New Owner. Looking for Tuning Assistance Please.

[Howster]

Hi to everyone. I am the new owner of a 2018 Edge Sport. I am very, very new to the performance SUV thing since my 2014 SRT Jeep. Which by the way was a huge piece of poopoo. So am in need of some assistance from folks who are experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of the Edge Sport. Thanks in advance.

 

A bit of history. I owned a company back in the 90's building, designing and modifying European sport type vehicles. In most recent of years I owned a highly modified a GXP Solstice, which by the way is and was the only GM product I have ever owned. It was fun, but not the highlight of my modification positives. I have owned a 2012 Boss 302 which was quite highly done up and ran numerous times at the Texas Mile. The SRT Jeep was just a huge mistake so moving on. Then came the exquisite W204 C63 AMG. Much mods performed and one of the most beautiful vehicles this guy has owned. With much stupidness in my head I traded it for a 2016 GT350. As nice as the car was I was very disappointed and after thirteen months and only 1905 miles I went in a totally different direction. Skip the last vehicle and on to the newest addition to the garage.

 

So now the Edge Sport. I want to do some tuning, but not over the top. A tune is first on the list so I would really like to know what the options are. I am not interested in intercooler upgrades at this point as I need a place to start. I would have waited for the new Edge Sport ST, but well, I just didn't want to wait. Plus the discounts and promotions were too good to pass up. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

I truly enjoy road racing courses, however I am ok with the fact the Edge isn't going to be great in that department. I just wanted something a bit more fun that my last vehicle and since I move around for work, it would help in that area as well. I look forward to some great ideas and from hearing about some awesome Edges on these pages.

 

Cheers to all,

 

Howie

[Mikula]

You'll find a lot of useful info and upgrades here. welcome to the community. most of us run Livernois tunes. Some others run Unleashed tunes. Both seem to be equally reliable, dependable, and well performing, though the more mods you plan on doing down the road, unleashed seems to be able to accommodate better. Since you won't be doing much more than a tune, either will perform fine.

 

So far that we know of, the fastest edge sport in the 1/4 mile runs the LMS tune, and lowering springs, with a few other mods to keep it running consistently, but not an intercooler or anything like that. low 13 second passes are pretty normal around here with the LMS or Unleashed tunes. If you are looking to do more mods, search for intercooler grill, blow off valve, sway bar, rear motor mount, lowering springs.

 

That'll give you a pretty good start (and a dent in the wallet)

Edited April 23, 2018 by Mikula

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Welcome & congrats on the new ride!

[037]

Howie, join us on FB, we got lots of info.

[Howster]

Thanks for the replies. So what kind of HP can I expect from either of these tunes? I was wanting to wait for the 2019 Edge Sport ST, but think I can do ok with this one. Are the tunes loaded via programmer or do you have to purchase a chip? Thanks again. I don't want to lower it or do any major mods at this point since I need to know if I will even keep it. Just feels a little small for me at this point, but still working out the tweeks and seating adjustments. It is peppy and sounds pretty good though.

[Mikula]

Livernois is a handheld programmer, not a chip. you can ask for up to 4 tunes, plus your stock tune, for a total of 5 tunes. If at any point you want a different tune, or run a different octane, just send them an email, they will send you a tune. no charge, an unlimited number of times.

 

I do believe their numbers are pumped up a bit to sell their product, but considering stock numbers on the dyno are about 220hp 250tq, their numbers claim 315hp 425tq which is really impressive for 93 octane. And quite noticeable when you hit the gas. With these tunes, our edges are faster than the ST edge, but you know as soon as they start tuning the ST, they may be quicker than these sports. I don't know enough about the ST to make any assumptions, though.

 

Beating "sports cars" is quite normal with the Livernoise tuner which is really impressive for a vehicle like this. My list of "kills" includes an STI, Civic SI, 2015 mustang, Charger with scat pack, infinity g37s, and most recently a 350z. Also, another member on here is several seconds faster than a Ferrari going up the curvy road at what they call "the snake" or mulholland highway in california. Hard to not be impressed with this crossover.

[Howster]

Thanks Mikula. I'm so used to driving my European toys, or most recently the Shelby or Boss 302, so not sure what to expect. The 2014 SRT Jeep would have been awesome if it hadn't been such a lemon. I test drove the Explorer Sport but it just didn't feel like it had the balls or the sound. This little 2.7 sounds great and it has the pep.

