Anyone do a tune AND an extended warranty?

[MountainGoat]

Keep in mind that ANY tune will be visible in the flash counter.

I think someone mentioned that there is also an ignition cycle counter that is reset every time the vehicle is flashed, which means that if you flash back to stock before taking your vehicle in the ignition counter will show that you've started the truck 2 or 3 times since you've had it. Red flag there.

Even though mine has less than 100 miles running a tune, I'm sure my flash counter is in the double digits just due to all the tune failures I had.

I personally think that the bottom line is going to be the dealer that you're working with.

Some dealers are better than others in dealing with tuned vehicles.

If they decide to go hardline they can make your warranty void in a heartbeat.

Or, they can be flexible and help you out if you encounter an issue.

As with most anything, YMMV.

Mine is very laid back. They told me I could have my wiring harness replaced under warranty from a mouse chewing it which I don't think is true at least for the majority of dealers.

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[Progeny2021]

I could go stock or Livernois 87 tune from 91-93 tune. For longevity I do not think I would want to run a tune on 87 though. I did run 91 for the extra kick for the life of the truck until gas went to $4+. There is no 93 around here sadly.

Maybe I misread the instructions. I thought you send them the stock tune but you just download it to the unit.

View attachment 149410

Item 4, part iv.

Livernois wants to see your stock tune in advance to be sure they are sending you the correct tune for the correct vehicle. A copy of the stock tune remains on your My Calibrator after you download the custom tune. SOP for quite awhile now across all hand held calibrators that I'm aware of.

 

[Progeny2021]

Keep in mind that ANY tune will be visible in the flash counter.

I think someone mentioned that there is also an ignition cycle counter that is reset every time the vehicle is flashed, which means that if you flash back to stock before taking your vehicle in the ignition counter will show that you've started the truck 2 or 3 times since you've had it. Red flag there.

Even though mine has less than 100 miles running a tune, I'm sure my flash counter is in the double digits just due to all the tune failures I had.

I personally think that the bottom line is going to be the dealer that you're working with.

Some dealers are better than others in dealing with tuned vehicles.

If they decide to go hardline they can make your warranty void in a heartbeat.

Or, they can be flexible and help you out if you encounter an issue.

As with most anything, YMMV.

If my Ranger ever has an issue and my dealer tries to pin it on the FRPP tune, I'll regale them with the story on how they botched the original install after holding Ranger for 10 days.

Then, I took Ranger to Extreme Mustangs/Extreme Motorsports in Monroe, NC (a Ford Performance service provider) to get the situation resolved.

Personally, I don't think any of these tunes by themselves will ever break anything. Never mind the BOZO who attempts to burn E85 and tries to blame the malfunction on Ford....

 

[Blmpkn]

Dude it says right here. +45 measly horsepower for $900.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9603-REB

Its less than other tunes, yes.. but being up 45hp for a grand can't at all reasonably be called measly.

My last turbo vehicle needed 1600$ invested to gain about the same 45hp.

Good luck adding 50hp to something naturally aspirated for under a grand..

Power costs money. We're absolutely spoiled with these trucks when it comes to how easy and cheap it is to make more power.

 

[Joeiconic]

I think the biggest risk of the tune is the install getting interrupted or something like that, which is probably why Ford requires a dealer/ASE install. Once it’s installed, if you don’t have CEI’s at start up, I think you’re fine with regard to the Ford tune.

 

[Progeny2021]

I think the biggest risk of the tune is the install getting interrupted or something like that, which is probably why Ford requires a dealer/ASE install. Once it’s installed, if you don’t have CEI’s at start up, I think you’re fine with regard to the Ford tune.

Our issue apparently was not updating the firmware on the My Calibrator device beforehand. Even then, Ford/Livernois had to issue a new firmware update (Summer, 2020) to get everything running smoothly.

 

[MountainGoat]

Its less than other tunes, yes.. but being up 45hp for a grand can't at all reasonably be called measly.

My last turbo vehicle needed 1600$ invested to gain about the same 45hp.

Good luck adding 50hp to something naturally aspirated for under a grand..

Power costs money. We're absolutely spoiled with these trucks when it comes to how easy and cheap it is to make more power.

