Trackey Update

[CobraKai]

Thought this info may be useful for others in my situation. I called the Ford Racing Tech Line today and talked to a technician that was able to use my VIN to determine that the Trackey Flash had never been installed onto my car. BUT, since I have the Trackey voucher I can take my car to any dealership and have my PCM sent in for a reflash. The dealer will match the key to the tune and I should be good to go. I'm not sure how long this will take but I am going to call today and find out. So if you have a voucher you can still get the Trackey tune for your car, it just can't be done at the dealer. I know this info is out there already on other forums but I thought it was great that Ford could use your VIN to determine if you had the tune or not.

Jeff

 

[IamRacerX]

Sounds like it might take a while.... I would not want my car sitting around a dealer service area waiting around.... That's just me though. Maybe you can pull the PCM yourself and keep the car in your hands. They can send it out, but at least you won't have to worry your car sitting there. The track key is cool though. I got mine right away when I bought my Boss new. It has a lot of cool features that add to the fun!

 

[PBTSWAT]

I just talked to FRPP tech . PCM would be over nighted and over nighted back.. ALSO unlike you. i bought my BOSS sunday and have the track key but NO voucher and they stopped selling them. i am SOL unless i find a company with the voucher

 

[CobraKai]

Sounds like it might take a while.... I would not want my car sitting around a dealer service area waiting around.... That's just me though. Maybe you can pull the PCM yourself and keep the car in your hands. They can send it out, but at least you won't have to worry your car sitting there. The track key is cool though. I got mine right away when I bought my Boss new. It has a lot of cool features that add to the fun!

I was thinking the same thing. I am going to go into the dealership to get an idea of timeframe before making the appointment. HOPEFULLY it will not take too long. If it does I will definitely look into doing it myself. I'll post an update when all is said and done!

 

[CobraKai]

I just talked to FRPP tech . PCM would be over nighted and over nighted back.. ALSO unlike you. i bought my BOSS sunday and have the track key but NO voucher and they stopped selling them. i am SOL unless i find a company with the voucher

This would be ideal! I am sorry you do not have the voucher. I would post a request for one on all of the Boss forums. And keep an eye on eBay. There has to be some floating around that nobody wants. I think it's really messed up of Ford to leave all of the Boss owners in the lurch like this. They built a passion car for a group of loyal enthusiasts and now they are just turning their back on them. I can't imagine why they won't support this unique feature that they created. Maybe we could get a petition together and ask them to sell vouchers again.

 

[JTG]

I think it's really messed up of Ford to leave all of the Boss owners in the lurch like this. They built a passion car for a group of loyal enthusiasts and now they are just turning their back on them. I can't imagine why they won't support this unique feature that they created. Maybe we could get a petition together and ask them to sell vouchers again.

I agree. Ford really screwed some owners. With only a limit number of vouchers some owner will be out of luck. I can't imagine there are that many people with a voucher they didn't redeem. If they can do it to your car by mail why can't they do it do someone else without a voucher. Because it's no longer available to purchase? That's a crap reason. Fortunately I have it on my car. If I didn't I'd be raising hell until I found a way. I really like the trackey features.

 

[CobraKai]

My car is at Ford right now getting the Trackey set up. They are confident that they can do it in house without sending the PCM in. They actually have another Boss there right now getting the same thing done. The service rep who has been helping me also said that the voucher is still available through Ford. Might be worth looking into if you are in the market. I'll update when I actually get the car back!

jeff

 

[CobraKai]

So the dealership just called to tell me that in fact they can NOT do the Trackey flash without sending the PCM into Ford Racing. They are removing the computer now and will send it out by end of day. They said that Ford Racing will perform the flash as soon as they get it and send it back over night service so I should have the car back by Thursday. The service rep at my local dealership has been pretty great through all of this. Very nice and patient. He is obviously a big fan of the car and has promised me that it will be stored somewhere very safe while it is with them. He told me that he talked to one of the head engineers at Ford Racing today and was told that the reason for Ford pulling the Trackey program was because hackers where getting into their system and stealing tunes. Apparently having the live connection to dealerships all over the country made them vulnerable.

