SterlingSHO13 Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Greetings all, After lurking around this forum the last couple days, I mustered the bravery to post a few burning questions (granted the friendliness of everyone here kept the level of bravery needed pretty low). I had a 2011 PP SHO that I resisted the urge to tune from brand new to trading it in at 72K miles. I now have a 2013 non-PP SHO that's almost a year and 23K miles old. I'm starting to become interested in tuning again, but I want to make sure I do all my homework before going too far down this path. 1) It seems that Unleashed and Livernois are the main 2 vendors used by SHO owners. Does one have an advantage over the other? 2) I've read that Unleashed offers data logging for further customization. Can anyone elaborate on this? Does this additional vehicle specific tuning improve the relative safety of the tune (I recognize it will always be somewhat of a gamble)? 3) From what I've read, it seems that most tunes reduce torque management during gear shifts. Has anyone heard of/encountered any issues this presents to transmission longevity? Just intuitively, it seems that a harsher shift would result in more of a shock all the way down the driveline to the pavement, but I could be wrong. Of course, the idea of sending more than 350 ft-lbs through a front drive based platform still scares me a bit too, but that's just something I'll have to get over I guess... 4) Has anyone heard any horror stories of reliability/warranty problems after tuning? After reading many posts, I've pretty much resigned myself that if something in the powertrain goes wrong after tuning - even if the tune is not at fault, there is a pretty decent likelihood I'll be paying for the repair out of pocket. 5) On the warranty front, I've seen a handful of comments hinting at the benefits of finding a "mod friendly" dealer. Does anyone have any advice they can offer on this front? I'm a little afraid to straight up ask the dealer where I normally go for service for fear of being marked. (Side note: I'm in the metro St. Louis area if anyone has any particular dealers they'd recommend nearby.) Wow - that was much more long-winded than I anticipated. I apologize in advance for the redundancy of some of these questions as I'm almost positive they have been asked in other posts at one time or another, but I've read so many at this point my head is starting to spin. Also some of the threads were getting a little old, so I wasn't sure if more recent info was available. The logical side of my brain wants the answers to come back with many reasons not to tune, but most of me wants to find a good excuse to pull the trigger :biggrin: Thanks in advance for any and all replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 In order: 1.) LMS has fostered great relations with FMC and some of their Engineer's. Advantage LMS. As they have access to tables / parameters that no other tuner does. Some say it's unfair. But meh. 2.) LMS has gone on record that most (if not all) devices people are using to data log are providing fairly inaccurate info. Additionally, individual owners are using their own vehicles to be the guinea pig while the tunes are being tweaked back -n- forth. No real advantage, or disadvantage here I suppose. Merely a matter of preference. 3.) From my own discussions with FMC Execs back in 2011, FMC did not begin experiencing drivetrain failures until around the 720bhp threshold. Most of us that are tuned (no matter by whom) are pushing well in excess of the 350ft-lbs torque range you've cited, and have not experienced issues. I suspect neither will you. Although like any other mechanical part, limitations will be reached. However, to say these drive trains are pretty stout (straight from the factory) would be understatement to say the least. 4.) and 5.) Both of these questions you present, seem centered around the same topic. I'm sure you've read the various posts. Reliability has been pretty consistent leaning towards the upside of the pendulum. Sure, there've been misses here and there. As a result, those misses have prompted their owners to bring their EB's into the Dealership for repairs and/or warranty work. Some have reported less than desirable experiences at their Dealer's. Some have reported great experiences. But it's the luck of the draw I suppose. In closing, tuning is, bar none, THE BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK with this platform. There's a lot of headroom that FMC left hanging out there on the table. So good luck in your own internal plight / struggles to decide how you will proceed. Livernois Motorsports and Sigmedic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 bpd covers it pretty well. I can only relate my experience and the experience of others that I know personally about the tunes. First, I've been running a Livernois tune since June 2011 without incident. Their tune has never been out of the car, my dealer knows the car is tuned and has never had a problem with it. I've never had it back to stock. I started with Stage 2 tune, moved on to Stage 4+ (at the urging of "The Dark Side"), and finally upgraded to the MyCal and the Stage 4X tune with 3bar, upgraded plugs, and 160 thermostat. Again, never have experienced any problems. I also know that the other members I know personally have never had a problem with Livernois tunes (granted, I've only meant with 5-6 members). All are very pleased with everything about their Livernois tunes, from the products to customer service. Also, I can tell you that every one of the guys I've meant (including myself) could kick themselves for waiting and not tuning their cars sooner. They all agree that it just makes the car a lot more fun to drive. Lastly, with all the cars that have been tuned by Livernois and all the miles that have been driven, I think it really shows how safe these tunes have proven themselves to be. I don't think you will ever experience any trouble driving the car in a sensible manner. Heck, even the guys who regularly track their cars, aren't seeing any problems showing up! I believe it you do tune your car, you will kick yourself for never tuning