Leave it alone

[LouG]

Regarding radar detectors, they just make me nervous. I'd rather just stay within reasonable relation to the speed limit and/or traffic speed around me. To me, wisdom is being the second fastest car going past the radar.

Each to his own. If our cops had stayed as they were when I was in the job, where reasonable discretion was used, and revenue wasn't the driving force i may not have bought a detector.
But they didn't, so I did.
If the bosses told me to write tickets for 10kmh over the limit I would have resigned.
I also didn't feel so bad when they raised the highway speed limit in '84. All my previous tickets started or exceeded the new limit.

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[Frogdog1]

Regarding radar detectors, they just make me nervous. I'd rather just stay within reasonable relation to the speed limit and/or traffic speed around me. To me, wisdom is being the second fastest car going past the radar.

I don't use radar detectors for the purpose of speeding. My way of defensive driving is to not drive around other vehicles. They can't hit me if they aren't there.

That said, every single time it seems, when I slow down to let people go around me, they continue following me which I won't allow. Soo, when I pass, I pass quickly and leave people behind which is when I'm vulnerable. I don't like being vulnerable. Of course, like everyone else here (don't lie), I do accidentally hit the pedal now and then, only when it's safe of course. I refuse to believe that speed to a certain point, by itself, with intelligent people, causes as many accidents as "they" say. It does generate revenue, which "they" deny. I have zero points on my driving record (knock on wood).

 

[jeffnudi]

With supercharging and now tuning, was wondering how many of you are satisfied with leaving the car "as is" with no modifications ? As for me, I am happy with the performance, comfort, and fun it offers.

I bought a 2018 EcoBoost Premium Convertible and drove it until the odometer hit 100,000 miles. Never modified it in any way. Put gas in it and serviced it at recommended intervals. Only problem was a $1400 bill to fix the electronics (screen and whatever had to be replaced along with it). Never had a mechanical issue. Never felt the need to upgrade anything. I bought my 2024 EcoBoost Premium Convertible based on that experience. On both cars, I probably have had the top down on 95% of the miles. I am fortunate enough to be able to follow the warm weather year round, but there are mornings where the temp is below 40 degrees F. I just crank up the heated seat and the heater. I get lots of looks, but I don't mind. I still don't trust Ford Electronics (I pity Red Bull Racing F1 next year) so before the warranty expires, I will buy the Ford extended warranty to cover what I expect to be the life of the car.

As far as I am concerned, with its minimal shortcomings, it is perfect for me.

 

[steveo1960]

I have allways been a leave it alone type. Biggest mod I ever did was adding a moonroof (to a Lincoln Mark VIII? can't recall now. I think it wasn't offered as factory because it compromised roll-over strength).

Current '24 GT premium has only inconsequential add-ons the dealer did before it went on sale - tint, pinstripe, etc. If I had had a chance to choose, would probably have done only the tint. I don't need any more horsepower to accelerate faster from the red light than I do, get out of unsafe freeway situations caused by idiots who don't know how to merge, pace you in a blind spot, or what have you.

Regarding radar detectors, they just make me nervous. I'd rather just stay within reasonable relation to the speed limit and/or traffic speed around me. To me, wisdom is being the second fastest car going past the radar.

Adding a moonroof?
Wow! You are brave!!

A friend of mine added one to his AMC Eagle 4wd wagon. I thought he was crazy cutting into the roof, but he did and it came out perfect. No leaks. My balls aren't that big

 

[ChitownStang]

With supercharging and now tuning, was wondering how many of you are satisfied with leaving the car "as is" with no modifications ? As for me, I am happy with the performance, comfort, and fun it offers.

I'm on my 4th Mustang with a V8 and have heavily modified them all. It's part of the fun!
We are lucky to have cars with tons of aftermarket options.
If you're a car guy then modify!

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I don't use radar detectors for the purpose of speeding. My way of defensive driving is to not drive around other vehicles. They can't hit me if they aren't there.

How does a radar detector prevent you from driving around other cars?

