TFL and 5 Star Tuning saying should be able to get 500+ HP out of the Bronco 2.7L

[dcg2]

?

I'm trying to be nice. Show me ANYWHERE that says you NEED a tune if you put a CAI and High-flow downpipe on a modern computer controlled engine.

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[Dlerojo]

Maybe i'm getting old but imo the 2.7 is fast enough as it is. My truck has the 3.5 which isnt that different. As soon as the turbos kick in its a rocket. Every time I step on it I think a vehicle this size should not be this fast.

 

[MJJ]

I have had two vehicles that were new and within their first year of warranty that were tuned (GT500 & GTR). I had a third car that was tuned outside of warranty (04 SVT Cobra) and the tune was flawless and never required any adjustment. I personally flew in that tuner to do my car. The other two were shipped out to the tuner. They were custom tuned on a Dyno and I had a hand held unit as well. Even with a custom dialed in tune, there were always some things that needed to be adjusted after the fact except for the cobra. All three vehicles were tuned by the respective best in the industry. I live in fly over country which meant adjustments had to be datalogged and then done remotely.


Personally I am not planning to tune the Bronco unless something is truly offered through Ford Performance and their would be no warranty issues. Not enough upside to take on the additional risk and hassle. In the end it was all about bragging rights. Neither the GTR or the GT500 needed more than the factory. In stock form you could lose your license within a few seconds.

If I lived in the area of a top tuner I would consider it but otherwise it was more of a hassle in my case than potentially what is was worth.

Just my opinion. I must be getting old.

 

[BrentC]

<snipped>

Just my opinion. I must be getting old.

I‘m in the same camp. I only tuned my 2013 ST after six months of driving it stock and paying attention to the forums until a reasonable solution was discussed at length. I understood at that time that a Stage 1 tune (FStune using a COBB Accessport) was all I needed for my needs. It woke up the ST and made it a rocket without any other mods needed.

Note FStune gave me several free updates to my tune, including the tweaking of it using my logged data, adding launch control and FFS. If I had gone to Stage 2 or 3 the tunes would have been provided free. Not sure if that’s still how they do things but it was amazing service back in 2014...

I‘m going to do the same with my 2.3 7MT Vaglands (it’s name until the badges come off) - wait to see what’s needed, if anything, to make it wake up. It’s an off-roader, after all, not a street missile so I’m not sure which way to take it.

My .02

 

[BossMann]

310/400 is plenty for me. If I wanted a sports car I'd buy one, but glad many are exploring these options.

 

[guzie]

I'm trying to be nice. Show me ANYWHERE that says you NEED a tune if you put a CAI and High-flow downpipe on a modern computer controlled engine.

About every platform out there. I’ve dealt with tuned and modified modern computer controlled sports cars for years. My 2011 mustang. My 2015 Subaru wrx STI. My 2017 Mustang GT350. My 2019 Subaru wrx STI. ALL require tuning when you increase airflow on the front end with the intake system change after the MAF sensor which is mounted in the airbox or pipe leading into the throttle body of a N/A car or the turbo of a turbo charged car. On the exit side when you open up and exhaust coming off the header or headers with a larger pipe and higher flowing CAT convertors you need to accommodate this as well with a tune. You run lean with fuel otherwise and will burn pistons. The ECU can only accommodate so much in The stock fuel table. The intake side with the MAF is the most sensitive to changes. Don’t believe me. Go ahead and just swap parts in without tuning. Watch your motor go south and Ford voiding your warranty. Bolt one part on there aftermarket like that and watch your warranty go up in smoke when it blows up. I’ve seen numerous idiot kids buy a wrx or STI and bolt on a downpipe or a CAI without tuning. They drive around and kill the motor in short order. Suite yourself though. It’s your money to waste. Just don’t sell others on your foolishness. I’m not talking out of my backside on this either. I’m a former mechanic turned mechanical engineer. I’ve been working on engines and building them for many years.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Didn't Ford already say that the ECU's are going to be even more locked down and harder to tune third-party?

Probably, but given time, tuners will safe crack it.

 

[PhoenixM3]

About every platform out there. I’ve dealt with tuned and modified modern computer controlled sports cars for years. My 2011 mustang. My 2015 Subaru wrx STI. My 2017 Mustang GT350. My 2019 Subaru wrx STI. ALL require tuning when you increase airflow on the front end with the intake system change after the MAF sensor which is mounted in the airbox or pipe leading into the throttle body of a N/A car or the turbo of a turbo charged car. On the exit side when you open up and exhaust coming off the header or headers with a larger pipe and higher flowing CAT convertors you need to accommodate this as well with a tune. You run lean with fuel otherwise and will burn pistons. The ECU can only accommodate so much in The stock fuel table. The intake side with the MAF is the most sensitive to changes. Don’t believe me. Go ahead and just swap parts in without tuning. Watch your motor go south and Ford voiding your warranty. Bolt one part on there aftermarket like that and watch your warranty go up in smoke when it blows up. I’ve seen numerous idiot kids buy a wrx or STI and bolt on a downpipe or a CAI without tuning. They drive around and kill the motor in short order. Suite yourself though. It’s your money to waste. Just don’t sell others on your foolishness. I’m not talking out of my backside on this either. I’m a former mechanic turned mechanical engineer. I’ve been working on engines and building them for many years.

