Evolution Performance, Inc - Custom Tuned Ford Edge - More Power and Torque!

[Evolution Performance]

Since adding the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX section to our website this past Monday, we have shipped over 56 SCT X3's with our custom tunes in it!

 

www.evoperform.com

[radicon]

This sounds very interesting. With the media reports of $4.00 per gallon for gasoline by summer, it would not take to much to save 100 gallons of fuel IMO.

 

I purchased a 2008 SEL FW Ford Edge (Ice Blue)on 12/31/07. Just turned 500 miles this week. First tank of gas (from dealership) I figured to be 20.0 MPG. The computer calculated 19.2 MPG. Not bad for city driving in DFW, TX.

 

I know absolutely nothing about performance tunes other that what I have read in this post. Would it be better to wait until the motor has broken in at about 5000 miles to change the tunes or go ahead and do it now?

 

Fred posted in the first post that he has done extensive testing on the higher octane performance tunes. Has anyone checked out the fuel ecomomy and performance tunes on the 87 octane yet? I know that capnkirk52 stated 3mpg increase on his performance tune, but 5+ mpg on the economy tune would rack up fuel savings in a hurry.

 

How do these tunes affect overall life of the motor and transmission? My first impression would be that the tunes would decrease the life of the motor and transmission, but then again I have never had any experience in this.

[bbf2530]

This sounds very interesting. With the media reports of $4.00 per gallon for gasoline by summer, it would not take to much to save 100 gallons of fuel IMO.

 

I purchased a 2008 SEL FW Ford Edge (Ice Blue)on 12/31/07. Just turned 500 miles this week. First tank of gas (from dealership) I figured to be 20.0 MPG. The computer calculated 19.2 MPG. Not bad for city driving in DFW, TX.

 

I know absolutely nothing about performance tunes other that what I have read in this post. Would it be better to wait until the motor has broken in at about 5000 miles to change the tunes or go ahead and do it now?

 

Fred posted in the first post that he has done extensive testing on the higher octane performance tunes. Has anyone checked out the fuel ecomomy and performance tunes on the 87 octane yet? I know that capnkirk52 stated 3mpg increase on his performance tune, but 5+ mpg on the economy tune would rack up fuel savings in a hurry.

 

How do these tunes affect overall life of the motor and transmission? My first impression would be that the tunes would decrease the life of the motor and transmission, but then again I have never had any experience in this.

 

Hi radicon. :D I want to make it clear up front that I have nothing against people modifying their cars. Used to do it myself, in my younger days (unfortunately, those days are mostly over ).

 

That being said, let's put things into perspective. Take all claims as to added horsepower and MPG with a giant grain of salt.

 

Automobile Manufacturers spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to engineer a few extra tenths of a MPG out of their engines. If it was possible to just "re-tune" the engine and Trans with a hand held $400 device, don't you think they would be falling all over themselves to implement this modification for their vehicles? Hell, for three to five extra MPG, for free (all they need to do is re-tune the PCM and TCM right from the factory), they would name you CEO of Ford Motor Company.

 

Again, do as you like, but think about these things logically before you jump in head first. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

 

Might you see a few extra horsepower from a re-tune? Sure, you might. Will you see an extra 3 MPG? No. An extra 5 MPG? No. Even most of the claims of perceived "added horsepower" actually come from the re-calibration of throttle response and shift points. Makes it feel like there is more response.

 

In addition, if the Dealer (or Ford) discover these after-market tunes on your vehicle, you can rest assured that they will very likely deny any Engine or Transmission Warranty work claims. Might you get away with it? Maybe. You might even get lucky and have a more liberal Service Department at your particular Dealership. Just understand up front that you are taking your chances, should you have big ticket Engine or Transmission failure.

 

Anyway, whatever anyone decides to do, I wish them the best of luck! :beerchug:

Edited January 16, 2008 by bbf2530

[gluman]

Hi radicon. :D I want to make it clear up front that I have nothing against people modifying their cars. Used to do it myself, in my younger days (unfortunately, those days are mostly over ).

 

That being said, let's put things into perspective. Take all claims as to added horsepower and MPG with a giant grain of salt.

