First things first.....my stang is my only car and the love of my life, also my everyday driver. i have the basic mods already....x pipe, gears, intake, bigger tires,clutch short shifter....now i'm in the market for a tuner. from what ive read on forums and such, i feel like its the smartest next move. i was considering the SCT calibrator, but one topic i havent seen is how tunerseffect the longevity of your motor/electricalsystem, and reliability. Ford pays engineers a lot of money to determine what air/fuel ratio and timing is best for a motor, and im having doubts about the adverse effects of changing those specs. If anyone can shed some light, or can tell me how a tuner effected thier car i would be much obliged.
yes they do get paid a lot of money to figure that out. but you have to take into account that they are still tuned conservatively and there is some leeway. a tuner wont hurt your engine. but get it dyno tuned. dont just do that bs where you tell them your mods and they guess and send you a plug and go kind of deal. i have known many people who have blown their crap up because of that. ALWAYS get it fine tuned. and plus you will not only have a ton of reliability but it will get more performance
Last edited by mbhmustang1998; 04-18-2007 at 10:06 PM.
yes they do get paid a lot of money to figure that out. but you have to take into account that they are still tuned conservatively and there is some leeway. a tuner wont hurt your engine. but get it dyno tuned. dont just do that bs where you tell them your mods and they guess and send you a plug and go kind of deal. i have known many people who have blown their shiit up because of that. ALWAYS get it fine tuned. and plus you will not only have a shiitload of reliability but it will get more performance
Plus some people actually get better MPG with a custom tune. SCT does a pretty good job with their mail order tuning but dyno tuning is still the best option IMO
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1998 Mustang GT automatic stock gears, some mods...sold
Best et 14.690@94.37 with a terrible 2.24 60ft
New ride 2000 GTP, gutted air box with K&N, 180 thermo
Best Et 14.57@93.35
*mods after run, Autolite 605s, GMPP STB , MPS 3.7
You have allready changed your tune with the exhaust and intake. A dyno custom tune is always the best but cost a few bucks. I dont see a need for that with your mods. x cal2 is the best tuner out there. About the only thing you wont get on it is a/f ratio. If you had a blower or radical cams i would say yea get it dyno tuned but with just an intake and ehaust you will be plenty safe with the x cal2 and a mail order tune.
You have allready changed your tune with the exhaust and intake. A dyno custom tune is always the best but cost a few bucks. I dont see a need for that with your mods. x cal2 is the best tuner out there. About the only thing you wont get on it is a/f ratio. If you had a blower or radical cams i would say yea get it dyno tuned but with just an intake and ehaust you will be plenty safe with the x cal2 and a mail order tune.
Yeah he has a point, with your mods and a xcal2 mail order tune u should be good to go!
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1998 Mustang GT automatic stock gears, some mods...sold
Best et 14.690@94.37 with a terrible 2.24 60ft
New ride 2000 GTP, gutted air box with K&N, 180 thermo
Best Et 14.57@93.35
*mods after run, Autolite 605s, GMPP STB , MPS 3.7
My handheld sems to work just fine. Nice to have so I can recal the rearend for gear swap, or tire size change. I got my Diablo for $185 at a swap meet tho. just my 2 cents
Ford pays engineers a lot of money to determine what air/fuel ratio and timing is best for a motor, and im having doubts about the adverse effects of changing those specs. .
well, even though the "wizards" at blue oval fine tuned the car from the factory... its far from perfection. this generic factory tune has to be able to handle all ranges of unleaded gasoline. some places have 87, 89... some have 91. not to mention the latitude differences. if this car is sold in colorado when its new, it shouldn't have to be retuned for a person in illinois to drive it. these things are all taken into consideration, and a fairly rich ("safe") tune is developed... now...
you go and through some bolt ons in the mix and you screw it ALL way up! the computer can only accurately compensate for something like a 25% change in air in/out. taking those cats off, that cai, the upper intake and tb... sounds like a big change, so it gets overloaded and resorts to the pig rich self defense mechanism... you're never gettin it all out of your mods, unless you're tuned.
longevity? well, you get better gas mileage, fewer carbon deposits. not to mention you actually get your money's worth for your bolt ons... well worth it.
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2003 GT - 5 speed coupe -- white w/black rims, pony package.
Yokohama AVS-ES100s
Diablo Predator. BBK Off Road X pipe.
Professional Products upper plenum(ported and polised by Jerry) w/ ported and polished stock tbody. Fenderwell cold air kit w/ Injen filter.
well, even though the "wizards" at blue oval fine tuned the car from the factory... its far from perfection. this generic factory tune has to be able to handle all ranges of unleaded gasoline. some places have 87, 89... some have 91. not to mention the latitude differences. if this car is sold in colorado when its new, it shouldn't have to be retuned for a person in illinois to drive it. these things are all taken into consideration, and a fairly rich ("safe") tune is developed... now...
you go and through some bolt ons in the mix and you screw it ALL way up! the computer can only accurately compensate for something like a 25% change in air in/out. taking those cats off, that cai, the upper intake and tb... sounds like a big change, so it gets overloaded and resorts to the pig rich self defense mechanism... you're never gettin it all out of your mods, unless you're tuned.
longevity? well, you get better gas mileage, fewer carbon deposits. not to mention you actually get your money's worth for your bolt ons... well worth it.
Exactly, couldnt have said it any better.
__________________
1998 Mustang GT automatic stock gears, some mods...sold
Best et 14.690@94.37 with a terrible 2.24 60ft
New ride 2000 GTP, gutted air box with K&N, 180 thermo
Best Et 14.57@93.35
*mods after run, Autolite 605s, GMPP STB , MPS 3.7
question about tuners on everyday drivers 
