F150 3.5 EcoBoost power enhancements

A very close friend has acquired this PU and is wanting to know who is the "go to guru" for pumping up the volume on these. Is 'Banks' a start? All I've ever done is a CAI and a cat back exhaust on what I own.....never a power programmer. He's looking for the plug and play routine. Calling all mensa's

In reply to 759NRNG :

Having seen what the programmers do, if he's going to have the vehicle for a short time, it could be a plan. An expensive one, potentially. They all make some odd changes to make power, that are very detrimental to reliability. 

https://5startuning.com/ makes some monster power albeit not just on a tune but they do that also.  They know how to get a lot out of the platform so they'd be a good place to start

In reply to alfadriver :

I wonder how they're able to extract extra power with a tune without upgrading the turbos etc

In reply to yupididit :

They mostly up limits- like knock and speed limits. I've seen some blown up engines doing that, but the only limit I'd be comfortable with is some exhaust temp limits, forcing the engine to run with better fuel and then some basic limits that will prevent the engine from grenading.  
 

There is some room for power without changes. But even with turbo changes, the right limits need to change to make it work correctly. 

alfadriver said:

In reply to 759NRNG :

Having seen what the programmers do, if he's going to have the vehicle for a short time, it could be a plan. An expensive one, potentially. They all make some odd changes to make power, that are very detrimental to reliability. 

Thank you so much for this ......what is your take on my CAI/catback two step?

Livernois Motorsports and Unleashed Tuning seem to have the best reputations on the Ecoboost forums.

uh to be honest (IMHO) y'all this 79 yr owner old really doesn't need to pursue this but to each his own(I've ridden with him)......thanks for y'alls input 

In reply to alfadriver :

In reply to 759NRNG :

Having seen what the programmers do, if he's going to have the vehicle for a short time, it could be a plan. An expensive one, potentially. They all make some odd changes to make power, that are very detrimental to reliability. 
 

Are you taking about "tuners" in general, or about the handful of tuners that specialize in these engines and seem to offer pretty reliable packages? I know that you know a lot more than most people about these, but Ford themselves offer a variety of tunes. In just the Expedition alone, it can be had from 375-440HP from the factory. That would lead me to believe that they are fairly easily tuneable. One of them- 5 Star?- even offers a drivetrain warranty. 
 

There does appear to be a lot of headroom with the stock turbos and fuel system, much more than most factory turbo cars. I believe that they have both direct injection and port injection makes tuning easier. 

I'm leaving my wife's Expedition stock while under warranty, but would consider a conservative tune after it runs out. 

759NRNG said:

alfadriver said:

In reply to 759NRNG :

Having seen what the programmers do, if he's going to have the vehicle for a short time, it could be a plan. An expensive one, potentially. They all make some odd changes to make power, that are very detrimental to reliability. 

Thank you so much for this ......what is your take on my CAI/catback two step?

Nothing wrong with either, as long as they deliver as promised- so many CAI are more accurately HAI, lol. 

In reply to Boost_Crazy :

If you are getting a calibration from the OEM, they should at least know what compromises can be made- many of the others randomly change things to see what happens. Granted, by now, some of the companies have former OEM calibrators on their teams. 
 

FWIW, I would chooses a post '18 truck with the PFI-DI set up. Way more fuel flow available. 

In reply to alfadriver :

What do you think about tuning for the 2011-2014 engines? I believe thats the engine used in my 2015 Expedition. It looks like the Raptors and  2018+ engines had upgraded turbos as well. I would love better throttle response, it feels like the trans is either ahead or behind on the pedal inputs. I'm not sure if that's a feature on the 6spds in general.

In reply to yupididit :

The reason I'm hesitant for those is there is a fuel flow limit, as the fuel pump can only do so much. But that's not what you seemed to be worried about. And is generally harder to deal with as it is more a function of the torque response system than just peak boost. 
 

I think you are correct in pointing towards the trans, and it's interaction with the electronic throttle system. So you would need to find a tuner who knows specifically about it to deal with it. Most of the time, making the trans more responsive increases pressures in it- which is good. But it would be a little harsher on shifts. That is, generally, a safer area to work on. 

yupididit said:

In reply to alfadriver :

I wonder how they're able to extract extra power with a tune without upgrading the turbos etc

Add boost and fuel. 

Most stock turbos aren't close to their flow rate, because when they get close they start making heat instead of boost. So add more fuel to cool it down. 

Then BANG!

I'm waving to all the STi owners right now. 

