Ford Explorer ST will get an official Efficiency Calibration equipment, too

Days after it introduced a Efficiency Calibration equipment for the two.3-liter-powered Bronco, Ford Efficiency launched an analogous improve for the Explorer ST. The tune provides about 30 horsepower to SUVs constructed between the 2020 and 2022 mannequin years with out voiding the guarantee.

Inventory, the hot-rodded variant of the Explorer is powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter V6 rated at 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. Ford’s tune injects as much as 30 horsepower and 35 pound-feet of torque into the driveline, elevating the six’s output to 430 horses and 467 pound-feet of twist. The Blue Oval additionally notes that the Efficiency Calibration equipment improves the throttle response all through the rev vary. The tune optimizes the 10-speed automated transmission’s shift schedule as nicely, although efficiency specs aren’t accessible.

There are a number of catches, nonetheless. First, these advantages can solely be unlocked by filling the tank with premium gasoline. Second, putting in the tune on a 2022 Explorer ST is prohibited in California, the place regulators started cracking down on software program that alters a automotive’s ECU in 2021. It is authorized on 2020 and 2021 fashions in California and on each ST no matter mannequin yr in the remainder of the nation.

Ford Efficiency developed the software program in-house and it is coated by a three-year, 36,000-mile guarantee plan that begins on the automobile’s in-service date. On sale now, the Ford Explorer ST’s Efficiency Calibration equipment prices $825 together with a ProCal 4 hand-held tuner.