your 11 and waiting to tune the '13. I can't even begin to tell you how much driving fun and excitement you've missed out on by keeping it stock. Again, as bpd says; "It's the best bang for your buck for this platform or that I've ever spent on stuff to improve performance". I can warn you that after your first gas pedal down drive in a tuned SHO, you will have a heck of a time getting the grin off your face! In conclusion, I will say that I would never chose any tune other than Livernois because of their proven safety record, strong relationship with Ford, and the fact that they have always shown great support for all their customers. No reason to look elsewhere, safety, conservative, and proven tunes...you really can't ask for more... Livernois Motorsports and bpd1151 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterlingSHO13 Posted September 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 Thanks so much for the thoughtful (and very comprehensive!) responses @mjhpadi and @bpd1151. Sounds like if I finally get the consent of my mind to pull the trigger Livernois may be the way to go. I don't really have the $600 laying around to spend on such pursuits at the moment, but in a few months I may have to really take a good hard look at this. Thanks again for the helpful information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted September 24, 2014 Report Share Posted September 24, 2014 I promise you, you will be telling yourself it's the best $600.00 you ever spent on car stuff! Good luck with talking yourself into it! Livernois Motorsports 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Livernois Motorsports Posted October 6, 2014 Report Share Posted October 6, 2014 Greetings all, After lurking around this forum the last couple days, I mustered the bravery to post a few burning questions (granted the friendliness of everyone here kept the level of bravery needed pretty low). I had a 2011 PP SHO that I resisted the urge to tune from brand new to trading it in at 72K miles. I now have a 2013 non-PP SHO that's almost a year and 23K miles old. I'm starting to become interested in tuning again, but I want to make sure I do all my homework before going too far down this path. 1) It seems that Unleashed and Livernois are the main 2 vendors used by SHO owners. Does one have an advantage over the other? 2) I've read that Unleashed offers data logging for further customization. Can anyone elaborate on this? Does this additional vehicle specific tuning improve the relative safety of the tune (I recognize it will always be somewhat of a gamble)? 3) From what I've read, it seems that most tunes reduce torque management during gear shifts. Has anyone heard of/encountered any issues this presents to transmission longevity? Just intuitively, it seems that a harsher shift would result in more of a shock all the way down the driveline to the pavement, but I could be wrong. Of course, the idea of sending more than 350 ft-lbs through a front drive based platform still scares me a bit too, but that's just something I'll have to get over I guess... 4) Has anyone heard any horror stories of reliability/warranty problems after tuning? After reading many posts, I've pretty much resigned myself that if something in the powertrain goes wrong after tuning - even if the tune is not at fault, there is a pretty decent likelihood I'll be paying for the repair out of pocket. 5) On the warranty front, I've seen a handful of comments hinting at the benefits of finding a "mod friendly" dealer. Does anyone have any advice they can offer on this front? I'm a little afraid to straight up ask the dealer where I normally go for service for fear of being marked. (Side note: I'm in the metro St. Louis area if anyone has any particular dealers they'd recommend nearby.) Wow - that was much more long-winded than I anticipated. I apologize in advance for the redundancy of some of these questions as I'm almost positive they have been asked in other posts at one time or another, but I've read so many at this point my head is starting to spin. Also some of the threads were getting a little old, so I wasn't sure if more recent info was available. The logical side of my brain wants the answers to come back with many reasons not to tune, but most of me wants to find a good excuse to pull the trigger :biggrin: Thanks in advance for any and all replies. Thank you for the consideration! We probably do more Ecoboost tuning than anyone else on Earth, or any other planet for that fact. Through us building amazing relationships with FoMoCo we have been given a lot of respect and access, that not everyone shares. When it comes to tuning, we do unlock more tables than most everyone. And all of our tuning is done on a custom basis, with a focus on performance, drivability and sustainability. We will not build any tunes that are too powerful for the amount of modifications that you have made. Tuning for us is like a step ladder. If you want the more powerful tunes that we make there are parts that your vehicle needs to have before we allow you to take that next step. Making 700 WHP would be great, but if you make it for 3 seconds and then your car dies is it worth the number? NO! So for us, and this is probably why we have the respect and reputation that we do have is that we aren't trying to make power numbers. We want to make powerful and extremely reliable daily drivers that can be taken out to the strip and destroy the competition, and turn around to get groceries. We heavily promote the idea of being open and honest with your dealer. Obviously, you do want to make it as easy as possible for them to service your vehicle. So make sure that the vehicle has been flashed back to stock, this way there are no extra steps needed to start the repair process. If you have any questions call us (313) 561 5500 mjhpadi and rowekmr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOnUup Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 ^^^^hahaha...destroy the competition and then go get groceries. Love it! Rich Livernois Motorsports 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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