Any Regrets on Procal FP Tune?

[RrangerUSCG47!]

So my tune is at the dealer. As I recall the tune needs to be linked to my account, but don't remember the specifics. What do I need to tell the dealer to retain and have access to my OEM tune, etc?

You'll need to go in and pick up the kit. Take it home and follow the instructions to download and connect your Procal. And also to create an account and register your tune. There is a code/key in the kit with all the instructions. You'll then have to take it back to the dealer and they will install it. Seems like a bit of back and forth. But it'll be legit and covered under your warranty.

My dealer is slammed and short handed this week. So, I'm waiting to have it loaded. Its actually killing me! I'm not patient......

As far as keeping your stock tune, I think when you connect the tool to the OBD port it will give you the option to switch back and forth.

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[RCMUSTANG]

I did all the pre work. Went to the dealer and my buddy just said go ahead and load it. Then charged the fee and got a receipt.

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

You'll need to go in and pick up the kit. Take it home and follow the instructions to download and connect your Procal. And also to create an account and register your tune. There is a code/key in the kit with all the instructions. You'll then have to take it back to the dealer and they will install it. Seems like a bit of back and forth. But it'll be legit and covered under your warranty.

My dealer is slammed and short handed this week. So, I'm waiting to have it loaded. Its actually killing me! I'm not patient......

As far as keeping your stock tune, I think when you connect the tool to the OBD port it will give you the option to switch back and forth.

Thanks, man! Picked it up and got a chance to talk to the tech, who has installed a bunch of them. Think I'll open an account, log my procal in and let him do the rest.

 

[MarcR]

Anyone tried to order the Procal in California the past couple months? I've ordered three times and each time it gets cancelled the day after. (2025 RR and yes this is approved in CA)

 

[Lion77]

You Talked me into it..Just purchased mine from Ford Performance &25% off + Dealer install $810 out the door, and did not want to void the warranty…
Does Anyone know what the break in period is .. on the 3.0? Going on 500 miles on the New Raptor, Figured I would break it in first ..before getting it installed..

Its in the service manual. First 1,000 miles avoid constant RPM, high speed driving and towing.

Aka drive around town, drive on some back roads with stop signs and use moderate throttle in the first 1k miles.

It does matter as it affects oil consumption for the life of the engine. If you hot rod it from new you'll likely not seat the rings properly and it will burn more oil which dilutes fuel octane and causes the ECU to pull more timing.

There's a thread on this forum where I posted a video that included some tips from one of the C8 Corvett powetrain engineers and he explains why moderate throttle and avoiding constant RPM or lugging matters.

 

[Lion77]

Btw, thats a no for me, as in no regrets. Had the Pro Cal dealer installed at 5k miles and have loved it ever since. More power and torque is noticeable and the shift logic is better.

From a durability standpoint, FP typically does simulated wear testing, aka they accelerate wear conditions to reach the equivalent of 60k, then do a tear down to look for abnormal wear rates.

So the wear rates aren't much different, if any, from stock. Most of the added torque is in the mid-range. Torque rolls off steadily as RPM increases and despite 50hp more, the torque after 4k rpm is only moderately more, so it has little impact to the driveline.

Their power gains come from the need to scale back octane. By eliminating the need to retard timing if a driver were to switch from 91 to 87 on the stock cal, they can assume 91 or higher always and provide more optimal timing profiles. All the safeties are in to prevent overheating valves that would over time cause tuliping, overheating cats etc.

They test their cals in wind tunnels with hot dry air for knock / detonation (aka to make sure its not occuring), the look at band temps, slip energies on the clutch packs etc.

This info is all from their official sources BTW. Its extremely well developed and tested, far more than custom cals and its designed to maintain reliability over the normal service life. I would expect a pro cal tuned RR to last 150k to 200k.

At that point it will be paid off and if I jad to rebuild a transmission or engine id be fine as thats a lot of miles on a performance vehicle.

