Ford Racing ProCal Tune

[Dirty-EB-Chicago]

[MENTION=21048]Dirty-EB-Chicago[/MENTION] you said you hoped at least one person finds something they wanted to hear....well I can tell you that your post is exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear..... Now I'm more tempted than ever to go get this done . Great post and was glad to hear someone else has trouble getting dealerships to take more of their money even if it was at your own difficulty.

Do you have a premium? I have seen very little comments in terms of differences between drive modes on the premium models. I know the difference between modes is supposed to be only in throttle response curve but I'm curious for a comparison between the feel of stock normal to sport to FP tune normal to FP tune sport. I disregarded track mode because I believe it's just somewhere in between the normal/sport extremes.

Unfortunately, I have the base eco, I'm only really upset that I don't have sweet airplane switches lol. Elaborating on the differences in drive modes, I can tell you that sport mode is largely the same, but with drastically cleaner shifts. Its hard to explain. Before the tune it felt like the transmission was trying to implode itself when it shifted at WOT, but now its just as aggressive but with no seemingly jarring bang! my favorite part is the way it carries to redline, it just pulls and pulls with boost instead of wimping out. D mode is completely different in the sense that its not crippled after the tune. I used to strictly drive in S mode, bc racecar. But now I've found myself using D here and there bc the power is there and accessible. If you give it some pedal now she will go instead of debating whether or not it wanted to participate in your antics. So now D mode is usable IMO. Honestly if anyone reading this is on the fence, pull trigger. It's beyond worth it. The stock ECU & stock FMIC is the downfall of this car, and changing it will change your entire outlook of the car. I've had Turbo cars with pro tunes in the past but the amount of potential ford left on the table with this engine is just shocking.

p.s. just to clarify my dealership only charged me for 2 hours even tho i was there figuring out the OBD port issue for nearly an hour while on the phone with FP. They were really cool. They actually wanted to use their lunch break to break in the tune with me but it started pouring 4 minutes before I was all set lol.

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[jbailer]

[MENTION=21048]Dirty-EB-Chicago[/MENTION] you said you hoped at least one person finds something they wanted to hear....well I can tell you that your post is exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear..... Now I'm more tempted than ever to go get this done . Great post and was glad to hear someone else has trouble getting dealerships to take more of their money even if it was at your own difficulty.

Do you have a premium? I have seen very little comments in terms of differences between drive modes on the premium models. I know the difference between modes is supposed to be only in throttle response curve but I'm curious for a comparison between the feel of stock normal to sport to FP tune normal to FP tune sport. I disregarded track mode because I believe it's just somewhere in between the normal/sport extremes.

I have the premium and the modes still work the same. It didn't take long after I got the car to ALWAYS put it in sport mode. After I got the tune, I found normal mode acceptable. After a month or 2 of driving mostly in normal mode, I find myself using sport mode quite a bit now. It's still that much more fun! I don't use track mode either.

 

[jtmat]

Do you have a premium? I have seen very little comments in terms of differences between drive modes on the premium models. I know the difference between modes is supposed to be only in throttle response curve but I'm curious for a comparison between the feel of stock normal to sport to FP tune normal to FP tune sport. I disregarded track mode because I believe it's just somewhere in between the normal/sport extremes.

Driving in normal mode is great.... but now I mostly drive in sport mode or track mode... I'm in sport mode since I get on the hwy when I leave the house 70% of the time so it is a habit. I also like the instant power of sport mode.... normal mode is great, don't get me wrong.

I thought track mode was simply sport mode with some nannies turned off. I drive in it when I accidently hit the button too many times.

Glad when I get in the car and it knows my modes or I can say "sport mode" and it goes there, automatically. Not there yet...

 

[Regs]

Basically what I had to do - shop around until someone actually knew what I was talking about. Hopefully they never move on from the place, because then what?

 

[Rcmchicago]

Yeah , after the tune normal is more fun but sport definitely still has the most excitement

 

[Turbong]

uh oh, I noticed I have software version 1.92, did I get the latest tune file? and why is isn't the latest version of the software available for download?

 

[Turbong]

uh oh, I noticed I have software version 1.92, did I get the latest tune file? and why is isn't the latest version of the software available for download?

Just spoke to FP the said they rolled back to version software 1.92

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

[MENTION=21048]Dirty-EB-Chicago[/MENTION] you said you hoped at least one person finds something they wanted to hear....well I can tell you that your post is exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear..... Now I'm more tempted than ever to go get this done . Great post and was glad to hear someone else has trouble getting dealerships to take more of their money even if it was at your own difficulty.