 

Automobile Manufacturers spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to engineer a few extra tenths of a MPG out of their engines. If it was possible to just "re-tune" the engine and Trans with a hand held $400 device, don't you think they would be falling all over themselves to implement this modification for their vehicles? Hell, for three to five extra MPG, for free (all they need to do is re-tune the PCM and TCM right from the factory), they would name you CEO of Ford Motor Company.

 

Again, do as you like, but think about these things logically before you jump in head first. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

 

Might you see a few extra horsepower from a re-tune? Sure, you might. Will you see an extra 3 MPG? No. An extra 5 MPG? No. Even most of the claims of perceived "added horsepower" actually come from the re-calibration of throttle response and shift points. Makes it feel like there is more response.

 

In addition, if the Dealer (or Ford) discover these after-market tunes on your vehicle, you can rest assured that they will very likely deny any Engine or Transmission Warranty work claims. Might you get away with it? Maybe. You might even get lucky and have a more liberal Service Department at your particular Dealership. Just understand up front that you are taking your chances, should you have big ticket Engine or Transmission failure.

 

Anyway, whatever anyone decides to do, I wish them the best of luck! :beerchug:

[/quote

 

I run the 87 performance tune. The tunes will not decrease your engine or transmission life unless you falsely believe they turn your edge into a 650hp corvette and start driving it as such. What the tunes do is match the torque, hp and shift points in your tranny to produce peak power across different spectrums of rpms. Low end for off the line, high rpms for highway passing, etc. Buy the tunes for what they are; a way to make a the Edge perform better then it's sportier sister the CX9. If you want better mileage coast to a stop, don't jackrabbit start etc.....

[radicon]

bbf2530

 

Thanks for your reply. Your thoughts are well taken, but do not take my lack of knowledge on this product and writing out my wishful thoughts as an inexperienced teenager. I have been driving since the 70's and owned numerous cars, trucks and suv's. These vehicles were well maintained and every gasoline fill up was recorded. I do not wish to open up a can of worms discussing fuel economy and/or conspiracy theories about such things. My own personal experience shows me that the vehicles that I owned from the 90's did better on fuel ecomony than the ones that I have purchased the past couple of years. Yes, they were the same type of vehicles, so I am comparing apples to apples. Anything that can be done to improve that would be a blessing IMO. Like gluman stated above, it would be foolish to think that a custom tune would turn the Edge into a hot rod street demon. If I had wanted that I would have bought the Ford Mustang or the Dodge Charger. (Yes, I had considered both of them, but decided to stay practical for the family.)

 

That is what these forums are all about, to discuss and learn from other fellow owners about what is working for them. By looking at the pros and cons, one can make a logical decision for them.

 

Please keep post on this topic going. Based on the number of views for this, it seems that I am not the only person interested.

[bbf2530]

bbf2530

 

Thanks for your reply. Your thoughts are well taken, but do not take my lack of knowledge on this product and writing out my wishful thoughts as an inexperienced teenager. I have been driving since the 70's and owned numerous cars, trucks and suv's. These vehicles were well maintained and every gasoline fill up was recorded. I do not wish to open up a can of worms discussing fuel economy and/or conspiracy theories about such things. My own personal experience shows me that the vehicles that I owned from the 90's did better on fuel ecomony than the ones that I have purchased the past couple of years. Yes, they were the same type of vehicles, so I am comparing apples to apples. Anything that can be done to improve that would be a blessing IMO. Like gluman stated above, it would be foolish to think that a custom tune would turn the Edge into a hot rod street demon. If I had wanted that I would have bought the Ford Mustang or the Dodge Charger. (Yes, I had considered both of them, but decided to stay practical for the family.)

 

That is what these forums are all about, to discuss and learn from other fellow owners about what is working for them. By looking at the pros and cons, one can make a logical decision for them.

 

Please keep post on this topic going. Based on the number of views for this, it seems that I am not the only person interested.

 

Hi radicon. :D You are welcome.

