Tuning concerns and impact on warranty?

[ravis22]

Hi all! Looking at buying a used 2020 raptor with about 36k miles. Current owner mentions he’s installed this Cobb STAGE 1+ REDLINE CARBON FIBER POWER PACKAGE WITH TCM F-150 ECOBOOST RAPTOR / LIMITED.
I’ve had many performance vehicles over the years but never really messed with tuners.
Should I be concerned about potential damage to engine or tranny? Also, would something like this impact the factory warranty?

appreciate any insight and guidance!

COBB Tuning - Ford Stage 1+ Redline Carbon Fiber Power Package with TCM F-150 Ecoboost Raptor / Limited

The Stage 1+ Power Package includes the COBB Redline Carbon Fiber Intake System along with the V3 Accessport with TCM Flashing for the Ford F-150 Raptor!

www.cobbtuning.com

 

[smurfslayer]

Welcome to FRF!

So... this thread cries out for input from @FordTechOne. I hate to drag him into this, but, he makes some compelling points about what is supported, what isn’t supported, and why and, having prevailed in a lemon lawsuit myself, I find his reasoning quite sound.

Ford has delivered a stock tune that works from Gnome, Alaska to Death Valley and everywhere in between. Aftermarket tuners do a credible job, but... their tunes don’t go through a tenth of what the manufacturer does. Let’s be honest, we all want more power. Well, Gen 1 owners excepted < I’m kidding > but what are you willing to give up?

The stock tune lets you run 87 octane gas in pretty much any condition you can imagine, hauling a bed full of anvils if you’re so inclined. If the label says “F150/F250/F350” and you can conceive of a use that Ford doesn’t test for, you’re achieving.

When you tune for power, you are sacrificing at least some level of reliability in some range of operation. Will it matter? If you’re not at WOT all the time, probably not, but what if you suffer some incidental motor or powertrain failure? The dealer is going to know there’s an aftermarket tune and if a powertrain component stress fails - how are you going to successfully defend your position in court? The manufacturer will represent and say “the component is stress tested to this power level and the customer exceeded that”. Even if your tune didn’t cause the failure, it’s there and exceedingly unlikely you’d be able to assert it wasn’t a contributor.

I’ve modified lots of vehicles, tuned some, etc. But understand that if you tune, and there is a powertrain component failure, you are likely going to own it.

From what I understand, the transmission is rated to 590 food pounds of torque, stock is 510. I’ve seen a lot of tunes putting down in excess of 590 tq at the wheels. Now, few of these guys have complained of transmission trouble, so I’m thinking it’s probably conservatively rated, and overbuilt but, it’s a pricey piece of kit.

It depends on what you want to do with the truck. if commuting, vacation, family duty is involved, I’d consider another, more stock truck. if it’s just a toy and you can mod as you wish, go for it. somewhere in between? only you can decide.

 

[ravis22]

Thanks for the welcome and response! Personally, I don’t want the tuner and if I bought this truck, I would be happy to return it to the stock tune and be done with it.

but I’m just wondering if I should avoid buying the truck, since whatever the current owner did with it could have caused some damage. If I return it to stock tune and there is some power train failure, would the dealer be able to tell that at some point the tune had been altered? Even if I had returned it to stock?

 

[FordTechOne]

Thanks for the welcome and response! Personally, I don’t want the tuner and if I bought this truck, I would be happy to return it to the stock tune and be done with it.

but I’m just wondering if I should avoid buying the truck, since whatever the current owner did with it could have caused some damage. If I return it to stock tune and there is some power train failure, would the dealer be able to tell that at some point the tune had been altered? Even if I had returned it to stock?

Yes, there will always be a calibration log. Also, any time the dealer scan tool is connected the session details are uploaded to a Ford server.

 

[ravis22]

Yes, there will always be a calibration log. Also, any time the dealer scan tool is connected the session details are uploaded to a Ford server.

Thanks so much for your response! I think I’ll stay away then. If I’m buying a newer used one, and paying more, id like to feel confident the warranty will still be good.