Newbie... tune questions

[Torinate]

Ok. I’ve searched up and down for almost everything with this car. No luck with specifics so I thought I’d ask.. I’ve emailed and messaged sponsors as well but haven’t really had specific answers. Could just be though lol.

Ok. Does the ford Power Pack 2 also tune the transmission and shift points? Does it raise the redline?

Truly how much is being left on the plate with the power pack versus one of the known 3. (I’m sure there’s more - if anyone in Ontario Canada knows someone local I’m all over that too!)

I see there are 3 prominent tuners - AED, Lund and Livernois. Does the NGauge work with all of them or just certain ones? Is there a “Best” interface to load the tunes? Can there be more than 1 tune stored on the programmer and if so, how do you switch between them? For example, a 91 octane tune everyday and a 93 octane day for the track...

Does the transmission get tuned for each mode or just the line pressure?

When I change the converter, is a new tune required or not? Conflicting reports...

Sorry for many of the duplicate questions to what’s been asked before. But I’m hoping for someone to perhaps dumb it down for me.

I’ll be asking a similar question about torque converters too in that section for anyone looking newbie naivety.

Thanks!

Hopefully a few pros and tuners can chime in.

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[Nuked]

Generally speaking any "aftermarket" tune will make more power than the FRPP 1 or 2. Ford still has to meet emission requirements whereas aftermarket companies aren't as regulated. FRPP has the warranty on it's side, aftermarket has upgradeablitlty. For example, if you choose to add a different intake or headers etc, the FRPP is calibrated for it's respective parts (1 just a tune, 2 GT350 intake and tb plus tune, 3 add GT350 manifold). Aftermarket tune can be adjusted for anything down the road. Cost for a retune will be determined by the tuner.

There are 2 styles of Ngauge that are pretty much the same, just different proprietary software. Lund has a version that only Lund can tune. The other version is HPtuners, which pretty much anyone can tune assuming that the particular tuner uses HPtuners (most do). Livernois uses there own tuning device that only they can tune. I think they offer SCT tunes as well, but someone would have to confirm that as I am not 100%. SCT is probably the most widely used. Lund, AED, VMP, Palm Beach Dyno etc are some of the bigger names that use SCT.

Hope this helps! I don't know anything about automatics, so can't chime in on any of those.

 

[Torinate]

Thanks!

So if I went with Lund for example, it would be impossible to use an AED tune in the future. Not that I would necessarily want to change, but I would be restricted to that specific tuner with that specific NGauge. Likewise, same would hold true for the others...

Ok. So if I bought a generic NGauge, would I be able to flop between tuners? I know, if it ain’t broke...

 

[Nuked]

Thanks!

So if I went with Lund for example, it would be impossible to use an AED tune in the future. Not that I would necessarily want to change, but I would be restricted to that specific tuner with that specific NGauge. Likewise, same would hold true for the others...

Ok. So if I bought a generic NGauge, would I be able to flop between tuners? I know, if it ain’t broke...

Pretty much. I think it is possible to get the Lund NGauge unlocked for a fee, but even so that is kind of silly to buy it then go thru that hassle. That is what I currently have, the Lund Ngauge with their tune. I have no issues with it at all, but I do regret not going with an SCT X4 and being able to change tuners down the road if need be. For example, if I decided to purchase a VMP supercharger I could simply get them to tune it if I had an SCT device. Now I would have to purchase the SCT after I already purchased the Lund device or stay with Lund. It all comes down to planning what you realistically want to do down the road and not making purchases redundant. Lund is one of the most respected, if not the most, in the Coyote Community so no worries thinking that is the wrong option. The NGauge is also a nice piece and allows you to view data real time in an accessible package if that interests you.

If I could do it all over again I would have gotten HPtuners simply so I could tune it myself (I enjoy tuning and have been doing it for 10 years). However when I decided to go with the Lund Ngauge I was kind of burnt out on tuning and wanted to just flash it and go. Now that the itch is back I have to shell out more money if I want to tune. Poor planning on my part.

 

[Weasel1]

Look at VMP for tunes as well. They are great to work with.

 

[Bluemustang]

Thanks!

So if I went with Lund for example, it would be impossible to use an AED tune in the future. Not that I would necessarily want to change, but I would be restricted to that specific tuner with that specific NGauge. Likewise, same would hold true for the others...

Ok. So if I bought a generic NGauge, would I be able to flop between tuners? I know, if it ain’t broke...

No. You can buy an SCT device which Lund can use.. and AED. You can buy other tunes and test to your heart’s content.

Since you are auto, I’d recommend AED. Lund is also good.

 

[Torinate]

Ok good to know.

I was on the H0 tuner site as well as the SCT site. It appears that the HP has the actual tuning software itself that he experts would use to tune the car. Might be fun! But, not interested in blowing up my motor also. The SCT are handhelds. It says you can tune on a few things on them, but they appear more of the interface between the actual tune and the car. Am I correct on that? For example, with HP I could change fuel cells and timing at different RPM points where on the SCT I do not have access to that.

I’ve emailed AED and they did say they use the SCT, so that’s good. Lund can as well someone said?

I do like the NGauge and the sweet way it mounts in the vent though. But, it may be limiting in the number of tunes and tuners that use it.

