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5 Star Tuning Tune good to go!

Fasterdamnit!

Elite Explorer
Joined
June 3, 2020
Messages
81
Reaction score
56
City, State
Charlotte, NC
Year, Model & Trim Level
2014 Explorer Sport
Howdy!
The first serious mods are in! 1. JLT 3.0 Catch can. Nice plug and play install.
2. I picked up the SCT X4 with 5 Star Tunes for my '14 Sport with 79k miles. I picked up a 3 bar map sensor as well. I also ordered fresh NGK iridium plugs that were delayed about a week. I chose 5 Star as they are within driving distance and have a great reputation. They know how to tune for this hot, humid environment. The X4 arrived in a couple of days after purchase. I read the strategy code and emailed in the vehicle info. While waiting for the tunes I went ahead and loaded the SCT 3.5L 93 octane tune. Much better! Even with the old plugs and stock MAP sensor it pulled harder than stock. The 5 Star tunes arrived a few days later: 87 Tow/Performance, 89 Tow/Performance and 93 Performance- all with 3 bar MAP. I was greedy and tried the 93 tune first. The stock plugs weren't having it. Shuddered under boost. Went to the 89 tune running 93 octane. That worked and was pulling harder than the SCT 93. The boost came in sooner and the throttle response is smoother. With the SCT tune the transition to boost when pushing the pedal was a little bit more abrupt. The new plugs arrived today. Gapped them all to .030". The old plugs were in sad shape. While the iridium electrodes hold up, the ground straps move. 100k miles is too long between changes. One plug had .034" gap and the rest were over .040". Two were way over. If I can find my feeler gauges, I will report the true gaps. Fired it up and the idle was smooth. I shut it down and loaded the 5 Star 93 tune. Wooo Baby! This rocks! I checked the boost and saw just over 16PSI at on point. I also bumped the shift pressure 10% for all shifts. I am really impressed with how this 4900lb brick accelerates.
 



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Nice, I have SCT on the 2016 Explorer Sport and 2016 Explorer Platinum. Both have the Livernois Corsa exhaust.
 






Nice, I have SCT on the 2016 Explorer Sport and 2016 Explorer Platinum. Both have the Livernois Corsa exhaust.
Very nice! How’s the sound? Exhaust is in the future and I have only heard the Borla.
 






I'm coming up on 115k in short order with the original plugs and though the car is running well, mpg too, they need to be changed. I went to one location and they wanted $500. to change them out, which seemed outrageous. I went to check on their price as I heard changing the plugs on the Explorer was a nightmare. Since you said you did it, I'd love to hear your feedback on how bad of a job you found it?

Now, that said, you might be running a Sport, not sure as you installed a catchcan which I read was not needed on an NA, just the ecoboost?
 






I'm coming up on 115k in short order with the original plugs and though the car is running well, mpg too, they need to be changed. I went to one location and they wanted $500. to change them out, which seemed outrageous. I went to check on their price as I heard changing the plugs on the Explorer was a nightmare. Since you said you did it, I'd love to hear your feedback on how bad of a job you found it?

Now, that said, you might be running a Sport, not sure as you installed a catchcan which I read was not needed on an NA, just the ecoboost?
Ye-
It’s a Sport. Plug change was not hard. Not sure why my sig is not showing.
 






Ye-
It’s a Sport. Plug change was not hard. Not sure why my sig is not showing.
Your signature is showing. As well the Sport is shown in your profile in the margin.

Peter
 






Your signature is showing. As well the Sport is shown in your profile in the margin.

Peter
Not on my iphone. And I did login. I see it on my laptop.
 












Howdy!
The first serious mods are in! 1. JLT 3.0 Catch can. Nice plug and play install.
2. I picked up the SCT X4 with 5 Star Tunes for my '14 Sport with 79k miles. I picked up a 3 bar map sensor as well. I also ordered fresh NGK iridium plugs that were delayed about a week. I chose 5 Star as they are within driving distance and have a great reputation. They know how to tune for this hot, humid environment. The X4 arrived in a couple of days after purchase. I read the strategy code and emailed in the vehicle info. While waiting for the tunes I went ahead and loaded the SCT 3.5L 93 octane tune. Much better! Even with the old plugs and stock MAP sensor it pulled harder than stock. The 5 Star tunes arrived a few days later: 87 Tow/Performance, 89 Tow/Performance and 93 Performance- all with 3 bar MAP. I was greedy and tried the 93 tune first. The stock plugs weren't having it. Shuddered under boost. Went to the 89 tune running 93 octane. That worked and was pulling harder than the SCT 93. The boost came in sooner and the throttle response is smoother. With the SCT tune the transition to boost when pushing the pedal was a little bit more abrupt. The new plugs arrived today. Gapped them all to .030". The old plugs were in sad shape. While the iridium electrodes hold up, the ground straps move. 100k miles is too long between changes. One plug had .034" gap and the rest were over .040". Two were way over. If I can find my feeler gauges, I will report the true gaps. Fired it up and the idle was smooth. I shut it down and loaded the 5 Star 93 tune. Wooo Baby! This rocks! I checked the boost and saw just over 16PSI at on point. I also bumped the shift pressure 10% for all shifts. I am really impressed with how this 4900lb brick accelerates.

Which NGKs did you get? I also have bad shuddering under WOT with my new 5star 93 perf tune, and I want to change them.
 






Which NGKs did you get? I also have bad shuddering under WOT with my new 5star 93 perf tune, and I want to change them.
NGK 97177
Gapped to .030"
 






Has anyone played with the Global Spark and WOT settings??

2016 Explorer Sport
With 5 star 93 Performance Tune
 






Welcome to the Forum Wolf. :wave:
Happy New Year.

Peter
 






Has anyone played with the Global Spark and WOT settings??

2016 Explorer Sport
With 5 star 93 Performance Tune

I assume you're referencing the options you're being given when loading a tune? I've never used the X4 as I have the Livewire, but I'm guessing it's similar.

Anyway, tbh, I'd be wary of changing your spark timing, either globally or WOT. There are some paramters the tune is using to get to the final spark and changing it willy-nilly may give you issues, particularly when advancing. If you're not 100% comfortable with this, just reach out to your tuner before making these changes and run it by them. Actually, I'd personally do this regardless. Oh, and I'd definitely be datalogging before and after any changes...
 






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