TracKey is here! Those that are installing - please post!

[Justin]

I got the track key installed earlier today. 119 was the labor charge. for the money it costs I really am not that impressed. better throttle response is about all I have noticed. the engine braking is only slightly increased over silver key unless your winding down from the moon. the idle is.....so so. I will hold final judgement on that once I take out the plates completely but so far its no where near as lopey as it is in the videos I have seen from ford.

Would I buy it again? nope. for the money I could have had a tuner from lethal performance and had the lopey idle from jun lund ( he still does the "ghost idle" as far as I know) and more power. the two step for me is going to be useless as you need way more than 5000rpms to launch on slicks. pit lane.....useless to me. so for 339 bucks I got some better throttle response...yippie should come like that from the factory

so far I am pretty disappointed should have bought a sct handheld tuner.

 

[PeteInCT]

It's true the lopey idle isn't like what the early video's were showing, once the car fully warms up it does get a little better. For me I see a significant difference in throttle response and engine braking (even at the lower RPM's). Outside of that what were you expecting from TK? Ford made no promises about increases in HP, the launch mode works as advertised as well as pit lane.

 

[Justin]

It's true the lopey idle isn't like what the early video's were showing, once the car fully warms up it does get a little better. For me I see a significant difference in throttle response and engine braking (even at the lower RPM's). Outside of that what were you expecting from TK? Ford made no promises about increases in HP, the launch mode works as advertised as well as pit lane.

I was expecting some better bottom end hit and mid range. I knew it wouldnt gain more peak power. its cool dont get me wrong....just way over priced. thats my complaint to much money for to little. I mostly got it cause the warranty thing that and the GF/soon to be wife wouldnt buy off on me getting a tuner cause of the warranty.

really I am just in a terrible mood today I am in the process of quitting smoking so little tiny things just irritate the sh%t out of me. really I was just trying to put out there to someone on the fence between a tuner and the key...I would go the tuner route if you can do without the lopey idle.

 

[VoodooBoss]

really I am just in a terrible mood today I am in the process of quitting smoking so little tiny things just irritate the sh%t out of me. really I was just trying to put out there to someone on the fence between a tuner and the key...I would go the tuner route if you can do without the lopey idle.

Good luck quitting smoking, your body will love you longer for it.

I'm surprised that you had expectations on lopey idle that it was anything other than mild. From day one people have complained about it and there must be a dozen threads on the subject at BMO alone. The info on lopey idle not being the same as the early Ford videos has been known since early November and August for some of us that attended BTA early on and is well documented in cyber space.

What's funny about lopey idle is if any other car idled like that you'd take it to the dealer and insist they fix it! ;D Just today I was driving around with TK and was a bit surprised how much my car was shaking and how rough the idle was. That's the most lopey idle I've experienced in over four months.

 

[Justin]

really I am just in a terrible mood today I am in the process of quitting smoking so little tiny things just irritate the sh%t out of me. really I was just trying to put out there to someone on the fence between a tuner and the key...I would go the tuner route if you can do without the lopey idle.

Good luck quitting smoking, your body will love you longer for it.

I'm surprised that you had expectations on lopey idle that it was anything other than mild. From day one people have complained about it and there must be a dozen threads on the subject at BMO alone. The info on lopey idle not being the same as the early Ford videos has been known since early November and August for some of us that attended BTA early on and is well documented in cyber space.

What's funny about lopey idle is if any other car idled like that you'd take it to the dealer and insist they fix it! ;D Just today I was driving around with TK and was a bit surprised how much my car was shaking and how rough the idle was. That's the most lopey idle I've experienced in over four months.

lol thanks. just thought I would hear it...all I notice is the car starts shaking like its going to stall lol.

 

[jlmust]

Had mine installed today and pretty much of course like everyone else , I noticed the throttle response immediately,engine braking sounds awesome with the plates out,car sounds different also on the road,seems and sounds more muscle,lopey idle is ok,you feel it more than I thought,sounds nice idling but not crazy like a 3/4 cam but is noticeable sitting idling at a light.am I happy with it ! Yes !! But I would have liked more lopey for sure.

 

[CaliMR]

I took the baffles out for the first time since I got TK, and the idle was noticeably rougher. Still doesn't feel like cams, but it sounds decent.

I actually feel like it has less low end with TK, and it doesn't have nearly enough engine braking and still has the artificial heavy flywheel feel. I am happy with it though, eventually I will get a real tune.


One thing I noticed, while I had the side pipes off I needed to move the car so I started it and for a couple seconds it was really loud then just went silent like it knew the pipes were off and didn't want to push air. I may be imagining it but I revved it a bit just to check and it did not sound as loud as it does with the pipes on. I was wondering if TK did something, because the car sounds quiter with the baffles out than I remember it being with the regular key.

 

[BossJockey]

What's funny about lopey idle is if any other car idled like that you'd take it to the dealer and insist they fix it! ;D Just today I was driving around with TK and was a bit surprised how much my car was shaking and how rough the idle was. That's the most lopey idle I've experienced in over four months.