 

Do the Livernois folks offer any discounts to the forum? How are your Pirellis holding up? I mostly run Michelin's, but will keep these for a bit to see how they go. They are a bit noisy, but I can deal with that for now. I may end up powdercoating the wheels as I don't like the grayish look so much, however better than polished or chrome.

 

What other bits are worth doing to this little guy? Looking forward to having some fun. Thanks again.

 

Howie

[Howster]

I just went to the Livernois website to research their tune. Looks like I am kinda out of luck as they don't support Mac, which is all I have at this time. Not much point in spending a ton of money on a tune if I can't even download it. I'll hold off for now but thanks again. I'll see what the Unleashed tune looks like.

[037]

Livernois gives you over 100 awhp, it is worth borrowing a PC for. On your first go request all the tunes you need, they load into the hand held tuner and you can go back to your Mac.

 

Ex: 87, 93, 100, ms109, tow. You pick 4 plus stock tune.

 

Not much in terms of go fast bits, drop in panel filter, thermostat for consistency. Rear engine mount to help with wheel hop. Stock Pirellis are trash, summer tires change it into a different handling vehicle.

[037]

See my signature for what LMs can do for you. I'm not affiliated, just my personal experience.

[JScaro]

I'm looking to improve my 2017 Sport also but not sure how long I'll have the vehicle so I don't want to get carried away, that's what the Fox Body Mustang is for. Plus I'm seriously looking at the Nautilus when it come out.

 

The general consensus seems to be between Livernois MyCalibrator and Unleashed HP Tuners (Pro, Standard, NGauge?).

Has anyone done a Pros & Cons between them?

What about the SCT X4?

 

Thanks

[onyxbfly]

I just went to the Livernois website to research their tune. Looks like I am kinda out of luck as they don't support Mac, which is all I have at this time. Not much point in spending a ton of money on a tune if I can't even download it. I'll hold off for now but thanks again. I'll see what the Unleashed tune looks like.

 

You can run windows on mac using boot camp and or using parallels or Virtualbox

[Mikula]

 

How are your Pirellis holding up? I mostly run Michelin's, but will keep these for a bit to see how they go. They are a bit noisy, but I can deal with that for now. I may end up powdercoating the wheels as I don't like the grayish look so much, however better than polished or chrome.

 

What other bits are worth doing to this little guy? Looking forward to having some fun. Thanks again.

 

Howie

I got the 20" wheels with the hankooks ventus noble II tires, so I can't answer that. It is not recommended to run a thermostat unless you're running a tune, and even then, it really isn't necessary unless you are pushing this thing to the limit at the track.

 

If you do enjoy taking curves and really treating it like a sports car, almost all of us would recommend the H&R Lowering springs. pretty simple install, just need to get an alignment after a few hundred miles. handles like a dream. I had an 01 bmw that has absolutely nothing on this edge sport, which surprised me quite a bit. Now i know technology wasn't crazy back then, but in my eyes, still impressive.

 

See my signature for what LMs can do for you. I'm not affiliated, just my personal experience.

I asked 2 weeks ago and I was told they don't have any tunes over 100 octane race tune, what is this ms109 you speak of?

[037]

Mikula, thermostat is the easiest way not to lose 2 tenths every run or ever need to cool down. As long as it's tuned for you need nothing else.

 

Ms109 is the name of the 105 tune, it was sent to me but didn't add it to the LMs tuner yet. Or maybe it's like the big foot :-)

[Howster]

I owned a business modifying most European sports cars or years. I used mostly Bilstein, Koni, and sometimes KYB. I purchased H&R springs for my C63 AMG a couple of years ago and they were terrible. Car pulled so much nobody could figure out why. I contacted H&R and they just gave me some crap story. My buddy owns a high-end shop and most of the guys are running BMW M3, M4, M5, M6 and Porsches. I was the only one in an AMG. As soon as I removed them the car was back to normal. So no H&R for me. I'll go with Koni or Bilstein first.

