detectable. If you have a dealer that doesn't look too hard, then sure. If Ford calls in an engineer to investigate after a major engine failure, they'll find it. Period.

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