This ^^^. You can waste money on a d/p and intake, but on turbocharged engines, a tune pulls these mods together.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Maybe i'm getting old but imo the 2.7 is fast enough as it is. My truck has the 3.5 which isnt that different. As soon as the turbos kick in its a rocket. Every time I step on it I think a vehicle this size should not be this fast.

Yep. My f150 w/ 3.5 and 35” MT tires hauls a**. My wife wont need anything faster than the 2.7 in stock form lol.

 

[dcg2]

About every platform out there. I’ve dealt with tuned and modified modern computer controlled sports cars for years. My 2011 mustang. My 2015 Subaru wrx STI. My 2017 Mustang GT350. My 2019 Subaru wrx STI. ALL require tuning when you increase airflow on the front end with the intake system change after the MAF sensor which is mounted in the airbox or pipe leading into the throttle body of a N/A car or the turbo of a turbo charged car. On the exit side when you open up and exhaust coming off the header or headers with a larger pipe and higher flowing CAT convertors you need to accommodate this as well with a tune. You run lean with fuel otherwise and will burn pistons. The ECU can only accommodate so much in The stock fuel table. The intake side with the MAF is the most sensitive to changes. Don’t believe me. Go ahead and just swap parts in without tuning. Watch your motor go south and Ford voiding your warranty. Bolt one part on there aftermarket like that and watch your warranty go up in smoke when it blows up. I’ve seen numerous idiot kids buy a wrx or STI and bolt on a downpipe or a CAI without tuning. They drive around and kill the motor in short order. Suite yourself though. It’s your money to waste. Just don’t sell others on your foolishness. I’m not talking out of my backside on this either. I’m a former mechanic turned mechanical engineer. I’ve been working on engines and building them for many years.

So just your opinion then?

 

[guzie]

So just your opinion then?

No. Facts. Tuners will tell you as well. Just ask any of them. Ask 5 star since they tune the 2.7 and they will tell you. Its been proven by people who try to run these parts on a stock tune when their engine blows up. It’s simple. The engine needs to maintain a correct fuel/air ratio under all conditions. These mods cause it to run lean which leads to destruction. With a turbo engine it’s even more critical as the fuel/air ratio goes into rich condition under boost. The engine only adjusts so much based on the parameters put in by the manufacturer. They don’t factor in a large increase with airflow in the stock tuning strategy. Ford‘s tuning strategy is to account for various octanes used and reduce timing accordingly but it’s not for covering a large air flow increase.

 

[Bronc-itis]

You can’t add any of those components first without a tune

Sure about that? Intercooler for sure wouldn’t require a tune. Cold air intake wouldn’t either. Down pipes probably wouldn’t require a tune either unless you need to turn off readiness for the 2nd cat. Depending on the cat and secondary o2 location

 

[Bronc-itis]

No. Facts. Tuners will tell you as well. Just ask any of them. Ask 5 star since they tune the 2.7 and they will tell you. Its been proven by people who try to run these parts on a stock tune when their engine blows up. It’s simple. The engine needs to maintain a correct fuel/air ratio under all conditions. These mods cause it to run lean which leads to destruction. With a turbo engine it’s even more critical as the fuel/air ratio goes into rich condition under boost. The engine only adjusts so much based on the parameters put in by the manufacturer. They don’t factor in a large increase with airflow in the stock tuning strategy. Ford‘s tuning strategy is to account for various octanes used and reduce timing accordingly but it’s not for covering a large air flow increase.

Respectfully, that’s bullshit. These ECUs can learn to adjust for increased airflow and efficiency.

 

[Bronc-itis]

This ^^^. You can waste money on a d/p and intake, but on turbocharged engines, a tune pulls these mods together.

It isn’t a waste of money. But definitely not taking full advantage. You still get better performance. No, you aren’t going to blow up your engine from
adding an intercooler, DP, or an intake.

 

[HotdogThud]

Respectfully, that’s bullshit. These ECUs can learn to adjust for increased airflow and efficiency.

You are correct, most of the easy mods (intercooler, intake) to a modern turbo car don't require a re-tune, they'll just use the MAF reading to determine that it needs to throw more fuel at the equation and be done with it. Downpipes is usually where you want to get a retune, as the ECU will typically need to change the wastegate settings based on the higher flow of exhaust, and for the possibility of O2 errors giving you CEL's as you mentioned.

Nifty bit of trivia. the ECU in these trucks? the Bosch MED17 family. Same one that's in every single audi/vw/bmw and probably countless others for the last 15 years.

To the thread starter's point, a tune *helps* all of these mods, but it is 100% not necessary. And by no means is the motor going to magically blow because of an intercooler or intake.

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