Just trying to think of some of my future mods after the 3.73's and plenum. Would anyone recommend I do something different like a Predator or what. Just looking for some suggestions, install impressions and other stuff. Thanks.

 

Matt:

UDP's are a great, cheap, proven mod! So is an X-Pipe if you don't already have one.

TA's, well, that depends. If you add a chip/tuner, you can NOT use a TA.

A TA is ideal for someone who races a lot. With a TA, you can add any fuel you want and advance the timing as much as possible as long as you don't get detonation on the fly in seconds.

As you go from track to track at different altitudes and play with fuel octanes and/or use nitrous, a TA is a fantastic, cheap and affective tool.

For the everyday driver, a programmer is a much better option. The programmer, unlike the TA, advances timing depending on load and rpms. A TA advances timing the same across the board. Programmers also do other stuff like calibrate for gears, read and clear codes, data log (in some cases), change shift points for autos, change rev limiters etc...

I do have a friend with both a TA and a programmer. When at the track, he returns his tune to stock and uses the TA, but this is the only way you can use both.

Which programmer to get?

I say SCT! The Diablo Pred. is appealing and has more user control functions, but in most cases these functions are not enough to amount to ANYTHING.

This is why I believe SCT Flasher is better than the Diablp Pred:

1 - SCT support is MUCH better! They have more experience and more tunes.
2 - The fastest stangs in the world use SCT....what does that tell you?
3 - You can store three tunes plus one stock tune with an SCT. The diablo only allows for one tune plus the stock. This is a BIG drawback of the diablo.
4 - All SCT systems build on eachother. I have the cable that allows me to receive tunes via email and upload to my programmer by myself. They also have a Racers Package that can be added which gives you full tuning control.
5 - You can do things like add a two-stage rev limiter.

In my opinion, spend the extra $75 for an SCT and don't look back.

HOWEVER, if you have a good tuner in your area, that is worth it's weight in gold. If I had one and he used Diablo stuff, that would be VERY tempting.

 

Well see heres the delimma. I want to do the programmer thing, but my hold up is A)Money and B) My dad. The first one isnt that big a deal, but anytime I want to buy something for the car, my dad has to read about it, and honestly, i dont even know how the whole SCT tuner setup breaks down. Also, you talked about a good tuner in my area. I live 4 hours from Atlanta with Tim of MPH and he is by far one of if not THE best modular tuners around. The nice thing about the Diablo though, is that I can use it for my Mil eliminators, my gear swap, a trouble code reader, and a timing adjuster. I just dont know, so if you have anywhere I can read more about the stuff I need to use the SCT then that would be great. Oh and I have a Mac prochamber sitting on my bedroom floor waiting for my warranty to expire in mid October so I can put it on. Thanks once again for your advice.

P.S. Mustangtuning should look into selling some of the handheld tuners, I think theyd make a lot of money off of them nowadays.

 

Mtt:

All those things that you stated are also done by the SCT!

I feel for you. You have a dad....I have a wife (lol). To be honest, if you were my teenage son, I would have issues with spending dough on the car...sorry.

I am in a different situation as I am an old fart and the car is basically a toy.

Save up for the tuner if you like and look into a dyno tune at that local shop. Thing is, they are expensive and unless you are doing something more radical like cams/heads/blower you will not benefit much more than you would from a programmer.

If you want to play with things a bit on your own, and funds are an issue, get the diablo. It will give you more control, you will have fun doing that, and save about $80 or so.

 

I know, but I think my dad kinda feels for me cause he had a 72 nova that he hot rodded when he was young so I dont have it so bad, he just wants to make sure it wont kill my car. Thanks again for the suggestions, and if I do ever get one of the programmers, it will prolly be the Diablo. Now for some gears....

 

So your dad is a motor head too! You didn't say that. I guess he has a great deal of emphathy for you.

You will face a dilemma as you move forward with your mods. Gears will mean you will need to get your speedo calibrated. You can spend a $100 on a speed cal and then $150 on a TA and for another $100 you could have had a tuner with all the additional features. So you see, the chip/programmer is usually the next thing that comes after the gears.

 

I KNOW! He's definately the reason that im so into cars. This is the reason that I want to go ahead and get the tuner. I need mil's for my prochamber, I need the speedo calibrated. I can bump my timing with the predator, and I can read any trouble codes. It just seems like the right thing to buy.

 

I wish my dad could be a motor head. everytime i put something new in my car he tells me i am wasting my money. Any have pulleys? I heard that you loose a lot of power from the A/C unit and other accesories.