 

[Katzenjammer]

Adding a moonroof?
Wow! You are brave!!

A friend of mine added one to his AMC Eagle 4wd wagon. I thought he was crazy cutting into the roof, but he did and it came out perfect. No leaks. My balls aren't that big

Had it done, did not do it myself.

 

[Eli GT]

I agree, but modding a car can also get boring. I've heavily modded several cars in my lifetime, but it never seems to be enough. Regardless of what I've done, I always want to do more. I've found that no matter what I do, someone else will always be a little faster. It's an easy rabbit hole to go down. It's so easy for me to get caught up in the horsepower game. At almost 77 years of age, you'd think I'd know better. Admittedly, I've thought about adding a blower. Don't really need any additional horsepower, but I'm a 17-year old trapped in an old man's body.

I hear ya Brother. I'm 17 trapped in an old man's body at 75. I used to love leaving "Patches" in my old affordable junkers when I could afford recaps at $20 tire. Now I have a '25 GT Convertible, 6 speed manual that will smoke 'em but at around $200 or more, I leave traction control on. My former '24 Mustang GT had an automatic and I got bored with it so got the new one so I can shift gears in tune to Beach Boys songs with the active exhaust in track mode. I let the ponies run on occasion where safe but otherwise drive like the grandfather I am.....if I had grandkids, LOL. Rock on and enjoy whatever makes you happy. In stock form, my 486 HP GT is enough for me and my beautiful wife of 52 years. Life is good!

 

[GrabThatBlue]

I can't find a reason to supercharge mine.

It's my daily, I'm doing roadtrips, I need durability, and I'm already paying way too much for gas.

 

[DevilDog]

I hear ya Brother. I'm 17 trapped in an old man's body at 75. I used to love leaving "Patches" in my old affordable junkers when I could afford recaps at $20 tire. Now I have a '25 GT Convertible, 6 speed manual that will smoke 'em but at around $200 or more, I leave traction control on. My former '24 Mustang GT had an automatic and I got bored with it so got the new one so I can shift gears in tune to Beach Boys songs with the active exhaust in track mode. I let the ponies run on occasion where safe but otherwise drive like the grandfather I am.....if I had grandkids, LOL. Rock on and enjoy whatever makes you happy. In stock form, my 486 HP GT is enough for me and my beautiful wife of 52 years. Life is good!

Beautiful car. Ahhh, the Beach Boys. The older I get the more I reminisce. Not sure how I got so old so fast. You've got me by a few years in the marriage department. We just celebrated our 48th anniversary.

 

[young at heart]

I go back and forth on the mod issue depending on the weather and my mood, both of which can change in a flash. In the end I’m most likely to leave mine alone. They’re pretty darn fast stock anyway and a lot of fun. And they always start when I push the button, which at my age is important.

I will say though that some of the most entertaining posts on this board start off with “Help-I got trouble code xxx and I’m in limp mode”. Then you read the message and the guy says his car is stock, except for an E85 tune, X-pipe and carbon trap delete. It never fails! I mean, what were you expecting? Your money and your car so do what you want but realize these cars are designed to be run stock and when you deviate from that you’re on your own.

 

[ZXMustang]

Being a tuner and having my own car turned up to 11 on E85 for the last several weeks, I decided to flash back to the stock tune but keep the stoich set to 9.80 for e85 so I could still run E, but the car's calibration was otherwise completely stock engine and trans.

WOW was that eye opening. When you have all those tweaks in place and trans refinements, then go back to stock even being on full E, it was like I went from a v8 to a v7...LOL No joke I was disappointed with Ford vs what I was able to do with my own car - obv being a tuner. But I run the same tunes I sell.

So it was eye opening for sure. The trans after a few miles of adaptive learning, we still completely lost. Lots of skip shifting up and down back, lots of what felt like excessive converter slip most likely from lower shift pressures and the stock converter settings. Shifts were slow at part throttle and felt like molasses at WOT. I make all these trans refinements and boy do they add up. And you really dont realize it once you get used to it until its gone.

