Ok boys,
I have a brand new $38,000 truck (sticker) she is my new hobby and play toy so I obviously want to take very good care of her. I have been pouring through these threads for about a month now and I see all the rave reviews on the Edge Evolution Tuner. We use a saying here in SC and it goes like this- "if you're scared, say you're scared", well I am scared and I am in touch enough with my manhood to admit it. My fear is using an after market performance enhancer such as the Edge and causing damage that could be very expensive to repair and knowing I have probably voided warranty if Ford could prove I used such a product. I am fully aware of the need to reset factory parameters and remove the tuner from the truck before seeking repairs or service, but this does not undo any damage that the product, or my improper setup of the product could cause. I am relatively intelligent for a southern boy and can follow most simple instruction so as long as it is not brain surgery or rocket science I can probably manage the install based on what I have read.

Here is what I need from you who are more experienced with this product:
1) CONVINCE ME FIRST AND FOREMOST THAT THE PRODUCT IS SAFE FOR MY TRUCK.
2) THE SETUP IS EASY.
3) THE EDGE IS WORTH THE COST AND WILL IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ENOUGH TO TAKE THIS CALCULATED RISK.

I really want the performance gains I am reading about, but not at the expense of damaging a brand new truck.

Note: I have already installed dual exhaust and I'm planning for CAI Kit.

Your candid response is appreciated. I will see what I get over the next couple of days before making my final decision to order or not. Sorry for the long post but thanks in advance.

FTO

 

I understand your concern and I too worry about this. I have made this the last performance mod as I am overly cautious too. I will follow this thread closely. Wish I could help you.

 

Ever hear the expression "You have to pay to play"?

Lots of people are going to tell you that the tuner is safe for your truck but none of them are providing the warranty on your $40,000 investment. The tuner company can say whatever they want but again they do not provide the warranty and ultimately are interested in selling a product.

You could very well run a tuner for 10 years and never have to do anything other then regular maintance to your truck.

You could also run a tuner, have some sort of catastrophic failure, and wether or not it was caused by your tuner may be stuck fighting with Ford over a repair.

I say if you can stomach the thought of possibly having to fight with Ford over a warranty repair OR have the disposable income or know how to fix it yourself then go ahead.

If you do not face adversity or challenges well then I say leave it stock.

If you want an opinion that matters go to the dealership that does your Warranty work and have them put it in writing it will be covered, unless you think they will tell you to pound sand.

 

fordtruck, you've struck a common ground with a lot of us owners still concerned about warranties. I bought the extended powertrain only warranty for the purpose of not having to pay for expensive engine/tranny/transfer case repairs. But I also want the Edge.

The problem with removing it before going to the dealer for repairs, is that the dealer can still tell it was plugged in. All they have to do is run the codes or engine management software and BLAMMO..you're exposed. As Aaron said above, if you can talk candidly with the dealer about it, and get it in writing, you may be good to go (and let us know if this works out). I spoke to my dealer about the CAI and the exhaust first, just matter-of-factly, and they said no worries about those upgrades. I never mentioned a tuner. Although he looked at me funny when I said supercharger and nitrous (kidding about the nitrous)...

 

No ford dealer in the world will put any warranty in writing if you put in a tuner and if they caneven slightly prove the tuner caused any engine problem your warranty is gone!!!

 

Roger that Lineman, hence the reason for this thread.

 

Funny thing is that a lot of posters state that once you set it back to stock they cannot tell. Which one is it? Can they tell? here is one vote for hell yes.

 

There are plenty of Ford Mechanics on here. Maybe one of them will chime in.

 

They cannot tell matter of factly that you have changed the tune and changed it back.

There is only one givaway, if you set it back to stock right before taking it in, they will be able to tell that all the cycles have not reset themselves. Whenever you reset the PCM or change the tune, there are a lot of parameters that the truck needs to relearn. This takes a certain amount of drive cycles. The dealership will notice that the PCM is in essentially a "not ready" state, but this alone does not prove that you had a tuner.

The edge is a decent tuner. Its not my favorite and im sure most people here already know it, so I wont really go into it unless im asked, haha.

The bottom line is, any mod you do carries an inherent risk. If something goes wrong and your dealer can PROVE that the problem was a DIRECT EFFECT of a modification you made, you may be SOL. Changing the PCM really takes your truck out of fords hands, so if they find out, and something goes wrong, they wont want to fix it, and why should they, really? Just PLEASE do your research before buying a tuner. All too often ill see people get a tuner because everyone else one. That doesnt mean its the best. Just keep that in mind.

 

my ford shop said you see that diesel over there it has a burnt piston and a tuner, which as he saw it ran the motor lean.now they have a huge repair bill, he said the guys warranty was not picking up the tab for that repair.people who want more power should get trucks with more power imo.i dont know what you guys think but i dont want my motor running rich or lean past what ford has programed it for,not just for a little extra power.

 

Isn't the better question here not what we do after the fact, but wether or not anything will happen to begin with? I realize that edge says they have no warrenty or promises that this won't jack up your truck, but are the things they are changing so extreme to actually do any damage? (assuming you keep to levels 1, 2, or 3).

And if its true they look at the peramiters to tell if you recently changed the PCM settings, would it not be fixed by driving around say, 20 miles before taking it in?

 

a good tuner keeps the AF ratio safe, you dont have to go crazy with fuel to make power.

 

It usually takes more than 20 miles. It can take less, but typically takes more, the PCM must wait until you do a few different styles of driving to be able to read parameters so it can run safely under any conditions.

As far as the actual tuning goes, I can honestly say that for the F150s at least, I havent heard of anyone who is making tunes that actually harm the engine. I know a few people with the EDGE have complained about trans shifting and other small issues, but most were resolved by setting the truck back to stock. So i havent seen any actual damage caused by tuners. Your truck will still have some build in failsafe modes, even with an aftermarket tune, that can potentially save you from a diseaster. notice, i said potentially

 

Reforder,

Thanks for the reply, I am getting exactly what I thought I might get from this thread --- A whole bunch of different opinions. As ford dude pointed out there are a lot of Ford mechanics on here so maybe we will get some opinions from the guys that deal with this stuff all the time.

My initial leanings were that the edge would probably be OK as long as people do not start messing with the custom tune feature. In other words stay with the 1, 2 or 3 preset tunes. I want to believe that those who do have problems are trying to get too much out of tuners and end up frying a piston or the like. But deep down I just want as much info as possible before making the final decision. Not sure if this thread is going to help that decision process but it makes for good debate.

P.S. Nice truck, do you like the Volant, did it bring the truck to life any? The main thing I am looking for is to improve throttle response and get firmer shifting.

 

Fordtruckowner: I have read most of these posts with edge tuners I have seen various small problems and one that the guy did fry his computer for whatever reason ford did not warranty it so I guess at the end of the day it is your money, you pay your money and take your chances??