Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Duratec Performance Reprogramming computer

I have a '99 SE Sport V6/MTX. I have left it completely stock so it is today as it was when when I drove it off of the dealer's lot. A friend with some automotive knowledge told me that the cars come from the factory with the computer (or chip or whatever) set in a low performance mode. That is, he said that I could pick up some decent performance improvements if I unhooked the battery for 15 minutes to clear the computer and then drive it hard for awhile. He said that the car will reprogram itself for a higher performance mode and that I would see some noticable power gains as a result. I haven't tried it yet. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this? Ever tried it and found that it works? I'd like to hear of other successes before I try it myself.

Thanks!!

I had a '96 SE 2.5 MTX as a company car. Drove it into the ground from day one. At 40K miles a colleague who also had a 2.5 SE drove mine and said it was a lot faster than his. He thought I chipped it. I read about ECU's that adapt to the drivers particular style so it is quite possible. Possibly there is a reset button somwhere or the battery strategy might work. Try it, won't do any harm, just be sure to drive hard, shift at high rpm, for at least a few thousand miles afterwards. Let me know how it works please as I am very curious.

Guys I've asked this before. You cannot reteach it. I tried it a zillion times by pulling the fuses, disconnecting battery, then driving it into the ground, w/0/D button off, and shifting manually. Doesn't do jack. Trust me. I don't mean to be rude, but it's a lost cause. Our cars aren't sophisticated enough to 'learn' a driving style....only BMW and such does that.

I just did a computer re-learn according to the manual -- that is, learning at idle. It did improve over the previous state of affairs, which was that the computer had learned with regular gas which then started pinging. I'm going to try this and see if it makes a difference. (Now where can I find an open enough road in the city...)

The factory computer for the yr2000 Mondeo Duratech can be reprogrammed for higher octane fuel. I read it in the factory manual at the Ford dealer. The OBDII connector (think that's the right name) is used and a Ford factory tool called a WGS Computer is needed to do it.

I've been thinking about trying to talk a dealer into doing mine, but it is still under warranty so I don't like my chances.