Ford Performance Tune for 2018+ GT

[Dans18GT]

Yeah but highest octane in my area is 91 not 93

More of a reason to add some E.
I did it for quite a while before finding someone to ship an SCT X4 to California so I could get an E85 tune.
Adding 3 or 4 gallons of E85 on the FRPP tune makes a bit of a difference, especially when it's hot out.

Sponsored

 

[robvas]

Yeah but highest octane in my area is 91 not 93

Going to have to fill the rest with 91 then. It's still e30

 

[Dave2013M3]

Yeah but highest octane in my area is 91 not 93

Then put 91 in it, there will still be a nice boost in octane. There is websites that had blending tools.

 

[engineermike]

There’s a funny thing about ethanol and its effects on knock. Ethanol by itself doesn’t have a huge improvement in octane, at least how we measure it. The issue is that at least one, maybe both RON and MON, atomize the fuel and then reheat the mixture to a standard, controlled temperature before it enters the knock test engine. This made a lot of sense back when the mixing happened in the carburetor and it heated in the manifold before reaching the cylinder. Well, this offsets the vast majority of the ethanol magic, which is knock resistance due to temperature drop. So, most of what you see regarding ethanol and octane number understates the benefit. The attached graph shows the real use case effects, which are drastic. It also shows that ethanol and gdi work particularly well together since more of the evaporative cooling can work directly on the air rather than spraying on metal surfaces and cooling them instead.

 

[Mustangpursuit]

How does 93 perform on the tune vs the 91 minimum. is the performance and any behavior noticeable?

 

[Dave2013M3]

There’s a funny thing about ethanol and its effects on knock. Ethanol by itself doesn’t have a huge improvement in octane, at least how we measure it. The issue is that at least one, maybe both RON and MON, atomize the fuel and then reheat the mixture to a standard, controlled temperature before it enters the knock test engine. This made a lot of sense back when the mixing happened in the carburetor and it heated in the manifold before reaching the cylinder. Well, this offsets the vast majority of the ethanol magic, which is knock resistance due to temperature drop. So, most of what you see regarding ethanol and octane number understates the benefit. The attached graph shows the real use case effects, which are drastic. It also shows that ethanol and gdi work particularly well together since more of the evaporative cooling can work directly on the air rather than spraying on metal surfaces and cooling them instead.

I heard this before as well, I don't know why I didn't mention it. Its the AKI that is really affected by the ethanol.

 

[Dave2013M3]

How does 93 perform on the tune vs the 91 minimum. is the performance and any behavior noticeable?

On my S550 with this kit and 93 octane over 91 my car made 6rwhp more. I believe I made 437rwhp with 91 and 443, it was in that range. There was a guy on this site who made 1 more rwhp than me with similar results. What I didn't like about this kit with plain 91 on a hot day there would be a very slight pre detination going up hill in high heat. When I ran my ethanol blend it was much better. I was only running an E20 at that time...

 

[Mustangpursuit]

My coworker who had an stock (no mods) 2020 S550 GT before and now has a 2025 S650 GT and was complaining about the quirky shifting behavior he experienced on his stock A10 S550 then he said the S650 GT was so much better in transmission tuning, however he was shocked when trying my S550 A10 recently and said I had literally fixed the S550 A10 and it drove smoother like his S650.

 

[ihc95]

I haven't visited this thread in several years because I decided I wasn't in favor of the hot-air intake and the pre-detonation many have reported. Not to mention the fitment issues of the kit if that's still a thing.

But one thing that I'd still be interested in is the updated transmission tuning. Is there anyway to get this trans tuning without all the hardware? I don't even care about the power increase, but having better trans calibration would be a game changer IMO.

 

[engineermike]

But one thing that I'd still be interested in is the updated transmission tuning. Is there anyway to get this trans tuning without all the hardware? I don't even care about the power increase, but having better trans calibration would be a game changer IMO.

Yes, for sure. You can buy tuning software like hptuners and read your tune from your car. Then find a copy of the FP tune online, like in the hptuners forum, compare the files, and copy over transmission changes. The problem is that you won't find any. The FP tune didn't make any changes to the transmission. IIRC, they changed the TB model to match the TB, MAF model to match the MAF, increased borderline timing to match the recommended octane, and added a smidge of part throttle pedal response, akin to sport-style response in base mode. That's about it.

I know lots of folks report transmission improvements. It is possible that the pedal response changes the way the transmission responds or feels, or perhaps their cars were updated to the latest OEM OS or calibration updates along with the FP tune, or maybe even the KAM-clear made it feel a little different. Or maybe it was placebo. Who knows.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

I haven't visited this thread in several years because I decided I wasn't in favor of the hot-air intake and the pre-detonation many have reported. Not to mention the fitment issues of the kit if that's still a thing.

