Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance TH Fix advisory!

By the way, 7/64 does seem awful small. I'm running 13/64 right now. Revs do stay up a lttle, but its still a big improvement over stock, and i have no idle issues, winter or summer. Keeper for me. I was shown to lose about 1 hp on a dyno, but I'll get it back somewhere else...

Quote:

"I would gladly trade a little HP for the quicker RPM drop."

Response:

Umm, Never...especially when my stock motor on my car (with accompanying teeny tiny rims) goes blowing by a similar car with loud pipes and 18" rims.
(I found the TH fix to be highly annoying, almost as if the car actually revved down TOO fast.)

Quote:

"A must do for the 95-97 Duratecs. Driveability is much improved with the fix."

Response: Nope.
(I commute 80 miles per day and drivability definitely did NOT improve.)


Quote:

"http://contour.org/mods/showfaq.pl?howto/resetpcm
nuff said"
which yeilds:
"The easiest way to reset the engine computer (PCM, or Powertrain Control Module) is to pull the #4 and #11 fuses from the power distribution box under the hood. It is located between the battery and the fenderwell. Leave the fuses out for 1-2 minutes to clear the KAM (Keep Alive Memory) and the computer will relearn all its settings. This is absolutely necessary after performing a performance modification."

Response:
If the computer is a learning unit, then it should be continually learning, and not cut off at age 14 like a teenager that thinks he/she knows everything. While there may be evidence supporting the computer MAY learn a "modification" to one's car more quickly if they reset it, it will most probably "learn" the modification pretty fast, anyway, attempting to get all functions back to an acceptable balance.

Quote:
"Bret, if you don't like the above statement as proof, ages ago someone posted the approved Ford relearn routine, which is about a page long. Of course, I don't have a link for you. Maybe someone else?"

Response:
Wow! (I can write a page of code in about 2 minutes.) If the computer 'relearning' code is only a page long and the CPU in the ECU is anything near modern vintage, then the CPU would run through that code, making adjustments and 'learning' several HUNDRED times or more in the first 30 seconds of driving alone.


I find that most 'modifications' do little, if anything, to improve performance unless they are applied with commonse sense and a balance of other modifications are also applied. (for instance a less constrictive intake / headers AND exhaust will probably make SOME difference but merely removing the resonator will not do much at all.) It does not suprise me in the least that some folks have measurable performance LOSS whilst installing the throttle hang 'FIX'.

Rob

Actually I killed two birds with one stone tonight... I installed a new IAC valve from a 2000 Cougar that I bought engine parts from (wrecked).. And it made a world of difference.. No more moose and no more throttle hang. The inside of the IAC looks different like it has been redesigned.. The spring is thicker and smaller.. And the valve is shaped a little different inside.. But the car idles 100% better than the old stock IAC. So there's my satisfaction and I threw the TH-Fix cap away.. Gone and not going back to it again!

Dom

Rob,

To clarify my obviously twisted response, the relearn routine is not engine computer code, but driving directions to help the ECU learn the new settings (ex. drive 30 mph for 2 minutes, accelerate to 40 and hold for 5 minutes, etc.)

Thanks for the clarification, Marco.

I guess my problem is that I actually enjoy driving a vehicle more than tinkering with it all the time, even though I am a fair mechanic.

I do get aggravated at the contique from time to time, though, because it seems to demand more attention to things that "just shouldn't break" than other vehicles I have owned. It is almost as if Ford made these cars to be disposable.

I have a Honda (here come the flames!) as well, and other than the standard 'car consumables' (gas, oil, tires, air & oil filters, brake pads) I have not had to repair or replace ANYTHING. This is most impressive, to me at least. And it runs pretty good, too. Definitely NOT a racecar but it will go fast enough to get me in trouble in the stock trim.

Maybe I can find a way to put the Duratec in my lawn tractor...


Rob

Does anyone out there actually *know* how the computer operates?

In a past life I wrote programs to support data collection on scientific satellites. When you reset a CPU, it goes to a particular location that tells it what routine to execute on start up. If you blank out this location, as could happen--this is just a guess--when you "clear the KAM (Keep Alive Memory)", then the CPU executes the default program. The default program should be "relearn all parameters." But once it has done this, it should not need to be done again (but maybe parameters still need to be fine-tuned).

Without more info on how it operates, I don?t think we can conclude that, "If the computer is a learning unit, then it should be continually learning." It may do the bulk of its learning only after being reset, with fine-tuning afterwards. But if the proper relearn routine isn?t run after reset, it?s fine-tuning parameters that were never broad-tuned. Of course, it may revert to defaults that are not unreasonable...

Again, these are guesses. Any facts out there?

For what it is worth, here is my 2 cents. I installed the TH fix on a 2000 SE Sport, with 27,000 miles. I had the fix in for about 2 weeks. I did not notice too much of a drop in the revs. I did however notice hesitation in the mid range. Also when I first installed the fix there was no "hunting", as some owners have mentioned. I think I will go with out it for a while. It seems to me that the older cars benefit from the fix more than the new ones.

Your Ford 'puter does learn, Ford calls is Adaptive Stradegy (sp?) it allows the pc to learn new A/F ratio's and on automatics, new shift points. I am sure it can learn more but I know those two items for sure can be learned by it. You dont have to reset it for it to learn, it will learn it over time if you dont reset it. I have seen this to be true after installing my new TB

i have a hard copy of that routine, if you need it scanned i can do it tomorrow at work. i also HIGHLY doubt anyone who has claimed "reseting" the computer has gone through the proper "learning" procedure. Yet they still post they only found gains after they "reset" the pcm. If you don't do the proper break-in procedure the pcm "learns" the new mods the same way it would had you not reset it to begin with. I personally don't even think the car has to learn these little mods, and the more involved mods usally require a dyno tune or a custom pcm/chip. Like i said, if you can show me some hard data that proves that reseting the pcm actually does something for these mods, then i will gladly eat my words. But a simple 1-3hp intake mod is not going to require a reset of the pcm. The pcm monitors the values in as close to "real time" as it can get, so if you allow more air to get in, it will see that and adjust. just like if you restrict air, it will see that and adjust. This whole "lagged" theory just doesn't make sense. I think the real reason for doing a pcm reset is drivability issues caused by software error... but don't quote me on that.