SCT BDX (40490)

[Jackal]

Hello, picking one of these up for wifey's 2019 PPP1 this evening. I have always run SCT/Superchips and have one on my Superduty, but curious what you all think of them on the 2.3L?

I will run the updater and check for latest tunes before hitting it and she has always run 91 oct. and more recently ethanol-free as well. Hopefully the BDX canned tune addresses the jerky throttle response these seem to have.

I know there seems to be a preference for Cobb and a high emphasis on upgrading the IC, but she's waiting till the factory powertrain warranty is up. (Fingers crossed on rolling back to stock should the need arise.) The car is bone stock except for a K&N drop-in filter. Are there any other minor mods that could be done on the canned tune such as muffler swap or best to wait for a custom or dyno tune? (I know with NA vehicles, post cat exhaust mods don't make all that much of a difference.)

It only has like 30k miles. Should I go ahead and swap spark plugs or address anything else? Seafoam?

Thanks!

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[Coyote Chase]

Your right, most guys seem to run a Cobb tuning device, not really sure why... but that's also what I have. I'm not going to say it's the best, but it's OK.
From what I understand, using it and/or other brands will void your warranty. Don't know about using chips, not sure if a dealership can detect if you had a chip plugged in or not?

 

[Jackal]

Yea not seeing a lot of info on the canned tunes, interesting. Guess I'll go it alone and report back...haha. The gains from the canned BDX seem pretty moderate compared to the gains claimed by 5Star tuning, so as long as I'm not pushing limits w/ the BDX I'm comfy proceeding for now unless 2.3L powertrain issues seem to develop between 30-50k mi. that I am not aware of.

I had Seafoamed via brake booster line at about 15k miles. I'd say it's probably time for another round, but I see conflicting acceptance for that around here since debris could potentially affect the hot side of the turbo.

 

[Sariandan]

There are no canned tunes in the SCT anymore. I forget what model year that started. You will have to go with a custom tune.

 

[Sariandan]

I just checked SCT's site. There ARE preloaded tunes for the 2019 MY. It looks like this started with the 2022 MY.

 

[Jackal]

Yea I figure they are having a more difficult time with the EPA than ever before. :\ ...or maybe its unrelated.

I did see that ebay killed off tuner sales on Nov. 22nd. 2022.

 

[Sariandan]

When I had my 2021 Ranger (so, I should have known this no canned tunes thing didn't start until later ), I started with the 93 Octane canned tune, while waiting on my "custom" tunes. It was a huge improvement over the stock programming. The only difference between that and the "custom" tunes were the adjustments for mods and whatever transmission stuff Livernois does.

I did try a Livernois tune on my Mustang. Not a fan.

 

[Jackal]

Thanks for sharing! I have run both canned and dyno tunes and was least impressed with the dyno tune after an entire day on the rollers, BUT I had mods that made it a requirement.

Running canned on my Superduty, but eying those $150-200 5Star custom "email tunes" since I have a full CAI on it.

 

[Jackal]

Took the latest firmware, then pulled vehicle info and reconnected to laptop to pull the tune(s) down. Only seeing ability to adjust octane and shift/rev limits, as well as tire size and diff. ratio.

Once reconnected to the Stanger again, it applied the firmware and took forever to flash, but got through it. Should have dropped that trickle charger on!

Wifey took it out for a few errands and said it was a little "better" but nothing overwhelming. I then hopped in the car and immediately noticed the the throttle response in neutral. Now instead of lagging then holding RPM and slowly coming back down, it acts a lot more like it has an actual throttle cable vs. by-wire in that it revs and falls quickly.

Left the drive in Normal mode and didn't really feel any more firmness in the shifts. I went to cross the 2-lane and ended up blowing the tires off getting across. Still in Normal mode and think even had traction control on. I then had to turn right at a yield sign, so I was on the throttle, then coasting, then was able to get back on the throttle. Instead of it holding the higher gear and lugging on me, it grabbed a gear or already was in it and took off w/o hesitation.

After hopping on the highway and getting some heat in the motor, I switched to Sport mode and that was pretty awesome. Before, Sport mode was annoying when "not in use". Basically, drive aggressively or switch back to Normal or the car will fatigue you. Not anymore. I made my whole trip and back in Sport mode and Sport steering and it was very nice. I had to cross a 3-lane at one point and it caught me off guard and spun all the way across w/o any effort, I just didn't lift.

I don't drive this car very much, but I noticed these things immediately. After a few WOT runs in the fast lane, the car seems to pull like a MF. Will need some more time and better weather to get a better feel, but I'm sure all those times I would cuss at it for pulling power and fun at the worst possible time are a thing of the past. If not, I'll have to get AdvanceTrac out of my way and give that a go. I don't think I have ever used Sport+ or Track mode, so I should probably check those out as well. ;)

Unfortunately it didn't do anything to kill the fake engine sounds / noise cancellation. I may hit that with ForScan soon since I already have the BT module and have used it on my SuperDuty.

I'm sure SCT is really moderate with their power gains, but combined with the driveability improvements, it really is a nice change. If she ends up deleting the mufflers or maybe switching them out, I'll look into the 5Star tunes.

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