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Used FiST tune?

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Washington
#1
Hello all!

I'm a new owner of a '15 model and was wondering if there is a way to tell whether or not my car has a tune on it? I'm curious because I do know the previous owner installed some kind of Mountune exhaust (which I like :) ) and as I was researching it I ran across someone online who was installing it to compliment their tune (I think it was MP215?). I hope this isn't a silly question, but I'm totally new to mods and tuning and such :S I'm mainly concerned that I'm using the wrong fuel since I've read somewhere that one should use particular octanes with tunes, etc. I have been using 91 but used 87 for a road trip recently.

Thanks for your help!

R
 


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New Castle
#2
Someone can give a 100% definitive answer, but I'll respond with a quick one to maybe set your mind at ease.

Without a Cobb Access Port (AP), I don't think you will be able to find out if you have a tune or not. But - the good news is that if the previous owner used an AP to load a tune, he most likely removed the tune before selling the car.

The great thing about the AP (well, one of many) is that it can only work on one car at a time. If you are selling your car and have no need for the AP and want to sell it, you HAVE to "uninstall" it from your car. Basically, unpair it. Doing that removes any tune and now the car is back to stock.

So the only way you could have a tune on your car is if the previous owner just didn't care (or forgot) to unpair his AP before selling his car. I doubt this would happen since it means missing out on a good deal of money (used APs hover around $400).

Oh, and I'd recommend against using 87 for anything in this car. Yes - it will run, but not super well. Up to you of course, but do some digging for research (and ignore ProDigit when he comes in here to talk about running on 87 octane).
 


Last edited:

jeffreylyon

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#3
Oh, and I'd recommend against using 87 for anything in this car. Yes - it will run, but not super well. Up to you of course, but do some digging for research (and ignore ProDigit when he comes in here to talk about running on 87 octane).
+1 - it's a false economy to run a lower octane fuel when your car is tuned for a higher one. I'm not 100% on this, but I believe that increasing the octane of 87 by dumping in a gallon of E85 won't help the problem as E85 has lower specific energy than dino-juice. Just do as Ford recommends: run 91 on your stock FiST and stop thinking that you can screw the man with your master plan.
 


OP
R
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Thread Starter #4
No master plan here-just trying to save a couple bucks on a 400+ mile road trip. Plus I don't really know what E85 does?

Also I agree with the thinking that the previous owner would have removed the access port-not a cheap upgrade! Maybe I will do one someday :)
 


Ford ST

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#5
I know it can be very tempting to try to save some cash by using 87. But when the car is constantly having to catch itself, and pull timing it's running less efficient than it was designed to.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


TyphoonFiST

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#6
No master plan here-just trying to save a couple bucks on a 400+ mile road trip. Plus I don't really know what E85 does?

Also I agree with the thinking that the previous owner would have removed the access port-not a cheap upgrade! Maybe I will do one someday :)
You wanna save a couple bucks on your Road trip...STAY OUT OF THE BOOST.... this will help increase fuel economy! [wrenchin]
 


OP
R
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Location
Washington
Thread Starter #7
I'll definitely give 91 a try for the next road trip! :) I think it's only 5 more dollars per 10 gal. Btw my first ever road trip returned 33 mpg (35 displayed) over 406 miles and I am happy! Maybe it'll be even better next time.
 


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Front Royal
#8
I don't know if you can use another access port to see if there is a tune in it or not, but if it can, I work in dc and have an access port. Just throwing it out there just in case.
 


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Location
Vancouver
#9
Just to add one more point towards using premium fuel (92 in my case), I noticed about 1.5-2mpg better when using premium compared to 87. The first tank I put in the car was 87, and then I decided to try 92 just to see if I would notice anything different. Power wise they felt the same, but the MPG increase was noticeable. Pretty sure it pays for itself over a full tank
 


AzNightmare

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#10
Don't be that guy...

You can afford the car not when you can just get it in your garage, but when you can actually get it running with the proper fuel.
91, or 93 if it's available is the right fuel to use. Why buy the car and then nerf it's power with inferior fuel.

I've always considered the FiST being able to run on 87 was a marketing strategy, just to show another feature of this car. But it was never truly meant to be used. It's more of an emergency that this car can actually use 87, if for some reason, you're hypothetically stranded in some ghetto place and all they have is 87.
 




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