sct tuner which one?

[renzAy34134]

Hey guys I am looking into getting an sct tuner for my 4.0. I want some extra power... well I want alot of power but a supercharger is just outta my price range. That and when I go on long trips I want some better gas mileage. There are just so damn many different ones anyone got any ideas on which one to get? Anyone have good or bad experiences with any? Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[lynchy wa]

Check out James Henson's thread in the vendor's section.( hensonperformance.com is his website I think?) X cal 3 or livewire would be good option's to consider.

 

[Cozmik]

I've got the SF3, model 3015. very happy with it with it's canned tunes, and James Henson's tune really woke it up. Canned was improved performance (a bit) with a little better mileage. The custom tune was bigtime performance increase but I paid in mileage.

There are higher end models fo SCT tuners but you have to figure out what works for you.

 

[The Electrician]

according to my experience and what I've been through, nothing is like dyno tune. guessing tune can give you good results. but never the best tune for your truck.

with dyno tuning you can be assured that you get the best tuning for your mods (there are lots of after market products with an infinite-number of combinations, and they interact differently from a combination to another) and this is the really what you can call a custom-tune

for me I prefer LiveWire. with it you can interchange between Stock, pre-tuned and custom-tune easily and data logging is an excellent addition

 

[The Electrician]

Here is my dyno run after tuning



Mods at the time

JBA Headers #1674SJT, MagnaFlow Cat-Back #16773, Axle Ratio 3.73, Front end Torsen #975420-0831A, Rare end TrueTrac #913A561

Max power 182.8 HP and max torque 238.8 ft-lbs

 

[renzAy34134]

How much is it to dyno tune and where can you get that done? Im in sw florida right now not sure where to go. Any place with a dyno will be able to do this? depending on cost I might go with the sf3 but ill look into dyno too. I dont have anything special. kn drop filter, magnaflow muffler(going to take out resonator in a month or so) and a tb spacer. So just something extra and gas mileage. With the larger tires is lags a little bit. Not so much that is pisses me off but enough to make me want more. And I dont feel like re-gearing at the moment(im just running 32's

 

[renzAy34134]

How much is that over stock?

Here is my dyno run after tuning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87e1LNMnn9A

Mods at the time

JBA Headers #1674SJT, MagnaFlow Cat-Back #16773

Max power 182.8 HP and max torque 238.8 ft-lbs

 

[techieman33]

Actually dyno tuning is not really the best tuning. It will get you close, but not all the way there. The best way to tune would be at the track with a wideband and data logger to see what it's doing through all the gears and in a real world setting. No dyno can perfectly match that. Dyno numbers are nice, but don't even begin to tell you the full story of how the car performs, only a track can do that.

 

[The Electrician]

I made my tuning with a local dyno "dyno power maker"

the dyno tuning coast $187USD

and according to the tuner, all my mods at the time are useless "the car is similar to a stock because it does not breath freely"

now after installing the KKM and Hi flow cat I need to re-tune, maybe in the few next weeks

 

[Cozmik]

How much is it to dyno tune and where can you get that done? Im in sw florida right now not sure where to go. Any place with a dyno will be able to do this? depending on cost I might go with the sf3 but ill look into dyno too. I dont have anything special. kn drop filter, magnaflow muffler(going to take out resonator in a month or so) and a tb spacer. So just something extra and gas mileage. With the larger tires is lags a little bit. Not so much that is pisses me off but enough to make me want more. And I dont feel like re-gearing at the moment(im just running 32's

You would get it dyno tuned with whichever tuner you bought. You take the truck and the tuner to a performance shop and let them have at it. They tune it and then load the tune on your device. I didn't check, but do you have a 2wd or 4wd Ex? If 4wd drive you either need to disable the 4x4 someway or remove your front drive shaft if you can't find a 4 wheel dyno. If you're 2wd it's a non
issue.

Keep us posted with what you do. And the Electrician is right, a dyno tune is the way to go, but sometimes it's just not feasible for whatever reason. But a canned tune or Henson tune is still better than stock.

