Randy at mountune must be god

[XR650R]

This interesting because when he was at Mountune he only communicated through email and did not like talking on the phone and that was widely known and talked about.
Not saying he is not a nice guy, his tunes are indeed good but that was just the modus operandi back then and even the guys at Mountune were like ya email him don’t try to get him on the phone.
That may have changed now that he has gone into business for himself though.

To anyone considering tunes look at the tuner and look at their experience with our platform and or the particular Turbo you are using. The only time to stray from that is if you can get a a platform familiar local dyno tune as a lot of the heavy pull data logging gets taken care of on the dyno.

People seem to not realize a 3rd and 4th gear pull from say 2500-redline needs to be done in Mexico.

When I called mountune, it was about my MP215. I don't know why, but it was a Saturday, and Randy answered the phone. This was in early '18.

The issue was that the AP thought my car was a '16. The Ford mechanic refused to flash the tune because of that. It wasn't really relevant, because 17+ weren't warrantied, anyway. Randy told me that the tunes were identical through all model years. He actually took the time to tell me about his experience making a Ford and 50 state legal tune, and was proud that they'd gotten zero issues with it.

I flashed it myself. Holy cow! Yes, the car had more power and torque, and it wasn't that much, but it filled in the powerband so well. More torque where you want it, and more hp at the top. I would still recommend this tune to anyone who wants more usable power with just a tune and a real CAI. It works great in the real world. It cuts boost in the lower gears, just like stock, and it will pass emissions in California. A tune so good and safe, Ford Performance sold it on their site.

Name another tuner who's run that gauntlet.

I didn't take a pic, but my last pull was in 4th gear. I saw 236 hp and 288.8 tq. 3rd gear pulls are difficult in the real world, but 4th is the closest gear to 1:1. I needed a lot of clear road to do that, but I did it, and I didn't get a ticket. I should be happy with that, but a little more would just be fun!

Chasing the performance dragon with a car like this is addictive. Happy Holidays to all my FiST friends!

 

[Dpro]

When I called mountune, it was about my MP215. I don't know why, but it was a Saturday, and Randy answered the phone. This was in early '18.

The issue was that the AP thought my car was a '16. The Ford mechanic refused to flash the tune because of that. It wasn't really relevant, because 17+ weren't warrantied, anyway. Randy told me that the tunes were identical through all model years. He actually took the time to tell me about his experience making a Ford and 50 state legal tune, and was proud that they'd gotten zero issues with it.

I flashed it myself. Holy cow! Yes, the car had more power and torque, and it wasn't that much, but it filled in the powerband so well. More torque where you want it, and more hp at the top. I would still recommend this tune to anyone who wants more usable power with just a tune and a real CAI. It works great in the real world. It cuts boost in the lower gears, just like stock, and it will pass emissions in California. A tune so good and safe, Ford Performance sold it on their site.

Name another tuner who's run that gauntlet.

I didn't take a pic, but my last pull was in 4th gear. I saw 236 hp and 288.8 tq. 3rd gear pulls are difficult in the real world, but 4th is the closest gear to 1:1. I needed a lot of clear road to do that, but I did it, and I didn't get a ticket. I should be happy with that, but a little more would just be fun!

Chasing the performance dragon with a car like this is addictive. Happy Holidays to all my FiST friends!

I was not dissing Randy as a tuner per se. I was only commenting that he preferred to talk only in emails which was actually a widely known thing at the time.
His Tunes are great. Like I already stated he is not the only tuner out there that knows our cars well. He is one of around 3-4 IMO that really know what they are doing with our cars.

Also anybody doing pulls off their AP needs to know that the AP’s HP and TQ ratings are a mere estimate and not all that accurate . I pulled close to those same numbers on my AP before I went big turbo. It really translated out to a lot lower WHP wise.
Mountune showed dyno charts for the MP215 that showed it pulled 215HP WHP. I have not even bothered checking out what my AP will read out now that I have my S280 in.

