How to get ranger tuned?

[AzScorpion]

There's literally hundred of posts on this already... try the search feature please and thank you....

The search bar sucks on here and doesn't always give you the results you're looking for. You're better off using Google and it will usually direct you back to older posts on here.

OP there are several tuners for the Ranger. I went with Livernois and at the time it was on sale for $500 and now it's $600. You get 5 tunes from them a tow tune, 87-89 soft shift & performance and 91-93 soft shift & performance. You install it yourself and it's easy to do and they are great at walking you through the whole process if needed. You also get free lifetime updates and if you sell your Ranger you can use this in another vehicle as long as they have a tune for it. You just have to send the tuner box back to them (you pay for shipping) and they will recalibrate it for your new vehicle free of charge. You do have to have a PC as the software is not Mac compatible. You only need this for uploading your stock tune to them and downloading the new tunes back to you. I had a friend do this for me on his as I only have a Mac.

You can flash between tunes and try them out and see which one you like best. I tried the tow tune,91-93 soft shift and 91-93 performance tunes and have been using the 91-93 soft shift as I like that one the best. You will notices a lot more power throughout the gears and much less turbo lag when stepping on the gas. You don't always have to be driving it wide open to notice the difference.

Unleashed is another great tune and Torrie is a wizard with Ford vehicles. He will tweet and customize your tune to exactly what you want. There's several here who have this tune and are running it with great results. @Doc was the original one to have his Ranger done by Torrie and he drags his with very impressive numbers. You cant go wrong with either of these as they both have A+++ customer service.

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[Bludrok]

I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER HONDA AGAIN. FORD FOREVER

I was a dedicated Honda guy, owning nothing but Manual Trans Honda Civics since 2009 and had others prior to that. My last ordeal made it such that I don't think I will ever go back to another Honda.

To give an example of what they tried to do:

During my arbitration against them over the failed transmission at 11,xxx miles they claimed that I had abused the vehicle and the mods I put on the vehicle were evidence of the abuse. They claimed that I had to have slammed it into gear while driving and that is what caused the damage.

Later, when we all (Honda, myself, my mechanic, and the arbiter) went to the vehicle to inspect the actual damage, my mechanic points out that the synchros are not damaged at all. The Honda rep quickly responds with "He was probably in gear when the problem happened"

So which was it? Did I force it into gear improperly, or was it already in gear when the issue happened? Also, if a manual transmission is already in gear, please explain to me what I could possibly do to damage the transmission?

Also, they actually claimed the synchros were damaged in their paperwork. I was quick to refute that when we did the inspection. They couldn't try to lie here as I had my own mechanic right there with me.

During arbitration, the Honda rep was purposefully evading every question and being as deceptive as he possibly could. For instance, one of my questions was "In your opinion, is a cold air intake a common modification done by owners of a Honda Civic Si?"

His response: "I can't speak to what owners do with their vehicles after they leave the factory."

Here is another: Every time I asked if installing a cold air intake or inercooler voided the warranty they said "Yes, if the car is abused the warranty is void." They literally would not give a straight answer.

Later, when I had a lawyer, I had an in-depth conversation with him about my experience, and he said he knew the guy I was referring to that testified for Honda. He claimed he was a liar and loves getting him on the witness stand. In Arbitration, they are not under oath, but in court they are, so he loves catching them up on their words when they try to be deceptive.

There were others, but I can sum it up to say Honda left a very bitter taste in my mouth. Thankfully the settlement and being able to sell to Carvana for more than I bought it for new put me in a position to get my Ranger. I have never looked back.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I have real world experience with this and can speak directly to it. It will absolutely void your powertrain warranty, with the following caveats:

1. While ford can tell if the vehicle was tuned, they won't check this just to check. It will only come into play if you have a major failure, such as an engine or transmission failure.

2. They cannot outright void your warranty, but they can choose to deny claims based on you having a tuner, which is effectively a voided warranty.

3. Once a claim is denied, it will be on you to go to arbitration or file a lawsuit and go to court to challenge them.

4. Even though Magnuson-Moss does state that the simple act of installing aftermarket parts (ie a tune) does not void your warranty, they only have to prove that it is possible for the tune to have caused the damage in question to win against you in court. The burden of proof in a civil case is "preponderance of the evidence" which is basically they only have to prove it is more likely than not (51% or greater chance) that the tune caused the issue. They will bring expert witnesses (Most likely at your expense if they win against you) and will not have a hard time winning. You could win, but it would be largely dependent on the jury.


