I Installed the Warranty-Preserving Ecoboost Mustang Tune and Now I'm Ready to Shame the V8s

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
12/06/2016 at 22:06 • Filed to: None

Yes folks, I did it. I bought and installed something Jalopnik wrote about. So how is it?

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It’s how the car should come from the factory, that’s how it is.

The calibration pack comes with a GT350 intake, a pro-cal OBD tool, and an orange piece of paper with a code on it for downloading the pro-cal software

The whole package can be had for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , less if you go to your nearest Ford Mustang forum and ask a CJPP rep for a discount code. Since I had !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I walked out the door clicked off their website $540 dollars later.

$540 for a genuine GT350 airbox and a promised +25 hp/+70 ft-lb torque? Not a bad deal!

Unlike other tuners on the market the Ford Performance tune offers one killer feature: if installed by a Ford Dealer your car is protected by a warranty for 3 years/36,000 miles. That peace of mind will likely cost you $200 in labor. All in all $750 doesn’t sound too bad for power with protection.

So, how’s it drive? Pretty damn great.

My car is a 2015 Ecoboost with the Premium Package. That package included, among many other things, 4 selectable driving modes: Normal, Sport, Track, and Snow/Wet. These driving modes actually make a significant difference in throttle response and power. I’m still not sure if track and sport differ beyond traction control settings, but going from normal to sport is immediately noticeable.

Normal mode has always felt a bit sluggish to me. Throttle response in Normal is lacking and the car just doesn’t want to go . It’s coddling you into good gas mileage by driving like the 4 cylinder Mustang car enthusiasts feared from the day it was announced. Sport mode though, sport mode feels nice. Responsive. Quick spooling twin-scroll turbo brings good low end torque and rushes you along with purpose. This car feels great in sport mode, easing any hesitations you may have about a Mustang with 2.3L of displacement.

Post tune? Normal mode feels like sport mode, but faster. It’s excellent for regular driving. It’s the way it should have been: properly sporty with an excellent sense that there’s plenty of power on tap when you need it.

In sport mode? Holy shitballs this thing is fast. Is it as fast as a V8? Probably not. Is it faster than a V8? Definitely not. But it is a riot. Low end torque is absurd, the car bucks like the pony it wears on its front and rear and pulls hard all the way to the tippy top of the rev range. Before the tune once 5000 RPM was passed the power was gone without a trace, now it keeps going and urges you to drive until you lose your license.

The tuned Ecoboost Mustang delivers on the promise of the Ecoboost Mustang: responsible performance that feels more like a European sports car than an American muscle car. It may not be a V8, but it sure is fun.

DISCUSSION (25)

S65 > Jayhawk Jake
12/06/2016 at 22:10

Makes me wonder how much power you can get out of that 2.3...

Jayhawk Jake > S65
12/06/2016 at 22:12

The tuners out there say that 450 hp is the most you can do on the stock block. Getting there requires a big turbo. I think the current record is in the 700 range?

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jayhawk Jake
12/06/2016 at 22:15

So much for having a chance at catching you at autocross. Dammit...

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Jayhawk Jake
12/06/2016 at 22:25

I thought it was 450whp on the stock block?

Cherry_man1 > Jayhawk Jake
12/06/2016 at 23:34

Want me to bring my 2011 Mustang GT out to ya so you can compare? My winter break is coming up fast and if I’m not working I’ll be in Kansas.

camarov6rs > S65
12/07/2016 at 01:01

The Focus RS is pulling 350 with some different internals, I would think most of it would be the same for the sake of cost though

camarov6rs > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 01:04

If you have driven the 2.0T Camaro what do you think the comparison would be like between them? With or without tune

Jayhawk Jake > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
12/07/2016 at 07:59

Power doesn’t matter. You weren’t going to catch me anyways

uofime-2 > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 09:09

Where’s that put you for AutoX now that you’ve messed with he factory boost control

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 09:37

700 on the ecoboost? That’s amazing. My ‘14 RS3 only has 575 (although I haven’t dyno’d mine, but someone I know with another ‘14 actually had his dyno at 625).

