Whipple Tune vs. Aftermarket Tune

[Socal Stangman]

So I’ve had my Stage 2 Whipple on my 2015 for a couple of months now and I have to say I really love it. It’s everything I was hoping it would be… and more. I’m just really wondering about doing a tune. I have no really experience with this and before I drop 1000.00 of more for a tune I thought I’d get some thoughts on it.

For those that did it, was it really worth it for you? I mean, was it a night and day difference? What did you notice the most? Did you pickup any gas mileage ( this has been my biggest complaint)? I’m really on the fence with this…I’d really like some good insight on this. Thanks

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[robvas]

You can look at the dyno difference...this is a 2015 with the 2.9

don't forget the difference from the trans tune as well as the engine tune

really don't think you'll see a noticeable gas mileage gain, just power and increased driveability

 

[Angrey]

The only reasons to change to a different tune would be if you're unsatisfied with the Whipple cal or you're planning on going to E85 (or some sorta permanent fuel additive for pump gas) and/or you want to go catless.

An aftermarket tune can squeeze out a little more power, but on 93, it's not really worth the risk.

If you're staying on 93 and not ditching your cats, then there's really low value benefit of going aftermarket. Sure they can wring out a little more power and torque but it comes at added risk to the motor.

 

[Socal Stangman]

You can look at the dyno difference...this is a 2015 with the 2.9

don't forget the difference from the trans tune as well as the engine tune

really don't think you'll see a noticeable gas mileage gain, just power and increased driveability

Wow that’s a good bump in power. I’m manual so the trans tune doesn’t really help me. I know this might be tough to answer but people always tell me the “drivability “ is better, what gets better?

 

[Socal Stangman]

The only reasons to change to a different tune would be if you're unsatisfied with the Whipple cal or you're planning on going to E85 (or some sorta permanent fuel additive for pump gas) and/or you want to go catless.

An aftermarket tune can squeeze out a little more power, but on 93, it's not really worth the risk.

If you're staying on 93 and not ditching your cats, then there's really low value benefit of going aftermarket. Sure they can wring out a little more power and torque but it comes at added risk to the motor.

Im not doing either of those things. I mean, I get it, everyone wants more power, but I’m pretty happy in that area. I have more than I need for my needs. It’s a daily street car that I just have fun with.

 

[wingnutt]

Im not doing either of those things. I mean, I get it, everyone wants more power, but I’m pretty happy in that area. I have more than I need for my needs. It’s a daily street car that I just have fun with.

your answer to your quandary lies within your own response young gwasshoppa 🫠

 

[robvas]

Wow that’s a good bump in power. I’m manual so the trans tune doesn’t really help me. I know this might be tough to answer but people always tell me the “drivability “ is better, what gets better?

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/whipple-stock-or-custom-tune.152386/

 

[Socal Stangman]

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/whipple-stock-or-custom-tune.152386/

Thanks for this. I don’t use forums very much and totally forgot to search.

 

[Socal Stangman]

your answer to your quandary lies within your own response young gwasshoppa 🫠

So the only true reason for a new tune would be for fuel?

 

[slime_bullet]

I have a gen5 stage one whipple on my 2015 gt, but with the 6r80. The only real bump in hp you'll get is when they turn COT off, and if you cats it's a no no. I'm catless, and the aftermarket Trans tune I got is simply amazing. I dynoed a tad over 650whp 500tq in a super hot and humid 110 degree day with custom dyno tune. No clue what the whipple tune made

 

[Socal Stangman]

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/whipple-stock-or-custom-tune.152386/

Man this was a great read right here. Tons of good info. Thanks for this.

 

[engineermike]

I too liked my Whipple tune on two different vehicles (2015 F150, 2018 GT). I had two minor complaints so I got HPT just to lower the idle speed and turn on the gear indicator. At that point I started looking "under the hood" so to speak and saw so much wrong I embarked on a science project to fix it all.

For fuel economy, they certainly left a lot on the table. The high idle speed alone hurts it. Whipple raises the part throttle shift points so when you're cruising at low speeds, it might be at 1800 rpm instead of 1200 like stock. This probably hurts the fuel economy the most. They also drop the part throttle timing vs stock and don't typically run optimal cam angles at cruise, all of which hurts economy more. I've spent a lot of time fixing all that and my fuel economy is excellent now. That said, I really doubt "store bought" tune is going to fix all that. In fact, many aftermarket tunes I've seen had worse cam angles than Whipple.

The Whipple tunes drive ok and make decent power, but if you peek behind the curtain you start seeing all sorts of things you might not like. For instance, and I verified this is the case on the Gen2, they zero'd out the timing vs lambda table. So if it goes lean it will not pull timing like stock/roush/ecoboost. They command WOT at 80% pedal travel but power enrichment doesn't come in until 90%, so between 80 and 90% you're at full boost with 1.0 lambda/no enrichment. WOT PE lambda is set to .82 which is a bit lean on pump gas. Timing does not modulate with high vs low boost so 9 vs 14 psi is the same timing, nor does it modulate with cam timing like stock. Timing does not increase when charge temp is low, etc. The list goes on and on.

 

[Angrey]

I think the solution here is to just pay Mike to clean up your whipple cal for you;)

 

[wingnutt]

So the only true reason for a new tune would be for fuel?

well yes…until @engineermike showed up

 

[Socal Stangman]

I too liked my Whipple tune on two different vehicles (2015 F150, 2018 GT). I had two minor complaints so I got HPT just to lower the idle speed and turn on the gear indicator. At that point I started looking "under the hood" so to speak and saw so much wrong I embarked on a science project to fix it all.

For fuel economy, they certainly left a lot on the table. The high idle speed alone hurts it. Whipple raises the part throttle shift points so when you're cruising at low speeds, it might be at 1800 rpm instead of 1200 like stock. This probably hurts the fuel economy the most. They also drop the part throttle timing vs stock and don't typically run optimal cam angles at cruise, all of which hurts economy more. I've spent a lot of time fixing all that and my fuel economy is excellent now. That said, I really doubt "store bought" tune is going to fix all that. In fact, many aftermarket tunes I've seen had worse cam angles than Whipple.

The Whipple tunes drive ok and make decent power, but if you peek behind the curtain you start seeing all sorts of things you might not like. For instance, and I verified this is the case on the Gen2, they zero'd out the timing vs lambda table. So if it goes lean it will not pull timing like stock/roush/ecoboost. They command WOT at 80% pedal travel but power enrichment doesn't come in until 90%, so between 80 and 90% you're at full boost with 1.0 lambda/no enrichment. WOT PE lambda is set to .82 which is a bit lean on pump gas. The list goes on and on.

Wow, this is a lot of info here, very technical. One thing I don’t like that I noticed and questioned right away was the idle. I was told that is just how it is. It used to idle around 620-640, now sometimes it hovers close to 800 and seems erratic. One other issue I’ve noticed is that my vacuum seems to be all over the place. I sent Whipple a video of my gauge and I was told it’s nothing to worry about. I never noticed it doing this before. As far as gas mileage goes, I get it, it’s not a Prius, but I was getting 19-20 before, now I’m at 13-14 and I drive pretty much the same way. I mean sometimes I get on more than others, but for the most part this is my daily and I just drive normally. I did an experiment with a tank of gas. I basically drove like a grandpa (since I am one ) the whole tank, the best I got was 14. This was me totally babying the throttle like there was a cop behind me all the time.

My goal here is to make sure the car is running the best that it can for as long as it can. I think overall Whipple has great customer support, but as far as the tune portion goes, I’m not 100% sure.

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