Mudflap

Lets get this out of the way first. My intention to leave the car "mostly stock" lasted about 36 hours. A personal best really, and I'd imagine better than most of you chronics. :P

Still, I don't want to do anything drastic to the car (like a blower that I had in the past). So I was looking at tune options, and about to order from AM robotically as I've always liked Bama tunes... and decided to look into the FRPP tune. I realize its fairly "weak", but reports are great about the low end torque, and that is what I want really. The speed limit is 75 at best. The FRPP pack lets you keep your warranty IF the dealer installs it apparently. Nice touch.

So today I go over to the dealer to drop off an extra set of keys to my trade, and I'm thinking ok, I'll stop by the parts dept and then talk a service advisor about this thing. I will leave the dealer nameless, as I got a good deal on the car, and this was but one clueless person... hopefully.

Parts desk visit, ask about price on FRPP ProCal + K&N filter. $410. lol No thanks. $350 on AM.

Service advisor, question about having the FRPP performance "pack" installed by them and keeping warranty... Answer: "Uhh, ok... who makes this kit though??" He then determines with a blanket statement that "anything" Ford Racing installed by them keeps the warranty. Not 100% true I don't think in the cases of the HO blower kits, but hey, he wasn't that far off.

Question: How much would you guys charge to PUSH A BUTTON on the tuner just so I can keep my warranty? Answer: Uhh, it depends on how hard it is... maybe like an hour or two, $120/hour. Me: It takes like 15-20 minutes man, its pushing a button... and 12-15 minutes of that is waiting. Him: So yeah, probably an hour then. $120.

Question: If I bring in a set of axleback mufflers, how much to just install them at the same time, I'm feeling lazy? Answer: 3 hours, so $360. Me: I can install them in 1 hour on my back in the driveway with no lift... Him: Well, sometimes its hard, we just never know... it takes what it takes.

Question (now I just want to see the depths of this dude's utter lack of job knowledge): Sooo... I don't think I want the "Ford Racing" mufflers, if I bring in a set of say, Roush mufflers, I'm going to ASSUME this won't impact the warranty, right? Its just mufflers, behind all the emissions stuff... Answer: * long pause * Well, you just never know really. When they want to blame stuff, it can happen... Me: Guess I'll take my chances on that one then... and install them myself again.

I guess he was technically right about the mufflers, but I think I could argue that one pretty well...

Amazing experience, not sure why I bother sometimes....

AMDanBailer

Mudflap,

Some ford dealerships have some nerve huh? Sounds like that Ford dealership needs to look into some people who are car enthusiast LOL!

If you ever have any product questions or just need some advice, please feel free to contact us!

We are always hear to help!

We appreciate you being a loyal customer to us!

- Dan

BigDinTexas

I'd stop back by (if it's not too far out of the way) and ask to speak with the Service Manager about your experience... He/she may be just as clueless, but you might luck out and get their attention since you are trying to spend some of your hard earned money in their Service Department on PAID LABOR. I know that Sales and Service are usually separate departments, but what bugs me is that in almost every instance I have had the (dis)pleasure of interacting with both departments at a dealership, it is almost without fail, customer experiences from different spectrums of the satisfaction meter.

Good luck, and if you aren't already aware, AM/Bama has a written guarantee regarding the use of their tunes and the unlikely event you pop cylinder #8 and FoMoCo voids your engine's warranty when you take it in.

Don

dennisafrompa

There is a local Ford dealer that is a big FRPP center. They are very performance oriented and are a pleasure to talk to. They were at Carlisle and installed many Frpp parts from suspension to axle backs to shifters. I know they are the exception and a smallish dealer too. Of course a dealer in PA does you no good at all but some "car guys" still work at dealerships.

Mudflap

Yeah I'm aware of the warranty for #8... doesn't help that anything else exploding wouldn't be covered though. Pay to play, I know all too well... just gauging how far I want to go this time around.

