I never paid attention to it but mine on my ‘15 are probably locked out because I have a custom tune and most tuners lock them out as part of the tuning process.
I’d have to make a call to find out.
They basically control the amount of air passing through the manifold.
At low rpm they restrict air flow to give more torque.
Locking them out means full airflow all the time.
Advantages are better throttle response and better top end.
If you floor it at low speed and there is a brief hesitation before it opens up, the lockout can help mitigate that situation.
Compromise is loss of low end torque.
The 3 valve 4.6 had something similar called charge motion.
Flaps that restricted air flow to engine up to 3000 rpm when they would open up.
You could buy charge motion delete plates to eliminate the charge motion flaps completely.
Same idea as locking out IMRC.
Better throttle response and better high end at cost of some low end torque loss.
I did this to my ‘06 and, honestly, did not notice the loss of torque.
Nor was I able to perceive more power.
I think biggest gain is throttle response.
I shift at 5000 or above pretty much all the time.
They call it the sweep.
Needle sweeps tach between each shift.
Any gains or losses or either way are not easily noticeable.
You’d need before and after dyno pulls to compare results.
You would get better result out of quality CAI and good tune than just playing with IMRC.
The type of driving you do should be considered.
Lots of low rpm cruising, leave it on.
You like to drive at higher rpm, probably a good idea to fo.
If you get a custom tune down the road, discuss with your tuner.
