Does the Ford ProCal performance tune affect towing

[CTRaptor92]

Hey all, I've seen some threads here before where people would say you should NOT tow anything with the ProCal tune installed. They didn't really provide any backing information on the topic, so I chatted with a rep from Ford Performance about it and they said it has no impact on towing whatsoever.

To be clear, I didn't buy my RR for towing. My wife wants to use it ~once a month to tow her horse (total trailer weight ~4,000 lbs) to trails and whatnot. I'm just hoping someone can provide a little more insight into if the tune affects towing ability and if it does, where is some technical information to back that up? Thanks!

Sponsored

 

[T-Rev]

If towing wasn't OK with the ProCal tune, I would expect Ford Performance to remove the towing drive mode option...but it's still available which further confirms it being OK.

 

[Dutch]

It's simple to return the tune to stock if you're concerned.

 

[Lion77]

 

[AlpineBike]

Try using the search function.

This has been covered on multiple threads already.

 

[dmac72]

Try using the search function.

This has been covered on multiple threads already.

Try finding more productive outlets--like therapy--for your insecurity and anger issues, instead of being a dick to people online

 

[CTRaptor92]

Try using the search function.

This has been covered on multiple threads already.

I did try that and nothing really turned up. If you’d like to link something instead of being unhelpful, that would be pretty cool.

 

[TheRealSasquatch]

Try finding more productive outlets--like therapy--for your insecurity and anger issues, instead of being a dick to people online

Just block that guy. Every response has attitude attached and it just isn’t worth bothering with.

 

[Lion77]

Getting back to the original question, in addition to the above posted information I provided directly from Ford Performance, if you look on their website for the Explorer ST Pro Cal as an alternate example, it explicitly states the following:

EXPLORER ST 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-EX30 | Ford Performance Parts

**Trailer towing not recommended** for the Explorer ST Pro Cal.

The Ranger Raptor Pro Cal has NO SUCH WARNING and instead provides the following which matches up exactly with what Ford Performance stated:

RANGER RAPTOR 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-REB30 | Ford Performance Parts

I would advise some caution against flashing back and forth between the Pro Cal and factory ECU calibrations just for towing. I've developed on microcontrollers and FPGA's and you absolutely can brick one with a bad flash.

Recover Ford Copperhead ECU

It's not just power interruption, but someone bumping a data or clock line that pulls out the lead, a high impedance connection or even errata in the uC itself can cause issues.

I would recommend that once flashed, leave it as is unless there is a very compelling reason (i.e., diagnosing a difficult issue that requires repair, and you've tried as much as you can think to trouble shoot with the Pro Cal still in the ECU).

For reference, I'm using the term ECU (Engine Control Unit) for the microcontroller system that control's the engine operation. It's basically a high-performance microcontroller system with power supply (most likely a step-down switching buck regulator that steps the 12v power bus down to 3.3V or 1.8V depending on the controller), protective circuitry for IO, possible external flash and SRAM, maybe CAN transceivers etc. Usually they are encapsulated (potted) for the extreme environment and cannot be repaired if damaged electrically or if you brick the uC.

That's my personal opinion as an Electrical Engineer whose hobby is automotive and who has real world development experience on microcontrollers and FPGAs. Some may disagree.

 

[CTRaptor92]

Getting back to the original question, in addition to the above posted information I provided directly from Ford Performance, if you look on their website for the Explorer ST Pro Cal as an alternate example, it explicitly states the following:

EXPLORER ST 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-EX30 | Ford Performance Parts

**Trailer towing not recommended** for the Explorer ST Pro Cal.

The Ranger Raptor Pro Cal has NO SUCH WARNING and instead provides the following which matches up exactly with what Ford Performance stated:

RANGER RAPTOR 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-REB30 | Ford Performance Parts

I would advise some caution against flashing back and forth between the Pro Cal and factory ECU calibrations just for towing. I've developed on microcontrollers and FPGA's and you absolutely can brick one with a bad flash.

Recover Ford Copperhead ECU

It's not just power interruption, but someone bumping a data or clock line that pulls out the lead, a high impedance connection. I would personally advise that once flashed, leave it as is unless there is a very compelling reason (i.e., diagnosing a difficult issue that requires repair, and you've tried as much as you can think to trouble shoot with the Pro Cal still in the ECU).

