Ford Performance Tune/FORSCAN

[Scott_Anderson_]

I've had the Ford Performance Tune installed for roughly 3,000 miles on my 2023 XLT (non B&O stereo). In the process of going down the rabbit hole of audio modifications, I came across the various Forscan threads on "Enabling Line Out" to Variable for rear speakers and "Disabling DSP," both of which I intend to do.

I've already installed Morel Maximo coax 6.5s in the rears, which made a virtually unnoticeable difference at this point, and I've got a Kicker Key 200.4 sitting in a box waiting to be installed, now knowing that the aforementioned ACM adjustments will have to be made in Forscan in order for the speakers and amp to work how they should.

However, I continue to read mixed messages about removing the tune and returning the truck to stock before making any changes in Forscan... And then reinstalling the tune after Forscan changes are complete.

Has anyone with a 2023 (non B&O) dealt with this issue, and how did you proceed? Not planning on making any other Forscan changes in the future. Thanks for any insight or advice.

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[SigOris]

I've had the Ford Performance Tune installed for roughly 3,000 miles on my 2023 XLT (non B&O stereo). In the process of going down the rabbit hole of audio modifications, I came across the various Forscan threads on "Enabling Line Out" to Variable for rear speakers and "Disabling DSP," both of which I intend to do.

I've already installed Morel Maximo coax 6.5s in the rears, which made a virtually unnoticeable difference at this point, and I've got a Kicker Key 200.4 sitting in a box waiting to be installed, now knowing that the aforementioned ACM adjustments will have to be made in Forscan in order for the speakers and amp to work how they should.

However, I continue to read mixed messages about removing the tune and returning the truck to stock before making any changes in Forscan... And then reinstalling the tune after Forscan changes are complete.

Has anyone with a 2023 (non B&O) dealt with this issue, and how did you proceed? Not planning on making any other Forscan changes in the future. Thanks for any insight or advice.

I have the FPT installed and did FORSCAN changes after and haven’t had any issues

MY22 Lariat

 

[Scott_Anderson_]

I have the FPT installed and did FORSCAN changes after and haven’t had any issues

That’s what I’ve read in most cases.
People are all saying similar things on the Bronco and F-150 forums. But then there’s that one guy who bricks his truck…

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I have the tune and made changes after... No issues here either. It's not hard to remove the tune so, if you're worried, just pull it and reinstall it.

 

[Scott_Anderson_]

I have the tune and made changes after... No issues here either. It's not hard to remove the tune so, if you're worried, just pull it and reinstall it.

Thanks. Good to know. I’d assume just leave it tuned rather than uninstalling and reinstalling.

I read a post of the Bronco forum where someone did exactly that. Then, when they went to dealership for service, dealership noticed that key cycles were low and had been recently reset due to flashing the ECU to uninstall. That opened a whole can of worms.

I’m not really trying to hide the fact that I’m tuned, but why draw more attention to it if it’s unnecessary.

 

[Big Blue]

Thanks. Good to know. I’d assume just leave it tuned rather than uninstalling and reinstalling.

I read a post of the Bronco forum where someone did exactly that. Then, when they went to dealership for service, dealership noticed that key cycles were low and had been recently reset due to flashing the ECU to uninstall. That opened a whole can of worms.

I’m not really trying to hide the fact that I’m tuned, but why draw more attention to it if it’s unnecessary.

This!
Everytime you tune and untune your truck it increments a flash counter in the ECU. Also there is a key cycle counter that gets reset to zero everytime you flash the ECU. So by untuneing your truck before you take it in for service, you are fooling nobody.

 

[Scott_Anderson_]

Thought I would update my progress so far. After receiving the OBD Link EX in the mail, I changed some settings in ACM to "Turn on Line Outs" "Turn off factory DSP."

These initial changes did allow the aftermarket rear speakers to draw more power, but the whole sound spectrum, I guess for lack of a better term, was fairly muted, and volume had to be turned up to 20 to get reasonable playback. I believe I was also hearing sound clipping coming from the front speakers, since they are still OEM.

Then, I decided to change Front Speakers to "Fixed, Line Level" while leaving Rear Speakers set to "External Variable." The sound was noticeably improved, but it kept the volume locked at a ridiculously loud volume, perhaps that is what "Fixed L/L" does. I guess that would sort of make sense. I'm no expert with car audio, so this was sort of a guess and check approach.

After nearly blowing out my ears and my daughter's ears, I made one final change. I kept the rears set to "External Variable," which was established in the initial Forscan change, and set the front to "Reserved." This seemed to bring the entire sound system to life. I'm getting noticeably more bass on front and especially the rears now, and it just sounds more full.

I have a Kicker Key 200.4 sitting on my desk that I am waiting to install, but I gotta wait a minute to buy that PNP harness. Those things are pretty darn expensive, and I don't want to cut into factory harness, so we'll see when it happens. My thought, too, is that after Kicker amp is installed with factory speakers upfront, aftermarket in back, having front speakers set to "Variable" might push too much power to the factory speakers and blow them. Leaving front to "Reserved" with factory speakers and amp install might be safer until they can be replaced with a nice set of components.

All of this was done without flashing the ECU and removing the tune. Tune stayed installed and no problems.

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