[Power Hungry]

This is a repeat of the post I made on F150Online:



First, most of the performance gains derived from tuning come from modified timing tables. There's a little fuel tuning, but in most cases it's actually leaner than stock which means LESS fuel injected, NOT more. Also, when dealing with fuel tuning, we are talking about fractions of AFR (Air-Fuel Ratio)... Usually on the order of .2:1 of .3:1 change in AFR. This is not enough to cause any sort of damage to engines, injectors, or anything else for that matter.

By the same token, we've tuned low boost, forced induction applications using completely stock injectors with either raised fuel pressure, extended pulsewidth, or both. In these situation there has been no significant increase in injector failure (read that as none), provided injection pulsewidth stayed less than 85% to prevent the injectors coils from overheating.

The fact that dealers will often sell (and warranty) a vehicle with the very same types of modifications (lifts, gears, brush guards, pulleys, superchargers, and yes... even programmers) only goes to prove that it's not the modification they have an issue with, it's the fact that THEY didn't sell it and THEY didn't make any money on it. That's a piss-poor attitude.

For the dealer to come in and say that the programmer cause your injectors to fail is complete crap. Also, to blatantly disregard a warranty claim as well as a recall notice is grounds for legal action. Of course they know most people won't pursue it because it's often not financially feasible.

Second is in regards to programmer "footprinting". Using the exact same tools the dealerships use, there doesn't appear to be evidence of anything that specifically identifies that a "programmer" has been present on a vehicle, at least on the F150. Mode 6 Freeze Frame data does get cleared during a programming session and I am currently validating what other situations (disconnected battery, etc) will clear Mode 6 data.

It is my understanding that the dealerships do use Mode 6 data along with the ubiquitous P1000 DTC as evidence of programmer presence to be used as grounds for warranty denial. However, if there is a reasonable argument that these conditions can exist outside of the use of a programmer then the dealership cannot deny a warranty out of hand.

As I've said before, it's a shame that this is what it has come to. Prior abuses to the warranty system have now made it difficult for legitimate claims to be covered. What Ford (or any other manufacturer) needs to realize is that their vehicle sales are often driver by consumers who like to modify and customize their vehicles. If the consumer is going to face hassles on warranty claims every time they bolt on some little (or big) item, they are going to spend their money elsewhere.

I've been tuning Fords for just about as long as there has been Ford tuning and I've seen bad things happen to engines and transmission as a result of poorly tuned calibrations. The fact is that most of today's tuning simply isn't aggressive enough to cause problems that wouldn't have occurred on their own without tuning. But as it was said, warranty doesn't pay as well as cash repairs so what do they have to lose by denying a warranty? In the short term it costs them nothing, but ultimately they will lose customer loyalty and future sales.

Take care.