Poll: Stock or Pro Cal (What's your experience, Good, Bad, Meh?)

[Lion77]

I actually talked to one of the FP development engineers back when I had my Mustang GT and he did say that you could run lower octane in an emergency, but you would need to avoid heavy throttle otherwise you would get into heavy knock and even possibly LSPI that would cause catastrophic failure.

So basically low speeds cruising at light load and downshifting. I think the safer thing to do would be to keep the programmer in the glove box or somewhere in the truck, if you absolutely can't find 91, flash back to stock, fill up 87 and get to somewhere that has 91 then flash back.

I've never personally run into that situation, and I've seen literally only one person this forum mention they have and only one time in their lifetime. If I do end up going the Pro Cal route, that's what I'll do.

I didn't have that option at all with the GT because it has an entirely different throttle body, intake, MAF etc. that the factory cal wouldn't work with. The truck at least is PCM cal only. No hardware changes, giving you an emergency backup option.

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[Lion77]

BTW, I didn't see an actual way to do a poll, so I figured I would just read all the comments / feedback like other "poll" threads. If you know how to set up an actual poll with an auto tally...I'm all ears.

 

[E40]

I don't remember how stock tune used to drive like since I installed pro cal so long ago.

Good: More power and improved transmission logic with partial throttle acceleration (i.e. gear holds longer w/o building boost -> better city MPG in my unscientific speculation).

Bad: premium fuel required (becomes a concern only when I travel in remote areas), higher risk with speeding, and increased tire wear from launches and exiting corners

 

[RANGER/HOBB]

Ok another question If I am done with with using this tool Can i remove it and go back to stock
without the dealer. I have a SCT tuner for my 150 I can just select return to stock can you do this
with FP Procal

Yes, you can upload or download with the Pro Cal. The OEM tunes and Pro Cal tunes are saved in the unit.

 

[Texas Ranger]

The tune is negligible unless you floor it and boost over 14 psi. Higher shift points seem to negate any mpg benefits it’s supposed to give.

Going from a 14 second 1/4 to 13.7 isn’t going to knock your socks off but I’m not passing up paper horsepower regardless.

 

[Lion77]

Shaving off 3-4/10ths sounds about right. In a 3k lb car chassis, 10hp nets you around 1/10th on a quarter mile typically. On a 5.3k lb truck...probably a bit less, so 3-4ish/10ths is right about par for the course.

Although that isn't going to matter much in actual off-road because terrain seems to be a far more limiting factor than a few tenths on a paved quarter mile.

I'm kind of looking at it from a fun factor "enhancement" while driving on-road / highway vs. any tangible benefit off-road where the chassis if far more important than 50 hp.

Another factor that's kind of pushing me in that direction despite my initial reservations is the fact that I have yet to run anything below 93. 93 is available everywhere in my area and most of the areas I typically travel.

Since I don't drive it daily and I want to have some fun with it when I do drive it, I always am running premium.

 

[NAVYSAR06]

Yes, you can upload or download with the Pro Cal. The OEM tunes and Pro Cal tunes are saved in the unit.

This is what I was told by FPP when I was researching their ProCal. However, just got my Ranger back last Friday and though the ProCal shows both Performance and Stock tunes available when I select either it reads “invalid strategy “. This concerned me as I wanted to ensure if I’m ever towing and I can’t get 91 octane I could then return the truck to stock tune using the ProCal. Well, I call dealer and they tell me “No. the tunes are saved in the technician PC and have to be “changed”/loaded from the PC each time. WTH????

 

[Ag3ntC00p3r]

This is what I was told by FPP when I was researching their ProCal. However, just got my Ranger back last Friday and though the ProCal shows both Performance and Stock tunes available when I select either it reads “invalid strategy “. This concerned me as I wanted to ensure if I’m ever towing and I can’t get 91 octane I could then return the truck to stock tune using the ProCal. Well, I call dealer and they tell me “No. the tunes are saved in the technician PC and have to be “changed”/loaded from the PC each time. WTH????

Did you do the preconfiguration on your own device before taking it to the dealer? I did the stock backup and tune file upload into the unit before taking it in so all they had to do was apply the tune.

I'll try and take a look next week but that should allow you to retrieve the stock tune and reapply it.

 

[NAVYSAR06]

Did you do the preconfiguration on your own device before taking it to the dealer? I did the stock backup and tune file upload into the unit before taking it in so all they had to do was apply the tune.

I'll try and take a look next week but that should allow you to retrieve the stock tune and reapply it.