Click here to read my story with this very issue.


With that being said, 5star tuning offers an extended warranty that will cover you if Ford denies your repair due to their tune or any covered mods. At $1000 for 100,000 mile coverage, it is a great deal. Just be sure to read their terms and conditions so you don't accidentally void their coverage.

The warranty from 5star is the reason I went with their tune. Otherwise, I would not have tuned my ranger due to my previous situation.



I will gladly answer any questions on the subject if you have any.

On top of the warranties from the tuners, most extended warranty plans cover the powertrain regardless of a custom tune being installed or not. Be sure to read the fine print if you decide to go this route to make sure that the chosen extended warranty plan does not specifically state no coverage for performance tuned engines.

 

[Bludrok]

On top of the warranties from the tuners, most extended warranty plans cover the powertrain regardless of a custom tune being installed or not. Be sure to read the fine print if you decide to go this route to make sure that the chosen extended warranty plan does not specifically state no coverage for performance tuned engines.

Yes, and they also do not have access to the same tools that the manufacturers do. Meaning they would have no way of knowing the engine had been tuned.

That being said, it is a grey area. Just be careful what you tell them and you should be fine.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Yes, and they also do not have access to the same tools that the manufacturers do. Meaning they would have no way of knowing the engine had been tuned.

That being said, it is a grey area. Just be careful what you tell them and you should be fine.

Warranty service shop, "Sir, is the truck tuned?"
Response, " I think it's got a new air filter and plugs in it."
Warranty shop, "No is it tuned?"
Response, "The stereo does sound good but that's not why I'm here."
Warranty shop, ...blink...blink..."No sir, I mea... OK, thank you for that information."

 

[StezenW]

The search bar sucks on here and doesn't always give you the results you're looking for. You're better off using Google and it will usually direct you back to older posts on here.

OP there are several tuners for the Ranger. I went with Livernois and at the time it was on sale for $500 and now it's $600. You get 5 tunes from them a tow tune, 87-89 soft shift & performance and 91-93 soft shift & performance. You install it yourself and it's easy to do and they are great at walking you through the whole process if needed. You also get free lifetime updates and if you sell your Ranger you can use this in another vehicle as long as they have a tune for it. You just have to send the tuner box back to them (you pay for shipping) and they will recalibrate it for your new vehicle free of charge. You do have to have a PC as the software is not Mac compatible. You only need this for uploading your stock tune to them and downloading the new tunes back to you. I had a friend do this for me on his as I only have a Mac.

You can flash between tunes and try them out and see which one you like best. I tried the tow tune,91-93 soft shift and 91-93 performance tunes and have been using the 91-93 soft shift as I like that one the best. You will notices a lot more power throughout the gears and much less turbo lag when stepping on the gas. You don't always have to be driving it wide open to notice the difference.

Unleashed is another great tune and Torrie is a wizard with Ford vehicles. He will tweet and customize your tune to exactly what you want. There's several here who have this tune and are running it with great results. @Doc was the original one to have his Ranger done by Torrie and he drags his with very impressive numbers. You cant go wrong with either of these as they both have A+++ customer service.

Agreed but his question is literally who’s got a tuned ranger here…….

 

[AzScorpion]

Agreed but his question is literally who’s got a tuned ranger here…….

You should probably of quoted your own post with that meme. At least I gave him a detailed answer to his question unlike yours.

 

[FoD]

Agreed but his question is literally who’s got a tuned ranger here…….

 

[GreatWhiteFail]

Does it void warranty?

No, no single modification can void your entire warranty per the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, BUT all a dealership has to do is link any future breakdowns to your modifications and that repair can be found to be outside of your warranty. This makes it so let's say you tune your truck but then blow a strut, they can't void the warranty coverage of your suspension over an engine tune, however, say you decide to tune your truck and then have an actual power train failure, even if not really related to your tune, most dealers will blame the tune. You can obviously fight this as a dealer has to provide explicit proof as to how exactly the tune (or any modifications) caused the failure and there are lawyers that do this but that's something you've got to be willing to go through ?

 

[StezenW]

You should probably of quoted your own post with that meme. At least I gave him a detailed answer to his question unlike yours.

Hey OP got his question answered and now we have a 1,502,803th thread on tuning. The Beat goes on..

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