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My Remote tuning Thread

First I want to say I too was one of the people who negelected to budget for tuning in my build. I was convinced I could take care of this myself.

All was going pretty well until I burned a piston.
My financial status also took a dive right as I finished with the original build, so this was a huge blow.
Here we are 3 years later and I finally have the issue resolved. This truck is running so good, and I know I can beat on it and it will take it.
Thanks James-you made this fun again!!

Now you all know me by now-I don't do anything very quickly. In fact, every one of you here can do anything better, and faster than I , if you stop to think about it.

On with the show-

I swapped out all of my original maf stuff for a Lightning Maf sensor, which required I make a new intake tube. Once I had this all figured out, James sent me a tune file and the truck fired right up!
If you aren't familiar with the combination, you can click the "my truck" link in my sig.

basically -the only thing stock under my hood is the timing cover, water pump, and oil pan.
The camshaft has a fairly aggressive grind profile. Not to mention This engine is 5.6 liters instead of 5.0. This alone will give a stock PCM fits-


James had to have pulled this original tune right from his head. We both expected the truck to run like crap but it actually ran very well.

After a few drive ability tunes-it was time for the WOT part to begin. I attempted to install my innovative wide band o2 sensor, but somehow it got messed up. While I waited for the replacement, James was more than happy to play around with the surging issue I was experiencing.

The wide band arrived, and while it was a hassle to install, the information it gives is more than worth it.

Now it gets fun (for the tuner--nerve racking for me)

You must have full , complete trust in the person you are working with for this step. There is no room for wimping out, as if you let up, or don't get a good pull, you need to do it all over again.


I was able to get a good "high load" pull by starting from a dead stop, in 2nd gear.
You must floor it, no easing in, --
Hold it mashed to the floor until it hits the rev limiter James has set in for you based on the information you have provided. In my case this was 6000 RPM's

So, 2nd gear, dead stop-
start the sct live link logging software.
Once the screen comes up-nail it and hang on. all the way up to 85 MPH.

Then stop the log, head home and send an email to James.
After he looks it over, and does a bit of his magic, he sends back another tune file.

The old tune files are deleted, the new one is flashed into the pcm, and another pull is run.
I started to send him logs of launches from 1st gear also. I noticed the transmission shifting way too early. I mentioned this and the next tune not only had the a/f corrections for the next wot pull, but the shift points were raised to 5500 RPM's ( as indicated by the factory tach)
I then mentioned the Truck not hooking well,
After only 8 successful pulls ( total), James handed me the keys to the final tune file today.









Yes it was windy-but I think you get the idea.

All in all I must say-I am very pleased with James' service. He truly knows his stuff.
This has been the most rewarding part of the whole modding experience -
I know my truck runs great-and, I know it is going to stay together.

This is meant to be a discussion thread. If you want to see screen shots, or , if you have the sct live link software and would like to see a few logs-let me know. I think James is going to poke his head in here to show what he did. I didn't ask much. I was too busy following instructions:D
 



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Awesome. I am glad you had such a great experience. I can't wait until I have the money for this. Every once in a while my engine dies right after startup from it's bouncing/surging idle. That tach hops up, then way down and dies. lol

A tune would definitely do me well.
 






Oh wow jon i have been waiting to see this thread. Man that is completly amazing that you all were able to do all this over emails. I know that i have heard of it being done with a vetts but this is just awesome jon and james.

Jon when i start to build the 53 this summer im going to have to come down when i have some powder work done and get a ride haha
 






Burns-ou can drive mine if I can drive yours.:D

Awesome. I am glad you had such a great experience. I can't wait until I have the money for this. Every once in a while my engine dies right after startup from it's bouncing/surging idle. That tach hops up, then way down and dies. lol

A tune would definitely do me well.

I cannot stress enough how you need to do this. If it helps at all you can use my wideband o2 sensor
 






Awesome jon


So how does it feel to finally do a full throttle pull?
 






Awesome jon


So how does it feel to finally do a full throttle pull?

59464613cc851d4d9.gif
 






As i expected.

I am interested into this. I have always wondered how this works. So he sent the new tune through a email and after that im lost on how this happens.
 






Here is a snapshot-
If you look at thr right side of th graph you see a red line-
this is the timeline. At this time all the values were as shown in the column to the left.
The yellow line in the graph has been highlighted-this is vehicle speed

Analog 2 is the wideband 02 sensor-displaying the Air to Fuel ratio

This would be what is sent to James. He changes the tune and emails it as an attachement. I reflash the PCM with the new tune and log data again.
 