Engine side, another surprising difference. Car felt gutless throughout the rev range. And was neutered on the top end since all my VCT cam settings for WOT were back to stock. It just all around felt anemic.

I drove for two days back on the stock tune and went right back to my E85 power tune. And again, WHAT A DIFFERENCE.

I so do the tune/mods. And if you need refresher, then flash back to stock and get your reassurance.

 

[ChitownStang]

Being a tuner and having my own car turned up to 11 on E85 for the last several weeks, I decided to flash back to the stock tune but keep the stoich set to 9.80 for e85 so I could still run E, but the car's calibration was otherwise completely stock engine and trans.

WOW was that eye opening. When you have all those tweaks in place and trans refinements, then go back to stock even being on full E, it was like I went from a v8 to a v7...LOL No joke I was disappointed with Ford vs what I was able to do with my own car - obv being a tuner. But I run the same tunes I sell.

So it was eye opening for sure. The trans after a few miles of adaptive learning, we still completely lost. Lots of skip shifting up and down back, lots of what felt like excessive converter slip most likely from lower shift pressures and the stock converter settings. Shifts were slow at part throttle and felt like molasses at WOT. I make all these trans refinements and boy do they add up. And you really dont realize it once you get used to it until its gone.

Engine side, another surprising difference. Car felt gutless throughout the rev range. And was neutered on the top end since all my VCT cam settings for WOT were back to stock. It just all around felt anemic.

I drove for two days back on the stock tune and went right back to my E85 power tune. And again, WHAT A DIFFERENCE.

I so do the tune/mods. And if you need refresher, then flash back to stock and get your reassurance.

ZX, what tuner company are you again?
Also, have you figured out the Flex tune programming like DRP did?

 

[ZXMustang]

ZX, what tuner company are you again?
Also, have you figured out the Flex tune programming like DRP did?

No we arent doing flex tunes. Im with P1. Flex tunes are very inconsistent and not user friendly. If you think it safe to run one, thats fine I know you have a hardon for them since you ran one on your last car and it was perfect. In reality they have been very problematic and 9/10 tuners wont do them now and stopped offering them on the s550 a long time ago.

I'm not going to get into a debate with anyone including engineer mike. So don't bother, I wont reply. We do the 93 and E85 only tunes and there is simply no issue just running down a tank of 93. Filling up on E, driving a bit then flashing over to the E tune and vice versa. out of the now 100+ s650 cars I've tuned since the beginning of July, I think one guy wanted a flex tune so bad and tried to get one from another tuner. He couldnt find anyone to do them. D(e)RP is his own thing. Go ahead and buy his flex tune. Let me know how it goes.

 

[ChitownStang]

No we arent doing flex tunes. Im with P1. Flex tunes are very inconsistent and not user friendly. If you think it safe to run one, thats fine I know you have a hardon for them since you ran one on your last car and it was perfect. In reality they have been very problematic and 9/10 tuners wont do them now and stopped offering them on the s550 a long time ago.

I'm not going to get into a debate with anyone including engineer mike. So don't bother, I wont reply. We do the 93 and E85 only tunes and there is simply no issue just running down a tank of 93. Filling up on E, driving a bit then flashing over to the E tune and vice versa. out of the now 100+ s650 cars I've tuned since the beginning of July, I think one guy wanted a flex tune so bad and tried to get one from another tuner. He couldnt find anyone to do them. D(e)RP is his own thing. Go ahead and buy his flex tune. Let me know how it goes.

I appreciate your experience and input here ZX.
I am still waiting a few months for all bugs to be worked out, and constantly reading to educate myself. You may still get me as a customer as I do appreciate how much you communicate on here which to me is huge. I seem to get a constant E70 from my local gas station here in Chicago burbs so maybe I just do straight E85 tune. I also may skip the 91/93 tune all together and save a few $ since it doesn't add much power for manual trans.
Going back to 93 may be pretty easy now that I know E30 runs fine.
My last tuner was good but he never elaborated, very short responses and missed answering my questions fully. It was a little annoying.

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