 

[Lion77]

The two attached pdf's provide some insight into the rigorous testing. Many of the Pro Cal development team were OE powertrain engineers from Ford, working on the production vehicles prior. They also have direct access to all of Ford's OE test facilities and OE powertrain engineers focusing primarily on the original design. As an engineer myself, I can say WE know our designs best and that's why everyone comes to us for highly technical questions. The same applies to engine calibration.

I'll say this again, it is my personal and professional viewpoint based on lived experiences and factoring in risk / reward that when it comes to engine calibrations, stick with OE for stock bottom ends. If you have a built short block, big turbos etc., go custom calibration, you have to at that point and it's no longer an OE engine, designed for a very niche purpose. But on production cars, I won't use anything but OE tuning and Ford, BMW and a few others offer factory Hi Po cals, that's essentially what the Pro Cal is.

Even Mazda does the same thing now, but they only offer it at purchase, you can get the standard output or the Sport versions of their twin turbo inline 6 in the CX-90. It's all the same hardware, but the Sport comes with a Hi Po cal at a higher cost and slightly lower fuel economy in the city by 1 mpg, you just can't change it after the fact like Ford.

There is some intermixing of FP and Livernois who does some stuff for Ford Performance as a supplier / contractor, but no, they are not just a watered down Livernois cal, Livernoise doesn't do any of the OE testing in wind tunnels with hot dry air etc. that Ford Performance does, they don't do teardowns at 60k or test on multiple production vehicles to account for production tolerance etc. FP uses Livernois calibrator as a private label and their PC software. They are involved in some of the initial tuning, but all of the testing, validation and final fine tuning is done by FP.

There's just nobody else that tunes Fords like....Ford lol. If I had bought a Taco or Colorado, it would have stayed on the factory cal for long term reliability, period. Ford Performance vehicles are the ONLY production vehicles I've owned that I use Hi Po cals for since it's from the company that actually designed, tested and manufactured the vehicle in the first place, so I expect their calibrations to achieve similar reliability to the factory cal., especially under severe conditions.

My take on it is simple:

1. FP Pro Cal

2. Maybe an IC at some point once warranty is up.

3. Regular oil changes with MC FS and factory filter, not going to mess with deviating from factory spec full synthetic over a bazillion UOA's because I MIGHT happen across an oil that lowers my wear metals by 1~2 ppm....to me that's just a giant waste of time, plus there are other considerations now like wet belt compatibility of the oil and I know the OE spec full synthetics are well tested for oil pump belt compatibility.

4. Stick with Top Tier fuel stations which have a much more effective detergent package that reduces carbon buildup considerably compared to non-top tier fules. Fuel purity is better also. All grades of Top Tier fuels have the same detergent packages at Top Tier stations, so this is very helpful to GDI engines over their lifespan.

5. Follow good practice during warm-up, I avoid heavy throttle and high rpm until BOTH the engine oil and transmission oil are up to operating temp. This cuts down on cold start wear considerably over time so you don't end up with piston slap / cam lobe wear by 100k miles.

Follow good practices like quality fuels, regular oil changes with Ford Spec. oils at minimum, common sense and enjoy using all 455 HP that the 3.0L can provide, just do it AFTER full warmup!

 

[Bloody run]

Alot of good imfo on the tune, BUT my only concern is yes my extended warranty I purchased at signing, what's your insight on this?

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

When I talked to my dealer's service center, they were impressively knowledgeable and have sold/installed a bunch of them. As long as I don't have other mods like larger tires, etc. they won't even mention it in a warranty situation. They said it's Ford developed and Ford installed. Flagging it as a reason to deny a warranty would hurt THEIR business. That said, I don't trust the dealer closest to me. It wouldn't surprise me if they made it an issue and tried to deny a claim based on the tune.

 

[TurboRanger]

Can I just install it my self ? It said it has to be installed by a ASE/red seal certified technician for the warranty I have a friend out of state that has those credentials But he is a Chevy tech Without taking the truck to him

 

[superj]

I have taken mine on and off with no issues. My Ford dealer did the initial install though. I am not sure what online stuff they did except not put it in my name so I had to work with ford performance to get that fixed on my own.

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