I called another dealer and they want $375 to install the tune, and the GT500 mufflers. oy vey. I could do all of that in about an hour myself. They have never done any of the performance packs before... but "have a FRPP supercharger install tomorrow!" Glad I'm not THAT guy. He must be paying about 20 grand in labor I figure, lol.

There is some temptation to just order the kit from AM for a little over $500 and install the stuff myself. Technically the Ford Racing warranty doesn't replace the factory one for very long if I do this, however you have to figure the dealership would perhaps have a harder time arguing the case for a failure when nothing was bolted on besides FRPP parts... but probably not.

Also tempted to try out Steeda this time... they say they have had no #8 failures, but I suspect this is an empty statistic as I THINK AM has tuned probably several times more cars than they have (ie percentages).

Entaille

I think the FRPP warraty is entirely separate of your original warranty - though it will run on the same countdown clock to match your 3 yr/36mo. part of the requirement is that a ford dealership performs the install.

sucks, but you have to jump through their hoops to get their benefits.

if you're just going to do the install and tune yourself, may as well go aftermarket..

Mudflap

Yeah thinking about just buying the ProCal / K&N pack, installing the air filter myself, and then bringing it to them to push the button on the tuner and register the warranty which will cost me $125 for an hour of labor. Small price to maintain the 3/36k, and 1% of what a cylinder pop would cost. I'd then just stick on whatever set of mufflers I want myself or have a 3rd party shop do it real quick. The mufflers are a gamble, but I think even the most inept service employees would have to acknowledge that anything behind the emissions components completely really wouldn't be at fault for engine failure if they are functioning properly. Think I could argue that one pretty well...

Entaille

I've heard a lot of people that go FRPP go aftermarket not terribly long afterwards. it should be a pretty fun tune that will wake up the low end some, but it just doesn't compare to the overall gains. good initial grunt, lack of follow through.

I think your plan will work just fine - worst case scenario, put the stock mufflers back on if you have any issues. what a joke though, I'd like to see them try to argue a problem from mufflers

I want to go aftermarket but I can't say I fully trust the engine yet. it has 4k miles on it, so far so good .. but I'm trying my damnedest to wait until 8-10k miles before making any decisions.

Mudflap

Yeah I've had 3 Mustangs, an 07 that just had a CAI/Tune, and 09 that had a Vortech blower on it, a 2010 that was just CAI/Tune, and now this 2012. I've tried tunes from Brenspeed, Bama and BBR in the past. Always liked Bama the best tune-wise. The FRPP packages have never been regarded as the "best" because best usually equals raw power output around here. They also typically haven't exploded engines either, at least that I recall ever seeing.

Given the 5.0 motor is relatively "new", I'm just not real comfortable throwing away the warranty yet. When I put the blower on the 09, we had 4+ years of "evidence" to deal with regarding power levels and the thresholds that *most* S197's were living up to. Given this car is intended to be a bit more of a driver than the others were (I still work from home and don't commute, but), I want the warranty intact. This one isn't going to be as much of a garage queen, I'll be driving it quite a lot when I do drive.

I went ahead and ordered the ProCal and K&N package from AM. After their discount code, price was $347 shipped. Not bad overall. I realize that for a few dollars more I could get a "better" and more powerful tune, however facing facts here... I'm jaded, lol. I've had several "fast" cars in my life outside the Mustangs, and to be brutally honest, everything feels slow to me these days as a result.

IMO, the area where the 5.0 really could use a "bump" is right where that FRPP tune is hitting, which is on the low end. No longer care about peak hp #s. I also no longer care to have that sliver of worry and doubt each time I hit the gas on a modded car. I figure the $125 to install the tune by the dealer and keep my warranty intact will be worth not having to worry about that crap anymore... The total difference in cost between the aftermarket tuner/tunes and self-install vs the FRPP dealer installed is about $134. For that much money, I'll give up the handful of ponies on the aftermarket tunes to keep my 3/36...