Cheap Tuner

[Davidjc]

Be kind guys. I have no intentions of hyping up HP, Mpg or torque. Only looking for a cheap way of reducing the hesitation lag time from stop.
I tow the 21 ranger behind a motorhome and drive around town. Seldom tow anything larger than a 17' bass boat.
I know not to expect miracles with a Thorton chip, or similar plug and play gimick. But if it will help reduce lag time, I'll try it if someone here can give personal testimony. What say you all?

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[My12SecRanger]

spend the 500 bucks and get a good tune, you will be amazed how much better the truck will run and how much less lag there is, this is an area that being thrifty is not a good idea just my 2 cents

 

[Superspirit]

Gonna 2nd the previous post. Do it right.

 

[TJC]

So which product / source do you folks recommend? I am not too concerned about more power, but I would like a better transmission shift pattern.

 

[Grish]

Have you tried driving it in sport?

 

[Frenchy]

Regardless of the tune you have on that truck, you are going to experience leg thanks to the fact it has a turbocharger. This is normal for an engine to not have excellent power off of idle. Thanks to the design of the turbocharger and the way the 2.3 EcoBoost is, it does build boost fairly quick compared to other turbocharged engines. If I'm not mistaken it tries to build boost starting around 1,500 RPMs.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

I was surprised by how much faster my throttle response was with just the Raxiom Speedform Throttle Controller plugged in. I played with the device quite a bit when I returned my truck to the stock tune for a few weeks. It has a legitimate effect on throttle response. Dial it up to 3.9 in Race Mode and you'll be at full throttle just by sneezing on the pedal. Dial it down to 1.1 in Eco Mode and you'll save gas but the throttle response is super slow.

Now that I have my tune reloaded I keep it on Eco 1.5 so I don't smoke tires at every light. I may occasionally move it to Sport Mode 2.7 when I'm feeling frisky. Race Mode 3.9 is for off road racing use only. And it is fun AF off road. I mapped out a track at the park where you damn near never have to turn off the WOT.

But,,, if you want to improve your shifting, I think buying a tuner is your only option.

My 2 best 0-60 runs occurred with my new tune in 2wd with traction/stability control off and the rear diff locked,,, 2nd gear start at 3000 rpm and the Raxiom set at Race Mode 3.6.

*the 6.07 run was with 1st tuner (SCT BDX).
**the 5.15 and 5.23 runs were with my much better Revolution Automotive tune. And the shifting is AMAZING !
***keep in mind,,, these are street runs a ½ mile from my house.

 

[TJC]

Have you tried driving it in sport?

Of course. But I find the shift points a bit too aggressive, and I want those top gears. Just not at 1,400 RPMS unless I am cruising on the interstate. There is a middle ground to be had that I would prefer. I don't want to see 1,100 RPMs at 35 mph in 7th or 8th gear either.

My 2023 CX-5 shift strategy is closer to what I am looking for, but it is only a 6 speed automatic

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