LoL, tell that to my 07 5.9 Cummins, been juiced for many thousands of miles. Nothing wrong with a tuned engine if done properly.
The VR Tuned box is basically just a rebranded RaceChip. Same goes for Panda’s tuning solution. I’m curious to know if you’re running level 7 on top of your Ford Tune? If so, I’d be curious to see what’s going on with KnkAdder PID using the gauges option on your ProCal.
The transmission shift points rely heavily on throttle position, if you're at full throttle then it'll go to the highest shift point in its programming, but if you're holding a sustained 40% throttle, such as towing a trailer up a hill, shift points will be focused more in the mid range and attempt to keep it close to that sweet spot for torque and HP. If you're on the highway going 55 and asking 25% throttle, you might see in the 2000-ish range. I think there's a company out there that's figured out custom shift point mapping for the Bronco (don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I looked) and it's really just a matter of reprogramming it to do what they want.
Nice results, thanks for sharing!Okay, so I've had some fun testing the Pulsar XT and Ford ProCal Tune combo. Still working on my standalone Pulsar XT review, but I'll post my results and thoughts with the two stacked together here.
To get this right out of the way, like SuperChips said, I wouldn't daily these two devices together. The reason being, there's too much positive degrees showing up on the KnK Adder PID on my Ford ProCal 4. I'm not an expert here, but from what I've read, up to 5.0 degrees is "Okay" but anything more the PCM has to retard too much timing in order to prevent detonation. The ProCal by itself with see a positive reading, but normally under 5 degrees. Keep in mind, this doesn't happen at WOT, but normal everyday throttle input. You never want to see a positive number when going WOT. You want to see either 0.0 or negative numbers.
With the Pulsar XT installed, even on LVL 2, I see in upwards of 6.0-8.0 degrees on 93 Pump gas and higher on LVL3+. One thing worth mentioning, I use run of the mill Sheetz gas, so a top tier gas may show different results. That being said, I also tested an E30 mix and saw similar behavior, but to a much lesser extent (Under 5 degrees) so that could be a safe option, but hardly convenient for a daily driver.
Like SuperChips said, I don't see any detonation on WOT, so let's get to some performance numbers
First off, my Bronco isn't stock. It has the below modifications:
2022 Ford Bronco Big Bend Sasquatch. 2.7L, 4-door, soft-top, with a bunch of skids and rock rails. It's a heavy boy and I am too.
- Ford ProCal Tune
- Pulsar XT
- Injen CAI
- CVF Intercooler
- Turbosmart BOV
- NGK 95605 Plugs (.028 gap)
- 93 Octane and E30 mix as stated
Sport mode - ATC off- 4H - 2nd gear launch
Running 93 Octane + Ford ProCal tune & the Pulsar XT set to level 5 I ran the 0-60 time below.
The best run I had was 5.04s, but I experienced wheel hop.
Same setup as above, but with a mix of E30 fuel.
4.8 Seconds! Crazy for a five thousand pound shoe box on 35's
I won't daily this combo, but wanted to share my experience with the two stacked together.
Great info, thanksThe transmission shift points rely heavily on throttle position, if you're at full throttle then it'll go to the highest shift point in its programming, but if you're holding a sustained 40% throttle, such as towing a trailer up a hill, shift points will be focused more in the mid range and attempt to keep it close to that sweet spot for torque and HP. If you're on the highway going 55 and asking 25% throttle, you might see in the 2000-ish range. I think there's a company out there that's figured out custom shift point mapping for the Bronco (don't quote me on that, it's been a while since I looked) and it's really just a matter of reprogramming it to do what they want.
What I was trying to explain is that the difference between the two as far as the curves are concerned are mostly irrelevant when you get on the road, but the power that the xt makes over a broad area is absolutely relevant. You won't notice that it's peaky, whether you're towing or racing, you'll just notice that more power is on tap. Here's an example, if you're towing, just cut the parts of the RPM band out that you don't expect to see when towing at and compare the two together...
The XT actually has a flatter torque curve here, it comes on sooner and is sustained longer. The V6 may be designed to rev way up past this point, but for towing, if you're having to get up past the 4500RPM range then you're probably either towing more than you should or you need more power. Peak power hits just before this point so it's kind of a gradual transition rather than a slump. A lot of performance products, such as exhaust or intakes or cams etc, are kind of a tradeoff and compromise...you'll get a ton of extra power in this or that spot but you'll lose a bit over there. The XT is similar when comparing it to the procal above 5252RPM, but in that regard you're giving up a small amount of power in a spot that you rarely find yourself in unless you're drag racing. You certainly won't be seeing it when towing unless you're trying to pass someone on a 2 lane highway. If I were looking for more towing power, I'd go with the XT.
Unless you're rock bouncing or going KOH on some trails, the amount of power and whatever curve it presents as is mostly irrelevant. I've seen guys spinning 40's and running a stock 2.5L in a YJ crawling up rocks, so even that anemic 4cyl is getting the job done. Throttle response time and the ability to finely control that power is way more important than torque or HP or curves, which is why turbos have historically been a second choice to superchargers on crawlers...you don't want to wait for that turbo to spool up and you don't want boost to suddenly start building when you don't expect it to. Nearly any time someone is looking to add more power to their rig and their primary means of offroad is on the rocks, they don't need the power there, they need it for getting to the trail and back because those big tires sap power like crazy. That or it's a mix of rocks and other terrain like sand or snow that does require some power to navigate. The exception to that are those guys trying to wheel gigantic unimogs and 5 ton trucks...they usually need a boost in power because towing power doesn't always transfer over to the rocks. Nah, the extra power that's needed for most guys is the getting back on the highway and want it to drive like it did when it was stock part, you know, being able to achieve highway speeds without burying the needle into the red, that sort of thing lol
Here's something else to consider. A perfectly flat torque curve across the board is going to make your engine peaky. That's just how the function of torque and RPM work to make HP. It's actually a great curve for a racing engine, as the power delivery is consistent and reliably tied to RPM. A supercharger often gives you a very flat torque curve as its ability to pump air is dependent on RPM, so the faster it revs, the more power it can theoretically make. This is from a supercharged BMW E92 M3:
If you wanted the HP curve to look flat, the torque would look like an inverse of the HP curve above, meaning the engine can efficiently make power down low but struggles more and more to make it at higher RPM, it basically runs out of steam. That kind of curve is seen more on turbocharged engines as the turbo can spool up to full boost independent of RPM. It's most common on turbodiesel engines in particular, such as this duramax:
Going back to rock crawling, diesel engines and their relatively flat HP curves do fine, but they're not a common swap. Not because of what the dyno says, but because of the turbo and weight consideration. There's not really enough of an advantage to justify the other disadvantages. Most guys aren't really worried about the whole graph, just the area between idle and 3,000RPM or so. An LS usually ticks all the good boxes simply because there's no forced induction to worry about, it's predictable, it's a rather tame reliable engine when stock, and it'll push a Jeep on 40's to highway speed without breaking a sweat. We don't really have the option of an LS or coyote swap, but the little 2.7L is a good contender in the rocks and on the highway.
