Tuning the Ford Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost

[Psykostevo]

@Psykostevo what's your feeling about stock cat longevity with your tune? I've been debating an aftermarket tune, however I'm not sure the ranger has enough fuel system as is to protect from a cat over-temp situation. (perhaps you covered that. i didn't read every single post) I plan to keep the stock cat(s) on the truck, however again the longevity for me at this point is of some concern. It seems cat meltdown is a huge factor in wiping out a motor in many cases.

I have a roush supercharged f150 pushing about 12lbs of boost and I'm able to run 93 octane, however it's catless so it's not a concern on that vehicle.

Most of the WOT pulls I have been doing have been relatively short, usually under 10 seconds at a time. Temps for those pulls have been all in a safe range.

But knowing that if you put the same tune in the hands of your average “Timmy”, who will thrash it repeatedly and act like the word “tuned” means “invincible”, I don’t know for certain. Repeatedly beating on it back to back would incrementally increase the temps each time, so that could be a bad situation. Same would happen on stock tune, but definitely sooner on one with higher thresholds like this.

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[NOVA_Ranger]

Most of the WOT pulls I have been doing have been relatively short, usually under 10 seconds at a time. Temps for those pulls have been all in a safe range.

But knowing that if you put the same tune in the hands of your average “Timmy”, who will thrash it repeatedly and act like the word “tuned” means “invincible”, I don’t know for certain. Repeatedly beating on it back to back would incrementally increase the temps each time, so that could be a bad situation. Same would happen on stock tune, but definitely sooner on one with higher thresholds like this.

That is what cracks me up...people will tune a vehicle, beat the hell out of it every time they get behind the wheel, and then act surprised when something goes wrong. Gotta recognize the risks, exercise some common sense, and own the decisions made along the way.

 

[Psykostevo]

That is what cracks me up...people will tune a vehicle, beat the hell out of it every time they get behind the wheel, and then act surprised when something goes wrong. Gotta recognize the risks, exercise some common sense, and own the decisions made along the way.

Exactly. Increased Pressure means excessive wear and tear, simple fact. But, if you drive it responsibly it behaves stockish at light throttle so you can be in control of how you treat it.

 

[Indy650]

Exactly. Increased Pressure means excessive wear and tear, simple fact. But, if you drive it responsibly it behaves stockish at light throttle so you can be in control of how you treat it.

do you have an aftermarket blow off valve or does the stock one handle that much psi? I got the turbosmart vent to atmosphere for my ranger for when I start playing with boost, and for the sound. It's corny but I like it lol

 

[Psykostevo]

do you have an aftermarket blow off valve or does the stock one handle that much psi? I got the turbosmart vent to atmosphere for my ranger for when I start playing with boost, and for the sound. It's corny but I like it lol

The stock one holds it fine. Then again it is practically new. It could fatigue over time I suppose.

 

[Indy650]

The stock one holds it fine. Then again it is practically new. It could fatigue over time I suppose.

Turbosmart claims theirs is good for 30 plus psi and the stock one is weak but that's probably a marketing scheme. What's your opinion on vent to atmosphere VS recirculation/bypass valve? I know with the latter it can be hard to vent enough air in high hp engines but I've heard they help with tuning more than vent to atmosphere bov's. Obviously a bypass valve is the way to go if you don't want the psssshh sound in a daily driver

 

[Psykostevo]

Turbosmart claims theirs is good for 30 plus psi and the stock one is weak but that's probably a marketing scheme. What's your opinion on vent to atmosphere VS recirculation/bypass valve? I know with the latter it can be hard to vent enough air in high hp engines but I've heard they help with tuning more than vent to atmosphere bov's. Obviously a bypass valve is the way to go if you don't want the psssshh sound in a daily driver

Ive got the Torque Solutions BOV coming in tomorrow to try out. In an automatic it’s not as big a deal since when you are WOT it doesn’t blow off between gear shifts like a Manual does.

 

[Racket]

Yes, you can custom tune your part throttle shift scheduling to have the 1-2, 2-3, and 1-3 shifts that you prefer and so on. But I tell you, it’s not some quick over the counter thing. That’s a pretty particular type of thing that you would be best off tuning to your own liking.

Something worth noting is that the shift scheduling for part throttle in the transmission tables is set in Output Shaft Speed and not RPM. So you will need to set up and a Excel sheet to help you easily translate your numbers into the rpm values you want.

This is likely how I will drive Torrie insane. Throttle % to affect shift RPM's

 

[landiscarrier]

Another good tuning option is Gearhead Tuning. They are Ecoboost guys! I'm running their "canned" tune and I couldn't be happier with it! Improved shifting, smooth, easy to drive around town and when you want to pull out on the highway....no problems at all! Oh and they also have this "auto octane feature" that allows the computer to adjust automatically from 87-93 with no need to change the tune.

 

[Jonnmaggie]

Gearhead was my go-to for diesels, especially HEUIs, only ones that I could just tune a 7.3 excursion with security issues. Very well executed tunes. Nice to see they're still making good stuff!!

 

[Racket]

Psyko, how are shifts managed? Livornous has a 'soft shift' option that I find interesting, even if I'm giving up some torque ('cause there's gobs) - retard timing or trim fuel or some tweak to the ele tronic trans itself?

 

[rbelar21]

Did you ever end up compiling a list of the limiting tables? Just got my Tremor in recently - orderd HPTuners. I come from tuning WRXs (FA20s) with COBB so its interested how the ford tables work.

 

[rbelar21]

I actually ended up answering my own question after quite a bit of research.

I will probably create my own thread documenting my trials similar to here, but a little bit of a different path forward.

 

[LB357]

Just wanted to chime in and say I could read threads like this for days. This sort of information is fascinating so thanks for sharing @Psykostevo!

 

[benandluna]

You are correct that there are mechanical limitations in hitting the prescribed torque output at 700rpm. Ford typically makes the torque demand flat leading up to the peak torque to give it a smoother turbo spool. On the Focus RS they put stupid high numbers that low to get even faster spool, and they allow temporary overboost in that tune as a result of it.

The ECU will hit 339 crank torque as a max as long as your temperatures are alright and as long as you have a maximum Octane Adaptive Ratio (OAR) Usually needing 91-93 fuel to hit that and no engine knocking for a while of driving.

Since the is is an aspirated engine should we add elevation as well

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