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theentirety

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
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Threads
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Messages
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Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Camaro SS 1LE
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Specs:
  • 2021 MY
  • Cyber Orange
  • 2-door
  • Manual transmission
  • Badlands
  • Mid package
  • Stock wheels 33"
  • About 4k miles
  • Always run 91 octane (California)
  • Several cosmetic, lighting, comfort and security mods
Timeline:
  • Ordered from Lethal Performance Oct 5
  • ProCal unit delivered Oct 13
  • Installed by Mossy Ford of Pacific Beach Oct 18
    • Originally I brought it in for install on Saturday Oct 15, but was told I needed to reschedule during the week as the shop foreman was the only one authorized to do the installation.
    • Charged for 1 hour of labor
    • I could have flashed it myself, but according to Ford, the warranty is only preserved if it's installed by an authorized dealer. I erred on the side of caution since it's a first model year vehicle and warranties are good.
Installation:

This is the first time I've used a factory tune and it was an easy process. As a Mac guy, I had to jump through a few extra hoops as the software is Windows only. I dropped off the truck early in the morning and the service rep was familiar with the tune; he had it on his Ranger and vouched for the performance improvements. The ProCal unit gets tied to the VIN and the pre-flash tune gets uploaded to "the cloud" for safe keeping. I had to register the ProCal with my Ford Performance account using the included code. This then gives you a link to download the software (if you're on a PC). I had to get the tech the software another way, which worked fine. A few hours later they said it was installed.

Driving Impressions:

The first thing I did was activate the rev matching feature to verify the tune was installed. Super easy process and I'm a fan of auto rev matching for MTs, especially for casual driving. It really smooths out the day-to-day driving by alleviating the need for me to do the blipping on down shift. It's not a performance vehicle; I'll save the heel-toe for my Camaro on track days, thank you very much.

I drove it on a long-ish highway drive and around town. I noticed a few things right away. The boost seems to come on at lower RPMs making the turbo feel less laggy. For me, this equates to a smoother acceleration through the mid-range and more eagerness to wring it out a bit. I'll have to give it some more time, but it feels a bit more peppy. I would say, though, that the tune makes it feel more progressive through the revs, more than you really feel the horsepower and torque improvements.

It's a relatively inexpensive mod that keeps the warranty in place, smoothing out the power delivery of the 2.3. The throttle response does seem better requiring less depression of the pedal for the juice to flow. I'm a fan.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9603-B23
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KitsBronco

Outer Banks
Well-Known Member
First Name
Tom
Joined
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Location
Vancouver, BC
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Triumph Street Scrambler
Your Bronco Model
Outer Banks
Clubs
 
Thanks for this! Been waiting for a review. Curious how much the 1 hour of labor was?
 

cyberfalco

Badlands
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First Name
Tony
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Location
Conway, AR
Vehicle(s)
2011 JK, 2000 Ram 2500, 1993 FZJ80, 1994 FZJ80
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Awesome! Thank you for the review.
 

_jeff

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
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Threads
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Location
Central California
Website
www.instagram.com
Vehicle(s)
22 Bronco Badlands, 23 Lightning Pro, 14 FLD
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Nice review, thanks
 

BigBendBW

Heritage
Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Threads
13
Messages
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Location
Columbus, Ohio
Vehicle(s)
Bronco Base Sasquatch
Your Bronco Model
Heritage
Specs:
  • 2021 MY
  • Cyber Orange
  • 2-door
  • Manual transmission
  • Badlands
  • Mid package
  • Stock wheels 33"
  • About 4k miles
  • Always run 91 octane (California)
  • Several cosmetic, lighting, comfort and security mods
Timeline:
  • Ordered from Lethal Performance Oct 5
  • ProCal unit delivered Oct 13
  • Installed by Mossy Ford of Pacific Beach Oct 18
    • Originally I brought it in for install on Saturday Oct 15, but was told I needed to reschedule during the week as the shop foreman was the only one authorized to do the installation.
    • Charged for 1 hour of labor
    • I could have flashed it myself, but according to Ford, the warranty is only preserved if it's installed by an authorized dealer. I erred on the side of caution since it's a first model year vehicle and warranties are good.
Installation:

This is the first time I've used a factory tune and it was an easy process. As a Mac guy, I had to jump through a few extra hoops as the software is Windows only. I dropped off the truck early in the morning and the service rep was familiar with the tune; he had it on his Ranger and vouched for the performance improvements. The ProCal unit gets tied to the VIN and the pre-flash tune gets uploaded to "the cloud" for safe keeping. I had to register the ProCal with my Ford Performance account using the included code. This then gives you a link to download the software (if you're on a PC). I had to get the tech the software another way, which worked fine. A few hours later they said it was installed.