 

In addition, I need to say, please carefully re-read my previous post, as I am not sure how you misconstrued anything I stated in that post as a judgment of your automotive experience? Heck, this is just the Internet. I judge no one, as long as they do not resort to personal attacks. I merely try to provide accurate information to assist others.

 

Your automotive knowledge, past vehicles owned, past MPG achieved, etc etc, have no bearing on the information contained in my post. The answers remain the same whether you are a teenager, a Senior Citizen, a novice or a Master Mechanic.

 

I merely responded to your statements/questions/musings concerning a possible 3-5 MPG improvement brought about by an aftermarket "Tune". I answered, simply put, that it will not happen.

 

As "gluman" added "If you want better mileage, coast to a stop, don't jackrabbit start etc...".

 

In other words, people would be better off trying to optimize their driving style and habits, as they will not see better fuel mileage from a tune. If you would, Ford would incorporate those parameters into their Stock Factory Tune.

 

I gave information, and then wished everyone, whatever they may decide to do, the best of luck. As you stated, that is "What these forums are all about".

 

As far as "Conspiracy Theories"...I am not a believer. Again, Auto Manufacturers invest hundreds of millions of dollars to improve fuel mileage, so if someone comes up with a simple software update that would accomplish a 3 MPG increase, an Auto Manufacturer would immediately implement it. In this case, they haven't because it does not increase MPG's. I know this is not the answer a lot of people want to hear, but better to know the truth than be kept in the dark.

 

I stated the facts, and now leave it up to each person to decide individually what they would like to do. Nobody needs to justify to me their decision to get an Aftermarket Tune, Intake, etc etc. It is a free country. :yup:

 

Again, whatever you decide to do, good luck! :beerchug:

Edited January 18, 2008 by bbf2530

[gluman]

Oh - and I love the way the edge performs with the tune. Now I'm just waiting for the H&R springs and stabilizer bar.

[capnkirk52]

Ford doesn't want to take the 3.5L motor to its full potential right out of the box. There has to be room for a few years of increased horsepower to until the next new motor comes out.

 

Another thing to think about is warranty. Ford wants as few warranty claims as possible so lower power equals less breakage.

 

bbf- I'm sure Fred would send you one with a money back guarantee. Why don't you just try one and see what you think before you come on here with your incorrect statements pertaining to Edge and MKX.

[bbf2530]

Ford doesn't want to take the 3.5L motor to its full potential right out of the box. There has to be room for a few years of increased horsepower to until the next new motor comes out.

 

Another thing to think about is warranty. Ford wants as few warranty claims as possible so lower power equals less breakage.

 

bbf- I'm sure Fred would send you one with a money back guarantee. Why don't you just try one and see what you think before you come on here with your incorrect statements pertaining to Edge and MKX.

 

Hi capnkirk. :D I am not trying to be a wiseguy, but we all need to read carefully what we are replying to. My comments were pertaining to Fuel Economy, not horsepower.

 

No Automaker (either Ford or any other Automaker) holds back concerning Fuel Economy for "a few years...until the next motor comes out". Therefore, my statements are correct.

 

If you go to any of these websites for these Tuners, none of them provide verifiable testing criteria. They almost all state that they cannot dyno test because the Edge/MKX/MKZ/Fusion/Milan they are testing is AWD, and their dynos can only test FWD/RWD, or some other reason. It all becomes a seat of the pants point of view.

 

That is why I do not need to try one. I am discussing fuel economy, to which your assertion of "holding back" is invalid. I state in my first post that there may be a few horsepower gain with these tuners. But again, no actual verifiable numbers are provided.

 

Additionally, I personally will install no such modification on my car while it is still under Warranty (4 years/50,000 miles Bumper to Bumper", 6 years/70,000 miles "Powertrain"). I will not take the chance of having an expensive denied claim. And, they will very likely deny an engine/trans claim if they discover the "Aftermarket Tune".

 

"Just reinstall the "Stock Tune" about a week before you bring it to the Dealer", most Aftermarket Tuners will tell you. Well, how do you re-install the "Stock Tune" and drive it around for a week, if you have had a major engine or trans failure, and your car is not driveable? To this day, I have never heard that one explained.