Oh and yes its addictive as my car is stupid fast now and I am thinking can I squeeze a little more.
Though I do believe that once we start cresting 300HP in these things it gets you into the land of no longer being drivable on a daily basis.
I wish to try and remain in daily driver land as thats why I bought the car in the first place

 

[M-Sport fan]

When I called Mountune, it was about my MP215. I don't know why, but it was a Saturday, and Randy answered the phone. This was in early '18.

The issue was that the AP thought my car was a '16. The Ford mechanic refused to flash the tune because of that. It wasn't really relevant, because 17+ weren't warrantied, anyway. Randy told me that the tunes were identical through all model years. He actually took the time to tell me about his experience making a Ford and 50 state legal tune, and was proud that they'd gotten zero issues with it.

I flashed it myself. Holy cow! Yes, the car had more power and torque, and it wasn't that much, but it filled in the powerband so well. More torque where you want it, and more hp at the top. I would still recommend this tune to anyone who wants more usable power with just a tune and a real CAI. It works great in the real world. It cuts boost in the lower gears, just like stock, and it will pass emissions in California. A tune so good and safe, Ford Performance sold it on their site.

Name another tuner who's run that gauntlet.

I didn't take a pic, but my last pull was in 4th gear. I saw 236 hp and 288.8 tq. 3rd gear pulls are difficult in the real world, but 4th is the closest gear to 1:1. I needed a lot of clear road to do that, but I did it, and I didn't get a ticket. I should be happy with that, but a little more would just be fun!

Chasing the performance dragon with a car like this is addictive. Happy Holidays to all my FiST friends!

^^^Do you have any emissions testing (OBD2 plug-in or otherwise) up there in the northwestern corner county of the state (IF that's where you are)??

And yeah, an all out 4th gear pull is all but impossible around here since there is NO 'Mexico' area which is safe, and LEO-free in my area.
(Which is why I want to do an in-person, on the dyno, custom tune, even though it is considered "A COMPLETE and TOTAL waste, and then some, on a factory snail.", but I am ambivalent about a big turbo, even eventually, anyway, so maybe it's not. LOL )

 

[XR650R]

I was not dissing Randy as a tuner per se. I was only commenting that he preferred to talk only in emails which was actually a widely known thing at the time.

I'm guessing that he was just buried in datalogging tunes for a shit ton of people, then. He was the guy you could datalog with @ mountune, and there was nobody else.

I see that he offers tunes for only American STs and RSs. They're not even sold here, anymore.
He needs to do tunes for any Ford with a turbo, to stay afloat.

Actually, if he could do safe tunes for non-turbo Fords, he'd get plenty of business. He could offer tunes for Escapes with the 1.5 or Ecosports with the 1.0, and he'd have customers up the wazoo.
I sometimes go on the regular Fiesta forum, and everyone wants more power. All they get is intakes and exhausts. It doesn't do squat. If somebody offered a tune that would kick up the actual power around 15%, they'd get rich.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

I have done this pull on open road* Its Not impossible but takes some time to find a good spot and usually away from well populated Areas. An area I use is near a local municipal airport and the road is nice and flat due to being right next to the Runway. Then I let it buck to about 110-115mph in 4th gear.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

^^^Do you have any emissions testing (OBD2 plug-in or otherwise) up there in the northwestern corner county of the state (IF that's where you are)??

And yeah, an all out 4th gear pull is all but impossible around here since there is NO 'Mexico' area which is safe, and LEO-free in my area.

I have done this pull on open road* Its Not impossible but takes some time to find a good spot and usually away from well populated Areas. An area I use is near a local municipal airport and the road is nice and flat due to being right next to the Runway. Then I let it buck to about 110-115mph in 4th gear.

 

[XR650R]

^^^Do you have any emissions testing (OBD2 plug-in or otherwise) up there in the northwestern corner county of the state (IF that's where you are)??

And yeah, an all out 4th gear pull is all but impossible around here since there is NO 'Mexico' area which is safe, and LEO-free in my area.
(Which is why I want to do an in-person, on the dyno, custom tune, even though it is considered "A COMPLETE and TOTAL waste, and then some, on a factory snail.", but I am ambivalent about a big turbo anyway, so maybe not. LOL )

I have done this pull on open road* Its Not impossible but takes some time to find a good spot and usually away from well populated Areas. An rea I use is near a local municipal airport and the road is nice and flat due to being right next to the Runway. Then I let it buck to about 110-115mph in 4th gear.