 

[The Electrician]

Actually dyno tuning is not really the best tuning. It will get you close, but not all the way there. The best way to tune would be at the track with a wideband and data logger to see what it's doing through all the gears and in a real world setting. No dyno can perfectly match that. Dyno numbers are nice, but don't even begin to tell you the full story of how the car performs, only a track can do that.

the dyno was equipped with wide band, I don't know if this count?

 

[The Electrician]

How much is that over stock?

Stock Dyno run

Max power 168 HP and max torque 201 ft-lbs

You would get it dyno tuned with whichever tuner you bought. You take the truck and the tuner to a performance shop and let them have at it. They tune it and then load the tune on your device. I didn't check, but do you have a 2wd or 4wd Ex? If 4wd drive you either need to disable the 4x4 someway or remove your front drive shaft if you can't find a 4 wheel dyno. If you're 2wd it's a non
issue.

Keep us posted with what you do. And the Electrician is right, a dyno tune is the way to go, but sometimes it's just not feasible for whatever reason. But a canned tune or Henson tune is still better than stock.

to disconnected 4x4 you just need to take out ABS pump 30A fuse

 

[renzAy34134]

Yea I have a 2wd so it should be easy. Ill look around and see what I can get for dyno. If not ill just get the sf3. It seems like its good. Does 12-15 hp really make that big of a difference? It just seems like a decent amount of cash for a little gain? Not sure how it "feels" though.

 

[techieman33]

Yeah any dyno will make use of a wideband as well. The difference is in the resistance of the dyno rollers, and actual pavement. It's going to vary surface to surface, and then there is the aerodynamics that a dyno can never account for.

 

[Ronin8002]

Yea I have a 2wd so it should be easy. Ill look around and see what I can get for dyno. If not ill just get the sf3. It seems like its good. Does 12-15 hp really make that big of a difference? It just seems like a decent amount of cash for a little gain? Not sure how it "feels" though.

Every little bit helps. For power and mileage savings that don't require a tune you can try and find an ASP underdrive crank pulley (same one that the 4.0 mustangs use) and an electric fan swap. You could do both of those for less than the cost of a tuner, plus you'll get HP and better mileage; no dyno tune needed to get the full benefit of those mods.

I have the SCT Xcal3 but currently running the stock tune. The only thing I am using it for lately is adjusting the speedometer and transmission shift strategy to accomodate larger tires and different axle gears. The tunes helped but I wouldn't say the difference from stock was huge. To get max power you'd be looking at running 92 or 93 octane all the time. For the cost of that vs 87 octane I'll settle for less power and more money in the pocket.

 

[renzAy34134]

Yea i wouldnt do underdrive pulley just cuz i hear it doesnt charge the battery as well. And with my system thats 3000watts rms and two batteries i need all the charge i can get. I was thinking about doing an electric fan but I dont know how to wire it so it kicks on when need be. Or just wire it up to a switch and just turn it on when i start my x and turn it off when i shut it down.

I prob could figure it out but I just have so many freaking wires with the system Im sick of wiring **** up.

 

[Ronin8002]

The wiring for the electric fan is usually pretty easy, unless you get one of the really advanced fan controllers.

No need for a switch, you just need a fan controller. I think Hayden makes a decent one. It has a probe you slide into the cooling fins on your radiator so it knows what the water temp is. Then you wire it up and adjust it so it kicks on when your water temp gets above 195.

But yeah, with that sound system an underdrive crank pulley isn't the best idea unless you overdrive the alt with another pulley to make up for it. Electric fan might not be a good mod either with those amps and speakers sucking up power.

 

[renzAy34134]

My alternator is rated at 250 amps so im not worried about power consumption. I can runa lot more stuff off of it and be fine. I just dont want charging to go down. Im planning on putting 10 more lights on my x..... just incase you know. but the fan seems easy enough. Ill look into that too.