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My TracKey Experience

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I just got back from picking the Boss up. I shot over to Mexico on some old deserted highways to open it up and get a feel for it. My initial impression is "racecar". I think the most noticeable part of TracKey is the "experience". It makes you feel like you're driving a race car, not a street car. Everything is more edgy; throttle response, engine braking, exhaust note (no discs and Corsa Extreme axle backs) and just general added NVH. It courses through your whole body like an electrical current. I don't want to oversell it, but for my money, it delivers and then some. I didn’t feel the drivability was reduced to the point that you wouldn't enjoy driving it on the street. However, if you're not going to be able to blast around at all (i.e. rush hour traffic or mall parking lot), you might just stick with the black key. If you're going out for a spirited drive on the highways, I'd say TracKey would be a better experience.

I called my local dyno shop and they had a cancellation this afternoon so they said they could do some pulls if I dropped it off and left it with them. I should have some dyno charts that we can look at by the end of the day. It will be interesting to see what differences, if any, we can see in the torque and hp curves. The real test for me will be getting the Boss back on the track to experience the difference. The fact that I had the opportunity for so many track days without TracKey will provide an excellent baseline for comparison. Even if it doesn't increase performance (I assume it will), it will enhance your track day experience. It felt more like the FR500S I drove at MMP than my Boss.

Oh and I forgot, that lopey idle thing. (Can you tell that was high on my priority list for TK?) After the car was warmed up and properly thrashed (j/k Ford), it sounded and shook exactly like the Track Attack cars at MMP. FWIW I couldn't tell any difference.
More to come........
 
cloud9 said:
I didn’t feel the drivability was reduced to the point that you wouldn't enjoy driving it on the street. However, if you're not going to be able to blast around at all (i.e. rush hour traffic or mall parking lot), you might just stick with the black key. If you're going out for a spirited drive on the highways, I'd say TracKey would be a better experience.
This is good to hear. From driving the cars at TA I was concerned TK would be no fun driving around town. I look forward to your dyno charts later today.
 
ArizonaGT said:
And THEN I can't wait to hit the next track event and compare it at full-tilt!
Jealous! ;D I really think you guys are going to like it on track. I'll be waiting for you and Rick to fill me in! :'(
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
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Arizona, USA
cloud9 said:
Jealous! ;D I really think you guys are going to like it on track. I'll be waiting for you and Rick to fill me in! :'(

Full passdown after Thanksgiving weekend. You're welcome to come out and join us...should be plenty of turkey to go around :)
 
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Thanks for the write up. You certainly deserve to be one of the first to get it 8)

It'll be interesting to read about the difference it makes on the track, and the improvement in lap times.

Did you notice the difference in low-end torque?
 

JScheier

Too Hot for the Boss!
cloud9 said:
I just got back from picking the Boss up. I shot over to Mexico on some old deserted highways to open it up and get a feel for it.........

Shot over to Mexico from your place? That's a heck-of-a-shot there ;)
 
I just got a call from the speed shop about the dyno results. The good news is I didn't get a slow one. It sounds like I made about 400 rwhp and 346 rwtq so I'm happy with that. He did 3 pulls with TracKey and 2 pulls with the black key after putting it on cruise at 45 mph for about 20 minutes for the PCM to relearn the new tune. He said you could almost overlay the curves and they are the same. I guess that's not surprising since Ford never advertised an increase in hp with TK. He checked the datalogs and there's no difference in timing A/F or demand for fuel at WOT. He did make all the pulls in 4th gear not realizing 5th is 1:1. He didn't think it would make much difference but is going to do a pull or two in 5th for comparison. I asked him to do a chart that overlays all the pulls so I should have that soon.

That said, it still doesn't answer what difference it will make on the track. The changes to engine braking and throttle response are real, just not sure how that translates into lap times. Like I said in my post, if nothing else TK does enhance the driving experience and will so on track as well.
 
The first chart shows overlay of 5 pulls. The first 3 are with TracKey and the 4th and 5th are with the street tune. As others experienced they make slightly more power with successive pulls. The second chart shows a 5th gear pull with the black key and you can see there's a little more hp being in 1:1 and quite a bit higher tq, but that wouldn't change the comparisons between the tunes anyway, just move them both up.

The best thing is with those numbers we can see the LS's aren't any faster!!!!!!! ;D I was just hoping I didn't get a slow one and I didn't!


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Dean#4AI said:
Thanks Gary for filling us in.

Wow, a trackey thread without anything negative. ::)
I know can you believe it? ;D Would love to keep it that way in this thread please :D. Oh, I am a mod on this site aren't I? Hmmm......
 

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