For reference, I'm using the term ECU (Engine Control Unit) for the microcontroller system that control's the engine. It's basically a high-performance microcontroller system with power supply (most likely a step-down switching buck regulator that steps the 12v power bus down to 3.3V or 1.8V depending on the controller), protective circuitry for IO, possible external flash and SRAM, maybe CAN transceivers etc.

That's my personal opinion as an Electrical Engineer whose hobby is automotive. Some may disagree.

This is extremely helpful. Thanks for taking the time to provide all of this background info.

 

[Lion77]

You're welcome. I guess my annoying long and overly detailed posts finally helped someone lol.

 

[E40]

Getting back to the original question, in addition to the above posted information I provided directly from Ford Performance, if you look on their website for the Explorer ST Pro Cal as an alternate example, it explicitly states the following:

EXPLORER ST 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-EX30 | Ford Performance Parts

**Trailer towing not recommended** for the Explorer ST Pro Cal.

The Ranger Raptor Pro Cal has NO SUCH WARNING and instead provides the following which matches up exactly with what Ford Performance stated:

RANGER RAPTOR 3.0L ECOBOOST PERFORMANCE CALIBRATION| Part Details for M-9603-REB30 | Ford Performance Parts

I would advise some caution against flashing back and forth between the Pro Cal and factory ECU calibrations just for towing. I've developed on microcontrollers and FPGA's and you absolutely can brick one with a bad flash.

Recover Ford Copperhead ECU

It's not just power interruption, but someone bumping a data or clock line that pulls out the lead, a high impedance connection or even errata in the uC itself can cause issues.

I would recommend that once flashed, leave it as is unless there is a very compelling reason (i.e., diagnosing a difficult issue that requires repair, and you've tried as much as you can think to trouble shoot with the Pro Cal still in the ECU).

For reference, I'm using the term ECU (Engine Control Unit) for the microcontroller system that control's the engine operation. It's basically a high-performance microcontroller system with power supply (most likely a step-down switching buck regulator that steps the 12v power bus down to 3.3V or 1.8V depending on the controller), protective circuitry for IO, possible external flash and SRAM, maybe CAN transceivers etc. Usually they are encapsulated (potted) for the extreme environment and cannot be repaired if damaged electrically or if you brick the uC.

That's my personal opinion as an Electrical Engineer whose hobby is automotive and who has real world development experience on microcontrollers and FPGAs. Some may disagree.

i wonder (hoping to be true) whether ranger raptors and bronco raptors got different (ie stronger) internals with 10R60 transmission than explorer ST which got lower boosted power and torque plus towing restriction.

 

[Lion77]

Could be cooling related. The greatest stresses from towing are not actually mechanical. They are thermal. I'm guessing the cooling systems in the ST are just not up to the task like they are in the Bronco's and RR's.

The engine bay in the ST is considerably less spacious (my friend has one and I noted that she when first showed me his 2021 ST). That's my honest assessment, but who knows for sure. I just know that it is.

 

[Lion77]

One last point, albeit a minor one, is that both the factory ECU cal and the FP Pro Cal have learn strategies. Even the factory cal takes time to learn maximum timing advance and fuel octane. So, flashing will re-set that and your back down to baseline levels until the drive cycles complete.

That's why when you get a car e-checked (if you state has e-check) you cannot perform OBDII based e-check on a car that has recently had the battery disconnected, because the car has NOT completed a drive cycle and will not have operating data they look at to ensure its operating within the required parameters since it was erased from the uC's SRAM which requires power to retain its memory kind like an EEPROM in a PC motherboard (which is why the CR2032 battery is on the board).

Removing power causes the RAM to clear (zero out) even though the operating program is stored in the magnetic memory (FLASH).

 

[AssolMarandy]

ProCal tune is factory-designed by Ford, so it's within safe limits. It modifies throttle feel and shift points but does not make radical changes that compromise towing. Most people tow with it and never have a problem, especially with light loads like a horse trailer. If it's safe enough for Ford to call it safe, then they must have tested it.

Sponsored