Sponsored

Tuners, Aftermarket Chips — Do They Work?

uh50

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Howard
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Threads
30
Messages
1,238
Reaction score
1,381
Location
Brookhaven Lake O' the Pines, Texas
Website
www.hchaney.com
Vehicle(s)
2022 Maverick XL, VB, 2.0 EB
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
I was reading automotive news sites this morning and ran across an article that listed 25 or so add-ons or accessories that are not worth the money spent on them. One was tuning chips. Their article stated the following:

One of my to dos for my Maverick XL was to research a chip that added hp and fuel economy. I've never used a performance chip so I'm not real familiar with them. I guess this would include tuning devices that change the various tunes available on a vehicle. There must be some use for programmable tuning devices since cars/trucks come with several driving modes these days.

So, my question is do they work? Look, I'm not interested in opinion here. We need data that proves the thesis of increased hp and mpg, or data that shows increased hp and mpg is not possible. Data from sites that use various products are more than welcome, data produced by sites that just sell them, doesn't do us much good. Unbiased information would give us all productive information and data to back it up.

TIA!
Sponsored

 
OP
OP
uh50

uh50

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Howard
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Threads
30
Messages
1,238
Reaction score
1,381
Location
Brookhaven Lake O' the Pines, Texas
Website
www.hchaney.com
Vehicle(s)
2022 Maverick XL, VB, 2.0 EB
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Another question. Can ForScan be used for performance and mpg gains?
 

cannon

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
mark
Joined
Dec 24, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
231
Reaction score
333
Location
astoria oregon
Vehicle(s)
2022 Maverick XL awd
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Why can't people just be happy with the way it is intended as built by the manufacturer 🤔
It's human nature to try and improve upon things. And many people want to take a mass produced vehicle and make it their own. If you're happy keeping it stock, sweet, enjoy it. But don't expect the same from everyone else.
 

Decayed

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
yes
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
Threads
47
Messages
3,126
Reaction score
4,819
Location
Directly above the center of the Earth
Vehicle(s)
a car
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Mr Boom posted tune results with dyno testing and showed gains in HP and torque. Dunno about piggy back chips. The issue is you can void your warranty.
 

Maverickman74

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Shane
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Threads
57
Messages
4,957
Reaction score
6,662
Location
Maui HI
Vehicle(s)
96 Bronco, 91 Comanche, 93 ZJ, 80 Eagle, Bicycle
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Clubs
 
Why can't people just be happy with the way it is intended as built by the manufacturer 🤔
I was born a hotrodder. My dad was a vanner and racing enthusiast. His cousin put aircraft engines in tractors and raced stock cars. One brother designed car components, holding many patents and eventually focused his talents to 7 local circle track championships. My other brother designs software but organized road rallies and has always dreamed of ways to improve vehicles design through his own expertise field. Also one grandpa sold and raced cars between world wars and my other grandpa spent ww2 building bridges and blowing them up.

Leaving well enough alone has never really ran through my blood.

When I was 16 first thing I did was bolt a bigger radiator fan onto my Econoline.

I will leave my Maverick stock as far as things that void the warranty but after that is up I will absolutely go for a tune, maybe a better turbo, and all supporting components like intercoolers and maybe methanol injection. I just want around 350hp and well under 4000lbs. tell me where else I can get that with a truck bed and I will take a look.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

OP
OP
uh50

uh50

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Howard
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Threads
30
Messages
1,238
Reaction score
1,381
Location
Brookhaven Lake O' the Pines, Texas
Website
www.hchaney.com
Vehicle(s)
2022 Maverick XL, VB, 2.0 EB
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
I was born a hotrodder. My dad was a vanner and racing enthusiast. His cousin put aircraft engines in tractors and raced stock cars. One brother designed car component, holding many patents and eventually focused his talents to 7 local circle track championships. My other brother designs software but organized road rallies and has always dreamed of ways to improve vehicles design through his own expertise field. Also one grandpa sold and races cars between world wars and my other grandpa spent ww2 build bridges and blowing them up.