My guess is that Ford gave themselves a lot of headroom for idiots towing heavy trailers in steep terrain on hot days while under warranty.  If all a fellow wants to do is pull a light trailer or no trailer and feel himself get mooshed back into the seat now and then, there's a lot to play with.

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Wouldn't call them idiots. It's rated to do what it's supposed to do, and the main test is to overload it up a long steep grade in AZ. Cooling is the biggest constraint with towing. 

yupididit said:

In reply to alfadriver :

What do you think about tuning for the 2011-2014 engines? I believe thats the engine used in my 2015 Expedition. It looks like the Raptors and  2018+ engines had upgraded turbos as well. I would love better throttle response, it feels like the trans is either ahead or behind on the pedal inputs. I'm not sure if that's a feature on the 6spds in general.

I feel the exact same way about my Expedition. The thing makes plenty of power, no complaints. But the throttle response is crap. My wife's new Explorer ST with the 3.0T and the 10-speed is SO much more responsive, it's night and day. Especially in "Sport" mode.

There's this thing called a "Pedal Commander" that's supposed to help with this issue, but the consensus on the forums is that, while it does help, a tune can achieve the same thing for a bit more money, plus give you other benefits.

I will say that I put an Unleashed tune on my 2014 SHO a few years back. It absolutely woke that car up, the power difference was significant. But I had some drivability issues in cold weather, specifically it would surge at part throttle. I was going to follow up with Unleashed, but I ended up trading the car on the Fusion. I still have the programmer, I may or may not decide to buy a tune for the Expedition and give it another go.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

I'll have to look up some tunes. I wonder if the stock tune is the same as the F150. 

But first, I need to get my transmission looked at. Dealer did a trans fluid change when it was in for service last week. Now, its been slipping on 4th->3rd gear downshifts. Especially when going up hill. Also, I tried to merge into the highway from about 35mph and the transmission totally fell on its face for 2 or 3 seconds vs accelerating to the flow of traffic. It felt like it was looking for the right gear to downshift into. 

A 401 CJ said:

My guess is that Ford gave themselves a lot of headroom for idiots towing heavy trailers in steep terrain on hot days while under warranty.  If all a fellow wants to do is pull a light trailer or no trailer and feel himself get mooshed back into the seat now and then, there's a lot to play with.

I was told that the main difference between the lower output engines and higher output was expected duty cycles and cooling.  The lower powered tunes are in more cramped engine bays/have less cooling/are expected to work harder, longer.

alfadriver said:

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Wouldn't call them idiots. It's rated to do what it's supposed to do, and the main test is to overload it up a long steep grade in AZ. Cooling is the biggest constraint with towing. 

Trust me on this one.  They're idiots.  I've had the misfortune of having to work with them.  The vehicle has to survive these miscreants until it's out of warranty. Ergo, lots of things can't be optimized for performance.

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Darn idiot pickup truck drivers using their pickup trucks for pickup truck things!

yupididit said:

In reply to A 401 CJ :

Darn idiot pickup truck drivers using their pickup trucks for pickup truck things!

You misspelled 'company pickup truck'.  

In reply to A 401 CJ :

I know what you mean, but the tow ratings are literally tested going up a long grade in AZ during the middle of summer with an overloaded trailer with high drag. Thankfully, I missed those trips. 

I've owned a 2013 EB F150 for 5+ years. I bought it used.  I haven't done anything with mine but if I did the first thing would be is to get a bigger inner cooler. The one thing I found when I tow with it is on hotter days is the MPG's go way down. It's to be expected since the inner cooler can't reduce the charge temp. as much as on cooler days. The ECU reduces timing and adds fuel to keep engine temps within limits killing MPG's. An alternative is a water/methanol injection system instead of a bigger inner cooler. I wouldn't do any "re-programing" without first adding either of the two above items.  

alfadriver said:

In reply to A 401 CJ :

I know what you mean, but the tow ratings are literally tested going up a long grade in AZ during the middle of summer with an overloaded trailer with high drag. Thankfully, I missed those trips. 

And people think I am joking when I say that they are tuned for towing overloaded up a mountain in the desert in August.

A few of my friends work/worked for Roush, on the engineering and on the testing side.  One of my favorite stories was when one of them was handed the keys to a kitted-out F-350 (maybe F-450?) with a huge heavy trailer attached.... and when he started it, his face went long like Mr. Ed, because it wasn't the 6.7 Diesel that was being hatched, but a V10 gas engine.

There aren't a lot of hills in central Michigan, but an 8000lb truck towing a 20,000lb trailer can make it feel like there are!