Good idea vs. critical though as I am tight on funds? Also, I wonder if the '19 has a little better radiator than earlier model years.
Well it depends what you are more interested in. Peak power development or consistent power development.
The radiator, kind of like an intercooler, isn’t necessarily going to alter your peak power developed. What it will do is make the engine more consistent and protect against the additional heat the engine will generate once tuned.
Critical or not depends entirely on the cooling system for your specific car, I have a 2015 and I’ve talked with plenty of other owners who seem surprised when I tell them I’ve never overheated and I’m still on the stock radiator. AFAIK, Ford didn’t update anything on this car outside of, maybe some software reflashing after they did the suspension adjustments in 2016 (I think it was the 2016 MY, not positive) so I wouldn’t count on your cooling system being magically better. It is worth noting that if you haven’t had a problem with it yet, you may not, then again the 20-30 extra horsepower you’ll extract from the engine with a tune may push you past the critical cooling point which is arguably a bigger consideration for you in a hot and humid place like Texas.
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