But one thing that I'd still be interested in is the updated transmission tuning. Is there anyway to get this trans tuning without all the hardware? I don't even care about the power increase, but having better trans calibration would be a game changer IMO.

Like you I thought that there was an trans tune in the M-9603-M8B performance kit. But conversations with member engineermike, assured me that there is no trans tune in the kit. What magic is there then? Well as engineermike pointed out the increase in low end torque bumps you into another column in the shift table. This new column is quite favorable to the A10. The additional torque down low is what the trans needs.
As far as the kit goes, I have not seen any IAT to worry about. The air box seals up petty well against the hood as long a the insulation blanket is still there. I have not seen any pre-detonation. You do have to run 91 octane at every fill up. And I made sure to run a few tanks before I installed the kit. The only small issue I had was the fitment of the foam block off panel to the fender. And I improved it with additional foam.
Car runs way better after this kit was installed. And you'll find way more positive reviews than negative on it. There's a reason Ford warranties the kit. I don't think they would put out a kit that made things worse. You don't get a warranty with any aftermarket CAI and tune. Yes the kit is pricey, but I feel as though it's worth it.

 

[Arthonon]

Interesting information about the transmission tune. I have a long, open onramp on my way to work that I can often accelerate hard as I'm heading up to the highway, and prior to the FP package being installed, the 4-5 shift would be so hard most of the time that I would be afraid that something was going to break. After the tune, it's still a harder shift than under less acceleration, but never as hard as it was before.

I looked up some info and found the list below of what that package provides, and it specifically says "Improved automatic shift schedule," whatever that means.

Product Benefits:

• 19 hp gain at 6500 rpm
• +42 lb/ft of torque at 2000 rpm
• Calibrations for manual or automatic transmissions
• Improved automatic shift schedule
• 50-state emissions legal
• Improved throttle response

 

[ihc95]

Yes, for sure. You can buy tuning software like hptuners and read your tune from your car. Then find a copy of the FP tune online, like in the hptuners forum, compare the files, and copy over transmission changes. The problem is that you won't find any. The FP tune didn't make any changes to the transmission. IIRC, they changed the TB model to match the TB, MAF model to match the MAF, increased borderline timing to match the recommended octane, and added a smidge of part throttle pedal response, akin to sport-style response in base mode. That's about it.

I know lots of folks report transmission improvements. It is possible that the pedal response changes the way the transmission responds or feels, or perhaps their cars were updated to the latest OEM OS or calibration updates along with the FP tune, or maybe even the KAM-clear made it feel a little different. Or maybe it was placebo. Who knows.

Like you I thought that there was an trans tune in the M-9603-M8B performance kit. But conversations with member engineermike, assured me that there is no trans tune in the kit. What magic is there then? Well as engineermike pointed out the increase in low end torque bumps you into another column in the shift table. This new column is quite favorable to the A10. The additional torque down low is what the trans needs.
As far as the kit goes, I have not seen any IAT to worry about. The air box seals up petty well against the hood as long a the insulation blanket is still there. I have not seen any pre-detonation. You do have to run 91 octane at every fill up. And I made sure to run a few tanks before I installed the kit. The only small issue I had was the fitment of the foam block off panel to the fender. And I improved it with additional foam.
Car runs way better after this kit was installed. And you'll find way more positive reviews than negative on it. There's a reason Ford warranties the kit. I don't think they would put out a kit that made things worse. You don't get a warranty with any aftermarket CAI and tune. Yes the kit is pricey, but I feel as though it's worth it.

Very interesting. Thanks for the insight. Back in 2019 or 2020, I did get a new Ford calibration for the transmission to address the harsh downshifting and lunge when going into Drive. That update improved pretty much everything, but the overall calibration is still nowhere near as good as the ZF 8speed on my BMW.

IDK. I may just leave it as is. I do notice the A10 shifts much better once its fully warm and you give it more throttle, so that would support the theory of "putting it in another column in the shift table." But I also remember someone here saying the FP tune fixed the short shifting issue in 6th gear, so who knows.

 

[Mustangpursuit]

I was looking at possible getting a new hood insulator due to the kit top valve of the kit wearing out that area of the liner and lots of water corrosion around the hood vent sections (hood is fine and rust free) but the insulation is splintering/cracking and shedding (8 years old).

I noticed that the Bullitt/Mach 1 has its own liner to accommodate the CAI.

Would there be any benefit to use that one instead with the FP kit? I wondered where the driver side hood vent rain tray drains to which seems odd since there is no drain exit cut out? (little square opening ahead of the heat exit cut out that is also missing, which is only present on the passenger side of the Mach 1 liner)

The FP CAI does press against the stock liner and help create a seal short of the rain tray heat extraction openings.

Sponsored