Do you have a premium? I have seen very little comments in terms of differences between drive modes on the premium models. I know the difference between modes is supposed to be only in throttle response curve but I'm curious for a comparison between the feel of stock normal to sport to FP tune normal to FP tune sport. I disregarded track mode because I believe it's just somewhere in between the normal/sport extremes.

One thing that changed on my car with the tune is the default mode is no longer "Eco" but "Normal". Eco mode sucked, big time. Normal mode is pretty bad too, I don't like having to put my foot through the floor to get the car to move. I generally put the car in Sport as part of my whole startup routine, no exceptions.

 

[jtmat]

Just spoke to FP the said they rolled back to version software 1.92

[MENTION=15700]Turbong[/MENTION] ... wow... thanks for sharing... did they say why, by chance?

Edit: Yup, no longer asked me to update the program. I had yet to update to the latest since I was waiting to purchase one of those battery chargers (that is a battery).

 

[Regs]

Software engineer just justifying his job. Tune is not the same. It's a Windows based program and while Windows continues to be updated and bugs are being discovered, it will continue to update.

 

[jbailer]

I upgraded from 1.92 to 1.99 whatever it was. Then I got a message there was an upgrade again later. When I did the upgrade it downgraded it to 1.92 again. I just ignored it and left it as is.

Don't confuse the Pro Cal software with the tune. The 2 are completely independant. The only way to know if you are on the latest version of the tune is to download the tune file and compare it to what you have. If the file name is new, it's a new tune. FP also doesn't provide any release notes so we'll never know what they did. When I talked to FP, he said tune updates would be rare and might not happen unless there's a problem.

 

[Regs]

Meant to say not the same.

 

[TheLion]

You are absolutely right, now I can relate why you were asking if the tune was really installed or not, I mean the throttle response is different a little more sensitive but trying to gun just feels like its bottle necked power with a lot more intake noise.

That's because the PCM is running the Octane Learn function. Timing and boost are capped and slowly will increase over the course of the tank of fuel as the PCM advances timing and looks for knock. I noticed on mine it would seem to actually pulse timing advance (such as a quick surge) then drop back down during that time.

According for FP there isn't a set mileage per say, but generally takes about that time. To speed up the process, do a 3-5 4th gear pulls from 50 to 75 at 50% throttle. That will generate maximum probability for knock, so when no knock is detected it will start to utilize more aggressive timing.

Avoid switching octane levels as well, if you run 93, stick with 93. If you run 91, stick with 91 even if 93 is available or you'll have inconsistent performance.

Also you CAN run 87 in an emergency if there's no other choice, but you cannot go WOT or lug the engine, but I wouldn't recommend running anything below 91 unless there's absolutely no other choice because you can force the engine into unsafe conditions with the FP tune when running octane below 91.

That's the primary reason the stock tune is so anemic, because of the requirement to run on 87. You can only provide so much timing advance and boost when your required to suddenly switch from 93 back down to 87 without throwing a rod.

NA engines see much less gain from high octane than FI engines as power density is much lower (hence also heat). The 87 requirement is primarily what killed the stock power band, but I think the stock power is still impressive for a TDI engine running on 87 even if your getting 30hp less...think about it, most 2.3L NA engines get maybe 185HP on 87...and just about any aftermarket FI kits would require 91+.

But yes, the stock tune on the 2.3L is ill suited to a mustang. While it's far from a pig, it's not a featherweight weight either, so you still need a reasonable power-band to get it moving good.

FMIC is am must (from a performance perspective) with this tune unless you live in a climate which is colder more of the year than hotter (thinking upper border states). Heat soak really is a big issue and it's very well documented, no it's not an EB only phenomenon. The WRX's (non STI's) have the same issue, but not quite as bad.

Regarding octane though, you typically gain higher efficiency with higher octane when combined with DI (FI and NA alike, but more pronounced in FI), so the reality it's it largely offsets the slight added cost, which is what maybe $20~$30 cents a gallon difference?

15,000 miles * ($2.50 Gal / 25mpg) = $1,500 year in fuel
15,000 miles * ($2.80 Gal / 25mpg) = $1,680 year in fuel

Net difference (assuming no efficiency increase) = $180 / year

15,000 miles * ($2.80 Gal / 26mpg) = $1,615 year in fuel

Net difference (assuming 1mph efficiency gain) = $115 / year

The numbers are pretty interesting once you really look at the actual costs. It doesn't seem to really justify economy car power levels until you get to a 5~10mpg difference in fuel mileage of one engine over another.

 

[Spykexx]

I wish 93 was only 30 cents more here :( Our only 93 is Shell and it's always AT MINIMUM a dollar over their 87.

 

[jtmat]

I wish 93 was only 30 cents more here :( Our only 93 is Shell and it's always AT MINIMUM a dollar over their 87.

I just checked my app, it seems to be .60 to .90 on this side of MD, depending on station.

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