My Ford Performance Procal tune review on 2023 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost

[ewrich2009]

So I have 23 f150 scsb fx4 3.5 non power boost. I installed the ford performance tune about 2 months ago. I did the install myself I had no issues installing just followed directions.

For the past two months I’ve been thinking to myself that the truck did not feel much different than the stock tune so as a experiment I decided to go back to stock to see if I could tell the difference. Well let’s just say it’s a night and day difference. I only drove truck in normal mode and tow mode when towing during this time.

1.) The Throttle response and tip in is definitely more responsive with the tune. With the tune the power is immediate and quick. I basically felt as if I was just laying my foot on gas pedal and the truck was responding. Without the tune I have to give more input into pedal to get the same response with the tune. Truck basically feels lazy without tune.​

2.) Towing with tune was similar experience less throttle more power. Before tune I’d have to dig into throttle to get more power. With tune power was immediate and quick.​

3) Down shifts are quicker while towing keeping you out of boost so often. While around town or interstate not towing if you barely tip into throttle you can get it to downshift​

4) I noticed no change in gas mileage. Only thing I found strange was before I switched back to stock my miles to empty was 98. When I went back to stock miles to empty went to 135. Can’t explain that.​

5) Transmission shifting in general. My truck shifted pretty good before the tune with an occasional clunk downshifting. After the tune shifts were not great. The tune does not like you driving like grandma when In town. The shifts are more aggressive so the transmission likes more throttle input to upshift smoothly. Downshift in normal mode felt similar to sport mode but not as aggressive.​

My overall impressions of the tune are great. The truck definitely come to life after the tune. Being I spend a lot of time driving around town I’m not sure how I like the trans shifts not nearly as smooth as stock tune.

I will probably reinstall it just because it makes the truck so fun to drive when I’m not in town and the truck tows better.

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[crazywayne311]

1.) The Throttle response and tip in is definitely more responsive with the tune. With the tune the power is immediate and quick. I basically felt as if I was just laying my foot on gas pedal and the truck was responding. Without the tune I have to give more input into pedal to get the same response with the tune. Truck basically feels lazy without tune.​

2.) Towing with tune was similar experience less throttle more power. Before tune I’d have to dig into throttle to get more power. With tune power was immediate and quick.​

3) Down shifts are quicker while towing keeping you out of boost so often. While around town or interstate not towing if you barely tip into throttle you can get it to downshift​

4) I noticed no change in gas mileage. Only thing I found strange was before I switched back to stock my miles to empty was 98. When I went back to stock miles to empty went to 135. Can’t explain that.​

5) Transmission shifting in general. My truck shifted pretty good before the tune with an occasional clunk downshifting. After the tune shifts were not great. The tune does not like you driving like grandma when In town. The shifts are more aggressive so the transmission likes more throttle input to upshift smoothly. Downshift in normal mode felt similar to sport mode but not as aggressive.​

I feel like i've let this forum down by not doing a review of the FP tune. Ive had it since it came out. I also installed it myself since at the time, i was at 31k miles and it was only good til 36k miles so i figured why pay someone to do it.

Anyway, to add on to your thoughts...
1. First thing I noticed was that when driving "normal" in stock mode, I felt to see boost I had to drive semi-aggressively which may be a bittt of exaggeration but yeah. With the tune, even the slightest bit of acceleration, there is boots present. you REALLY need to baby it not to see boost. It was the first thing i noticed once tuned.
2. I havent towed anything other than a U-haul a few times...
3. So I will say, when towing the U-haul in tow mode due to going back roads with hills and all, tow mode seemed to offer very confident shifting. take this with a grain of salt since i cant recall how towing was before being tuned.
4. I actually think my gas mileage got better...once i stopped laying into it. I definitely didnt take a hit like i thought i would.
5. So i had the occasional clunk 2-3 or was it 3-5...anyway, after the tune, my shifting got wayyyy better. Tons smoother. (knocks on wood) Sometimes so smooth you couldnt even tell it shifted. I'm still able to drive like grandma and like I just stole it. I usually drive in normal mode as well.

in the end, i feel ya on the power. after the tune, i was like, yep, extra power is there. before the tune the digital boost gauge on the dash never got near 20psi. after the tune, the gauge maxes out. i have a short vid showing hitting over 20... i need to do another though, i do have a catback exhaust as well.

