Info on Tuners, etc.
 

I really need the 101 on Tuners and such. I might go with the livewire tuner, or Xcal2, because i plan on getting gears sooner or later. Plus, that livewire thing looks f'n awesome. Any opinions? Suggestions? Information? lol.

I dunno if i should waste my money, when Cervini's is right around the corner from my house, and he has a dyno.

I never can make up my mind on anything...:beatup:

Depends on your budget. Livewire is kinda expensive. XCal2 is nice. I just bought one myself. If your looking for a cheap tuner I can sell you my Xcal1 which I have no need for since I now have the Xcal2 (needed the xcal2 for when I get my wideband, thats the reason for upgrading.) PM Me if your interested.

the livewire is a neat product. You have to ask yourself if you'd ever buy a G-Tech Pro accelerometer. If you would then the LW is the ticket for you.

I'd definitely use one if I didn't already use the SCT PRP & Xcal2.

they both do the same thing hold tunes and read codes, but one has more options that it does ie shift light etc.. its all listed on the sctflash.com website. at the end of the day its do you wanna spend 399 or 599?

So it comes with a couple different tunes, along with an economic tune. These tunes can be switched back and forth? They are unlimited, so i can use them as many times as i want, correct? I'm new to this whole tuner thing, as you can tell.

Yes you can flash your car as many times as you like.

but an fyi not all tuners are the same. Some cant tune a car for the life of them be sure to get it from someone who actully knows how to tune a modular motored car.

the livewire says it's compatable with a bunch of different car/truck types besides the mustang. for instance i drive a 99 f250 for work, dad drives an 02 f250, and i've got my mustang. would i be able to flash all 3 vehicles w/the same tuner?

No, if that was true people would group together and buy one tuner and tune all there freinds cars. They have it so you can only load a tune onto one vehicle at a time. It saves the vin from the ecu and makes it locked to that vehicle till you reinstall the stock tuning again.

aren't they pre-loaded? with presets? What kind of skill does it take?

the pre-loads are only a general base tune. It's not going to be on and could just as well cost you power. It's best to at least hop on a dyno and check the a/f through a WOT run. I'd get it loaded with custom dyno tunes for various octanes and nitrous. You can even stick a valet tune on it so they can't take it over 25mph.

Ah, yeah i guess. Maybe i'll just try and call up Cervini's and get a dyno tune scheduled. He does mail-order tunes too, but i'll wait until i do the gears for that. So i guess no tuner for me. Ha.

well you plan to get a chip and not a tuner? i think you need one or the other.

i've got a chip in my car already. it has 4 tunes on it. is it possible to fool around with the tunes on it or is the livewire just made for ur computer in ur car already and not to be used with chips.

also, if i can use it w/the chip, could i take one of the used tunes, return it to "stock" so i can free up the tuner to fool around w/the trucks.

one more thing, could i load all of my tunes onto the tuner, or would all the ones to be loaded have to come from SCT?

i kno most of these questions are rather technical so hopefully someone can shed some light on these issues. i'd hate to blow 600 and find out it's not all it's cracked up to be. thx guys!!

the chip overrides the stock tune. The handheld and livewire over-WRITE it (they back it up first of course).

The chip can't be tinkered with by a handheld. You can load custom tunes onto a handheld but you can't actually do it... only an authorized SCT dealer can.

This is exactly the sort of nonsense that caused me to get the Pro-Racer kit. If I want a different tune I just make one and upload it. At least SCT did that much for us.

damnit. i'm startin' to not like this whole handheld shit. so isn't the pro-racer kit like a grand??

yeah, unless your good at tuning, I wouldnt mess with it.

the whole reason i want to get a tuner is the gears threw the speedo off. so i figured yea the livewire would be cool to have, along w/the chip that's already in it. (i luv how ya can change settings soo quickly.) eh, screw it. i might just go to VMPtuning and get them to dyno it and reflash the chip.

yeah thats why I hate chips, not alot of adjustability. i got my xcal if you want it. :)

i'm gonna have to pass on that, thx for the offer tho. i'm lookin' for either xcal2 or livewire. i suppose i'll just get the chip reflashed, it couldn't cost too much.

Chips are best for people who want a good, solid dyno tune and then don't want to mess with it. But, if you do, you can always take it back to the tuner.

Handhelds have a lot more features and are for guys who like to tinker with shit.

I have a chip. Why? Mine is switchable and I like to be able to change tunes on the fly.....handhelds are a pain in the ass to me, but I still appreciate what they do.

HEY same thing i got! i thought i was the only person w/one on here lol. yea i guess i'm gonna have to go the dyno tune route. i just think it's a lil silly to dyno a nearly stock sixxer. :/ speaking of which, typically how much do dyno tunes run?

A dyno tune is pretty much a waste on a stock car unless you have a pronblem. They cost about $150 - $200.

Pro-Racer kits can be tuned by your local tuner on your laptop. You flash the tune on and try a run. Refine and repeat. The upshot to the PRP is that it grows with you. It's capable of complete EEC tuning control so even if you convert your v6 to a 4v supercharged 5.4, or you replace your guages with a set that reads to 200mph, you won't ever have to replace the computer. Just put the right tune together or have your tuner do it and you're off... so long as you have the hardware done.

I found it pretty easy to pick up the Advantage 3 software. There are a lot of common things you pretty much always do and then some pretty basic math bits.

For the average guy... prp is pimpin neat but way way way overkill. A handheld or LW is probably the best option for most.