Transmission and LMS Tune

[Ron Jeremy]

I just picked up my 16 Sport last week, and discovered the Livernois tune last night. They claim +100HP and +100TQ which I find to be totally bombastic. IF IT'S REAL, how do the pistons/rings and transmission cope with the extra torque? What other ford models share the same tranny part number?

 

I drove a Cobb Stg3 Focus ST for 7 perfect years, over 100k miles not a single mechanical issue. I am religious when it comes to maintinentce  It was far and away the best car I've ever had. I used to do AutoX and SCCA stuff, but my driving now consists of hauling tons of camera equipment in gridlock traffic. Gone with the race car, in with the comfortable and quiet wagon. 

 

Now I didn't buy this car to mod it, I just happened to discover the tune on this board. I'm 99% content with how it is stock because it's extremely easy to drive smoothly. Also, I don't want to think about the fuel costs of running premium in it and driving it fast. 

 

Anyway, Having a tune that increases stock power by THAT MUCH sounds dangerous without stronger driveline components to me. I've just seen too many childishly aggressive drivers blow up their motors by laying into it at low RPM's, and thrash their transmissions by shifting hard or dumping clutches.

 

I can't seem to find much data about reliability running the LMS tune, and I'm wondering when people have had stuff break when running it, what broke, and do we know why? 

[always on edge]

I’ve got nearly 50k miles on my Edge with the LMS tune. Not only is it amazing, and the powertrain just fine, I have had zero problems with reliability. 

 

Call them. They have many different tunes available from 93 Performance with hard shifts all the way down to towing tunes. You won’t be disappointed.

[Special_K]

1 hour ago, Ron Jeremy said:

I just picked up my 16 Sport last week, and discovered the Livernois tune last night. They claim +100HP and +100TQ which I find to be totally bombastic. IF IT'S REAL, how do the pistons/rings and transmission cope with the extra torque? What other ford models share the same tranny part number?

 

I drove a Cobb Stg3 Focus ST for 7 perfect years, over 100k miles not a single mechanical issue. I am religious when it comes to maintinentce  It was far and away the best car I've ever had. I used to do AutoX and SCCA stuff, but my driving now consists of hauling tons of camera equipment in gridlock traffic. Gone with the race car, in with the comfortable and quiet wagon. 

 

Now I didn't buy this car to mod it, I just happened to discover the tune on this board. I'm 99% content with how it is stock because it's extremely easy to drive smoothly. Also, I don't want to think about the fuel costs of running premium in it and driving it fast. 

 

Anyway, Having a tune that increases stock power by THAT MUCH sounds dangerous without stronger driveline components to me. I've just seen too many childishly aggressive drivers blow up their motors by laying into it at low RPM's, and thrash their transmissions by shifting hard or dumping clutches.

 

I can't seem to find much data about reliability running the LMS tune, and I'm wondering when people have had stuff break when running it, what broke, and do we know why? 

 

I would go ZFG Racing ?

 

btw i have 50,000 miles on a tune and turned the record 12.2 @ 115mph, no problems here.  just stay on top of your fluid changes!

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Yeah, fluid changes have proven key for multiple performance-oriented models.  The more extreme the demands, the more extreme the change intervals.  And always try to get the best fluids you can - engine oil, transmission fluid, PTU/RDU fluids etc.

 

A lot of owners are now running high E fuel - that takes a toll on engine oil.

 

Not using high heat capable PTU fluid wears down bearings and ultimately chews up the gears.  And yes, you CAN feel a difference immediately when you install hipo fluids.

 

Coolant is not a big deal for the Ecoboost engines in the Edge/MKX/Nautilus platform as far as water pumps go, BUT additives do wear out and drop out of solution.  The orange coolant is still not where it needs to be in terms of longterm performance.  It poses challenges just like the gold coolant did.  Specialty Green may have been the best thus far.

 

Transmission fluid has detergents that help keep the transmission clean.  BUT the "filters"/screens are internal.  So you have no choice but to change fluid regularly.  As vehicles get older, people are now taking the case halves apart themselves and replacing the screens, but that is not suitable for everyone, unless you are in SpecialK and snmjim's car club

 

And of course, no one mentions brake fluid.  Is it really that reliable?  Maybe, but it could be much improved as well.  Just be sure the fluid specs on your new fluid are the same or better than what Ford specs.  It can negatively impact the ABS if not.

Edited November 15, 2019 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[Special_K]

1 hour ago, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said:

Yeah, fluid changes have proven key for multiple performance-oriented models.  The more extreme the demands, the more extreme the change intervals.  And always try to get the best fluids you can - engine oil, transmission fluid, PTU/RDU fluids etc.

 

A lot of owners are now running high E fuel - that takes a toll on engine oil.

 

Not using high heat capable PTU fluid wears down bearings and ultimately chews up the gears.  And yes, you CAN feel a difference immediately when you install hipo fluids.

