SCT XCAL III Review by psycareyo, 10/17/2008 11:30 ET
Category - Aftermarket Parts
So I've finally tested every mode Torrie programmed for me.
87 Economy 87 Performance and the 93 Performance mode.
The first tune I played with was the 93 Performance tune. It was amazing. It felt like a completely different engine. The throttle responce was nearly instant and the power was truly "unleashed." The shifting was terrible. It was slow and sloppy. The rpms would flair and after about one or two seconds it would finally shift. The down shifting was very clunky. If it shifted better in this tune I would have let the other tunes collect dust.
The 87 Economy tune felt like stock power but it actually got worse fuel economy by about 4MPG. I did not like it at all.
The 87 Performance gained 2MPG over stock and provided much better throttle response and power. The truck semed to shift better than stock with this tune. I did notice that the downshifting in this tune was more clunky.
I'm looking forward to Torrie's upgraded TCM programming when that comes out. That will solve a lot of issues!
re: SCT XCAL III Review by TrainTrac,10/17/2008 12:12 ET
I just bought a used, unlocked XCal III from another member here and plan on getting some tunes from Torrie. I was on the fence about an economy tune, because most other members here have not been pleased with it, and achieved better MPG by driving sensibly on a performance tune. Your negative experience with the economy tune is yet another testimony to this opinion. I probably won't use 93 octane gas much because of the extra expense, so I doubt I'll get a 93 tune. And I don't tow much anymore, so I don't need a torque tune.
Here's what I'm thinking of getting:
1. 87 Performance Tune
2. 89 Performance Tune
3. E85 Performance Tune (Torrie's told me that he can write E85 tunes, so I thought I'd try one and see of it gives better performance and/or MPG)
re: SCT XCAL III Review by psycareyo,10/17/2008 12:43 ET
I was thinking I'd like to change the economy tune to a torque focused 87 performance tune.
re: SCT XCAL III Review by reaper,10/17/2008 12:49 ET
ive been messing with 93 performance tunes trying to find one that i like most...
i have to say, torrie is not disappointing me in the least!
been having loads of fun at the track and even had to play with a driver in a 1500silverado earlier between classes!
cant wait to upload the updated tune he sent last night at the track later tho!
re: SCT XCAL III Review by raym2,10/17/2008 12:53 ET
I got the 89 econo & perf and the 93 perf( havn't used this one yet and need to contact Torrie to get it changed to 91 because 93 isn't available here)). I am not impressed with the mpgs I'm getting from the 89 econo or perf tunes. Last week I drove like a old man in a old escort and got about 17.5mpg with the 89 perf and it seems I get worse yet with the 89 econo. Seems like the mpg's are all over the board no matter how I drive. I like the way the ST runs with the 89 perf so I'll keep the xcal3 for that.
I have a question tho, seems like the mpg's go down when I hook the xcal3 up to the ST and start playing. Does it take a bit for the computer to relearn the new settings after everytime I do this to get the optimum mpg's? I started with the 89 econo tune and wasn't impressed with the mpg. Then I changed from econo to perf tune the mpg's stayed low, after a week or two they came back up. I changed to econo and they dropped back down so I changed back to perf and they stayed low. Just has me a tad puzzled.
re: SCT XCAL III Review by Dale,10/17/2008 14:11 ET
does it make a differnce what engine you are talking about in this discussion... i have the V8 in a 08 STA.... will get a XCAL for an 87 perf tune if these benefits apply to me
thanks
re: SCT XCAL III Review by Reaper,10/17/2008 15:15 ET
yea, they will benefit you... more greatly than mine do me im sure...
just send torrie a list of mods you have or plan to do
and he will hook u up!
re: SCT XCAL III Review by psycareyo,10/17/2008 16:29 ET
The track I have is a 08 4.6L V8 STA AWD. I'd guess you could use the exact same tunes he wrote for me.
re: SCT XCAL III Review by HawaiianST,10/17/2008 18:26 ET
So far I used the 87 performance and 91 performance tune. The 87 performance tune was alright as far as throttle response and HP goes. What I noticed most about that particular tune was the much improved shifting quality.....a lot firmer and shifts when it should.
Then I tried the 91 performance tune which is the tune that impressed me the most and the tune I'm sticking with as far as every day driving. Exceptional throttle response, HP, and improved gas mileage. I really feel the mods that I installed working for me now and the xcal is what was needed to put the trac's brain in performance mode. I'm hoping to have torrie tweak the 91 performance tune a little to get as much as I can out of it, especially since I use 92 octane to run the tune.
As far as 87 econo tune, I haven't touched it yet, nor do I plan ever using it. Not my thing. Initially, I told torrie that I wasn't interested in an econo tune, but he put one on there anyway.
Overall.....great investment, and I'm happy with it!
re: SCT XCAL III Review by psycareyo,10/18/2008 09:35 ET
HawaiianST,
You're absolutely right about the Xcall openning up all the potential we installed with our aftermarket performance upgrades. It's really awesome.
In the end, I think I will be running the 87 Performance Tune. Simply because of the cost of fuel. I don't drive the STA but maybe 500 miles a month so I'm not going to run it like a race car 24/7.
some posts from mysporttrac.com
, lifts are fine)
