GEN 2 JDM Engineering NEW Tune on the market!

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xrocket21

xrocket21

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I have a stock '18. Love almost everything about it but manual mode. 10 speeds to shift through is too many for me. It would be much more pleasant to only have a 5 speed. Say 1-3-5-7-9. Driving through the rolling hills of Kentucky with those gears would be almost as much fun as a stick. Anyone out there agree? Could JDM provide a "tune" to do this, or must Ford take the responsibility.

I would say with this type of vehicle with an automatic tranny, the gains from a tune come about 50% from the engine and 50% from the tranny. I am pretty sure you would really enjoy the changes you would see. The stock tune is pretty awful and is really designed to keep people from putting their truck in the ditch and maximizing fuel economy.
 

GCATX

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So, does this tune do away with the adaptive transmission learning? If so, I'd be interested. Also interested in any other possible way to disable the learning. Truck shifted better after the TSB but seems to have reverted to it's old ways, at times.
 

New Nick at JDM

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So our tune does not do away with adaptive learning nor should it ever be augmented or eliminated except in rare and extreme conditions. Adaptive learning is needed to account for fluid viscosity change versus temperature, and shift behavior based on driving habits.

If the adaptive learning is becoming intrusive in how the vehicle behaves there is a few ways it could have gotten to that point.
1.) Hard parts or internal issues (highly unlikely)
2.) Prolonged static driving conditions (a lot of heavy towing, many WOT blasts through certain gears...)
3.) Improper parameter adjustment in the PCM (The most common and noted reason even with stock tunes)

If all mechanically is sound with the truck with a proper tune, the adaptive learning should compliment the tune and not fight it.

By our tune commanding all 10 gears in order, the transmission does not attempt to learn any multi gear shifts except skipping 1 gear on downshifting off throttle to maintain smoothness.

We naturally hold gears intentionally longer to keep the engine at a more efficient RPM for both power and fuel economy, and we command a lower gear faster when tipping into the petal to ensure always being in the right gear for power demand.

By commanding a better shift schedule with correct pressures for the situation, the adaptive learning has less work to do changing to account for different driving habits thus less overall intervention, meaning a better driving truck for you.
 
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xrocket21

xrocket21

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Well, I was able to take the truck out for some aggressive driving this weekend and really test it out.

I feel like the tranny learning hasnt changed much over the 1000 miles ive driven it, still smooth. throughout some slow crawling as well as some high speed stuff i never had a hiccup. I find the boost control to be very precise with this tune. It will shoot right up to 22-23 psi and hold rock steady. The truck really makes a lot of power now it feels like with less tapering off at the upper end. I was able to make a WOT pull in 2wd baja mode and I was really impressed, the accelleration was impressive and it was banging gears with authority! Still super happy, and I will upload a vid after I get done editing!

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xrocket21

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A little bit of a one month update! Still loving the tune for sure. The tranny learning process is complete and the shifting is still butter smooth. The truck has a very Jekyl and Hyde feel to it now. It is quite docile daily driving and cruising around town, but when you go to pass someone or merge onto the highway, the boost REALLY ramps up and moves the truck with ease. Passing cars on back roads is easy as you can shoot right by them, which I appreciate as I drive a lot of back roads. Gas mileage is still holding strong at high 15's when I was seeing high 13s before, for a ~2mpg improvement which is quite nice. Traction/stability off, baja mode, 2wd, manual shift is my favorite mode, it takes a few settings to get there, but holy crap is it a monster. Wheelspin for days if you want it.

Anyone who is on the fence about getting a tune I think should really give the JDM tune a try, I can't imagine you would be disappointed. The stock boost levels and shift strategies are downright boring and this tune makes the truck run how it should have from the factory!!!
 
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