So, if you own a '15 to '18 3.5-liter EcoBoost powered F-150 like the one behind me and you
wanna make some pretty impressive torque and horsepower gains, but you don't wanna actually
turn any wrenches, you should be checking out a tuner like the Edge Gas Evolution CTS2.
Now, there are a lot of tuner options available on the site, so I can try and narrow it down
for you.
This is actually one of the more affordable full-color touchscreen options and it comes
with probably the most amount of features out of all available touchscreen tuners.
This thing has all kinds of benchmark, datalog, and reading and clearing trouble code features
and also makes some pretty cool custom gauges on here, and it can monitor pretty much everything
that the ECU monitors for real-time data logging.
What I really like about this tuner is how well the performance tunes on the device can
provide additional horsepower and torque.
There are three preloaded tunes on the CTS2 that all provide performance gains.
Those range from an 87 octane pumped gas tune all the way up to a 91 octane pumped gas tune.
We decided to see what that 91 octane tune could do for our truck.
We actually ran the truck behind me on the dyno bone stock and it made 300 horsepower
and 344 pound-feet of torque.
We then installed the level 3 tune, again, 91 octane recommended and our truck made 348
horsepower and a whopping 407 pound-feet of torque.
Now, if you look at the graphs, you can see some pretty nice curve gains.
The curve gains are awesome because that's what you're gonna feel when you're driving
around on city streets.
Now, besides those pretty impressive gains, there are a couple other reasons why I like
the CTS2 in particular.
Again, it's very user-friendly like I said earlier.
This thing pretty much functions like any smart phone or tablet.
So, even if you're not familiar with tuning your truck or running data logging, this thing's
very easy to use.
Also, has some pretty easy to follow tutorials to help you through all those different functions.
Besides that, tuning your truck with this thing should only take 10 to 15 minutes.
And again, you're getting 48 horsepower and 63 pound-feet of torque without turning any
wrenches.
So, it's safe to say this is probably one of the easier mods to get the most power out
of your EcoBoost.
So, if you like the way that the CTS2 provides those performance gains, you like the price,
you like the features, you should stick around.
I'm just gonna show you how to go through everything step-by-step.
It shouldn't take us more than a couple of minutes and honestly, I have to give this
an install rating even though it doesn't really need one.
It's a very soft one out of three wrenches on my difficulty meter.
Great for first time users who wanna get some performance out of their truck.
So, without further ado, let's go ahead and plug this guy in and get started.
So, getting started with your tuner's pretty straightforward.
You're gonna plug the HDMI end of the cable into the tuner itself and you're gonna take
the other end, the OBD2, and plug it into the OBD2 port underneath the steering column.
Once you got your tuner plugged in, you can get it setup on your windshield mount where
you want your tuner to live.
If you're a first time user, it's gonna display this warning.
Go ahead and click yes.
It's gonna bring you to the homepage.
But before it does that, it's gonna let you know it's gonna display that annoying warning
a couple more times when you first use the device.
For first time setup, you wanna make sure you select the correct vehicle.
Obviously, we're working with our EcoBoost F-150, so we wanna select Ford.
Now, before you continue, make sure your key is in the on or run position.
It's gonna ask you to do this frequently, so make sure you have your keys handy while
you're using your tuner.
Now, obviously, the EcoBoost is an automatic transmission only, so go ahead and select
no.
Now, again, if this is your first time using the Edge Tuner, it's gonna give you some tips
for using the device.
Obviously, it is a touchscreen.
This is letting you know that you can drag your finger across the screen to switch to
the backup camera if you want to use it.
Now, obviously, everybody cares about performance the most, that's really why we all like these
tuners, so let's go over how to tune your truck first.
To do that, we're gonna select performance settings.
Now, the device will display what tune you have on your truck currently and if you have
not yet tuned your truck, it will say that it is stock up here as you can see.
We're in the full tilt and see what our race tune can do.
Let's go ahead and select the race tune.
It's gonna let you know that you need at least 91 octane or higher fuel.
Our truck has 93 octane in it, so we're good to go.
Now at this point, the device is communicating with the ECU itself and it's saving your stock
file.
It's very important that you do not unplug the tuner.
It's also very important that you do not turn your key to the off position.
Now, once the device has saved your stock file, it's gonna ask if you wanna create a
custom program.
Now, it's very important that you do not make any changes to the preloaded tune unless you
know what you're doing.
