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Tuned or Chipped?


CenTex Raptor

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I am waiting for the delivery of a 2021 Raptor. I had a 2013 F-150 FX-2 that I recently sold to make room for the Raptor. In the various forums, there is discussion of chipping or tuning the vehicle to make it run better, but at the risk of voiding the warranty. I haven't heard about this before. Some questions:

1) What is it? What is the benefit of this process?

2) What is the change that the process makes that Ford objects to?

3) Does this process actually limit the coverage of the warranty or void it altogether, or only on the engine?

 

Thanks

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You never “void the warranty”.  But if something fails due to your modifications that failure won’t be covered.  E.g. if you put on huge wheels and tires and your wheel bearings fail - that’s on you.

 

Tuners modify software parameters - dialing up turbo boost, advancing timing, changing shift points, etc.  Usually requires premium fuel.

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

You never “void the warranty”.  But if something fails due to your modifications that failure won’t be covered.  E.g. if you put on huge wheels and tires and your wheel bearings fail - that’s on you.

 

Tuners modify software parameters - dialing up turbo boost, advancing timing, changing shift points, etc.  Usually requires premium fuel.

I assume there is a reason it isn't done that way from the factory, and is there a good reason not to do it? I figure each vehicle when built has its own "personality" and tuning would offer a way to bring one up to "optimal" performance? I could also see that it would be difficult and/or expensive for Ford to do it for each vehicle coming off the line.

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As an added note... (akirby is spot on btw...) I have had tunes on various vehicles, including my 2020 Raptor. It made a huge difference in the way the vehicle performed. The added HP and TQ was nice, but i really liked the transmission strategy modifications. No skip shifts and the vehicle was in line with my driving style. A tune can really transform a vehicle, but it could be at the cost of warranty repair. 

I do know some tuners will provide a warranty with the tune... but you will have to pay for it.

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Good point.  It really depends on how far you want to push the power gains - you don’t really know how much of a safety margin there is on the drivetrain unless others have had the same tune on the same vehicle for a few years.  E.g the Taurus SHO folks have done some huge gains in power with little to no failures, but it will vary by vehicle.  The factory tune also modulates torque in lower gears to protect the drivetrain.

 

The rest, like the tranny shifting, is more personal preference.  Some like harder faster shifts and some don’t.

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10 hours ago, akirby said:

Good point.  It really depends on how far you want to push the power gains - you don’t really know how much of a safety margin there is on the drivetrain unless others have had the same tune on the same vehicle for a few years.  E.g the Taurus SHO folks have done some huge gains in power with little to no failures, but it will vary by vehicle.  The factory tune also modulates torque in lower gears to protect the drivetrain.

 

The rest, like the tranny shifting, is more personal preference.  Some like harder faster shifts and some don’t.

I would like to drive it for a while to see how it drives first, and then see if I want to modify some aspect. I am not planning on racing it, but the MPG increase would be nice if that can be part of it. Doesn't sound like Gen3 tuners are available yet anyway, and one apparently said they saw really nice increases over Gen2 even stock. So maybe Ford is getting it figured out to provide it as "near optimal" off the assembly line?

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11 hours ago, akirby said:

Good point.  It really depends on how far you want to push the power gains - you don’t really know how much of a safety margin there is on the drivetrain unless others have had the same tune on the same vehicle for a few years.  E.g the Taurus SHO folks have done some huge gains in power with little to no failures, but it will vary by vehicle.  The factory tune also modulates torque in lower gears to protect the drivetrain.

 

The rest, like the tranny shifting, is more personal preference.  Some like harder faster shifts and some don’t.

I should have thought to ask this before... but is there a difference between "tuned" and "chipped"? I have seen both used but is it the same thing, just different semantics, or are they two different things, that you might even do both vs one or the other?

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11 hours ago, CenTex Raptor said:

I should have thought to ask this before... but is there a difference between "tuned" and "chipped"? I have seen both used but is it the same thing, just different semantics, or are they two different things, that you might even do both vs one or the other?


Tuned means you download software as opposed to swapping or plugging in a chip.  Chips don’t work on Ford’s - get a tuner like SCT.  The F150 forums have tons of options and info.

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There is actually a piggyback unit that works similar to a tune, but it does not change the original software programming. A tune on the other hand actually changes the factory software.

There are a couple tuning companies that have been successful in tuning he 2021 F150's.  Goosetuned and Livernoise from what I know now... others will be close behind. These two companies are not ready for commercial deployment yet... still more testing according to them.

Burger tuning has a piggypack unit.  The piggyback sits in front of the PCM and intercepts the signals to and from the PCM. It is a way to get more out of the engine without actually modifying the oem programming.

I have used both and they each have their advantages and disadvantages.  The piggypback unit is argued to be not traceable... but who knows. If you are modifying the vehicle in anyway, you have to accept the responsibility and the possibility you may get denied warranty if there is a problem.

I agree with your approach CentTexRaptor. I am hearing the new Raptor is much more responsive and the transmission shift strategy is improved. Some claim it feels like a mildly  tuned Gen2 Raptor. I will drive mine for a while and decide from there.

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4 hours ago, wsybert said:

There is actually a piggyback unit that works similar to a tune, but it does not change the original software programming. A tune on the other hand actually changes the factory software.

There are a couple tuning companies that have been successful in tuning he 2021 F150's.  Goosetuned and Livernoise from what I know now... others will be close behind. These two companies are not ready for commercial deployment yet... still more testing according to them.

Burger tuning has a piggypack unit.  The piggyback sits in front of the PCM and intercepts the signals to and from the PCM. It is a way to get more out of the engine without actually modifying the oem programming.

I have used both and they each have their advantages and disadvantages.  The piggypback unit is argued to be not traceable... but who knows. If you are modifying the vehicle in anyway, you have to accept the responsibility and the possibility you may get denied warranty if there is a problem.

I agree with your approach CentTexRaptor. I am hearing the new Raptor is much more responsive and the transmission shift strategy is improved. Some claim it feels like a mildly  tuned Gen2 Raptor. I will drive mine for a while and decide from there.

Thanks everyone, very helpful!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had the Whipple tune on my gen 2, it was solid and gave a good increase in hp/tq. It definitely was not the most aggressive tune but I liked how i didnt have to change the tune whenever i wanted to tow something with my truck. I hear a lot of good things from Goosetuned and I believe they use a Cobb tuner. Might go that route with the gen3.

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