Yeah. It's fun as hell, but if you get popped, it's handcuffs, arrest, and an impounded car in most states, even if you're white.
That's why I don't want a big turbo. Where the hell can you really exploit it on anything but a racetrack?

M-Sport fan: My state has NO emissions testing. That said, I care about emissions.

 

[M-Sport fan]

I'm guessing that he was just buried in datalogging tunes for a shit ton of people, then. He was the guy you could datalog with @ mountune, and there was nobody else.

I see that he offers tunes for only American STs and RSs. They're not even sold here, anymore.
He needs to do tunes for any Ford with a turbo, to stay afloat.

Actually, if he could do safe tunes for non-turbo Fords, he'd get plenty of business. He could offer tunes for Escapes with the 1.5 or Ecosports with the 1.0, and he'd have customers up the wazoo.
I sometimes go on the regular Fiesta forum, and everyone wants more power. All they get is intakes and exhausts. It doesn't do squat. If somebody offered a tune that would kick up the actual power around 15%, they'd get rich.

Yes, he would be overwhelmed with business if he could do tunes on the NA 1.6es, and especially on the 5.0 and 5.2 V-8s.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Yeah. It's fun as hell, but if you get popped, it's handcuffs, arrest, and an impounded car in most states.
That's why I don't want a big turbo. Where the hell can you really exploit it on anything but a racetrack?

Two words Valentine 1 and coming off clover leafs and on Ramps thats where work gets done. I sure as hell will NOT boot it in a Residential thats for dam sure.

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[M-Sport fan]

The V1 IS the best, but it will not protect/save you from 'instant on' guns, which is what they would use around here in a remote enough area to even think about anything even approaching those WOT, 4th gear pull speeds.

 

[XR650R]

Two words Valentine 1 and coming off clover leafs and on Ramps thats where work gets done. I sure as hell will NOT boot it in a Residential thats for dam sure.

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The stock FiST can do that, too. Just with 50% less power. Your car is insane. I'd go to jail, even with a radar detector.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iZxX7dYF8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iZxX7dYF8

 

[TyphoonFiST]

The stock FiST can do that, too. Just with 50% less power. Your car is insane. I'd go to jai, even with a radar detector.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_iZxX7dYF8

Just wait unti the DHM360R kit goes in!

 

[JDG]

It is really hard to say who is better than who. You are paying someone for their knowledge and experience, not just the toon. Without a really good technical understanding of the tuning process, it is hard to answer your question.

I have experienced tuning with both Mitch (@ CP-E at the time) and Alex (@ Stratified) and both were very intelligent, technical engineers. Mitch was super willing to help troubleshoot, explain the technical stuff, and just overall spend a lot of time with me on questions. Alex is smart but not as willing to answer questions with great detail. The turnaround time with Stratified was also unbearable IMO.

I have had conversations with Jason @ Dizzy and am impressed. I also appreciate the fact that he uses the forums to engage the community (not just facebook like some of the other guys). I may try tuning with him this Spring.

I know nothing about Randy other than what I have read. His customer base is mainly rally focused right now so I wanted to reach out since that is what I primarily use my car for. Hoping to learn more about his experience through email in the near future.

I think Adam @ TunePlus is doing a lot for the ford community as well. I think he is the best at marketing on Facebook so he is a staple for tuning services. I had an incident with him with a part I purchased that left a really bad taste in my mouth so I cannot speak to his tuning.

In the end, you need to come up with your own determination on who is best based on what is important to you. I value reliability most so I ask a lot of questions about what safety systems are left in place. The Ford ECU uses quite a few safety systems to ensure the engine doesn't get destroyed. Not all tuners leave these systems in place.

All of the above is specifically regarding custom tunes at large power levels (>250WHP w/ aftermarket turbo). If you have a bolt on car, a flash tune from any reputable tuner mentioned on this forum should be safe enough.