 

I do not doubt anyone's word, and am certainly not calling anyone a liar when they say that their car gets more MPG's. I am only saying that I require more proof than that. And no Aftermarket Tuner is providing that proof. And until I see such verifiable proof, I will continue to give the same advice to people who ask (like in this thread). I guess I am just the questioning type. I like to see proof.

 

Again, everyone is free to purchase whatever they like, and should feel no need to justify their decisions to me, nor attack me for mine.

 

Whatever everyone decides to do, I wish them the best of luck. As long as they are happy, that is great!

 

Good luck! :beerchug:

Edited January 18, 2008 by bbf2530

[capnkirk52]

Fred actually tuned his wife's on the street (with an A/F bung welded in the exhaust pipe to monitor A/F levels) which is better than the dyno for real world challenges. Yes you won't get the hp/tq calculation but you can put a gtec on the windshield and get pretty darn close with that (for the hp/tq reading).

 

This is only the second vehicle that I have ever seen an increase on from a tune. None of my trucks have done it, nor my cobra. My MKX and my Escape are the only ones ever to gain on MPG, that's why I'm posting it. It's out of the ordinary.

[kevinb120]

Hi radicon. :D I want to make it clear up front that I have nothing against people modifying their cars. Used to do it myself, in my younger days (unfortunately, those days are mostly over ).

 

That being said, let's put things into perspective. Take all claims as to added horsepower and MPG with a giant grain of salt.

 

Automobile Manufacturers spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to engineer a few extra tenths of a MPG out of their engines. If it was possible to just "re-tune" the engine and Trans with a hand held $400 device, don't you think they would be falling all over themselves to implement this modification for their vehicles? Hell, for three to five extra MPG, for free (all they need to do is re-tune the PCM and TCM right from the factory), they would name you CEO of Ford Motor Company.

 

Again, do as you like, but think about these things logically before you jump in head first. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

 

Might you see a few extra horsepower from a re-tune? Sure, you might. Will you see an extra 3 MPG? No. An extra 5 MPG? No. Even most of the claims of perceived "added horsepower" actually come from the re-calibration of throttle response and shift points. Makes it feel like there is more response.

 

In addition, if the Dealer (or Ford) discover these after-market tunes on your vehicle, you can rest assured that they will very likely deny any Engine or Transmission Warranty work claims. Might you get away with it? Maybe. You might even get lucky and have a more liberal Service Department at your particular Dealership. Just understand up front that you are taking your chances, should you have big ticket Engine or Transmission failure.

 

Anyway, whatever anyone decides to do, I wish them the best of luck! :beerchug:

 

 

Tell that to the Mustang crowd... People for years have been tuning the new mustang to over 30 additional documented horsepower with nobody having ANY problems. I drove that thing around like a bandit with the gas pedal and I wish my Edge got the mileage my car did after the tune(worst mileage for my normal driving 17.8mpg, last normal tank with the edge, 13.2mpg), and I do nowhere near as many full-tilt acceleration runs with the edge like I did constantly with the Mustang. Ford itself offers re-tune kits for the Mustang as well and includes it as standard equipment on the Bullitt and Shelby GT with no other modifications. No to mention the remapping of the gas pedal sensitivity and shifting programs on automatics that sacrifice a bit of comfort for performance that totally change the car. When I took the CAI tune off my mustang when I traded it in, driving it 'stock' again was like the gas pedal was buried in mud.

Edited January 18, 2008 by kevinb120

[kevinb120]

Fred actually tuned his wife's on the street (with an A/F bung welded in the exhaust pipe to monitor A/F levels) which is better than the dyno for real world challenges. Yes you won't get the hp/tq calculation but you can put a gtec on the windshield and get pretty darn close with that (for the hp/tq reading).

 

This is only the second vehicle that I have ever seen an increase on from a tune. None of my trucks have done it, nor my cobra. My MKX and my Escape are the only ones ever to gain on MPG, that's why I'm posting it. It's out of the ordinary.