I agree I was mostly joking. I spent over a grand on my old LT1 Firebird for what was probably 30hp. And couldn't afford the $8000 vortech supercharger kit for a real gain that's for sure.

 

[MountainGoat]

I think the biggest risk of the tune is the install getting interrupted or something like that, which is probably why Ford requires a dealer/ASE install. Once it’s installed, if you don’t have CEI’s at start up, I think you’re fine with regard to the Ford tune.

Yeah the instructions are very intense about being alone with the truck, fully charged battery, no Bluetooth phone nearby, don't touch the brake, etc.

 

[Progeny2021]

Yeah the instructions are very intense about being alone with the truck, fully charged battery, no Bluetooth phone nearby, don't touch the brake, etc.

Hook up Ranger to 'shore power' is best. This means connect a battery charger rated at least 2A to keep the power steady. Incredibly, I'm reading where people are Idling their vehicles for lengthy periods while doing SYNC updates/upgrades. Can take 1+ hours if everything goes well.....

 

[Vitis805]

If you search there are a couple of FPP tune dynos on this site, and they all confirm roughly the same numbers. Stock tune Rangers make around 240 WHP and FPP tune reliably bumps 40 WHP.

 

[MountainGoat]

Hook up Ranger to 'shore power' is best. This means connect a battery charger rated at least 2A to keep the power steady. Incredibly, I'm reading where people are Idling their vehicles for lengthy periods while doing SYNC updates/upgrades. Can take 1+ hours if everything goes well.....

Ok cool, I have the Ctech which is 4.3 amps. Came in handy for all the Forscan mods I did.

All pretty good replies in this thread. I'm gonna order the Livernois today.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I wonder if it's best to flash back to stock in that situation or just leave it be. Since I read in a post on here that flashing shows an ECU cycle of 1 or something like that, a red flag.

Edit: Mine would not be third party but rather the Ford/Grainger 8 year.

Sorta like one time I failed inspection for a check engine light and I cleared the codes with a reader right before I went for the retest. Well the DMV saw it was cleared and said "come back next week".

The only reason they would deny warranty with a tune flashed is if the tune was found to be the cause of the failure that the truck was being brought in to have repaired. Yes dealers can see that the ECU has been flashed but can't see what tune file is on it. You could just get the Ford tune installed from the dealer so it's covered under warranty as well.

The DMV telling you to come back is because when codes are cleared it takes a number of start/stop cycles for all the modules they check on the emissions system to report they are in closed loop state. Until then they cannot verify that the system will pass.

 

[Progeny2021]

If you search there are a couple of FPP tune dynos on this site, and they all confirm roughly the same numbers. Stock tune Rangers make around 240 WHP and FPP tune reliably bumps 40 WHP.

A stock Ranger has 255 dyno proven rwhp on 93 factory calibration.

282 dyno proven rwhp on 93 with the FRPP calibration according to the above chart.

240 or so rwhp on 87 factory calibration is about right from everything I've seen. Sad if true. Not even getting a 25 rwhp increase on 93 factory calibration vs. 93 FRPP calibration.

FRPP should be ashamed of themselves....

Hoping that someone will do a 'head to head' comparison between all of the available Ranger calibrations. Would be tough to use the same truck as it takes many driving cycles (up to 40) to optimize the new calibration.

Enough of this 'piecemeal' stuff....

 

[Joeiconic]

Ok cool, I have the Ctech which is 4.3 amps. Came in handy for all the Forscan mods I did.

All pretty good replies in this thread. I'm gonna order the Livernois today.

yes, I did connect to a battery charger during the process. I read that without it, the battery monitoring sensor could shut down power during the lengthy process, which would be no good.

 

[Vitis805]

282 dyno proven rwhp on 93 with the FRPP calibration according to the above chart.

240 or so rwhp on 87 factory calibration is about right from everything I've seen. Sad if true. Not even getting a 25 rwhp increase on 93 factory calibration vs. 93 FRPP calibration.

FRPP should be ashamed of themselves....

It's really hard to have a fruitful conversation with anyone that has their mind positioned the way you do, but I will attempt so we can gather some facts.

First, that is not 93 octane. See the location? Hemet, CA. This is a 91 octane pull at best.

Nobody needs to be ashamed because things aren't made to your liking. The FPP tune is meant to be super safe. I don't understand exactly what your problem with it is.

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