 

[JerseyGlock]

I feel like i've let this forum down by not doing a review of the FP tune. Ive had it since it came out. I also installed it myself since at the time, i was at 31k miles and it was only good til 36k miles so i figured why pay someone to do it.

Anyway, to add on to your thoughts...
1. First thing I noticed was that when driving "normal" in stock mode, I felt to see boost I had to drive semi-aggressively which may be a bittt of exaggeration but yeah. With the tune, even the slightest bit of acceleration, there is boots present. you REALLY need to baby it not to see boost. It was the first thing i noticed once tuned.
2. I havent towed anything other than a U-haul a few times...
3. So I will say, when towing the U-haul in tow mode due to going back roads with hills and all, tow mode seemed to offer very confident shifting. take this with a grain of salt since i cant recall how towing was before being tuned.
4. I actually think my gas mileage got better...once i stopped laying into it. I definitely didnt take a hit like i thought i would.
5. So i had the occasional clunk 2-3 or was it 3-5...anyway, after the tune, my shifting got wayyyy better. Tons smoother. (knocks on wood) Sometimes so smooth you couldnt even tell it shifted. I'm still able to drive like grandma and like I just stole it. I usually drive in normal mode as well.

in the end, i feel ya on the power. after the tune, i was like, yep, extra power is there. before the tune the digital boost gauge on the dash never got near 20psi. after the tune, the gauge maxes out. i have a short vid showing hitting over 20... i need to do another though, i do have a catback exhaust as well.

If you have JB4, you can set go beyond 20 psi.

 

[crazywayne311]

as stated, i have the FP tune...haha

 

[ewrich2009]

I feel like i've let this forum down by not doing a review of the FP tune. Ive had it since it came out. I also installed it myself since at the time, i was at 31k miles and it was only good til 36k miles so i figured why pay someone to do it.

Anyway, to add on to your thoughts...
1. First thing I noticed was that when driving "normal" in stock mode, I felt to see boost I had to drive semi-aggressively which may be a bittt of exaggeration but yeah. With the tune, even the slightest bit of acceleration, there is boots present. you REALLY need to baby it not to see boost. It was the first thing i noticed once tuned.
2. I havent towed anything other than a U-haul a few times...
3. So I will say, when towing the U-haul in tow mode due to going back roads with hills and all, tow mode seemed to offer very confident shifting. take this with a grain of salt since i cant recall how towing was before being tuned.
4. I actually think my gas mileage got better...once i stopped laying into it. I definitely didnt take a hit like i thought i would.
5. So i had the occasional clunk 2-3 or was it 3-5...anyway, after the tune, my shifting got wayyyy better. Tons smoother. (knocks on wood) Sometimes so smooth you couldnt even tell it shifted. I'm still able to drive like grandma and like I just stole it. I usually drive in normal mode as well.

in the end, i feel ya on the power. after the tune, i was like, yep, extra power is there. before the tune the digital boost gauge on the dash never got near 20psi. after the tune, the gauge maxes out. i have a short vid showing hitting over 20... i need to do another though, i do have a catback exhaust as well.

Thanks for the review.

 

[Moe7]

The throttle response is great and how it should have come stock, my initial reaction was full-time Sport mode, without the hanging gears.

The shifting logic greatly improved for me, feels much more natural and predictable.

My mileage is definitely improved if I can stay off the throttle; I hit an all-time tank high of 18.4 on the highway, whereas before I was stuck in the 17s (Tremor life); city mileage is similar/worse than stock because I like turbo sounds.

Overall, solid mild improvement, and none of the behavior makes me question its impact on reliability. You can tell there is still performance left on the table, so obviously not the right tune if that is your target.

 

[ewrich2009]

I’m thinking my issue with the awkward up shifts around town could be that not long after I installed tune I towed about 3500lbs and maybe should’ve given the truck time to adjust. When I reinstall the tune I’ll give ample time for the trans to get adjusted.

 

[StoneGray22]

Thanks for posting this! For months I've been waiting for some real world thoughts on this tune. Glad to hear that you enjoy (and notice) an improvement. I was a little worried given that the official Ford documentation showed a very truncated dyno chart.

 

[crazywayne311]

@StoneGray22 when they first announced the tune, it showed 466hp and 554tq if i recall. then after a few days, it changed to 450/510. the word around the water cooler was the Raptor community wasnt happy about sharing the same power with 3.5's. Then again, it could have been a snafu on Ford Performance's part (which is what FP told me...that their graphics guy copy and pasted the dyno chart) which i do and dont believe. I have never dyno'd the truck but sometimes i wonder if its really the same tune but on paper they said its not. nonetheless, drove the truck yesterday for the first time since saturday and even at half throttle thing thing MOVES!