No I didn’t. I was told by the dealer that the tuner had to be sealed and un-opened or they could not do the tuning. So all the files are saved on the technician’s PC. Frustrating to say the least.

So do you have to re-load the stock tube from the PC file to the procal then upload to truck via OBD; or are both tunes stored I. The procal at all times so that you can switch back and forth with having to us the PC file?

 

[Lion77]

The factory calibration needs to be saved and stored on the Pro Cal tool. It would be ideal to try and copy the file and also have it backed up on a flash drive just in case you lose or damage the Pro Cal tool.

ECU cals are specific to the vehicle and production run. Sometimes OE's roll small changes or tweaks into the cal even over the same production year. For example, my wife's CX-9 had a factory cal update to fix a few small bugs, and the Mazda dealer updated the ECU at an oil change visit even though we weren't having any specific issues (most OE's don't update unless you're having a specific issue and just roll bug fixes into the next release).

I would request the file from the dealer for backup purposes, but I'm not sure how "locked down" the tool is, so getting the file stored on the tool may or may not be easy (ideally, it's treated as slave storage device, like a flash drive, so you can just do it via a windows PC, drag and drop the file into the specified folder).

Otherwise, the only other source of getting the original cal file is going to be from Ford, who has to go to production, look up the vin and find the particular revision used on your truck and that will be no easy process.

The dealer SHOULD have saved it on the Pro Cal tool and on their PC. Having multiple backups is a lot better than having it only one place.

 

[TurboRanger]

With this reprogram how does it affect the modes like ECO - Sport - Slippery - Tow

 

[Lion77]

BTW, can anyone tell me the typical RPM range the Pro Cal holds the 3.0L in during Sport and also Baja modes vs. stock?

I know the 10R60 durability has been a hot topic with the Pro Cal, but the shift points play a BIG role.

I marked them up on Steeda's real time Dyno run of stock vs. Pro Cal after the "learn period". If you're running the truck hard, acceleration is going to mostly be in the power band where torque falls off, not the torque band. Towing would be in the torque band, but it's also going to be heavily ECU limited.

The 3.0L even with the cal is only pushing about 411 lb-ft of torque at the wheels AT 4,000 rpm which equates to about 1.14 x 411 lb-ft = 468 lb-ft at the crank.

So, the 10R60 is going to see 470ish lb-ft of input torque during acceleration when driving for performance uses, which equates to a (1 - (468 / 600) * 100 = 22% safety margin on the input torque to the 10R60, not much different from peak torque stock in the torque band which is 29%.

This may also be part of the Ford Performance strategy for transmission durability. Not only do you get the best acceleration in the power band, since power is work being done, but the torque output is lower than in the mid-band around 3k.

That's at a 4,000 rpm hold point. Torque drops a bit more if it's holding at 4,500 rpm. I know many have mentioned that the Pro Cal holds a bit higher up than the factory ECU cal and obviously it's trying to keep you in the power band for maximum acceleration, but it's also less stressful on the lockup clutches as the peak force is lower.

 

[Lion77]

With this reprogram how does it affect the modes like ECO - Sport - Slippery - Tow

I can't comment on the modes in terms of drivability other than the Pro Cal does not affect the max tow rating:

 

[NAVYSAR06]

The factory calibration needs to be saved and stored on the Pro Cal tool. It would be ideal to try and copy the file and also have it backed up on a flash drive just in case you lose or damage the Pro Cal tool.

ECU cals are specific to the vehicle and production run. Sometimes OE's roll small changes or tweaks into the cal even over the same production year. For example, my wife's CX-9 had a factory cal update to fix a few small bugs, and the Mazda dealer updated the ECU at an oil change visit even though we weren't having any specific issues (most OE's don't update unless you're having a specific issue and just roll bug fixes into the next release).

I would request the file from the dealer for backup purposes, but I'm not sure how "locked down" the tool is, so getting the file stored on the tool may or may not be easy (ideally, it's treated as slave storage device, like a flash drive, so you can just do it via a windows PC, drag and drop the file into the specified folder).

Otherwise, the only other source of getting the original cal file is going to be from Ford, who has to go to production, look up the vin and find the particular revision used on your truck and that will be no easy process.

The dealer SHOULD have saved it on the Pro Cal tool and on their PC. Having multiple backups is a lot better than having it only one place.

Excellent advice sir, I appreciate your knowledge and time responding to my questions.

 

[superj]

My dealer loaded my stock tune onto my procal after they did my tune. They said that is how its supposed to be done since you have the tuner with you

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