I think we need to change the name to Rough Idle. Or Rough and Loud Idle. With the Corsa Xtremes the Trackey idle is about 4X as loud as the black key idle.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QJEsqdet0t0[/youtube]

 

[konabossgirl]

track key came with my Boss... it went home with my Boss

 

[racered302]

I'm getting it installed on the 29th, looking for the throttle responds and engine breaking more then anything. Does it sound like a semi during engine break? I find that annoying because I used to live next to a hwy and it wore me out. Besides I don't want to sound like a Peterbuilt during deceleration.

 

[CaliMR]

track key came with my Boss... it went home with my Boss

Did it come with a red key or does it show the track only message? I know a guy who bought one and they told him it had TK because it had a red key, but when I was playing with it (before I got my Boss) I noticed no message. Turned out the dealer he got it from didn't know that the software has to be installed, and assumed the red key was always a track key. I have heard the same BS from multiple dealers (the one I bought it from said it had TK also, but it didn't, as I showed them by using the red key).


racered: it has less of the semi noise after installing TK, I'm pretty sure it is linked to the engine braking suppression/smog control software, but it will still have it if you open the baffles up.

 

[cali-NT54]

The dealership that I got mine from also told me that the track key came with the car and it was already installed. It really wasnt they mistaked the track key for my key. oh well mishaps happen, and will be getting it installed in a week.

 

[302BOB]

Trackey is an after market option. It has to be ordered/installed AFTER the buyer/owner takes possession of the vehicle. So any dealer saying a Boss comes with Trackey doesn't understand what is going on.

 

[jlmust]

I like the lopey idle the more i use the car.

Check it out,im not much of a camera man but you will get the point


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kn36FE5U3A&list=UU4iHwlLnTruTDnHzXl2gewA&index=1&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKLPY8EBDA4&list=UU4iHwlLnTruTDnHzXl2gewA&index=3&feature=plcp

 

[CaliMR]

Swapped cars half way through a mountain run with my bro, who has a V10 M5. It feels like a dinosaur, and I never thought I would feel that way because I used to love that car. So much body roll even on the stiffest setting, and it didn't really feel any faster than the Boss, though on the highway it is.

To bring that all back on topic, the Boss even with TK does not have nearly enough engine braking once I was able to drive it back to back with another hi po car. That is my only real complaint with TK, not enough engine braking and probably related is how slow it revs down. I'm fairly certain it is in the programing, not in the flywheel.

 

[jlmust]

TracKey should have been installed at the factory and the Boss released with it ,it really feels and sounds muscle I really love driving with it now.Took a couple of days to get use to it ! My lopey idle is good.Silver key is my spare forever.

 

[rom]

well, finally took the plunge and had tk installed today.

the "ok": seems gas pedal needs to be plunged deeper to get same power, albeit more responsive than before (and yes it revs down as slow as before) and more linear (less fake early power and then not much - as in the black key).this requires a more aggressive heel plunge when you heel toe on the road like I do, BUT I think this actually makes sense on track since you brake harder on track and heel toe is more natural with heel plunging deeper. braking is sharper less muted, clutching as well which can then both be felt as 'jerky'

the good: everything feels more connected as I remember Gary (cloud9) had noted in his early review. I came home feeling more like I drove a Go Kart = a very good thing although its hard to pinpoint, very subtle but feels a bit "SIMPLER" in a good way. also more pronounced engine braking that feels more planted better for pre corner entry weight transfer.

the added fun: Warm idle is deeper sounding, not so lopey but fun and shakes the car, some backfires as you double clutch heel toe downshift. sounds dumb but it adds up in making you feel like the car is alive

the very bad *for those who see it as bad* : you have to drive more aggressively, hence faster, to have the car feel smooth, ie watch your speed limits on the road XD

all in all it does not feel like a different car at all, just the same car but on a very good day, sharper, awake and wanting to play.
if you want a value for money ADD ON that makes your car different or more powerful, this is not it, go get a tune.
if you want the same car, but feeling somehow happy, this is it.

glad I finally got it.

 

[devonboss]

At the Pensacola Mustang show, a guy was claiming that his Boss with TracKey has 500HP at the crank. We talked about Ford stating that TracKey does not increase power but he insisted that that is just 'Ford talk' and that his car does. Has anyone actually tested the car on a dyno with and without TracKey? I notice the increase in low end torque. We remain in love with our Boss at 9700 miles!

 

[Justin]

At the Pensacola Mustang show, a guy was claiming that his Boss with TracKey has 500HP at the crank. We talked about Ford stating that TracKey does not increase power but he insisted that that is just 'Ford talk' and that his car does. Has anyone actually tested the car on a dyno with and without TracKey? I notice the increase in low end torque. We remain in love with our Boss at 9700 miles!

if it did increase top end power I would like it would be by only 1-2 hp cause I dont notice a difference up high. down low its more punchy. this fall I am going to get it dyno'd just to see what it makes at the wheels. I will have them do silver key then red key at the same engine temps and see whats what.

 

[VoodooBoss]

At the Pensacola Mustang show, a guy was claiming that his Boss with TracKey has 500HP at the crank. We talked about Ford stating that TracKey does not increase power but he insisted that that is just 'Ford talk' and that his car does. Has anyone actually tested the car on a dyno with and without TracKey? I notice the increase in low end torque. We remain in love with our Boss at 9700 miles!

There are a few dyno charts around here and there was no increase in peak power.