Ford Performance Tune for 2018+ GT

[ice445]

PCMTec aren't tuners, but their software allows for proper activation of Ford's flex logic in the mustang, and the option to add an ethanol sensor and incorporate into it the flex. Both of these are unique to PCMTec.

Ethanol sensor is waaaaay better than the stock flex logic isn't it? Seems like a no brainer to go with that solution

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[Rolls]

Ethanol sensor is waaaaay better than the stock flex logic isn't it? Seems like a no brainer to go with that solution

The only reason is cost. However personally I would not recommend using inferred logic with a supercharged vehicle where the wrong timing could pop your motor.

Though if cost is an issue I would still go the user configured ethanol and simply test your fuel or use your LTFT/STFT to dial in the ethanol content. You can simply sit there datalogging your trims and adjust the ethanol content manually until they come within a few percent. At least this way the ethanol content is 100% locked, it cannot change and you can drive without the anxiety that it has learnt incorrectly running too much timing.

You can also manually trim the ethanol content down lower than it really is to lower timing and the STFT will correct the fueling if you felt that you had bad quality fuel or needed to pull timing out without a reflash.

 

[mejohn50]

Ethanol sensor is waaaaay better than the stock flex logic isn't it? Seems like a no brainer to go with that solution

The bottom line is both options, if setup correctly, can work well and they will both have their own set of tradeoffs. It’s just a matter of which pros and cons you’re willing to live with. I choose the sensor option.

I‘ve used both the stock flex logic and the PCMTEC sensor-based logic in their custom OS on an NA and boosted gen 3. I had good success with the stock inferred logic, but I prefer the PCMTEC sensor logic even though I had zero issues with the stock logic.

I think for someone who is willing to monitor things very closely after a fuel change, the stock logic works fine. You just need to keep an eye on the AFRs until you’re confident it has learned the ethanol content correctly.

For someone who wants a flex fuel system to just work, the PCMTEC sensor logic is the better option. It’s as easy as not going WOT for 5-10 minutes of driving after a fuel change and that’s it. This is worth the added cost to me.

As far as cost is concerned, the PCMTEC setup with a sensor is more expensive as @Rolls said. The PCMTEC custom OS licensing costs money and my sensor installation was about $700 or so in parts, but it could be done cheaper if you went with a barebones installation. I used all custom made PTFE lines with AN fittings and a Radium sensor to fuel line adapter which drove the cost up quite a bit, but it didn’t make a lot of sense to me to use rubber lines and hose clamps on the fuel system right above the exhaust manifold. I also designed a bracket and had it made by Send Cut Send to mount the sensor adapter and I made a plug-and-play CAN bus wiring harness for the ECA-2 that doesn’t tie up the OBD port and requires zero splicing into the car wiring. Again, I think this is worth the cost of entry.

 

[ice445]

Let us know how this pans out when the ambient temps hit 80. Curious because the tune was good until it got hot.

To the surprise of noone, yeah, the knock came back once it got warmer

I was hopeful for a while, but it would appear my car simply doesn't have the margin for a tune like this on 91 octane. Luck of the draw I suppose. Especially in that 2000-3000 RPM range where they put most of the extra timing. If you hit it there, you hear the knock temporarily from the borderline timing being too high and torque is cut dramatically, then as the rpm and pull progresses the faster knock recovery rate of the FP tune brings back the timing and power after a few seconds.

Its all good though, now I've exhausted every avenue besides a motor rebuild (lol), so I'll have to be satisfied with that. Stock tune can be beaten on all day and rarely knocks.

 

[StangTime]

To the surprise of noone, yeah, the knock came back once it got warmer

I was hopeful for a while, but it would appear my car simply doesn't have the margin for a tune like this on 91 octane. Luck of the draw I suppose. Especially in that 2000-3000 RPM range where they put most of the extra timing. If you hit it there, you hear the knock temporarily from the borderline timing being too high and torque is cut dramatically, then as the rpm and pull progresses the faster knock recovery rate of the FP tune brings back the timing and power after a few seconds.

Its all good though, now I've exhausted every avenue besides a motor rebuild (lol), so I'll have to be satisfied with that. Stock tune can be beaten on all day and rarely knocks.

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I was hopeful for you (and me).
I bet Wengerd could make a better tune for this kit than Ford did. I just don't want to invest any more money to see what the results might be. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. I'm going to try and sell off the parts in this kit at this point.

 

[txgt]

I really feel for you being stuck with 91… not to rub it in, but not only do we have 93 readily available here in Tejas, but we can also get 94 in some places!

 

[ice445]

Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I was hopeful for you (and me).
I bet Wengerd could make a better tune for this kit than Ford did. I just don't want to invest any more money to see what the results might be. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. I'm going to try and sell off the parts in this kit at this point.

I suspect most any tune will cause the same issues, maybe slightly less though.

 

[Dave2013M3]

I had this kit, I ran 2-3 gallons of E85 blended with 91 and rarely if ever did I hear a ping. I think the only time I heard something was going through the Canyons when it was 100 deg outside and I was letting the rpms stay low going up the hill., it was brief. All in all I liked this kit.

 

[ice445]

I had this kit, I ran 2-3 gallons of E85 blended with 91 and rarely if ever did I hear a ping. I think the only time I heard something was going through the Canyons when it was 100 deg outside and I was letting the rpms stay low going up the hill., it was brief. All in all I liked this kit.

