Porsche_Manny
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2021
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- 37
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- Location
- South Florida
- First Name
- Manuel
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 S550 GT Performance Pack
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- #1
After learning that our fuel-systems are fairly E85-supportive β I started toying with the idea of trying a FlexFuel setup on my 2017 Performance Pack GT.
Watched the Alejandro Flores videos, read up on which Coyote platform needed what components to do X, Y, or Z when considering Ethanol-use β and looked into options from VMP, Lund, BAMA, or Palm Beach Dyno.
During that studying, I ran across Advanced Fuel Dynamic's "ProFlex Commander" kit. A "tuneless" (or working with your existing pump-gas tune) E85-flex fuel solution.
https://www.advancedfueldynamics.com/
Never heard of them before, but I never heard of any of those other guys listed above before owning a Mustang. I disregarded it because it didn't seem to have a good following on here (I think I saw one other thread in the 5.0-section about someone asking, and it was readily dismissed.
It wasn't until I found -this- thread in the GT350-section https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/official-afd-e85-proflex-commander-with-new-harness.126313/ that I delved more deeply into A.F.D. and their ProFlex kits.
With more than just a couple of success stories from that GT350-thread (albeit after resolving a growing-pain issue in the form of a mid-production injector harness change for newer Shelbys β which A.F.D. fixed and delivered new harness to GT350 owners) and features from one or two sources I trust or at least recognize β
https://www.motortrend.com/features/afd-cracked-code-extracting-30-hp-e85/
I felt tempted to try this instead of getting a full FlexFuel Tune. Why? β because I like the tune I have now.
Currently running Ford Performance's Power-Pack 1 Tune β which some regard as a "waste", but I was happy with its simplicity and that it's not a bad performer to say the least (if you believe LMR and MotoIQ's dyno tests of Power Pack-1 β I think MotoIQ did their test at Palm Beach Dyno too). It also has never once given me issue β idles factory-smooth, and the throttle control is linear, without hiccup or concern. Factory-quality β just "more".
https://motoiq.com/tested-ford-mustang-gt-power-packs-1-3/3/
https://www.mustang6g.com/2015-17-mustang-gt-power-pack-1-install-and-review/
But this is about AFD and the ProFlex Commander β and trying it out as a Flex Fuel addition to the tune on my car instead of a new tune.
Honestly, I was looking for the simplest, quickest way to run E85 (a blend, straight, or switch to 93 without much issue). Obviously, there's scores of people here running dedicated E85 and FlexTunes from established tuners β but that required (for me) purchasing a new tuning device (like a RevX or other SCT/HP Tuners device), and then sending information and logs back and forth to dial in the new tune.
Again, this is how it's been done successfully for many people β but with a 62-mile commute (one-way) to work, and working on other people's cars all day β I was looking for the least-circuitous option.
Advanced Fuel Dyanamics works on-top of your existing factory tune, or 91-to-93 tune β utilizing an in-line OEM-ethanol sensor (from GM , but it's a factory part), sandwiched between two good-quality Fuel jumper-lines that supply the short metal fuel-line from the firewall to the fuel-rail.
-That- communicates with the ProFlex Commander module, a solid-state control unit that receives the Ethanol reading from the in-line sensor β and then communicates a lengthened injector-pulse, augmenting the fuel-injector signal already sent by the ECM.
It does this through a pretty-factory-quality wiring harness that plugs in directly between your existing injector harness and the injectors themselves.
Power is supplied, I presume, from the injector voltage supply, since there's only the injector connectors themselves (16 connectors for an S550 kit, 8 plug into the injector harness, the other 8 into the injectors) and a single ground, which can be bolted onto an existing ground by the strut towers.
Here's how it looks on -my- car.
AFD's instructions include directions for laying their wiring harness along the engine so that the control module-connector ends up behind the passenger headlamp, where it can be mounted there.
I chose to route it along the firewall to the battery box, for a practically hidden, stock-look when all reassembled.
Once hooked up, AFD says you can go straight to the E85 pump and fill a blend or as close to straight E85 as you want.
First attempt took me to 40% and felt alright, so I added more and got to 60% β and I began feeling the car run poorly and it threw lean codes for both bank-1 and bank-2.
I posted on the GT350 thread for help and advice, but eventually contacted Gray Fredrick at AFD for assistance.
Gray and the guys on the GT350 thread were very helpful and my first big discovery with this kit is β check and make sure you have no vaccuum leaks.
That small inconvenience actually taught me even more about how these cars behave. I hadn't initially suspected a vaccuum leak because the factory vaccuum gauge measured over 20inHG.