I'm not gonna get into any of the details because if you know what you're doing, I don't
need to tell you.
And if you don't know what you're doing, well, it's safe to say that if you make any changes
and you're not sure, you could cause some serious damage to your engine.
Creating a custom program includes the ability to change things like spark, timing, and error
and it could cause some serious issues like I said.
We're only interested in what the preloaded tune can offer, so we're gonna select no.
Now, at this point whether you selected a custom program or not, the tuner will begin
installing the new file.
Again, it's very important that you do not unplug the device and you do not ever turn
your key to the off position completely.
The device may prompt you to do so, but you should only do it if the device tells you
to.
Now, once the device has prompted you to turn your key to the off position for the final
time, it's gonna let you know that the tune has installed successfully.
It's also gonna bring you back to the home screen for the different tune profiles and
it's gonna list the current level of the tune that you're running which in our case, you
can see we've successfully installed our race tune.
Now, if you wanna enter the different features of the tuner itself, you're gonna select this
little bottom button here.
Now, obviously, besides tuning, the Edge Tuner comes with a lot of different features.
Let's go left to right.
We're gonna look at how to change the layout on the device itself.
Changing the layout on the device is pretty straightforward.
I showed you how to change the background on the gauge screen, but you can do it from
the screen layout menu as well.
Pretty straightforward, if you wanna change the background, simply select the background
option and you can navigate left to right to choose a different backgrounds.
We're gonna leave ours the same.
However, if you wanna change the layout itself you can do so.
We can actually select two predetermined layouts that you can quickly switch between when you're
on the gauge screen itself.
To do that, you can select layout one and you can see the available options here.
Master is what we have currently selected, but if we wanna display all numeric values,
we can select digital.
And again, if we wanna cycle between digital and a different layout, we can select layout
two and we can change that one as well.
Let's go ahead and select Accelerometer and that's gonna change the layout if we want
to go between digital and the one I just chose.
Now, the home screen of this tuner is the gauge screen.
By default, you're gonna have a center tachometer style gauge and you have some numeric gauges
on the left and right-hand sides.
If you wanna switch any of these gauges, it's really straightforward, all you gotta do is
click on one of them.
Once you've selected the gauge that you wanna change, you're gonna select new PID.
A PID is simply a fancy acronym for the gauge itself.
Now, this Edge Tuner has tons of different available gauges.
There's too much to go into detail-wise, but we're gonna select a different gauge just
to show you how it works.
I'm gonna go ahead and select our fuel level.
Once you've selected your new gauge, you can make some other changes to it if you want
to such as the gauge color and you can also set alerts for those gauges if they trip a
certain threshold.
We're not gonna worry about that.
We're gonna exit the menu, so we can see our new gauge looks like.
And you can see it displays our new fuel level as a percentage from zero to full.
And the same thing applies to all the other numeric gauges on the screen as well.
If you wanna change any of those, you can simply tap on one of them.
By default, the gauge I just selected is our air intake temperature sensor.
We're gonna select a new one.
Again, there are a ton of different options that we're not gonna get into.
But let's go ahead and select our spark advance just for fun.
And again, exit the menu and the Edge Tuner will load that new gauge and the appropriate
value.
Now, this is technically the home screen of the tuner like I mentioned a moment ago.
There are two ways to access the settings available on the tuner.
First, we'll go over notifications and device settings.
To do that, you can see this little clear drop-down up here, go ahead and click on it.
This will give you any notifications as well as any alerts that you might have set which
we'll get into the alerts later.
Now, if you wanna make any changes to the device layout itself, you can do so here.
You can actually customize the color layout of the device by selecting the icon that I
just clicked on and it gives you an RGB format here.
Simply move the sliders to create your own custom color scheme.
We're gonna leave ours stock for now, but if you want to you can also change the background
on the device.
To do that, you're gonna select the little picture icon right here, that's gonna change
the background for you.
I like this little camo one here, so let's go ahead and keep it like that for now.
Now, another cool feature of the Edge Tuner is the ability to datalog.
Data logging happens in real-time and basically the device records all the parameters that
the ECU monitors while your truck is running.
If you wanna view any of the information from your previous datalog session, you can do
that under records.
Records will display the last known values from all the data logging figures that you've
been monitoring.
Our truck has not been ran since we installed our tuner, so all of our values are at default
or zero.
However, if you want to view those, they would be displayed here.
You can navigate up and down through all the available options.
You wanna clear these records for the next time you run your truck, simply select clear
all.