 

[StoneGray22]

@StoneGray22 when they first announced the tune, it showed 466hp and 554tq if i recall. then after a few days, it changed to 450/510. the word around the water cooler was the Raptor community wasnt happy about sharing the same power with 3.5's. Then again, it could have been a snafu on Ford Performance's part (which is what FP told me...that their graphics guy copy and pasted the dyno chart) which i do and dont believe. I have never dyno'd the truck but sometimes i wonder if its really the same tune but on paper they said its not. nonetheless, drove the truck yesterday for the first time since saturday and even at half throttle thing thing MOVES!

Yeah, I remember that debacle, and the changing of the dyno graph. I really wish they would post the full graph, since we don't know what torque or HP look like below 2500 rpms. Sure, it's nice to see changes in peak gains, but I'm more interested in what the torque curve looks like in the range where most of my driving occurs.

I'm hoping the creation of this thread inspires others who got the tune to share some thoughts and info!

 

[crazywayne311]

yeah, i meant to make a post about the tune. maybe i did and dont remember. haha hell, i meant to make a post about my exhaust when i got it and i dont think i ever did either. bummer

 

[js312]

I would consider a factory backed tune like this, but unfortunately it is not available for the PowerBoost. I remember reading someone on the inside indicated that Ford was not comfortable with the potential for drivetrain warranty claims with more than the stock 570 ft lbs of torque on it. Not sure how true that is.

 

[Chili]

I feel like i've let this forum down by not doing a review of the FP tune. Ive had it since it came out. I also installed it myself since at the time, i was at 31k miles and it was only good til 36k miles so i figured why pay someone to do it.

Anyway, to add on to your thoughts...
1. First thing I noticed was that when driving "normal" in stock mode, I felt to see boost I had to drive semi-aggressively which may be a bittt of exaggeration but yeah. With the tune, even the slightest bit of acceleration, there is boots present. you REALLY need to baby it not to see boost. It was the first thing i noticed once tuned.
2. I havent towed anything other than a U-haul a few times...
3. So I will say, when towing the U-haul in tow mode due to going back roads with hills and all, tow mode seemed to offer very confident shifting. take this with a grain of salt since i cant recall how towing was before being tuned.
4. I actually think my gas mileage got better...once i stopped laying into it. I definitely didnt take a hit like i thought i would.
5. So i had the occasional clunk 2-3 or was it 3-5...anyway, after the tune, my shifting got wayyyy better. Tons smoother. (knocks on wood) Sometimes so smooth you couldnt even tell it shifted. I'm still able to drive like grandma and like I just stole it. I usually drive in normal mode as well.

in the end, i feel ya on the power. after the tune, i was like, yep, extra power is there. before the tune the digital boost gauge on the dash never got near 20psi. after the tune, the gauge maxes out. i have a short vid showing hitting over 20... i need to do another though, i do have a catback exhaust as well.

Can you change tire size? Sites say you can't, but I've heard people say you can. I just went from oem 32" tires to oem 33".

 

[Chili]

The throttle response is great and how it should have come stock, my initial reaction was full-time Sport mode, without the hanging gears.

The shifting logic greatly improved for me, feels much more natural and predictable.

My mileage is definitely improved if I can stay off the throttle; I hit an all-time tank high of 18.4 on the highway, whereas before I was stuck in the 17s (Tremor life); city mileage is similar/worse than stock because I like turbo sounds.

Overall, solid mild improvement, and none of the behavior makes me question its impact on reliability. You can tell there is still performance left on the table, so obviously not the right tune if that is your target.

The hanging on to gears is why I don't use sport mode almost ever.

My dealer told me $950 installed and will honor Ford's extended warranty or the 5y / 60k powertrain with this tune. I know it's not official past 3/36. $950 is hard to swallow when you can buy it for a more reasonable $600ish and do it yourself.

 

[ScottiJT]

Does sport mode with the Ford Performance tune change much to what it is pre-tune? (I agree, not a fan of the long-hanging gears).

I went down the whipple tune route, and am yet to flash it (MY2023) as it is not reversible (as advised by Whipple) and sometimes I regret not going the JB4 route instead..

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