F150 ecoboost towing tuner

[phf]

I have been reading many threads on electronic tuners. I am most interested in the "towing tunes". That is more power from 1500 rpm to say 3000 rpm. Although horsepower and torque do go up, the curves that manufacturers have published don't show increased torque at low rpms. Hence, I cant see how they help with towing. I am not interested in drag strip performance from 3000 rpm on up. What am i missing here?

[pappcam]

My opinion on tuners in new gas engines is that the very marginal gain you'll get isn't worth the time, money, or effort.

Diesel engines are ripe for tuning but new gas engines, not so much.

All IMO of course.

[stealthWA2313]

You may try posting this question at this forum also, F150 Ecoboost Forum
there are a lot of knowledgeable owners there. Many of them use tuners on these engines with pretty impressive numbers.

[Oaklevel]

Just be careful tuners can and probably will void the trucks new or extended warranties. Seen it happen.

[mattb]

For my 6.0 a $300 Diablo tuner was very effective, inexpensive and simple. Cant get much easier than plug in and push some buttons. Plus, you get to read & clear OBD codes, improve tranny action and many more options depending on model. 2011-2014 Ford F-150 Ecoboost

[Backcountry]

These guys apparently do some great work if you're looking for a tune on the Ecoboost. It is a very tunable motor that can get some real gains, just Google Livernois F150 Ecoboost tune and read some of the feedback from other forums on it.

LME-AIW F150 Ecoboost tuner - Livernois Motorsports

I don't think there's any guarantee that you won't void your warranty, but their module can reset the tune program to factory and can easily be removed if you're concerned about taking it to a dealership for service.

[SeaHarley]

WOW, just read about this. Pretty Neat!

[phf]

Tx for the replies. I have been on the f150 forums and the manufacturer's web pages. I like what I read about several models and almost bought one until i looked for proof of performance at lower rpms for the ecoboost. The graphs i saw showed hp and torque tracking close to the OEM curves until quite high in rpms. Yes there were great gains as rpms get quite high. I am thinking that i would be disappointed to buy one only to find that there was little improvement in towing with the Ecoboost. I am going o search the net again to see if i can find more performance curves.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Just be careful tuners can and probably will void the trucks new or extended warranties. Seen it happen.

Don't skip past this caution!
My 2007 GMC Sierra was tuned - alterations to both engine control software and transmission control software. The biggest improvement was the removal of abuse management and torque management in the transmission especially. When I bought my 2014 Sierra, my son (who is certified as a GM World Class Master Technician) told me "Don't do anything to this truck tuning-wise. The company is more apt to void your warranty now than in the past."

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by pappcam

My opinion on tuners in new gas engines is that the very marginal gain you'll get isn't worth the time, money, or effort.

Diesel engines are ripe for tuning but new gas engines, not so much.

All IMO of course.

This would be true for normally aspirated engines but the Ecoboost is twin turbo so huge gains can be made.

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by phf

Tx for the replies. I have been on the f150 forums and the manufacturer's web pages. I like what I read about several models and almost bought one until i looked for proof of performance at lower rpms for the ecoboost. The graphs i saw showed hp and torque tracking close to the OEM curves until quite high in rpms. Yes there were great gains as rpms get quite high. I am thinking that i would be disappointed to buy one only to find that there was little improvement in towing with the Ecoboost. I am going o search the net again to see if i can find more performance curves.

The Ecoboost has lots of torque in stock form. I agree with your view that lower RPM operation may not see much gain. Do you really need to modify the engine? Are you short of power?

[stealthWA2313]

I personally don't use these products, I am content with the stock performance, but I think Stage 3 offers powertrain warranties with their performance parts. I have also read that one of the best modifications you can make to these trucks is swapping out the downpipe.

2011-2014 F150 Ecoboost Tuners & Programmers

[bluewoo]

Look at this post about reflashing the cpu.
SCT tuner and dealer warranty

You can set it back to stock, but if you really had an issue (Rod through the block) you will not be able to complete a drive cycle. When you tow the truck to the dealer ship with no recent drive cycle you have no warranty. I did this twice with a 6.0L diesel and got lucky to have a friend in the business.

[ddbck]

SCT X3 with custom tunes from Mike @5Star Tuning are well worth the $$$, it also re-tunes the tranny. You will have a whole new " Badass towing machine. Anyone who says custom tunes aren't worth it probably have never had them. You will never go back to stock again.