 

You must have been doing something wrong, I have seen hundreds of up-tuned Fords from places like brenspeed that make a HUGE difference. I've heard of Evo before, was your other tunes done by someone like them or was it some 'chip'?? The pros don't do stuff like using jumpers or some of the bs resistors sold on ebay. What did you buy before? Let alone the diesel crowd that can hit incredible numbers, 700+ft/lbs of torque quite easily. Even with my Mustang that would run a 13.0 1/4 had trouble getting away from my neighbor's F250 with juat a good tune and exhaust kit, that truck is ridiculous.

Edited January 18, 2008 by kevinb120

[kevinb120]

hard to believe that a canned tune is larger then a custom file for my 6.0 Ford..

 

so if its only one tune the x-cal 2 should hold ONE tune just fine..being as it is able to hold three..

 

 

Those are not canned tunes, they were tailored for my car by the best 05+ Mustang tuner in the business.

 

 

 

 

I'm definitely doing this but I'm holding out just a little bit longer to see if a CAI or some other hop-up comes out. As when then 05 mustang came out, I let it 'stew' a bit and a year later there were a ton more options to choose from.

Edited January 18, 2008 by kevinb120

[bbf2530]

I wish everyone the best of luck, whatever they decide to do. :beerchug:

Edited January 18, 2008 by bbf2530

[capnkirk52]

You must have been doing something wrong, I have seen hundreds of up-tuned Fords from places like brenspeed that make a HUGE difference. I've heard of Evo before, was your other tunes done by someone like them or was it some 'chip'?? The pros don't do stuff like using jumpers or some of the bs resistors sold on ebay. What did you buy before? Let alone the diesel crowd that can hit incredible numbers, 700+ft/lbs of torque quite easily. Even with my Mustang that would run a 13.0 1/4 had trouble getting away from my neighbor's F250 with juat a good tune and exhaust kit, that truck is ridiculous.

 

 

Nope, never seen an increase in mileage on those other vehicles. I have seen an increase in power but not MPG. I'm talking a Ford V-10, an 03 cobra (610whp) and two 6.0 diesels. Mileage went down just a tad but power went way up so I guess you could say that the motor is way more efficient but still no gains except on the 4 and 6 cylinders.

[kevinb120]

Nope, never seen an increase in mileage on those other vehicles. I have seen an increase in power but not MPG. I'm talking a Ford V-10, an 03 cobra (610whp) and two 6.0 diesels. Mileage went down just a tad but power went way up so I guess you could say that the motor is way more efficient but still no gains except on the 4 and 6 cylinders.

 

I got gains on my GT Mustangs, but with the V10 and Cobra yea you might not get a boost there as Ford probably milked it for all they could from the factory for greenie 'target' vehicles like that. A lot of other cars from Japan are tweaked to the max so they only give a small gain of anything with a tune. The newest Ford stuff seems very favorable to it, now that I think about it, older Mustangs I have had(including an 01 cobra) didn't realy gain much from tunes and CAI's, usually single digit gains. A cai/tune on an 03-04 cobra seemed like a revelation when they got 20hp gains(no exhaust or pullies obviously), the 05+ was a real surprise to get so much out of them. Having owned an 05, 06, and 07, I kinda forgot how much effort I used to put into getting 8 extra hp.

Edited January 19, 2008 by kevinb120

[freekyFX4]

Will this work on the AWD models?

[blazin_edge]

To help shed some light on this subject, the re-tune of a PCM will not hurt the life of your vehicle. The tune that comes factory in every vehicle is made to be as safe and economy friendly as possible. Also, it allows for furthur upgrades in the future without the manufacturer spending a ton more on a vehicle. The reflash of the PCM reconfigures the valve timing, a/f, cam timing, and various other specs. Now, couple years ago you had the basic Superchips, Diablo, Hypertech (haha), and so forth. Those tuners helped, but not much. They were basic tunes that was safe for each PCM in that model bought for. If you notice, the tuners were sold mustang 99-04 models. Well, the new SCT programs are CUSTOM matched to YOUR PCM. Each model can have up to 4 different PCM's. Your 99-04 mustang GT's had a GTG1, GTG3, and so on. That is why you need your PCM code to get a tuner loaded by a SCT dealer. It specifically tunes your PCM to the best performance possible. Enigne will run smoother, and more efficient along with shift ponits and pressure in your tranny. When I tuned my mach 1 on my dyno I gained a nice 12 real real wheel horsepower out of a stock engine. Ran a 12.96 in the 1/4 and got a smooth 32 mpg on the highway. You will see a gain in performance and mpg with an aftermarket tune. As for gains in diesels, totally different animal. We won't get into that, but if you have any questions I will answer them for you, I am a vet in tuning

 

Kevin

[PrinzII]

Will there be a tune for 89?

