2018 GT A10 Upgrade questions

[Mike9865]

On Tuesday I got a 2018 GT A10! This is my first Mustang, and so far I couldn't be happier!!

I have only tuned German cars in the past, I am extremely comfortable in that arena. When it comes to American V8's, however, I am woefully uninformed. That being said, I have scoured the forums and I am absorbing everything I can, there is a wealth of information here.

So I have two upgrade paths in mind for this vehicle:

• Roush Phase 1 Supercharger + Corsa Xtreme Cat back + Corsa offroad headers (Dealer installed)
• Corsa Xtreme Cat back + Corsa offroad headers + Roush CAI + E85 Tune

My last car was a supercharged M3. I enjoy FI but I am leaning towards NA for the Mustang. My main concern is maintaining the warranty. Path 1 allows for that I am told if I go through a dealer/authorized mechanic.

I am aware that going E85 will void the warranty. I had an Audi before as well though, and we would just flash it to stock before taking it to the dealer for service and they were unaware or unable to identify a tune had been performed.

Is it possible to do the same thing with a Mustang? Or will using a non-approved tune trigger something that will be detectable forever? If so, what is the most reliable way to get an E85 tune that won't blow the motor?

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[growler]

I could put a chevy engine in mine and the guys I deal with would warranty it, a lot of it depends on the dealership and what and how it failed..and the way I understand it,is that the car already has e-85 capabilities stock, all the tuners do is turn it on...the car won't really allow itself to get hurt too badly unless the safety nets, ie knock sensors, maf map, rev limits get messed which I don't think anybody does that I have heard of

 

[Noggles]

I read through the Roush warranty information last year when I was planning to buy a base GT and have the dealer install the Roush kit. Depending on how you read it, even a catback would void that warranty no matter who installs it. But for sure a custom tune would which you would need after adding headers to a F/I car.

Also, skip the Roush intake and just use the stock one. Lots of talk on this forum that until things get crazy power wise the stock one is good enough. Plus from the looks of it, Edelbrock uses it with their blower kits and Paxton does too. Plenty of 600+ whp cars running those setups.

 

[AZ18yote]

First off congrats. Theses are great cars.

2nd, headers and corsa extremes are wake the dead loud. My cold starts did get better on flex fuel / e85 but still crazy. Still looking to tone it down some.

If considering the Roush supercharger I believe I read headers will void the roush warranty, which replaces factory warranty once you super charge it. If wanting headers and fi just look at other options like pro charger or whipple.

I plan on still taking her in for warranty work and just see what claims they deny.

 

[sdiver68]

I come from mostly German cars also.

The Mustang is very tuner friendly. But, the ECU has controls so they know if you've flashed even if you flash back to stock.

 

[Mike9865]

Thank you for all the replies. I believe that answers all of my questions.

I believe I’m going to go the NA E85 route. It’s readily available here in Houston and I prefer the sound of the car with long tube headers. Doesn’t sound like I can do them with the Roush supercharger. And this car is fairly quick as it is. If I get bored in a couple months I can always throw the Whipple on there.

So my next question is, which E85 tune do I go with? I hear a lot about Lund. Are email tunes reliable? Is it better to get a custom tune from a local shop?

I also have a few questions about logistics when switching to E85. Can you have residual 93 in the tank or does it have to be as close to empty as possible?

 

[Noggles]

You can certainly do the Roush blower with longtubes. You just can't keep the warranty if you do that. I would say if the money is available, do a blower kit and catback before anything else. Maybe read through the Edelbrock warranty info because it looks to be an even better setup than Roush does.

 

[AZ18yote]

Thank you for all the replies. I believe that answers all of my questions.

I believe I’m going to go the NA E85 route. It’s readily available here in Houston and I prefer the sound of the car with long tube headers. Doesn’t sound like I can do them with the Roush supercharger. And this car is fairly quick as it is. If I get bored in a couple months I can always throw the Whipple on there.

So my next question is, which E85 tune do I go with? I hear a lot about Lund. Are email tunes reliable? Is it better to get a custom tune from a local shop?

