2012-2017 DCT Shudder Issue Fix

It is time that I finally share my experience with Toms tuning to my 2014 foci with DCT. First off I want to say that my car has roughly 77,000 miles, NO mods, and the clutches were replaced once, about one month prior to me starting the tuning process. MY focus is a daily driver for me, not a race car and I really only wanted the tune to straighten out the trans and hopefully prolong the lifespan of the clutches.

I went into this process with ZERO prior experience with tuning a vehicle but was confident I could figure it out. I managed to mess up about 3 data logs before I got it right, (my own stubbornness for not asking for help) but Tom never appeared to lose patience or start ignoring my emails, he hung right with me until I finally found a you tube video that really helped me with the data log process.

With the base tune, off the bat I could feel much quicker, firmer shifts, more pull in overdrive with less downshifting and high RPMs just to ease 5-10 mph faster. After the first revision, I did have one issue with sport mode where the car would not up shift. I told Tom about it, and he promptly sent me another tune which fixed the issue right away. And after one more revision to that tune, I finally have the tune I most likely will stay with, given I don’t have any issues.

The biggest advantage of this tune is that the car shifts more quickly, less clutch chatter, I have not had any real issues with shudder except for a very minimal shaking on rare occasion when I have been in stop and go traffic for over 30 minutes, which is just confusing the hell out of the trans so I don’t expect it to be perfectly smooth in that situation. It never has shuddered under normal shifting conditions.

One thing that I was really worried about was the MPGS taking a slight hit, but I have been really pleasantly surprised to see no change, unless I drive more spiritedly which will always lower MPGS regardless of tuning. I am consistently seeing between 36-39 MPG still with toms tune, and I can hit some really rough patches of stop and go driving in DC/Metro area traffic daily.
In conclusion, I think that this tune is well worth the money and has to be far superior to canned tunes. My fuel efficiency has not decreased, I have a better shifting experience, more power to accelerate in higher gears vs the car downshifting every 5 minutes and having the RPMS scream. This does not make the trans exactly like a traditional torque converter trans, but It definitely solves the biggest issues.
I did not ask for as much help as I should, but Tom was always good about answering emails, and I feel he would’ve helped me more if I wasn’t so stubborn about asking. Sometimes I would even receive tunes late in the evening or on the weekends occasionally. He never kept me waiting for very long.

Now only time will tell if this tune will prolong the life of the clutches, have any effects on the longevity of the engine, or cause any problems with warranties. I should be a good test mule because I am currently driving 160 miles a day just to get to work and don’t have any other mods which could negatively impact the reliability of the vehicle.