[PrinzII]

Any more info on this?

[AK-Kayaker]

Will there be a tune for 89?

 

If you go to their website, :stats: it shows it comes with three tunes. :happy feet:

 

:hyper: http://www.evoperform.com/shop/index.php?m...f7b538af743083d :hyper:

 

The defaults are 87, 91, and 93, but you can choose 89 for one of the tunes.

Have fun. :happy feet:

[NYEdge]

Let me start by saying that I am not interested in fuel economy, only performance enhancement.

I know that a couple of members have tunes from other people, but I want to know if anyone has gotten a tune from Evolution Performance.

 

If someone has installed the tune, I would like to know the following:

 

Are you satisfied with the increased performance, and do you find anything lacking?

 

Have you run the vehicle with various octanes and the appropriate tunes? (87, 91, 93)

 

If you have used various octanes, do you notice any change in the performance?

 

When you switch from one octane to another, do you wait until the tank is almost empty?

 

When bringing the car in for service to the dealer, how far in advance do you have to restore the original tune so that they read the custom tune?

 

Thanks for any info specifically for the Evolution tune. :P

[NYEdge]

Since I didn't get any feedback from anyone regarding the Evolution custom tune, I went ahead and ordered one.

 

I ordered the tune on Monday of this week and I got it three days later via Fedex.

I installed the tune upon receipt of the delivery and it was extremely easy.

The whole process took about fifteen minutes.

The hand held XCT tuner unit firsts uploads your stock tune into the unit, then it downloads the custom tune of your choice.

 

I installed the 89 octane custom tune for now to see how it works. The unit came with tune for 89, 91, and 93 octane.

After the installation of the tune I immediately saw a big difference in the throttle response and what feels like more torque.

 

When you push down the accelerator you can feel yourself sink into the seat.

I'm not sure exactly what the HP gain is because I'm not going to dyno test my car.

A piece of computer printout doesn't compare to actually feeling a change in the vehicles response and power.

 

As I posted previously, I'm not interested in fuel savings, but it seems that I'm not smashing down the pedal in order to get the same acceleration.

Once this tank of fuel is used up, I'll jump up to the 93 tune to see if I feel any difference.

[PrinzII]

Since I didn't get any feedback from anyone regarding the Evolution custom tune, I went ahead and ordered one.

 

I ordered the tune on Monday of this week and I got it three days later via Fedex.

I installed the tune upon receipt of the delivery and it was extremely easy.

The whole process took about fifteen minutes.

The hand held XCT tuner unit firsts uploads your stock tune into the unit, then it downloads the custom tune of your choice.

 

I installed the 89 octane custom tune for now to see how it works. The unit came with tune for 89, 91, and 93 octane.

After the installation of the tune I immediately saw a big difference in the throttle response and what feels like more torque.

 

When you push down the accelerator you can feel yourself sink into the seat.

I'm not sure exactly what the HP gain is because I'm not going to dyno test my car.

A piece of computer printout doesn't compare to actually feeling a change in the vehicles response and power.

 

As I posted previously, I'm not interested in fuel savings, but it seems that I'm not smashing down the pedal in order to get the same acceleration.

Once this tank of fuel is used up, I'll jump up to the 93 tune to see if I feel any difference.

 

NY, thanks for the writeup. Let me know about the mileage as well because they were saying that the tune can increase the mileage.

[Jaak in TO]

If you want better milege & performance ... do not use gas with Ethenol in it .... Most brands add anywhere from 5 to 10% Ethanol which reduces both your milege & power. It's not as "volatile" as pure gasoline and you will lose about 5 to 10% on milege.

Edited March 14, 2008 by Jaak in TO