Driving Impressions:

The first thing I did was activate the rev matching feature to verify the tune was installed. Super easy process and I'm a fan of auto rev matching for MTs, especially for casual driving. It really smooths out the day-to-day driving by alleviating the need for me to do the blipping on down shift. It's not a performance vehicle; I'll save the heel-toe for my Camaro on track days, thank you very much.

I drove it on a long-ish highway drive and around town. I noticed a few things right away. The boost seems to come on at lower RPMs making the turbo feel less laggy. For me, this equates to a smoother acceleration through the mid-range and more eagerness to wring it out a bit. I'll have to give it some more time, but it feels a bit more peppy. I would say, though, that the tune makes it feel more progressive through the revs, more than you really feel the horsepower and torque improvements.

It's a relatively inexpensive mod that keeps the warranty in place, smoothing out the power delivery of the 2.3. The throttle response does seem better requiring less depression of the pedal for the juice to flow. I'm a fan.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9603-B23
Really been considering this, thanks for the write up. Would be curious to see what it does for the AT
 

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FloatingMoat

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Rick
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
156
Reaction score
410
Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
Badlands, BMW F800GSA & Onewheel Pint
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Specs:
  • 2021 MY
  • Cyber Orange
  • 2-door
  • Manual transmission
  • Badlands
  • Mid package
  • Stock wheels 33"
  • About 4k miles
  • Always run 91 octane (California)
  • Several cosmetic, lighting, comfort and security mods
Timeline:
  • Ordered from Lethal Performance Oct 5
  • ProCal unit delivered Oct 13
  • Installed by Mossy Ford of Pacific Beach Oct 18
    • Originally I brought it in for install on Saturday Oct 15, but was told I needed to reschedule during the week as the shop foreman was the only one authorized to do the installation.
    • Charged for 1 hour of labor
    • I could have flashed it myself, but according to Ford, the warranty is only preserved if it's installed by an authorized dealer. I erred on the side of caution since it's a first model year vehicle and warranties are good.
Installation:

This is the first time I've used a factory tune and it was an easy process. As a Mac guy, I had to jump through a few extra hoops as the software is Windows only. I dropped off the truck early in the morning and the service rep was familiar with the tune; he had it on his Ranger and vouched for the performance improvements. The ProCal unit gets tied to the VIN and the pre-flash tune gets uploaded to "the cloud" for safe keeping. I had to register the ProCal with my Ford Performance account using the included code. This then gives you a link to download the software (if you're on a PC). I had to get the tech the software another way, which worked fine. A few hours later they said it was installed.

Driving Impressions:

The first thing I did was activate the rev matching feature to verify the tune was installed. Super easy process and I'm a fan of auto rev matching for MTs, especially for casual driving. It really smooths out the day-to-day driving by alleviating the need for me to do the blipping on down shift. It's not a performance vehicle; I'll save the heel-toe for my Camaro on track days, thank you very much.

I drove it on a long-ish highway drive and around town. I noticed a few things right away. The boost seems to come on at lower RPMs making the turbo feel less laggy. For me, this equates to a smoother acceleration through the mid-range and more eagerness to wring it out a bit. I'll have to give it some more time, but it feels a bit more peppy. I would say, though, that the tune makes it feel more progressive through the revs, more than you really feel the horsepower and torque improvements.

It's a relatively inexpensive mod that keeps the warranty in place, smoothing out the power delivery of the 2.3. The throttle response does seem better requiring less depression of the pedal for the juice to flow. I'm a fan.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9603-B23
Thanks for the write-up. I've got the 2.3/manual combo as well, and have been looking at this. Did the folks at Mossy have any issues with doing this? on the link you provided, it says 49 state legal, and specifically not california legal. I'm probably just reading too much into that.
 