Now, if you wanna save your datalog files and view them in greater detail, you can do
so.
To do that, you're gonna select the data log option.
Now, the Edge Tuner has five available slots where you can save those datalog files.
To save a datalog file, all you have to do is trigger one of these save files.
To do that, you're gonna select one of them, it's gonna automatically turn it on.
It's gonna let you know that data logging will begin when you return to the gauge display.
It's gonna datalog the entire time your truck is running, and if you wanna stop data logging,
you can do so by turning off the option on this screen or you can simply turn your truck
off and wait for the device to power down.
So, you can see now we have a data run file on for save slot number one.
Again, if you wanna datalog and then save that file, simply select it again and it will
turn it off.
Another cool feature of the Edge Tuner is the ability to benchmark your truck in real-time
while you're driving around.
To do that, you can select performance testing.
There are a couple different test that you can measure using the Edge Tuner while your
truck is running.
You can measure zero to 60 time, can also measure a quarter mile time.
And although it's not technically dyno accurate, it will give a rough estimate of the horsepower
that your truck is currently making.
To begin one of the tests, simply turn your truck on and select one of the tests.
Now, obviously, we're not gonna run our truck right now, we're in our dyno room as we speak.
However, it will prompt you to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour for the zero
to 60 mile per hour test and then it will automatically log and benchmark that information
and it will display once you finish your test.
You can do the same for the other two tests.
And if you want greater detail you can select the instructions, it will give you a rundown
of each available test and what you need to do before you start driving.
Next cool feature on our Edge Tuner is the ability to read and clear trouble codes.
If you ever get a check engine light you can skip having to go to the dealer or that speed
shop down the road and paying money just for someone to scan it.
The Edge Tuner will actually do it for you.
To do that, select the diagnostics option.
Under the diagnostics option, you'll see the trouble codes.
That's the only option.
Go ahead and click on it.
It's gonna show those two options I just mentioned, the ability to read and clear DTCs also known
as diagnostic trouble codes.
They display as the check engine lights or other lights on your dash.
If you wanna know what one of your check engine lights is, simply select read DTCs.
Now, at this point the device is gonna begin reading and pulling all the diagnostic trouble
codes that might be causing the check engine light on your dash.
Now, our truck doesn't have any issues, so there are currently no diagnostic trouble
codes to be displayed.
However, if there were any issues, it would be displayed on this screen.
Now, something else that you can do.
You can actually clear any of the lights on your dash including that check engine light.
To do so, simply select clear DTCs.
Again, the device will let you know that those trouble codes have been cleared.
Now, keep in mind, if you don't actually fix the underlying mechanical issue, chances are
that the light will reappear.
However, you can temporarily remove it so that it is not an annoyance.
Another cool feature of the Edge Tuner is the ability to monitor your fuel economy in
terms of fuel and trip cost.
To do that, select your mileage coach option.
Again, the mileage coach says it's designed to gauge and monitor driving habits to help
you conserve fuel.
It's basically a more involved version of the fuel economy option that you can display
on the dash on your truck.
To set up the mileage manager, it's really straightforward.
All you have to do is input your current average MPGs.
To do that, go ahead and select your last fuel economy option.
Again, it's gonna ask you to input your actual fuel economy value.
Ours is currently 11.2 miles per gallon.
Now, once you've input your actual MPGs and you start driving around, your mileage coach
will record all the miles that you've driven and based on current fuel price, it's also
going to tell you how much it costs for you to actually drive around per mile.
Again, cool little feature, a little bit more involved than the fuel economy option on your
dash.
Once you set up the mileage coach, you can actually view that information in real-time
using the mileage coach gauge on the home display.
Now, the Edge Tuner is also great for maintaining your truck and setting reminders for regular
maintenance.
To do that, you wanna select the maintenance manager.
Maintenance manager is going to allow you to set alerts for different maintenance options,
including things like changing your air filter and changing all the different fluids in your
truck.
Obviously, the most common maintenance thing that we need to do is change our oil.
Let's go ahead and set that up as an alert.
First, you wanna turn the alert on.
So, go ahead and select the appropriate option.
Then, you're gonna select the interval for how often you want to get that alert.
Let's go ahead and say we're using conventional oil, so we're gonna set our interval for 4,000
miles.
You can also set an alert for the next service based on total mileage.
Our truck currently has about 3,000 miles on it, so we're gonna go ahead and select
the next service interval at 7,000 miles.
