Owners of 2011 Mustangs have been on the edge of their seats waiting on tuning. For today's new Mustangs, as well as 2005-2009 S197 Mustangs, programmers are required for the installation of cold air intake kits, rear end gears, many exhaust mods. Tuners also improve where the factory left off, providing more aggressive programs for fuel and timing curves, the ability to raise your factory rev limiters, remove speed limiters, or adjust idle rpms. Programmers are now a required component in the progression of your car's modification schedule. The cherry on top, is that they actually make power.
Like everyone, I'm out to get more power of of my new Mustang. My 2011 GT's 5.0 has a ton of power in its stock configuration, but it still could use more. From the factory, the car felt timid. I recall the same feel from my 4.6 Hot Rod crate 3-valve in my Fairmont. Mid-range felt week, leaving me waiting for the high-rpm blast just before the factory rev limiter shut everything down. Timing helped the Fairmont, so I suspected timing would help the new car, as well as a bump up the factory rev-limiter.
SCT was the first on the scene with a tuner for the 2011 5.0. I've used SCT in the past, and I like the SF3's simplicity. SCT is also a popular brand amongst custom tuning shops.
As soon as I was able to update an SCT SF 3 from our inventory, I had one on my 5.0. I walked through the menu on the tuner's window to adjust the factory rev limiter to around 7300, but otherwise adjusted none of the tuner's multiple custom settings.
After a quick download to the 2011, the new tuner was installed and I was cruising. The results?
SCT claims about 32 hp and 31 lb-ft of torque from their current out-of the box tune. This is noticeable seat-of-the-pants power. I noticed a remarkable improvement in the 4000-6000 rpm range, and raising the rev limiter allowed the car to pull past 7000rpm, clearly using more of the impressive 5.0's long powerband and superior-flowing heads.
The SCT 3015 SF3 Power Flash tuner programmer is a bargain. For mere minutes of your time, and an investment of $380, the tuner gives the instant gratification of 30+ horsepower, as well as the ability to adjust for any future mods you choose to throw at your new 5.0.