Macjr

Black Diamond
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First Name
Martin
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Location
Northern NY
Vehicle(s)
Toyota Tacoma TRD Offroad, 2020 Volvo xc40 RDesign
Your Bronco Model
Black Diamond
Clubs
 
Much appreciated and you answered a bunch of questions I had!
 

Bmadda

Badlands
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Brian
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Wisconsin USA
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1990 Bronco eddie bauer
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
I'm curious how you "activate" the rev matching? Mine was turned on when I did the install, and IDK a way to turn it off. Is there something in menus that the tune adds? Don't know where to look. (I do like the rev matching, just wonder how to disable it if I ever wanted to)
 

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theentirety

theentirety

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
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Threads
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Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Camaro SS 1LE
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Thanks for the write-up. I've got the 2.3/manual combo as well, and have been looking at this. Did the folks at Mossy have any issues with doing this? on the link you provided, it says 49 state legal, and specifically not california legal. I'm probably just reading too much into that.
It is 50 state legal for the 2021 MY, but only 49 state legal for 22+. I'm guessing they don't yet have the CARB certification for 22+ and will add it over time. You'll note on the Ford Performance page that the CARB cert for 2021 is listed, so I'm good. Mossy had no problem doing the install and were stoked I was doing it.
 
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theentirety

theentirety

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
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Threads
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Messages
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Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Camaro SS 1LE
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
I'm curious how you "activate" the rev matching? Mine was turned on when I did the install, and IDK a way to turn it off. Is there something in menus that the tune adds? Don't know where to look. (I do like the rev matching, just wonder how to disable it if I ever wanted to)
Instructions are on the last pages of the installation pdf https://performanceparts.ford.com/download/instructionsheets/IS_M-9603-B23_100722.PDF

Just hold down the "+" to turn on or "-" to turn off for a few seconds until the tach goes to 8k and red.
 

RhodeIslandRed

Badlands
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First Name
Joe
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Northeast
Website
www.bronco6g.com
Vehicle(s)
TD5 Defenders
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Great info. Thanks for posting.

I have basically the same rig and asked my dealer about this. They said that they are not certified to install. I have to go to a performance certified dealer and the closest one is about an hour away. I'm still going to do it, but I did have questions. -like, can you deactivate the rev matching? And now that and other questions are answered.

It seems kind of stupid that you have to buy the ProCal unit since it is more than half of the cost. Will you ever hook that thing up again? But I'll put up with a lot to keep the warranty.

Did you have any forscan mods? I'm wondering if they will need to be reset.
 
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theentirety

theentirety

Badlands
Well-Known Member
First Name
Aaron
Joined
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Location
San Diego, CA
Vehicle(s)
2020 Camaro SS 1LE
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
Clubs
 
Great info. Thanks for posting.

I have basically the same rig and asked my dealer about this. They said that they are not certified to install. I have to go to a performance certified dealer and the closest one is about an hour away. I'm still going to do it, but I did have questions. -like, can you deactivate the rev matching? And now that and other questions are answered.

It seems kind of stupid that you have to buy the ProCal unit since it is more than half of the cost. Will you ever hook that thing up again? But I'll put up with a lot to keep the warranty.

Did you have any forscan mods? I'm wondering if they will need to be reset.
Yeah I was lucky that my service dealer was also authorized to install Ford Performance parts. I really think the hardware is just a way for you to feel like you're getting *something* physical for your money. I will probably never use it again, but it does come with a windshield mount that you could rock all the time. Apparently it can show additional details if you're interested. I am not interested in said details. And, no, I did not have any forscan mods.
 

DrewBronc21

Badlands
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New York
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2011 Subaru STi, 2018 Camry Hybrid
Your Bronco Model
Badlands
So you have to register the unit and then download the tune to the unit and then bring Procal unit to the dealer to install on Bronco? What’s the link for and how do you get it ? You don’t need to bring your laptop to the dealer after you download tune on to the Procal correct?

im glad I read this because I thought you just bring the box to the dealer and they take it from there
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