 

As far as the tune goes, I don't want to spend more money on software just so I can download a tune once in a while. I had Parallels at one time and used it once or twice. I don't even have it on my Mac any longer. I know in some vehicles a thermostat does help quite a bit, however I'm not looking to race this vehicle so that really isn't an option for me at this time. I just wanted a tune and see how it goes. I have ordered an AFE dry pro air filter. I had two in the C63 and they really are worth the money. I want dry over wet mainly because I don't like the oil. Used it on K&N filters for a few years and they just gum up everything. K&N as far as I know don't even offer a dry filter. Their oil may work for some, but I'm not a fan. AFE and others offer wet as well, however where I am currently there is a lot of sand so the oil will work to help retain dirt in the filter and I don't need that for sure.

 

I'll give LM a call this week and see what they have to say. I used SCT handheld programmers in the past and liked them. The one for the C63 was a MyGenius and it was pretty easy to use as well. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks again everyone.

[Howster]

After some research it seems Koni and Bilstein aren't making an application for the Edge. I will wait for something else but still no H&R for me. They may actually work fine in the Edge, however their customer support and professionalism is substandard. I'm happy they work for everyone here. Good luck.

[Mikula]

We've basically listed all available mods for the edge sport (other than forscan mods, which is an entirely different thread). there most likely will not be any more companies making custom stuff for this vehicle, simply because there is no market for it. Which is why no one make or plans to make springs besides H&R.

 

We are fortunate enough that the fusion sport is a very similar chassis. Most of the "mods" available to us are simply there because they were so similar to the fusion product, that a company was willing to make minor adjustments to fit the edge. There are a few members here working with such companies to bring us more mods, but those companies generally seem uninterested.

 

In the end, we're talking about a Ford Edge here, not a foxbody mustang. The handful of us performance people are vastly outnumbered by grocery getting, dog hauling, family toting, need more luxury at a decent price kind of people.

[Howster]

Hey Mikula,

 

Yep. You are correct. I wasn't thinking in those terms as I was really hoping for something a bit more modificationable. But alas I will take it for what it is and have what fun I can. Thanks again for the input. Have a great one.

[Howster]

Does anyone have any experience with the nGauge programmer? Unleashed has it with one tune for $550.00. I don't like that it only has ONE tune, but just curious about the overall package. I would welcome any insight. Thanks a bunch.

 

Cheers,

Howie

[Special_K]

Does anyone have any experience with the nGauge programmer? Unleashed has it with one tune for $550.00. I don't like that it only has ONE tune, but just curious about the overall package. I would welcome any insight. Thanks a bunch.

 

Cheers,

Howie

 

my father and I were looking at upgrading to that, sadly I have no input on the matter. If you get it please report back!!!

[Nick Halstead]

Fusion Sport owners use ngauge

[Howster]

Will do.

[khayman5]

Questions for LMS people if you have time. I just got a 2018 and I'll be past my break-in pretty soon, was strongly considering a LMS tuner but wanted to clarify a couple of things. My understanding is you buy the tuner, "record" your engine params and upload back to LMS where they will create the maps you desire. Is that basically it? You don't need a bigger inter-cooler or anything unless you want one and or have other mods? Also, as 93 is kind of hard to find around here, are many of you running 91 and still seeing a decent gain?

[Denny Gaughan]

Questions for LMS people if you have time. I just got a 2018 and I'll be past my break-in pretty soon, was strongly considering a LMS tuner but wanted to clarify a couple of things. My understanding is you buy the tuner, "record" your engine params and upload back to LMS where they will create the maps you desire. Is that basically it? You don't need a bigger inter-cooler or anything unless you want one and or have other mods? Also, as 93 is kind of hard to find around here, are many of you running 91 and still seeing a decent gain?

The tune sold by livernois were developed on an edge they had, and they provide you with the final tune from that edge. You don't give them any data from your car aside from the strategy code that is pulled from your edge's computer when you plug in the programmer you purchased and your vin. You don't need any other parts as the tune was developed on a stock edge.

[khayman5]

The tune sold by livernois were developed on an edge they had, and they provide you with the final tune from that edge. You don't give them any data from your car aside from the strategy code that is pulled from your edge's computer when you plug in the programmer you purchased and your vin. You don't need any other parts as the tune was developed on a stock edge.

 

Ah okay, so it's pretty much the same as Cobb's setup. Thanks for the info.