What I thought was healthy, but it's a digital gauge (which I now suspect isn't actually measuring vaccuum, but an inferred vacuum from multiple data?)
Until I had found and repaired the vaccuum leak I had, I watered down my gas down to E40 and drove judiciously until fixed.
After repairing said vacuum leak, I tried the car on E40 (40% Ethanol, %60 93-Oct) β -with- Ford Performance's Power Pack-1 β and -I- would certainly say I felt the difference.
Part throttle and midrange are definitely stronger β the car starts chasing the 3-digit section of the speedometer with noticeably more earnest, and the car is significantly more enthusiastic to prods from your right-foot.
BTW β note that your in-cluster AFR-gauge is calibrated to E10. Without a true-in PCM-E85/FlexFuel Tune (that adjusts that reading's calibration), you won't see AFRs typical of Ethanol-use. Trust me, it concerned me to, but I verified from AFD (and via PIDs from a scantool) that it's an inferred AFR reading based off of Lambda for E10. Lambda E10 = 13.8-14.2 AFR β and 11-12 at WOT for 0.80-0.85 or so.
On E40 alone, the sound (coupled with my Magnaflow TruX resonated X Pipe and Roush Axle Backs) is clean and refined, nice grumble on engine-braking and (in my opinion) a nice pop or two on upshifts at WOT (again, I'm not straight-piped β so these noises sound nice to me, not obnoxious).
The car has definitely woken up more with the addition of than on just the Power Pack-1 Tune β and -I- found this a much quicker way to begin putting E85 into my Fuel tank than a true reprogramming of my ECM.
As I add high blend of Ethanol, I'll update this thread β but E40-E50 surprised the hell out of me.
Are the dedicated E85 or FlexFuel tunes from the notable tuning firms worse or better? β that's not what I wanted to do discuss in this thread.
Their timing is likely (at -least-) a bit more aggressive, and you can extract that much more. But the Copperhead ECM -does- add timing, even in stock form, if it continues to not see knock β until it does or it hits the factory timing-table ceiling.
The use of the ProFlex with a 91-to-93-Oct tune will see timing added with E85's higher octane until you hit -that- tune's timing advance-limit.
But if you favor "just give it to me now" plug-and-play simplicity to e-mail revisions and data logging (that I will not refute gets you tailored, optimal performance) β I found this to work satisfyingly well. (just make sure you don't have any small fuel-trim affecting problems before β or it will let you know. )
Watched the Alejandro Flores videos, read up on which Coyote platform needed what components to do X, Y, or Z when considering Ethanol-use β and looked into options from VMP, Lund, BAMA, or Palm Beach Dyno.
During that studying, I ran across Advanced Fuel Dynamic's "ProFlex Commander" kit. A "tuneless" (or working with your existing pump-gas tune) E85-flex fuel solution.
https://www.advancedfueldynamics.com/
Never heard of them before, but I never heard of any of those other guys listed above before owning a Mustang. I disregarded it because it didn't seem to have a good following on here (I think I saw one other thread in the 5.0-section about someone asking, and it was readily dismissed.
It wasn't until I found -this- thread in the GT350-section https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/official-afd-e85-proflex-commander-with-new-harness.126313/ that I delved more deeply into A.F.D. and their ProFlex kits.
With more than just a couple of success stories from that GT350-thread (albeit after resolving a growing-pain issue in the form of a mid-production injector harness change for newer Shelbys β which A.F.D. fixed and delivered new harness to GT350 owners) and features from one or two sources I trust or at least recognize β
https://www.motortrend.com/features/afd-cracked-code-extracting-30-hp-e85/
I felt tempted to try this instead of getting a full FlexFuel Tune. Why? β because I like the tune I have now.
Currently running Ford Performance's Power-Pack 1 Tune β which some regard as a "waste", but I was happy with its simplicity and that it's not a bad performer to say the least (if you believe LMR and MotoIQ's dyno tests of Power Pack-1 β I think MotoIQ did their test at Palm Beach Dyno too). It also has never once given me issue β idles factory-smooth, and the throttle control is linear, without hiccup or concern. Factory-quality β just "more".
https://motoiq.com/tested-ford-mustang-gt-power-packs-1-3/3/
https://www.mustang6g.com/2015-17-mustang-gt-power-pack-1-install-and-review/
But this is about AFD and the ProFlex Commander β and trying it out as a Flex Fuel addition to the tune on my car instead of a new tune.