Leaving well enough alone has never really ran through my blood.

When I was 16 first thing I did was bolt a bigger radiator fan onto my Econoline.

I will leave my Maverick stock as far as things that void the warranty but after that is up I will absolutely go for a tune, maybe a better turbo, and all supporting components like intercoolers and maybe methanol injection. I just want around 350hp and well under 4000lbs. tell me where else I can get that with a truck bed and I will take a look.
I know what you mean. I was into drag racing as a young man in the mid 60s. Had a factory D-Stock Dart. Since it was develop and produced just for stock drag racing, we didn't do too much to it, mostly tweak it where we could get just a little more out of it. Haven't tuned a car since. But those were fun days.
 

Maverickman74

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Shane
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Threads
57
Messages
4,957
Reaction score
6,662
Location
Maui HI
Vehicle(s)
96 Bronco, 91 Comanche, 93 ZJ, 80 Eagle, Bicycle
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Clubs
 
I know what you mean. I was into drag racing as a young man in the mid 60s. Had a factory D-Stock Dart. Since it was develop and produced just for stock drag racing, we didn't do too much to it, mostly tweak it where we could get just a little more out of it. Haven't tuned a car since. But those were fun days.
Nice my uncle was always big into Mopars. My brother who raced the most had a 78 Monte Carlo that he built the 350 for his project at GMI. Ran 13s on street tires a few times. Then he used it to tow his stock car to the circle track for about 5 years!

My 74 Maverick had the hp but I left it geared for the highway(only ever got it to low 14s), and did alot of country road runs up over 130 and higher. It didnt come alive till about 3500rpm. but I reved it to well over 6000rpm. Scary but fun!
 

Evil2ltr

Well-known member
First Name
Kevin
Joined
Oct 22, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
312
Reaction score
385
Location
Asheville, NC
Vehicle(s)
2022 Alto Blue Maverick XLT AWD
Several vendors are seeing tangible gains.

Stay away from "chips"...Nothing that costs $50-$60 is going to have positive results.
 

ShadowChas

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Chuck
Joined
Nov 13, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
571
Reaction score
629
Location
Michigan
Vehicle(s)
2022 Ford Maverick XLT FX4
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
I don’t believe that you’re going to be able to increase fuel economy since all manufacturers spend a lot time with engine calibration to optimize every bit to improve this - however yes you can increase power since Ford (all manufacturers) tries to make consumers happy with noise vibration harshness and warranties and trying to get better fuel economy leaving a little less power. Engine is a big air pump increase your intake (cold air or anything to lessen the restrictions) and then helping turbo which pushes in more air and the colder/more dense the better which also then needs exhaust open to flow better but all that comes with more fuel use age… yes a good tuner can work more power and yes different exhaust and intake tube/filter etc helps more power & sounds more aggressive too. There’s a few companies here on the site that have proof with test results for any of their products available to show what they do
 
Last edited:

Geep

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
First Name
Paul
Joined
Nov 1, 2021
Threads
34
Messages
269
Reaction score
241
Location
SK Canada
Vehicle(s)
2022 Ford Maverick XLT luxury hybrid
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
5StarTuning did wonders for my 3.5L F-150
 
Sponsored

Maverickman74

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Shane
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Threads
57
Messages
4,957
Reaction score
6,662
Location
Maui HI
Vehicle(s)
96 Bronco, 91 Comanche, 93 ZJ, 80 Eagle, Bicycle
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Clubs
 
One thought on the fuel economy aspect. Best way to do that with a engine already tuned for max economy is weight reduction. Find things you dont need and get rid of em. Find things that can be replaced with lighter parts and do that.
 