 

Coolant is not a big deal for the Ecoboost engines in the Edge/MKX/Nautilus platform as far as water pumps go, BUT additives do wear out and drop out of solution.  The orange coolant is still not where it needs to be in terms of longterm performance.  It poses challenges just like the gold coolant did.  Specialty Green may have been the best thus far.

 

Transmission fluid has detergents that help keep the transmission clean.  BUT the "filters"/screens are internal.  So you have no choice but to change fluid regularly.  As vehicles get older, people are now taking the case halves apart themselves and replacing the screens, but that is not suitable for everyone, unless you are in SpecialK and snmjim's car club

 

And of course, no one mentions brake fluid.  Is it really that reliable?  Maybe, but it could be much improved as well.  Just be sure the fluid specs on your new fluid are the same or better than what Ford specs.  It can negatively impact the ABS if not.

 

interesting you mention brake fluid.  Brake fluid is actually the most absorbent fluid in a vehicle....it actually attracts water. The higher the temp rating, the higher the absorbent rate is.  We replaced our FomoCo DOT3 OEM fluid with a 600 DOT3 to help with brake fade, and flush once a year.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

This link contains an interesting graph of brake fluid performance when moisture absorption exceeds DOT specified test limits

https://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/resources/faq/dry-and-wet-boiling-points-dot-brake-fluid/

 

And increased hygroscopicity is not a bad thing.  It keeps moisture from destroying metal components.  It just means that a brake fluid tester should be used regularly to keep up with fluid condition, and/or do regular fluid flushes.  You can get test strips/pens on Amazon pretty easy.

 

Also note that if your brake system specifies LV fluid, be sure to check that the viscosity of any replacement fluid meets those specs.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2019 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W

[Ron Jeremy]

Good info, I'll keep an eye out on that PTU. I bought the car with 33k miles on it, so it's probably fine for now. 

[Special_K]

On 11/16/2019 at 1:11 PM, WWWPerfA_ZN0W said:

This link contains an interesting graph of brake fluid performance when moisture absorption exceeds DOT specified test limits

https://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/resources/faq/dry-and-wet-boiling-points-dot-brake-fluid/

 

And increased hygroscopicity is not a bad thing.  It keeps moisture from destroying metal components.  It just means that a brake fluid tester should be used regularly to keep up with fluid condition, and/or do regular fluid flushes.  You can get test strips/pens on Amazon pretty easy.

 

Also note that if your brake system specifies LV fluid, be sure to check that the viscosity of any replacement fluid meets those specs.

 

 

 

This an amazing graph!!!

[Special_K]

On 11/14/2019 at 1:15 PM, Ron Jeremy said:

I just picked up my 16 Sport last week, and discovered the Livernois tune last night. They claim +100HP and +100TQ which I find to be totally bombastic. IF IT'S REAL, how do the pistons/rings and transmission cope with the extra torque? What other ford models share the same tranny part number?

 

I drove a Cobb Stg3 Focus ST for 7 perfect years, over 100k miles not a single mechanical issue. I am religious when it comes to maintinentce  It was far and away the best car I've ever had. I used to do AutoX and SCCA stuff, but my driving now consists of hauling tons of camera equipment in gridlock traffic. Gone with the race car, in with the comfortable and quiet wagon. 

 

Now I didn't buy this car to mod it, I just happened to discover the tune on this board. I'm 99% content with how it is stock because it's extremely easy to drive smoothly. Also, I don't want to think about the fuel costs of running premium in it and driving it fast. 

 

Anyway, Having a tune that increases stock power by THAT MUCH sounds dangerous without stronger driveline components to me. I've just seen too many childishly aggressive drivers blow up their motors by laying into it at low RPM's, and thrash their transmissions by shifting hard or dumping clutches.

 

I can't seem to find much data about reliability running the LMS tune, and I'm wondering when people have had stuff break when running it, what broke, and do we know why? 

 

Just realize we went off topic a bit here, sorry, did we answer your questions?  If not please let us know what we need to chime in on.

[Ron Jeremy]

On 11/19/2019 at 3:16 AM, Special_K said:

 

Just realize we went off topic a bit here, sorry, did we answer your questions?  If not please let us know what we need to chime in on.

Oh yeah, you're good! lol

 

This is good info, I've decided I'm probably not going to tune the car. Power is good enough for me, and I drive this car much more gingerly than I did the Focus ST, as the fuel mileage isn't super great. WOT over the last couple weeks of initial ownership has been a very rare occurrence. 

[Special_K]

30 minutes ago, Ron Jeremy said:

Oh yeah, you're good! lol

 

This is good info, I've decided I'm probably not going to tune the car. Power is good enough for me, and I drive this car much more gingerly than I did the Focus ST, as the fuel mileage isn't super great. WOT over the last couple weeks of initial ownership has been a very rare occurrence. 

 

Ight man, also mpg increase comes with a tune btw ?

 

enjoy your edge!