Honestly, I was looking for the simplest, quickest way to run E85 (a blend, straight, or switch to 93 without much issue). Obviously, there's scores of people here running dedicated E85 and FlexTunes from established tuners β but that required (for me) purchasing a new tuning device (like a RevX or other SCT/HP Tuners device), and then sending information and logs back and forth to dial in the new tune.
Again, this is how it's been done successfully for many people β but with a 62-mile commute (one-way) to work, and working on other people's cars all day β I was looking for the least-circuitous option.
Advanced Fuel Dyanamics works on-top of your existing factory tune, or 91-to-93 tune β utilizing an in-line OEM-ethanol sensor (from GM , but it's a factory part), sandwiched between two good-quality Fuel jumper-lines that supply the short metal fuel-line from the firewall to the fuel-rail.
-That- communicates with the ProFlex Commander module, a solid-state control unit that receives the Ethanol reading from the in-line sensor β and then communicates a lengthened injector-pulse, augmenting the fuel-injector signal already sent by the ECM.
It does this through a pretty-factory-quality wiring harness that plugs in directly between your existing injector harness and the injectors themselves.
Power is supplied, I presume, from the injector voltage supply, since there's only the injector connectors themselves (16 connectors for an S550 kit, 8 plug into the injector harness, the other 8 into the injectors) and a single ground, which can be bolted onto an existing ground by the strut towers.
Here's how it looks on -my- car.
AFD's instructions include directions for laying their wiring harness along the engine so that the control module-connector ends up behind the passenger headlamp, where it can be mounted there.
I chose to route it along the firewall to the battery box, for a practically hidden, stock-look when all reassembled.
Once hooked up, AFD says you can go straight to the E85 pump and fill a blend or as close to straight E85 as you want.
First attempt took me to 40% and felt alright, so I added more and got to 60% β and I began feeling the car run poorly and it threw lean codes for both bank-1 and bank-2.
I posted on the GT350 thread for help and advice, but eventually contacted Gray Fredrick at AFD for assistance.
Gray and the guys on the GT350 thread were very helpful and my first big discovery with this kit is β check and make sure you have no vaccuum leaks.
That small inconvenience actually taught me even more about how these cars behave. I hadn't initially suspected a vaccuum leak because the factory vaccuum gauge measured over 20inHG.
What I thought was healthy, but it's a digital gauge (which I now suspect isn't actually measuring vaccuum, but an inferred vacuum from multiple data?)
Until I had found and repaired the vaccuum leak I had, I watered down my gas down to E40 and drove judiciously until fixed.
After repairing said vacuum leak, I tried the car on E40 (40% Ethanol, %60 93-Oct) β -with- Ford Performance's Power Pack-1 β and -I- would certainly say I felt the difference.
Part throttle and midrange are definitely stronger β the car starts chasing the 3-digit section of the speedometer with noticeably more earnest, and the car is significantly more enthusiastic to prods from your right-foot.
BTW β note that your in-cluster AFR-gauge is calibrated to E10. Without a true-in PCM-E85/FlexFuel Tune (that adjusts that reading's calibration), you won't see AFRs typical of Ethanol-use. Trust me, it concerned me to, but I verified from AFD (and via PIDs from a scantool) that it's an inferred AFR reading based off of Lambda for E10. Lambda E10 = 13.8-14.2 AFR β and 11-12 at WOT for 0.80-0.85 or so.
On E40 alone, the sound (coupled with my Magnaflow TruX resonated X Pipe and Roush Axle Backs) is clean and refined, nice grumble on engine-braking and (in my opinion) a nice pop or two on upshifts at WOT (again, I'm not straight-piped β so these noises sound nice to me, not obnoxious).
The car has definitely woken up more with the addition of than on just the Power Pack-1 Tune β and -I- found this a much quicker way to begin putting E85 into my Fuel tank than a true reprogramming of my ECM.
As I add high blend of Ethanol, I'll update this thread β but E40-E50 surprised the hell out of me.
Are the dedicated E85 or FlexFuel tunes from the notable tuning firms worse or better? β that's not what I wanted to do discuss in this thread.
Their timing is likely (at -least-) a bit more aggressive, and you can extract that much more. But the Copperhead ECM -does- add timing, even in stock form, if it continues to not see knock β until it does or it hits the factory timing-table ceiling.
The use of the ProFlex with a 91-to-93-Oct tune will see timing added with E85's higher octane until you hit -that- tune's timing advance-limit.
But if you favor "just give it to me now" plug-and-play simplicity to e-mail revisions and data logging (that I will not refute gets you tailored, optimal performance) β I found this to work satisfyingly well. (just make sure you don't have any small fuel-trim affecting problems before β or it will let you know. )
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