I also have a few questions about logistics when switching to E85. Can you have residual 93 in the tank or does it have to be as close to empty as possible?

Alot of people go the Lund route and are happy. I personally cannot say enough about Shaun @ AED. Whether you go flex fuel or straight e85 his tuning is top notch.

 

[Rick#7]

1 caveat about the long tubes that hasn't been mentioned yet, federal law prohibits removing the factory cats except for replacing defective or damaged ones, and since the OEM cats are under warranty for 100k miles any defective ones are usually replaced by the dealer with oem parts, so don't expect to go to a dealer to get long tubes installed and keep your warranty, most dealership service dept's won't touch anything involving the removal of any part of the emissions system.

You might be able to find an independent shop that will install the headers for you, but the only warranty you'll have is for the specific work they do.

 

[LethalPerformance]

Thank you for all the replies. I believe that answers all of my questions.

I believe I’m going to go the NA E85 route. It’s readily available here in Houston and I prefer the sound of the car with long tube headers. Doesn’t sound like I can do them with the Roush supercharger. And this car is fairly quick as it is. If I get bored in a couple months I can always throw the Whipple on there.

So my next question is, which E85 tune do I go with? I hear a lot about Lund. Are email tunes reliable? Is it better to get a custom tune from a local shop?

I also have a few questions about logistics when switching to E85. Can you have residual 93 in the tank or does it have to be as close to empty as possible?

We've been using Lund Racing on our personal shop cars for almost a decade now with excellent results. You can't go wrong with their tuning. You can go with their flex fuel tune you can have 93 in there and it won't be an issue. You can actually switch between fuel types (pump & e85) with their flex fuel tune and not need to reflash the car. The car will adjust for the fuel type by itself.

With that said you will get better results with separate tunes from any of the calibrators we deal with for pump and E85 then on the flex fuel tune.

We can easily assist you with the purchase of the device and tune. My recommendation would be to purchase the pump gas tune and pay the upgrade fee for E85. Then you'll get both a 93 tune and a separate E85 tune. You'll yield the best results with this setup.

Let us know if you have any other questions and we'll be glad to assist you.

https://www.lethalperformance.com/ford-mustang-v8-gt/2018-2019-ford-mustang-gt-coyote/custom-tunes-2

 

[Bluemustang]

In case no one stated this explicitly, do not put E85 in the car unless you’re tuned for it. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say that but there you go.

The 18s have shown big gains with a tune and E85. You can get a flex fuel tune which allows you to run pump gas or E85, or combination thereof. Or you can get an E85 race tune which will have even more aggressive timing to take full advantage of it. But then as I’m sure you know it’s best to test your ethanol percentage to let your tuner know.

The email tunes seem fairly reliable. I’d go with either Lund, AED or PBD. Those seem to be the big ones with the better tunes out there.

Make sure you purchase a tuning device with total data logging capability and other functions you might need such as crank relearn, KAM reset, etc. I’m not up on the newer tuning devices out there. I’m using an SCT X4. Some tuners only tune for certain devices so make sure you find that out before you get one.

There can be a lot of fun to be had N/A IMO. Personally I would never go FI on my Mustang even if money wasn’t an issue. Mine runs like a beast on E85. I can imagine on an 18 the gains would be larger. I say have some fun N/A for awhile and if and when you feel like it needs it or you need a change, go FI.

 

[Mike9865]

Thanks again for all of the replies! While I have the money available now, I believe I would prefer to start N/A and go from there.

Will be contacting Lethal Performance to get the device and tune ordered. Very excited!!

 

[LethalPerformance]

Thanks again for all of the replies! While I have the money available now, I believe I would prefer to start N/A and go from there.

Will be contacting Lethal Performance to get the device and tune ordered. Very excited!!

Thanks Mike! If you have any other questions in the meantime feel free to give us a shout.

 

[Mike9865]

Just placed my order at Lethal. Now the wait begins....

 

[LethalPerformance]

Just placed my order at Lethal. Now the wait begins....

Thanks for the order Mike! We really appreciate it.

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