Opinions on 93 Octane tune

[Ragincajin89]

My vehicle is completely stock at the moment. What are your opinions on getting a stock 93 octane tune? Beneficial at all? Would it make a noticeable difference in power? Just curious. Thanks y'all!

 

[jdubs]

YES!

Even the Cobb OTS "Stage 1" tune wakes the car up. It's like a whole different car from stock.

 

[Ragincajin89]

No mods needed to run the ots stage 1? Thanks for your input!

 

[jdubs]

The recommend a panel filter and RMM.

But no. The RMM will help with wheel hop though.

 

[Manta Ray]

I am running the cobb stage 1 with nothing. drop in filter performs the same as a stock filter if you ask me... but YMMV.

Goods:
car feels more raw and direct
more peppy
caffeinated engine?

bad:
lower mpg... well it's too tempting to step on it.
more tire wear... the tires tend to spin that much more!
.... well yeah.

Do it.

 

[DangerMouse]

I was hesitant at first as well, didn't want to waste money for a tune on a stock car. I had a cobb ots tune on my Forester xt and it was barely noticeable. I talked to stratified and ended up ordering a 93 octane flash tune with them. I was blown away at how much of a difference it made. I can't wait to order an intercooler soon and get a little more, but it isn't really needed, the car is a blast as is. Only complaint is it's too quiet.

 

[DangerMouse]

And yes rear motor mount is a must!

 

[Siestarider]

My vehicle is completely stock at the moment. What are your opinions on getting a stock 93 octane tune? Beneficial at all? Would it make a noticeable difference in power? Just curious. Thanks y'all!

The ramifications of a comprehensive answer to your great question are significant. The following is based on my experience in my car swapping parts in and out.

If you obtain an Accessport, you gain access to Cobb OTS tunes with it. 93 octane Stages 1, 2 and 3. The AP will log enough operating parameters for you to determine which of these fits your climate and elevation. At worst, you get a great boost in torque and better drivability for high performance opportunities.

Bone stock, you may able to use a Cobb S-3 tune which will in turn add 20+ hp. At most you will need a better I/C to use S-2 and 3 canned tunes. If you cannot interpret your logs well, get professional help.

Going further from orthodoxy, Razorlab reported some astonishing performance enhancements by running E-25 (93 octane plus 15% added ethanol). Check it out. I tend to trust his results having read a bunch of them over past 2 years and experimented with some of his ideas myself.

So at most you have invested in AP, I/C, and a professional tuner. $1500 max. And you should be making 220 whp on E25 and 200 on 93.

With $1500 and everything else stock, I could drive your car to within 5% of my best lap times at several tracks.

So all the other stuff you can buy is not about cost-effectiveness, its about fun. CBE for tunes, short shift for feel, etc.

 

[Fiestarawpower]

Also the fs werks short shift adapter is a good buy along with the shifter bushings makes everything seem more solid there's so much slop in the stock shifter from it having rubber bushings

 

[Ragincajin89]

If I have to go in for warranty work for some reason, after I restore it to factory settings and take the tuner out, can they tell that it was previously flashed and void my warranty?

 

[Ragincajin89]

Bueller?

 

[Kazz]

I'm of the opinion that most modern ECUs have some kind of flash counter so they can tell it was flashed, or how many times it was flashed. I can't tell you whether that's the case with the FiST or not. However, what I can tell you, is that the burden of proof that something broke the car is on Ford, not you. This is true for all changes to a vehicle that is under warranty. The manufacturer has to prove it caused the problem before they can deny service, warranty, etc.

 

[OffTheWall503]

93 octane will give you optimal performance, stock or tuned. A member even tested adding one to two gallons of E85 and that will also make an improvement.

 

[Quisp]

I'm of the opinion that most modern ECUs have some kind of flash counter so they can tell it was flashed, or how many times it was flashed. I can't tell you whether that's the case with the FiST or not. However, what I can tell you, is that the burden of proof that something broke the car is on Ford, not you. This is true for all changes to a vehicle that is under warranty. The manufacturer has to prove it caused the problem before they can deny service, warranty, etc.

When they deny warranty you don't pay you don't get car back or put together. There's a video on this site buried somewhere by a claims lawyer. You can fight it but how long can you go without a vehicle and come up with thousands to fight their lawyers ?