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What you can get out of the 2.3L with a tune and some other small mods...

The Driving Viking

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If your worried about engine life and warranty issues just go with the Ford performance tune when it comes out. They already have it for the 2.3 Mustang and Ranger. Im pretty sure its good for 325hp and 375tq. Give or take. Thats the route I'm going if I decide to go 2.3
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DrewBronc21

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I’ve been driving full bolt on Subaru’s for the last 13 years and have not had a motor failure with over 170k combined miles with additional 100 whp and 150 wtq, but whether it’s a Ford 2.3 or a Subaru 2.5, etc, there is risk in modifying and you gotta be prepared to pay to play. of you’re pushing a motor like this, it’s probably not going to last as long as stock.

With that said , I have every intention of modifying the Bronco. Here’s a strong bolt on 93 octane tune Mustang. As others have said, I think 350 whp and 400 wtq would be perfect.

Ford Bronco What you can get out of the 2.3L with a tune and some other small mods... 48105A8D-C72B-42D3-A8BE-685DAD9D2246
 

Rogues Gambit

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Would have to know what psi they are running, AF ratio and duty cycle at a minimum.

There is a LOT more that goes into tuning a car for real-world driving than simply hitting peak numbers. And specialty vehicles (from drag strip to off-road) greatly benefit from tuning to their purpose.

Also, Ford has come out and openly said there are additional fail safes on the ECU to prevent access to certain perimeters.

Sigh, now I want to rebuild the Holly 750 cfm carb on the T-bird just so I don't have to think about modern vehicle modifications.



Ford To Limit or Prevent any Tuners From Altering the Ford Bronco’s ECU
It only delays the inevitable
 

pan-y-cerveza

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Just a question on tunes basically out of curiosity.

If I were interested in getting the Ford Performance tune on a 2.3 are you locked in to using premium fuel all the time? Can you treat yo self to a tank of premium every now and then instead or are there issues with knocking, less mileage etc while running lower octane?

Ive seen some guys here say it's a "cheap" option but the lifetime cost of buying premium needs to be factored in.
 

Gman90

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Just a question on tunes basically out of curiosity.

If I were interested in getting the Ford Performance tune on a 2.3 are you locked in to using premium fuel all the time? Can you treat yo self to a tank of premium every now and then instead or are there issues with knocking, less mileage etc while running lower octane?

Ive seen some guys here say it's a "cheap" option but the lifetime cost of buying premium needs to be factored in.
If you up the boost you have to use higher octane Gas. Or else the computer will put the car into limp mode the second it starts to ping, that’s assuming the tuner didn’t shut of the fail safes. You have to pay to play, or else leave it alone. Most tunes have a window with new parameters set, running out side that parameter will probably cause the engine to fail.
 

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DrewBronc21

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Just a question on tunes basically out of curiosity.

If I were interested in getting the Ford Performance tune on a 2.3 are you locked in to using premium fuel all the time? Can you treat yo self to a tank of premium every now and then instead or are there issues with knocking, less mileage etc while running lower octane?

Ive seen some guys here say it's a "cheap" option but the lifetime cost of buying premium needs to be factored in.
A good resource is the Mustang Ecoboost forums. I do a lot of reading over there to get an idea of what mods etc. will likely be available for the Bronco and what results may be.

the Ford performance tune requires minimum 91 octane but if you’re looking for optimum results, 93 octane. I wouldn’t put anything less in my cars tuned or not if 93 is available but that’s just me. Definitely understand that there’s an added cost but the extra power and responsiveness of a tune is Well worth it IMO.
 

Mattwings

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It seems like 300HP and 350 lb. ft. Of torque at close to the same rpm as the stock motor might make a good tune for the Bronco(similar to the factory’s tune for the Ranger). This doesn’t require anything but the programming and a cold air intake, from my recollection. The higher HP tunes seem to move the peak HP and Torque up in the rev range, which may not be as useful off road, depending on your use case. The other issue is heat in the higher HP tunes. Until we get some experience with the Bronco packaging and cooling, it’s probably best to stay on the lower end. My dilemma- if I go 2.3l and a mild tune, I get similar HP, less weight, less torque and required 91 or better octane gas. Since I do not want the manual, it may actually be cheaper long term to go 2.7. I think the tune and intake can be had for roughly $1k. .20 cents per gallon extra for gas (12k miles per year, 20mpgx.20 cents per gallon=$120 per year). I do not expect the latest the 2.3l will do better than the 2.7 tuned, fuel economy wise. It’s likely a wash price wise over 5 years. Anyone else do the math? I do think it will drive and handle noticeably better with the 2.3 and less weight on the front end.
 

aternie

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If your worried about engine life and warranty issues just go with the Ford performance tune when it comes out. They already have it for the 2.3 Mustang and Ranger. Im pretty sure its good for 325hp and 375tq. Give or take. Thats the route I'm going if I decide to go 2.3
Any idea what the cost is on the ford performance tune?
 