 

[IamRacerX]

Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out! Some might say the track key is no big deal and not worth all that trouble. I am one of the guys that think it's one of the parts of the Boss that makes it special. I do not even use my silver key..... Ever!

 

[CobraKai]

Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out! Some might say the track key is no big deal and not worth all that trouble. I am one of the guys that think it's one of the parts of the Boss that makes it special. I do not even use my silver key..... Ever!

I agree, it is such a unique feature. I think that down the line cars that have the Trackey intact and functioning will be more valuable. That being said I am amazed at the gains some people are getting with a custom tune. It all depends on what you want from the car. Personally I don't have enough skill to take the car to it's limits so I really don't need any more power!

 

[FivePointOmg]

Track Key is great, it doesn't make much more power than regular key though. Mine only came with the Track Key. It's cool too on mine even with custom tune, when I start the car it still shows "Track Key in Use" in my display so nobody would probably know unless I told them it was a custom tune while still using my same track key.

 

[CobraKai]

That's cool that it shows Trackey in use! I was wondering if that was possible. Yes, I don't believe that the Trackey adds any power actually. I think it might affect where the power is made. Is there a list somewhere that shows everything the track key actually does?

 

[M91196]

Track Key is great, it doesn't make much more power than regular key though. Mine only came with the Track Key. It's cool too on mine even with custom tune, when I start the car it still shows "Track Key in Use" in my display so nobody would probably know unless I told them it was a custom tune while still using my same track key.

Interesting.

Do any of the other features remain-launch control, pit road speed etc?

 

[FivePointOmg]

Interesting.

Do any of the other features remain-launch control, pit road speed etc?

Mine is a '12 so I'm not sure if it ever had "pit road speed". Custom tune has 2-step feature (basically launch mode) which I can set in the tune to any rpm I want to launch at. Right now I think it stays at 4k rpm's from a stop if I have clutch all the way down and floor the gas pedal. Mine does retain the sport, regular and comfort steering modes and everything else though even with custom tune...and as mentioned it still says Track Key in use with my Track Key. Also not sure if you knew but turning traction control all off locks the steering mode in Sport...

 

[FivePointOmg]

That's cool that it shows Trackey in use! I was wondering if that was possible. Yes, I don't believe that the Trackey adds any power actually. I think it might affect where the power is made. Is there a list somewhere that shows everything the track key actually does?

I've seen it somewhere on the forums...All I know is my car pulls A LOT harder with my tune than it did with track key. And with the right tuning it makes more power sooner in the band too.

 

[CobraKai]

I've seen it somewhere on the forums...All I know is my car pulls A LOT harder with my tune than it did with track key. And with the right tuning it makes more power sooner in the band too.

I bet it does! I've seen some videos on Youtube of Boss 302's with custom tunes and they are beasts! It's very tempting. I wonder if you could just buy a new computer and keep the one with the Tackey tune in case you ever wanted to go back to it? I think a new computer is around $600. Not too bad of an investment to retain the original integrity of the car, but be able to have the benefits of a custom tune as well.

 

[FivePointOmg]

I bet it does! I've seen some videos on Youtube of Boss 302's with custom tunes and they are beasts! It's very tempting. I wonder if you could just buy a new computer and keep the one with the Tackey tune in case you ever wanted to go back to it? I think a new computer is around $600. Not too bad of an investment to retain the original integrity of the car, but be able to have the benefits of a custom tune as well.

No need to switch computers...When you first install a custom tune through your SCT handheld the handheld saves the entire factory tune in it so you can always plug it in and go back to whatever factory tune was in the car. And vice versa.

 

[CobraKai]

No need to switch computers...When you first install a custom tune through your SCT handheld the handheld saves the entire factory tune in it so you can always plug it in and go back to whatever factory tune was in the car. And vice versa.

SHUT UP!!! That is awesome!!!! If this is true I am definitely getting a custom tune! Are you sure it will maintain both the regular AND Trackey tune?

jeff

 

[IamRacerX]

That is true, I'm pretty sure the "tune" would go on the silver key side of the computer. Meaning the silver key would be the tune, the red key would remain with the track key set up. But be sure whatever mods you do don't throw a code with the track key or you'll get a CEL every time you use the track key.

 

[JohnRichard]

Who does this tune after the track key install?