Modificstions and tunes

[Cstgrayburn]

Considering some bolt on modifications to my 2019 GT. First i cannot see the benifit of a Roush cold air box unless a tune is done, spending 450. just so i can have a window to see my air filter seems a little excessive. However I do not want to mess with a tune if its going to cause issues with dependability, dash warning lights, error codes etc.
Any modifications to vehicle systems seems to always create unintended issues.
Would like to hear from members who have made this modification before moving ahead.

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[Bob Lob Law]

I've put 19,000 miles on my car since supercharging last September. Obviously got it tuned as well and have had no CEL or anything go wrong that could in any way be tune related or at all really. It's my daily and only vehicle and has been absolutely reliable for the last 61,000 miles. Unless you pick a crappy tuner or something really weird happens I wouldn't hesitate to get a CAI and tune!!

 

[Cstgrayburn]

I've put 19,000 miles on my car since supercharging last September. Obviously got it tuned as well and have had no CEL or anything go wrong that could in any way be tune related or at all really. It's my daily and only vehicle and has been absolutely reliable for the last 61,000 miles. Unless you pick a crappy tuner or something really weird happens I wouldn't hesitate to get a CAI and tune!!

Thanks for the feed back, much appreciated.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

I agree with you that a CAI is not needed. And a tune does not buy you much. Having said that, I installed the Ford Performance kit M-9603-M8B. The reason why is it tends to improve the A10 shifting. Which I can say it does for sure. Did I get a big boost in performance, somewhat. The low end torque is much better. If your car is a stick then save the $1300 because it is way too much money for the small increase in performance. If you have an Auto then you will definitely get a much better driving car.

 

[LCK22GT]

No issues at all here with a CAI which required a tune, going on two years. Granted, the performance gain is modest, but I did notice an increase in mid-range power which improves the driving experience.

 

[Cstgrayburn]

I agree with you that a CAI is not needed. And a tune does not buy you much. Having said that, I installed the Ford Performance kit M-9603-M8B. The reason why is it tends to improve the A10 shifting. Which I can say it does for sure. Did I get a big boost in performance, somewhat. The low end torque is much better. If your car is a stick then save the $1300 because it is way too much money for the small increase in performance. If you have an Auto then you will definitely get a much better driving car.

Mine is an 10 speed auto. Thanks for the valuable info.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

Mine is an 10 speed auto. Thanks for the valuable info.

You're welcome. The kit is easy enough to install. I did it in less than hour. Once the tune is loaded, that A10 will shift as smooth as silk. No more jerky shifts. If you get on it, you will have very firm shifts but that is expected though when you're pushing it. I'm very happy I went with the kit, instead of trying to deal with the stealership, and get them to resolve the crappy shifts the car had.

 

[BullittBoy]

I just finished up with adding a JLT 120mm intake with a Wengerd tune to my 23 Mach 1. Only other mod is a Steeda H pipe. I noticed a very nice improvement in mid-range punch and trans shifting is crisper and much nicer after the final tune revision was flashed. Tunes are only as good as the tuner you choose. Wengerd ended up doing three revisions based on 5 log files I had to provide. You have 2 choices, either take the car to someone and have it dyno tuned or do a mail tune (like I did with Wengerd) and be ready to do some log files. I use a HP Tuners MPVI4 and have HP SW loaded on my laptop. Very happy with the outcome of the Wengerd tune. My MACH 1 would throw the wrench light each time I flashed the new tune he sent me, but that was just a ECU/SW issue from flashing. No codes when I pulled them, just set the Wrench light. I simply cycled the battery power after the flash by taking off the negative terminal for a minute and hook it back up to clear the wrench after I flashed the tune. No issues after that. Wengerd said he has seen that sometimes with S550 where just flashing the ECU will cause it to trip the wrench light, but once I reset it with a power reset, it cleared and no issues after. Never threw any codes or tripped the CEL. After the 3rd tune revision and last WOT log file, Wengerd was happy with the log file/tune results, and I am super happy with the performance of the car now.

On my 20 Bullitt, I had 5 Star do my tune and it was done on their dyno. That car, I kept the stock GT350 intake but did a SW Long tubes with a SW H pipe and kept the stock active exhaust. Car runs great and again, feels strong in the mid range and revs out nice. That car is a manual.

Stock tunes are pretty good and FOrd does a good job, but there is always room for improvement in my experience. Makes the car just run better and in the case of the Mach 1 with the auto/10speed, the shifting is so much crisper and tight. Can't wait to take it to the track.

I am a fan of getting my vehicles tuned. I like to get the most out of them and enjoy the driving experience of a properly set up car. Next, I plan to let Wengerd tune my F150 based on my experience with how he tuned my MACH 1. My F150 has a Whipple on it but I am running a Whipple provided tune and it is conservative and I am sure Wengerd can get that thing running way better, especially the way he tunes the trans.

 

[Arthonon]

I agree with you that a CAI is not needed. And a tune does not buy you much. Having said that, I installed the Ford Performance kit M-9603-M8B. The reason why is it tends to improve the A10 shifting. Which I can say it does for sure. Did I get a big boost in performance, somewhat. The low end torque is much better. If your car is a stick then save the $1300 because it is way too much money for the small increase in performance. If you have an Auto then you will definitely get a much better driving car.

I put that in my '18 with the A10 as well, and just wanted to say that I confirm everything said here.

 

[Craig Brown]

I bought my 2015 4/25 and have put on catted LTH, MBRP race 3" cat back exhaust, a 2018 intake manifold, Mcloed RXT twin disc ceramic clutch with an aluminum flywheel, Mcleod SS hydraulic line, Doormann one piece aluminum drive shaft, UPR catch can, JLT CAI, UPR coolant tank, Reische 170-degree thermostat, Barton industries stage three short throw shifter, Calimer stage 2 MT82 transmission, Auto Mafia Racing tune. This morning I went out to the shop to put in an update tune in, and it came up and said that it could not install the tune due to low battery voltage. I know that I did not put in a new battery when I bought the car a year ago. I went to the ford dealer and bought a new Motor craft battery ($183.88) out the door price. I pulled the old battery and the date on it is 4/18, that is 8 years. Now you know why I buy Motor craft. That is $23.00 a year. and to address your concerns about doing a tune and having issues. If you use a good tune shop you won't have problems. My tune cost $310.00 the SCT4X tune device was another $299.00 I don't have tune issues. I have not had my car on a dyno yet but the HP bolt on numbers would suggest that I am at about 450 - 460 to the rear tires.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Stock tune is pretty good, but you may get gains just from having a good tuner touch it, without mods.

as for the airbox. I would not spend the money on a tune and an airbox if thats all you’re doing. The 18+ intakes perform well, not much room for aftermarket improvement after you ditch that one carbon trap, which is worth like 10hp. If you’re doing headers, E85, or something like cams then go grab an intake and do it at the same time.

 

[Craig Brown]

The 2018 intake will provide up to 25 hp. It was enough of a change that I could feel the improvement and the LTHs and MBRP exhaust all were noticeable changes. Once the tune was installed it was a totally different experience. I have seen dyno runs that compare intakes and the 2018 and the Boss 302 are within 5 hp of each other. Boss being greater gains. You are right about air box changes and tunes not worth the money, no bang for the buck.

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