Squatch

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It seems like 300HP and 350 lb. ft. Of torque at close to the same rpm as the stock motor might make a good tune for the Bronco(similar to the factory’s tune for the Ranger). This doesn’t require anything but the programming and a cold air intake, from my recollection. The higher HP tunes seem to move the peak HP and Torque up in the rev range, which may not be as useful off road, depending on your use case. The other issue is heat in the higher HP tunes. Until we get some experience with the Bronco packaging and cooling, it’s probably best to stay on the lower end. My dilemma- if I go 2.3l and a mild tune, I get similar HP, less weight, less torque and required 91 or better octane gas. Since I do not want the manual, it may actually be cheaper long term to go 2.7. I think the tune and intake can be had for roughly $1k. .20 cents per gallon extra for gas (12k miles per year, 20mpgx.20 cents per gallon=$120 per year). I do not expect the latest the 2.3l will do better than the 2.7 tuned, fuel economy wise. It’s likely a wash price wise over 5 years. Anyone else do the math? I do think it will drive and handle noticeably better with the 2.3 and less weight on the front end.
  • National gas prices show about a $0.60 price difference to premium from 87 RON gas.
  • You should probably estimate closer to 15 mpg.
2.7 L upgrade = [miles/year / miles/gallon * (premium - 87 RON)] * x years + tune

1900 = (12000 / 15 * 0.60)x + 600

1300 = 480x

About 2.7 years for it to be a wash at 15 mpg or about 3.6 years at 20 mpg.

If you don't want a manual, then get the 2.7L engine.
 

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Mattwings

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Any idea what the cost is on the ford performance tune?
Ranger is $825 according to this article. De
  • National gas prices show about a $0.60 price difference to premium from 87 RON gas.
  • You should probably estimate closer to 15 mpg.
2.7 L upgrade = [miles/year / miles/gallon * (premium - 87 RON)] * x years + tune

1900 = (12000 / 15 * 0.60)x + 600

1300 = 480x

About 2.7 years for it to be a wash at 15 mpg or about 3.6 years at 20 mpg.

If you don't want a manual, then get the 2.7L engine.
I am currently getting 21 mpg combined with my F150 4x4 crew cab 2.7/10sp. I would assume the 2.3 would be similar. This is the downside of not having the opportunity to test drive a new model. I am really curious how they drive 2.3 vs. 2.7. Less weight and better weight distribution often makes for a better drive.
 

tshaw2009

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By the way, I just looked on 5startuning's website and look what my little eye spied....
Ford Bronco What you can get out of the 2.3L with a tune and some other small mods... 1600873853868
 

The Driving Viking

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Any idea what the cost is on the ford performance tune?
I'm guessing it will be around $800. And it will be covered under Warranty through Ford. There will aftermarket tunes that will give you more power and will be around $500 but will viod your Warranty.
 

tshaw2009

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I'm guessing it will be around $800. And it will be covered under Warranty through Ford. There will aftermarket tunes that will give you more power and will be around $500 but will viod your Warranty.
The good news is that if you already have a tuner such as an SCT X4, you are looking at a lot less (about $99 for one tune) since 5 star will email you the custom tunes based on your current build. Then they offer a 100K mile warranty through Stage3 for $1k, which is probably better than what you can find at the dealership. Take a look.
Ford Bronco What you can get out of the 2.3L with a tune and some other small mods... 1600878095393
 

Squatch

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Ranger is $825 according to this article. De


I am currently getting 21 mpg combined with my F150 4x4 crew cab 2.7/10sp. I would assume the 2.3 would be similar. This is the downside of not having the opportunity to test drive a new model. I am really curious how they drive 2.3 vs. 2.7. Less weight and better weight distribution often makes for a better drive.
If you increase your mpg or the cost of the tune, it just makes the case for the 2.7L better...unless you want a manual.
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