Espeer

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
Joined
Sep 13, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
332
Reaction score
436
Location
Virginia
Vehicle(s)
2012 focus, 2003 expedition
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
I don't think there is any debate at all that changing the software can improve performance, especially on a turbo vehicle. Turn up the boost, add some fuel, and maybe tweak the timing a bit - boom instant hp and tq gains. Of course, you need to avoid damaging the vehicle when you do this - the first and easiest step is to mandate higher octane fuel.
 

aspect

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
220
Reaction score
368
Location
BC, canada
Vehicle(s)
XLT Lux FX4 2.0 4k
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Don't buy anything from anyone who can't show you a dyno plot of before-and-after. Ever. Seeing other people say it feels faster after install is worthless. I've had people tell me their car is faster with a full tank of gas.

With modern vehicles there are usually two tuning options:


PIGGYBACK: A device that plugs in between your car computer and the rest of the vehicle and alters the signals that the computer sees. This approach does not have the same results but the advantage is that it's fast and easy to install and remove. Right now RaceChip and JB4 offer products for the Maverick but I haven't found any evidence of actual results...just people saying "it works great!" and websites saying "up to +40hp!".


REFLASH: A device that directly changes the data on the car computer to adjust fuel/timing/boost/etc. This approach offers a lot of depth of adjustment and will have the best results, but the tunes must be developed by professionals with lots of experience as it would be easy to damage the engine if you took it way too far. Usually the tune is somewhat customized based on a vehicle's level of modification as well.
There's some debate over whether a reflash can really be "removed" so the vehicle manufacturer can't detect it was ever there, so the best plan is to assume that your warranty will not cover anything engine related once you go this route. There are many products and reputable tuners for the Maverick already, some of whom are on this forum. Almost all reflash tune products will have dyno charts and test results available.

Also, Forscan cannot adjust engine parameters. It's just for adding and removing features.
 
OP
OP
uh50

uh50

2.0L EcoBoost
Well-known member
First Name
Howard
Joined
Oct 4, 2021
Threads
30
Messages
1,238
Reaction score
1,381
Location
Brookhaven Lake O' the Pines, Texas
Website
www.hchaney.com
Vehicle(s)
2022 Maverick XL, VB, 2.0 EB
Engine
2.0L EcoBoost
Don't buy anything from anyone who can't show you a dyno plot of before-and-after. Ever. Seeing other people say it feels faster after install is worthless. I've had people tell me their car is faster with a full tank of gas.

With modern vehicles there are usually two tuning options:


PIGGYBACK: A device that plugs in between your car computer and the rest of the vehicle and alters the signals that the computer sees. This approach does not have the same results but the advantage is that it's fast and easy to install and remove. Right now RaceChip and JB4 offer products for the Maverick but I haven't found any evidence of actual results...just people saying "it works great!" and websites saying "up to +40hp!".


REFLASH: A device that directly changes the data on the car computer to adjust fuel/timing/boost/etc. This approach offers a lot of depth of adjustment and will have the best results, but the tunes must be developed by professionals with lots of experience as it would be easy to damage the engine if you took it way too far. Usually the tune is somewhat customized based on a vehicle's level of modification as well.
There's some debate over whether a reflash can really be "removed" so the vehicle manufacturer can't detect it was ever there, so the best plan is to assume that your warranty will not cover anything engine related once you go this route. There are many products and reputable tuners for the Maverick already, some of whom are on this forum. Almost all reflash tune products will have dyno charts and test results available.

Also, Forscan cannot adjust engine parameters. It's just for adding and removing features.
Thanks for the explanation. This information helps.
 

Flomounier1

2.5L Hybrid
Well-known member
Joined
Oct 7, 2021
Threads
26
Messages
629
Reaction score
857
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicle(s)
2022 Ford Maverick Hybrid
Engine
2.5L Hybrid
JB4 is one of the most well known ones that has good results, but it also comes at the cost of stability issues, voiding your warranty, and check engine lights. Most can be cleared just by resetting your CEL with a cheap scanner, but Ford techs can read freeze frame data in the black box if they want to. I'm also not sure if Ford specific trouble codes can be reset with a standard OBDII scanner.
Sponsored

 
 




Top