[Stovebolt]

Originally Posted by phf

I have been reading many threads on electronic tuners. I am most interested in the "towing tunes". That is more power from 1500 rpm to say 3000 rpm. Although horsepower and torque do go up, the curves that manufacturers have published don't show increased torque at low rpms. Hence, I cant see how they help with towing. I am not interested in drag strip performance from 3000 rpm on up. What am i missing here?

The ecoboost has a flat torque curve which is really good for towing and acceleration. It has 410lbs ft of torque from 1500 rpms to about 5000 rpms. max torque is 420. Mine tows 8,000 lbs like no tomorrow and it's stock.

[Backcountry]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Don't skip past this caution!
My 2007 GMC Sierra was tuned - alterations to both engine control software and transmission control software. The biggest improvement was the removal of abuse management and torque management in the transmission especially. When I bought my 2014 Sierra, my son (who is certified as a GM World Class Master Technician) told me "Don't do anything to this truck tuning-wise. The company is more apt to void your warranty now than in the past."

Not sure how a dealer could ever know or prove to GM that you were using a tuning module if you simply reflashed the ECU to stock and removed it from the vehicle before taking it in. I agree with you that if you have an issue with the motor and you bring it in with a reprogrammed ECU then they won't honor a warranty claim, but you'd have to be thick to do that.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Backcountry

Not sure how a dealer could ever know or prove to GM that you were using a tuning module if you simply reflashed the ECU to stock and removed it from the vehicle before taking it in. I agree with you that if you have an issue with the motor and you bring it in with a reprogrammed ECU then they won't honor a warranty claim, but you'd have to be thick to do that.

The vehicle computers store info just like a normal computer. Forensic experts or computer geeks can find out just about anything you've ever searched on a computer, same on a vehicle. I've had a manuf. hired, expert.... supposedly 1 of about 6 nation wide (or world wide, cant remember) come to the dealer i worked at and take a car i was working on to "read" it. It was a toyota that had a supposed gas petal malfunction like the one they had the recalls on.

But last i heard you could reflash 12 times to clear a tune. But if you go to a dealer that would cost a minumum of 1hr per flash, for what ever they charge per hr.
As tech that has seen what goes wrong from tunes, I'd also advise against them. Seen trucks that needed $2-3k worth of computers and related labor just from tune screw ups.

[Backcountry]

Sure... but it's going to cost the automaker and/or dealership possibly well beyond what they might incur just doing the repair to hire a data forensic expert to parse over your ECU. I get that Toyota had to have those kind of people on hand due to the necessity of a life threatening problem with their vehicles but I don't think you're average Ford dealership is going to have those sort of people on hand or be willing to shell out consultant fees for a forensic analyst.

The Livernois tune at least you can flash it to stock yourself, you don't need to bring it back to the shop. I've never heard the rule of flashing it 12 times to clear a tune. It does take about an hour but once you get it going you can step away.

Agree 100% this is an at your own risk. If you aren't working with a good shop, or even if you are and there's something else wrong with your vehicle that could be complicated by a tune, you could be in the poor house quickly.

[tragusa3]

If the power band of the stock EB is not cutting the mustard, then I think you would have to be well over other important ratings.

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Backcountry

Sure... but it's going to cost the automaker and/or dealership possibly well beyond what they might incur just doing the repair to hire a data forensic expert to parse over your ECU. I get that Toyota had to have those kind of people on hand due to the necessity of a life threatening problem with their vehicles but I don't think you're average Ford dealership is going to have those sort of people on hand or be willing to shell out consultant fees for a forensic analyst.

The Livernois tune at least you can flash it to stock yourself, you don't need to bring it back to the shop. I've never heard the rule of flashing it 12 times to clear a tune. It does take about an hour but once you get it going you can step away.

Agree 100% this is an at your own risk. If you aren't working with a good shop, or even if you are and there's something else wrong with your vehicle that could be complicated by a tune, you could be in the poor house quickly.

I meant at the dealer level you CAN see the last 12 flashes or updates. The forensic guys can see everything. And anymore the flashes are an upload over the internet thru a laptop from the manufacturers site. You better have a buddy at a dealer or one that has the J2534 passthru and an Oem subscription to get it reflashed till it won't show up on the screen anymore. Now that was on Gm, fords can be a little trickier since their computer memory and history data can be a pain to navigate thru sometimes, and i don't have near as much experience with them as the gm and Toyota makes. So im not sure what procedures you have to do for ford.