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 09:47

Eh, I dunno. Sway bar and way better tires could help me close that 4 second gap at least a little.

Vicente Esteve > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 10:05

If there is one thing that I love about turbo motors is their tune-ability. The fact that you can change the whole character of the car in a matter of minutes with the right software is extremely intreating to me. I love reading these first impressions writeups, enjoy the Mustang.

Jayhawk Jake > camarov6rs
12/07/2016 at 13:37

I drove a V6. My car feels WAY more powerful tuned. It’s not even close. The Camaro just doesn’t have the low end torque the Mustang does, even stock. Stock v Stock they feel surprisingly similar. The Camaro still sounds better though, even with my exhaust. I haven’t driven the turbo so I can’t comment on it

Jayhawk Jake > haveacarortwoorthree2
12/07/2016 at 13:39

I think anything that requires big turbo defeats the purpose though. I’d be curious to drive a 400 whp big turbo ecoboost. The good thing about the smaller turbo is it spools quickly so power is available down low

Jayhawk Jake > Cherry_man1
12/07/2016 at 13:40

I suppose? I don’t do street racing though. I drove a ‘14 GT and a ‘15 GT when I was shopping for this, but it’s been a while

Jayhawk Jake > uofime-2
12/07/2016 at 13:56

Puts me in bullshit. CSP I think. You can tune in ST classes but you can’t mess with boost, which this almost certainly has. Hopefully that rule changes and I can run in STP. The car could be competitive in STP.

Cherry_man1 > Jayhawk Jake
12/07/2016 at 14:14

That’s fine just use the ole butt dyno.

uofime-2 > Jayhawk Jake
12/08/2016 at 12:54

SCCA really needs to reevaluate the way the handle engine tuning for classing especially for turbo cars, but alas they are a dinosaur constructed of stuffy old men so I’m certainly not holding my breath on them doing so.

In the meantime people will continue to cheat in order to class themselves intelligently.

bhtooefr > uofime-2
12/10/2016 at 18:41

It also makes diesels hilariously uncompetitive in autocross - you either have to run bone stock, where the weight means you get eaten alive by Miatas and Minis, or you have to go balls to the wall insane, where you get eaten alive by... a lot of other stuff.

(I never did get around to autocrossing my Golf, though, and had I done it, I’d probably have done it with the local Miata club, which would’ve put it in a “not a Miata” class.)

However, there’s one way to look at it: increasing boost pressure is increasing intake air volume, in exactly the same way as increasing engine bore and stroke does. And, in Street Touring, you’re only allowed first oversize on bore...

Herc.Isra > Jayhawk Jake
11/05/2017 at 19:08

They had a EB at SEMA pushing 900HP. They even have one running a 9.94 1/4 mile. Ford mastered the 2.3L

Herc.Isra > Jayhawk Jake
11/05/2017 at 19:10

Did the time bump up the 0-60? And did it increase max MPH, or is it still factory set at 124mph?

Jayhawk Jake > Herc.Isra
11/06/2017 at 07:46

Shame they haven’t mastered how to keep it in one piece

Jayhawk Jake > Herc.Isra
11/06/2017 at 07:46

It was definitely faster 0-60, but I never timed it so I don’t know how much. No idea on the limiter, I don’t often go that fast.

jreidbex > Herc.Isra
11/13/2017 at 14:42

I have the same tune on my ‘16 ecobeast, the top speed on it now is whatever the speedo reads at the north end, 160. I know because I got it there last night on some brand new tires :)

jreidbex > Herc.Isra
11/13/2017 at 14:51

The ford procal tune with CAI on my performance pack ecoboost ran 160mph last night like it was nothing, on brand new tires with a skilled driver behind the wheel, essentially it will reach about 5k rpms in 6th at that speed, car otherwise bone stock.