Attachments

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So the SCT hooks directly with a usb i assume and then you load a new tune to the sct then flash the pcm with the sct hooked up to the wireing harness
 






Yes-
I connects in the Data port-
There will be a wideband connector on the serial port-with a mini din connector to the sct xcal box-
the xcal is connected to the usb port, and to the data port in the vehicle.
 






Ok so it works how i imagined it would work. Very good.
 






Remote tuning is something which requires patience. This process can take as long as a couple of weeks or a entire Saturday. To remote tune you will need an Excal2, X3 or Livewire. Livelink software and a laptop. For WOT tuning you will definately need a wideband. I will not remote tune any forced induction application because I need to be with the vehicle. This is the safest way for any vehicle or owner. This is also a good alternative to anyone needing tuning and preferring a tuner who is not near them and/or wanting a solid tune and not wanting to spring for the Pro-Racer package.
 






Wow, all that data excites me. That looks so cool.

Jon, thanks for the offer. I am going to do my best to afford one of my own, but if I can't I may take you up on the offer. Did you buy the one with a digital gauge to have on your dash? I know that isn't needed for data logging, but a gauge might be kind of nice/interesting.
 






Cost? if you dont mind me asking..

Would love to someday have the $$$ to tune my BII, even though she is 100% convinced shes a 97.5 mountaineer, she runs a little rich and I know there is hidden potential in a tune

Glad you are happy with the results, must feel good!! Someday I will ride in that sucker!

(hint hint Moab, even if you dont wheel your truck you should come)
 






Well done Jon, and James. I am glad to find out that it worked out well. I have a ways to go until my 347 is completed, but I hope to need tuning for my SOHC very soon.

So the wideband is fine to mount in the left rear O2 location? I haven't decided on pillar gauges yet. Is there a lot of choices for the wideband units, wiring lengths or gauge choices? Great work,
 












Well done Jon, and James. I am glad to find out that it worked out well. I have a ways to go until my 347 is completed, but I hope to need tuning for my SOHC very soon.

So the wideband is fine to mount in the left rear O2 location? I haven't decided on pillar gauges yet. Is there a lot of choices for the wideband units, wiring lengths or gauge choices? Great work,


While I did make a big deal about the install, now that it is over and done I'll say it wasn't that bad. The wideband is only needed for WOT tuning, UNLESS you want to run gauge for show.
So you could just run the wiring out the door, and around the running boards as a temporary install. I didnt use a gauge.
If I make any major changes to the setup I will need to re install it and have James Change the tunefile.
 






Cost? if you dont mind me asking..

Would love to someday have the $$$ to tune my BII, even though she is 100% convinced shes a 97.5 mountaineer, she runs a little rich and I know there is hidden potential in a tune

Glad you are happy with the results, must feel good!! Someday I will ride in that sucker!

(hint hint Moab, even if you dont wheel your truck you should come)

I think each case is different. Honestly you need to Talk to James. I bought a package deal of stuff and paid a lump sum for it.
 






Yeah thats plenty quick there Mr. Smith!! Its superb!
 



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Well done Jon, and James. I am glad to find out that it worked out well. I have a ways to go until my 347 is completed, but I hope to need tuning for my SOHC very soon.

So the wideband is fine to mount in the left rear O2 location? I haven't decided on pillar gauges yet. Is there a lot of choices for the wideband units, wiring lengths or gauge choices? Great work,

It is ok to use any rear O2 location. Just as long as the fronts (O2's) are hooked up and operating.

Cost? if you dont mind me asking..

Would love to someday have the $$$ to tune my BII, even though she is 100% convinced shes a 97.5 mountaineer, she runs a little rich and I know there is hidden potential in a tune

Glad you are happy with the results, must feel good!! Someday I will ride in that sucker!

(hint hint Moab, even if you dont wheel your truck you should come)

Pricing should include the cost of a LC-1 (no-guage) and the flasher-min necessary to remote tune. Hardware pricing is pretty well set to what is listed on my website. I can work with shipping and labor (if any) for the customer. Please note that my labor will vary depending on the amount of mods which the truck has. If you would like the guage for the wideband you can purchase one of the guage kits. It isn't necessary to remote tune, only the LC-1 is necessary for the wideband. If interested pricing would be best dealt with on a 1 on 1 basis. I cannot charge the guy with a stock Explorer the same as the guy with a 427 stoker Windsor. I just wouldn't be fair.-j
 






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