I wish I had E85 here, lol. I think part of my issue is living at such a high elevation, 4300ft. The ecu is always trying to run extra timing as it is to minimize the power loss. When I came down to the bay area I never had a single ping using 91.
I also have more carbon on my pistons than some other cars I've seen on here which is likely what's deleting my margin. I don't think the kit is responsible, and my experience isn't very common.

 

[Anyone3505]

After reading every single post in this thread (really!), I'm convinced this package will benefit me and the 2020 vert manual i purchased last fall for a few reasons:

• Most importantly, I want OEM quality (though that seems debatable here for the intake fitment!), especially for the tune. I specifically want something more conservative and extensively tested
• I greatly favor long-term reliability and durability over eeking out every drop of performance as i plan to keep this car for a long time. This is my primary driver when conditions permit.
• As long as this is my primary car, I won't be changing anything else in the engine (and definitely not while covered by the CPO warranty for the next 2 years).
• I think I'll have better luck getting warranty service with a kit that's available from the dealer. And with 3 dealerships within 15 minutes, I'd be surprised if at least 1 didn't honor the CPO warranty with this kit installed (assuming the issue isn't caused by this kit).
• I believe i fully understand the warranty situation for this kit (that it doesn't apply to my car based on age and isn't a substitute for a Ford original or CPO warranty anyway) and am not relying on it
• Honestly i wish this package was just a tune. Seems most people claim the intake and TB likely aren't making much of a difference on an otherwise stock engine. if it were just a procal without the bolt ons i would have purchased it months ago. Warranty service wouldn't even be a concern, then, either- just load the stock tune in the dealership lot lol.
• I've been pretty disappointed in the manual trans and clutch combo, and I'm hoping that killing the rev hang will let it drive/feel closer to how i expect
• The cost difference over cheaper aftermarket tune-only kits isn't a big concern

Anything i misunderstand or doesn't make sense?

 

[EFI]

I had this kit, I ran 2-3 gallons of E85 blended with 91 and rarely if ever did I hear a ping. I think the only time I heard something was going through the Canyons when it was 100 deg outside and I was letting the rpms stay low going up the hill., it was brief. All in all I liked this kit.

So you effectively ran E20-E25 on the FP tune. You didn't have any issues driving around? What were your AFRs and STFTs?

 

[boB]

• Honestly i wish this package was just a tune. Seems most people claim the intake and TB likely aren't making much of a difference on an otherwise stock engine. if it were just a procal without the bolt ons i would have purchased it months ago.

That is my take on it as well. I don't need the top end boost but really want the increase in the 2000 rpm range The larger throttle body may be worse than the smaller stock one for that rpm range, lower velocity?

 

[Dave2013M3]

I wish I had E85 here, lol. I think part of my issue is living at such a high elevation, 4300ft. The ecu is always trying to run extra timing as it is to minimize the power loss. When I came down to the bay area I never had a single ping using 91.
I also have more carbon on my pistons than some other cars I've seen on here which is likely what's deleting my margin. I don't think the kit is responsible, and my experience isn't very common.

I forgot about your altitude.

 

[Dave2013M3]

So you effectively ran E20-E25 on the FP tune. You didn't have any issues driving around? What were your AFRs and STFTs?

Correct, I ran an E20-25 with no issues. I never logged it. In fact I once had a brain fart and put 6 gallons of E85 into the car. I freaked out and posted about it, the car was basically running E40. Believe it or not it ran fine. I have to admit I took it out on a long freeway cruise with not a lot of load on it to burn quite a bit of the fuel off and filled up again to get back to an E25. I was expecting a check engine light for fuel trim but never got one. The Gen 3 Coyotes with the DI and Port injection can handle E85 quite well.

On another note...how ofter are you at 2k rpm? Most of the time I was 3.5K and above unless just cruising on the freeway. Especially after I went with the 4.09 gearing with the MT82D4.

 

[Anyone3505]

After reading every single post in this thread (really!), I'm convinced this package will benefit me and the 2020 vert manual i purchased last fall for a few reasons:

• Most importantly, I want OEM quality (though that seems debatable here for the intake fitment!), especially for the tune. I specifically want something more conservative and extensively tested
• I greatly favor long-term reliability and durability over eeking out every drop of performance as i plan to keep this car for a long time. This is my primary driver when conditions permit.
• As long as this is my primary car, I won't be changing anything else in the engine (and definitely not while covered by the CPO warranty for the next 2 years).
• I think I'll have better luck getting warranty service with a kit that's available from the dealer. And with 3 dealerships within 15 minutes, I'd be surprised if at least 1 didn't honor the CPO warranty with this kit installed (assuming the issue isn't caused by this kit).
• I believe i fully understand the warranty situation for this kit (that it doesn't apply to my car based on age and isn't a substitute for a Ford original or CPO warranty anyway) and am not relying on it
• Honestly i wish this package was just a tune. Seems most people claim the intake and TB likely aren't making much of a difference on an otherwise stock engine. if it were just a procal without the bolt ons i would have purchased it months ago. Warranty service wouldn't even be a concern, then, either- just load the stock tune in the dealership lot lol.
• I've been pretty disappointed in the manual trans and clutch combo, and I'm hoping that killing the rev hang will let it drive/feel closer to how i expect
• The cost difference over cheaper aftermarket tune-only kits isn't a big concern

Anything i misunderstand or doesn't make sense?

Forgot one last point- I've literally never seen a gas station that didn't offer at least 91. It's pretty rare i don't see 93, and every Sunoco I've seen in the region now carries 94. I'm in the I95 corridor, but it's true even into more remote areas on the East Coast where we travel. We haven't owned a vehicle that recommended less than 91 octane in 7 years. I actually wish this tune were 93.

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