So, once you've set up any of the other alerts that you wanna have displayed, all you gotta
do is turn the maintenance manager on.
To do that, go ahead and select that option.
That's gonna turn the maintenance manager on and then you need to set your odometer.
The maintenance manager is gonna use your odometer reading in order to display those
alerts based on mileage.
Again, our truck has about 3,000 miles on it.
Now, again, we set up our change oil alert.
So, once this truck hits 7,000 miles, we will get an alert on the Edge Tuner reminding us
to change our oil.
And again, you can set alerts for a ton of different maintenance needs.
We're not gonna get into too much detail because there are so many to choose from.
But just know that they all set up the same way.
Now, let's go over some of the settings of the Edge Tuner.
To do that, go ahead and select the settings icon.
Now, there're bunch of different things that you can set up in here.
Let's go over the backup camera.
To do that, select your accessory settings.
All right.
Once we're in our settings home screen, let's go over some of our different options here.
First thing's first, let's go over the backup camera that is available with the Edge Tuner.
You're gonna find all those settings under accessory settings.
There are two options for the backup camera.
First option is the ability to delay the camera turning on.
Let's say you're changing from drive to park or let's say that you go on reverse for only
a second or two.
You can determine how long you want the camera to delay turning on if you're only gonna be
in reverse for a moment.
You can also set the option whether you want the camera to turn on automatically when you
start your truck.
Now, under vehicle settings, you want to set the appropriate tire size.
That's gonna ensure that all the gauges are monitoring in real-time as well as your datalog
files are giving you the right information.
Our truck still has relatively stock tires on it in terms of tire size, so we're not
gonna make any changes in here.
But if you did have aftermarket tires that are larger than the factory tires, you could
make those changes in here.
Again, to ensure that your gauges are displaying and your data logging correctly.
Next stop, you can also change some settings for the alerts that you wanna see.
You can set alerts in case your truck has any mechanical issues.
Let's say cylinder head temperature reaches a certain threshold, you can set an alert
on the device letting you know that there is going to be an issue if you reach that
temperature threshold.
To do that, you wanna select the alert on.
You can also determine whether you want the alert to be audible or not.
Currently, there is no audible alert, but if you want the device to beep at you, you
can simply select sound on.
Can also set the threshold for when you want that alarm to turn on.
Currently set at 180 degrees for cylinder head temperature.
Again, if you wanna make changes to that, you can do so.
But we're gonna leave ours at the factory recommended setting.
Now, if you do set audible alarms for different alerts, you can determine how long you want
it to beep at you.
It's currently set for three seconds, pretty straightforward.
If you want it to beep longer or shorter at you, you can change the amount of seconds
that it will do so.
Could also make some changes for the device itself including how much you want the screen
to automatically dim based on ambient light.
Ours is currently set to 70%.
And you can determine how long you want the device to stay lit until it turns off without
any interaction.
Ours is currently set to 300 seconds.
Couple other important things to keep in mind here, you also wanna set your vehicle weight
as accurately as possible, that will also affect some gauges and some of the data logging
features.
And you also wanna ensure that your accelerometer is calibrated properly on the device itself.
Now, the most important thing to keep in mind on settings is the ability to factory reset
the device.
If you've made a bunch of changes to the device itself and you've tuned your truck, you can
undo all that with one button press by selecting factory reset.
Now, if you ever run into issues with your Edge Tuner, you can contact customer support
and they will try to help you out.
To do that, you wanna select the help option.
Now, like I said, if you need to get in touch with them, simply select contact info, it's
gonna give you all the contact information for Edge Tuners including their address as
well as their e-mail and their phone number.
Once you give them a call or e-mail them, they might ask you for product or vehicle
info.
To access that information, you'll find that on that screen here.
Product info will give you some basic firmware and software application information for the
Edge Tuner, and vehicle info is a convenient way for you to get your calibration number
for your ECM as well as your VIN number.
They may also ask you to go into tech support tools, but you shouldn't ever access that
unless they specifically request you to do so, because they will walk you through making
certain changes to the device that you would not otherwise do if the device is functioning
correctly.
So as you can see the CTS2 has tons of features and they're very easy to use.
That also wraps up my review of the Edge Gas Evolution CTS2 fitting your '15 to '18 3.5-liter
powered EcoBoost F-150.
I'm Travis, thanks for watching.
And for all things F-150, keep it right here at americantrucks.com.