Ultimately, I think it would be exciting to be able to tune sime things on the car myself - rpm shift point, shift firmness, timing, redline and speed limiters. Of course, so many variables and ways to make mistakes though.

Am I correct with the handheld SCT that you don’t really have access to these things?

Any really fast cars self tuned?

 

[Bluemustang]

Ok good to know.

I was on the H0 tuner site as well as the SCT site. It appears that the HP has the actual tuning software itself that he experts would use to tune the car. Might be fun! But, not interested in blowing up my motor also. The SCT are handhelds. It says you can tune on a few things on them, but they appear more of the interface between the actual tune and the car. Am I correct on that? For example, with HP I could change fuel cells and timing at different RPM points where on the SCT I do not have access to that.

I’ve emailed AED and they did say they use the SCT, so that’s good. Lund can as well someone said?

I do like the NGauge and the sweet way it mounts in the vent though. But, it may be limiting in the number of tunes and tuners that use it.

Ultimately, I think it would be exciting to be able to tune sime things on the car myself - rpm shift point, shift firmness, timing, redline and speed limiters. Of course, so many variables and ways to make mistakes though.

Am I correct with the handheld SCT that you don’t really have access to these things?

Any really fast cars self tuned?

Depends. I have a Bama branded SCT X4 and they for instance disable the SCT “canned” tunes, although I could ask the more to let me access it. But on the Bama tunes you can change a lot of the parameters such as rev limiter, global spark timing, MPH limit, shift pressure by percent, etc. Lunds tunes they disable all of the editable parameters.

The SCT device is not the tune. It’s a device interface to load the tune to the car. And it doubles as a datalogger and contains special functions such as KAM reset and crank re-learn.

My advice is not to try tuning your car yourself. You don’t want to blow up your motor. Even if you did and were good at it, the chances of it being better than the big boys is slim to none. Let the experienced tuners worry about that. If you want something changed, they can do so upon request. The SCT device is very easy to use and is used by many of the big name tuners so you could buy multiple tubes and put it on the device if you choose.

With the SCT device I also got access to LiveLink GenII which is a datlogging software which allows you to view many engine, transmission and other parameters in the car’s computer. This could be helpful to review yourself or ask your tuner questions. You can also create custom datalog configuration files to see exactly what you want from the car’s computer.

 

[Torinate]

Absolutely no question the pros knownway more than I could ever hope to! I do like the idea of having multiple tunes to use. Possibly even 3 91 octane, 93
Octane and perhaps a race only one with e85. Of course, there’s no e85 in Ontario... used to be in Guelph, but it’s gone...

Yes, that’s how I picture the SCT as well, as the interface to the car itself. Data logger is good as well!

I would assume that with a tune by Lund or AED that the adjustable parameters on the SCT would be turned off on that tune. Makes sense! Pay all that money for the tune to the pros I wouldn’t want to messing with it! The old “keep turning till it snaps and then back it off a quarter turn” or if 2* timing made more power then surely 5* more is even better!

Maybe I’m totally overthinking his whole thing!

 

[Bluemustang]

Absolutely no question the pros knownway more than I could ever hope to! I do like the idea of having multiple tunes to use. Possibly even 3 91 octane, 93
Octane and perhaps a race only one with e85. Of course, there’s no e85 in Ontario... used to be in Guelph, but it’s gone...

Yes, that’s how I picture the SCT as well, as the interface to the car itself. Data logger is good as well!

I would assume that with a tune by Lund or AED that the adjustable parameters on the SCT would be turned off on that tune. Makes sense! Pay all that money for the tune to the pros I wouldn’t want to messing with it! The old “keep turning till it snaps and then back it off a quarter turn” or if 2* timing made more power then surely 5* more is even better!

Maybe I’m totally overthinking his whole thing!

Maybe a tad but no questions are bad questions! I was once a noob and still am a relative noob.

I love my Lund tune but the only reason Inrecommend AED is because Shaun over there supposedly has the automatics down. He tested on his own A6 car and did a lot of tweaking supposedly. Those that have it claim it has all the power you’d want and stock like drivability or better than stock. I run a flex tune myself and am running E85 at the moment. But I can also use 91 or 93 interchangeably, or 104 octane unleaded if I wanted.

 

[Torinate]

Nice!

With the flex fuel tune, does the car automatically make the necessary changes as far as timing etc? That would be nice! No flipping between tunes just fill up with what’s there and let the car decide. Is the timing a static number or will it change with octane? Or, does it rely on knock to pull timing?

AED sounds good. Actually, they all sound great!

Good points for all the ones mentioned for sure. What’s the most versatile I guess.

 

[WildHorse]

Well I'd get the 91 tune. 94 octane your talking about huskey.. correct? Here in Winnipeg nobody buys husky 94 e10 and it collects a lot of water. I had my 93 tune revised for shell 91 Vpower non e10. I'll tell ya.. way way quicker with the 91 tune.

 

[texasboy21]

The FPPP2 doesnt leave much on the table. Intake and tune cars all make 410ish HP, as does the Ford programming.

 

[Torinate]

Nice.

Does the Ford PP2 do anything as far as transmission tuninf? Does it change shirt ROm, firmness or torque converter lock up?

Thanks!

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