So I wrote Randy a 300 word email with some significant detail and this was his response:

"Hi, we charge $379 for each big turbo calibration. So if you want E50 and 93, for example, that is $379 + $379. We don't have Aux Fuel kit programming prices on the site, but we charge $400 for that."

Needless to say this is not the tuner I am looking for...

 

[XR650R]

So I wrote Randy a 300 word email with some significant detail and this was his response:

"Hi, we charge $379 for each big turbo calibration. So if you want E50 and 93, for example, that is $379 + $379. We don't have Aux Fuel kit programming prices on the site, but we charge $400 for that."

Needless to say this is not the tuner I am looking for...

I'm not religious, but I've always noticed that God never comes cheap.

 

[Alkoran]

I'm not religious, but I've always noticed that God never comes cheap.

I'm guessing he's not as disappointed at the price as he is from the lack of any information relevant to the tune and process of it after his lengthy and detailed email asking for that.

 

[lowda9]

Randy has always answered all my questions even when I send him random emails throughout the year. I've had a few revisions done by him as I add mods because he recommends it to optimize the tune when other tuners say it's fine to keep running their flash even as you add bolt ons. I can say I've reliably ran his custom tunes for 90,000km without issues. I still don't lose a drop of oil between changes nor coolant. Also during the data logs he requires going wot from 2000rpm but he might've updated his instructions now though.

 

[The_Ryan]

So I wrote Randy a 300 word email with some significant detail and this was his response:

"Hi, we charge $379 for each big turbo calibration. So if you want E50 and 93, for example, that is $379 + $379. We don't have Aux Fuel kit programming prices on the site, but we charge $400 for that."

Needless to say this is not the tuner I am looking for...

What did your e-mail say? I just don't want to pass judgement without any context, ya know?

 

[JDG]

What did your e-mail say? I just don't want to pass judgement without any context, ya know?

Hi Randy,

I've heard some great things about you and your tuning services from some fellow rally enthusiasts and within the fiesta community. I have a pretty heavily modified 2016 Fiesta ST that I use for rallycross in the northeast as well as a daily driver. I am currently tuned by Mitch @ CP-E on full E85 and 93 Octane. He left the company before we could finish the 93 tune and I am a bit underwhelmed by the power (not Mitch's fault, I got lazy with getting back to him after he told me he was leaving so we didn't quite finish). On 93 octane the car made 270whp/320wtq (24PSIG) on Vdyno and 350whp/350wtq (~32PSIG) on E85 on Vdyno.

The high level modifications for the car are: Stock block, Turbo Technics S280 Turbo, Stratified 4-Port Aux Fuel w/ 95 lb/hr injectors, 3.5Bar MAP sensor, and all the supporting modifications.

Here is my build thread if you are curious: https://www.fiestastforum.com/threa...e85-custom-parts-rallycross-discussion.24054/

I wanted to inquire on if you would be willing to tune this setup. I am looking to tune for 93 octane, E50 blend, and E85. My goals are to get to 300WHP on 93 Octane and try an E50 tune to get a bit more MPG compared to full E85 since E85 only yielded about 180 miles/tank. The car has been incredibly reliable given the abuse I put in through so that is very important to me. The car has 84k miles on it

I wanted to gauge your experience with auxiliary fuel and the higher horsepower stuff since most of what I see from the rally world is stock turbo cars (ODD, Pura Vida, Chase).

Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing from you.


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[JDG]

Randy has always answered all my questions even when I send him random emails throughout the year. I've had a few revisions done by him as I add mods because he recommends it to optimize the tune when other tuners say it's fine to keep running their flash even as you add bolt ons. I can say I've reliably ran his custom tunes for 90,000km without issues. I still don't lose a drop of oil between changes nor coolant. Also during the data logs he requires going wot from 2000rpm but he might've updated his instructions now though.

Good to hear. What turbo do you have?


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[JDG]

I'm guessing he's not as disappointed at the price as he is from the lack of any information relevant to the tune and process of it after his lengthy and detailed email asking for that.

Correct lol. Very unimpressed. Pricing is pretty wonky too though.


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