after reading the numorous post about how good xcalibrator is, i'm about to get one, but have a few of questions. first, i see a lot of members here who have it and are running 91 octane; does anyone have xcalibrator and run 89 octane? if so, what kind of results, does it still have the same kick to it? (gas is rather high right now) second, i know this has been discussed after reading so many threads on it, but if the chip is taken out and returned the truck back to stock, is there anyway posible for ford to tell if there has every been a chip installed? thrid, how is the ride affected? i have read that it is more jerky on the shift instead of smooth like stock. last, how well will this system work on a bone stock 04 f150 (need more money for exhaust etc.)? if anyone knows, about how much faster will it be (1/4 mile times)? how will it compare to the dodge hemi or titian with just this one mod?

thanks, sorry if this is redundant, but i have done a search and read for hours, but just want to clearify things.

looking forward to joining xcalibrator owners

 

 

I have an 87 octane trailer towing compatible program which is 100% improvement over the stock program.
I have a 93 octane trailer towing compatible program that ups the power considerably.
And I have a 94 octane NON towing compatible program that considering the truck weighs 6200 #'s is a kick *** tune.
Yes the upshifts are "firmer" on all 3 tunes, and at WOT my shift points are 1-2 5200 rpm, and 2-3 5400 rpm.
No, a dealer can not tell you are using the X-calibrator if you return your truck to stock before taking it in for service.
The ride is uneffected, unless of course you take into consideration the neck snapping up shifts with my 94 octane tune.
I suggest you call Mike or Anita Troyer at 540-862-9515 and further discuss your interests. You will be GLAD you did.

 

because the shifts are more shift is there a break in period i should of had on my truck before i install this? currently i have 3259 miles on it. also because of the firmer shifts and truck working harder overall, how much will this decrease the life of the truck? anyone who has had it for a very long period of time, please give me some input and maybe how many miles you put on it since installation.

thanks, anymore input is greatly appreciated

 

Like Marc said you need to call and talk to The great people
at Troyer Preformance . I am still waiting on Excalibrator !!!
So I CAN NOT yet tell you first hand yet . But after talking to Both Anita & Mike !!!!!
I am expecting the The truck to shift and prefrom better, cleaner crisper shifts should increase transmission life less heat with less drag and less unessary shifting . Better overall drivetrain response should improve the rest of the drive train long term too . ALL things equal , preventitive maintance , Regular oil changes , Etc !! Still waiting on
Mine

My 2 cents worth , sorry spelling isn't real great I know I need

Rick

 

The whole point of buying the Xcalibrator is the customization that can be done to suit your needs and the additional HP it yeilds over the microtuners. If you don't want firmer shifts, then they can adjust your tune accordingly. Same goes with all the other variables involved with their custom tunes.

The break-in period for a tuned vehicle is not applicable. You can run as hard and fast as you want, strait out of the box, so-to-speak. The only break-in period you have to be concerned with is, that of the vehicle. Keep the best fluids in all the right places, and change them religiously.

Remember, this is strictly a performance add-on mod. You should expect your truck to perform better. There are many aspects to tuning a vehicle, shift points are just one of those. The whole reason for changing shift points is to allow your truck to wind out higher rpms, that is where the HP & TQ is hiding. The stock shifting sucks, so I would highly recommend having them adjusted.

Right before I loaded my tune, I made two 0-60 runs.
Run One - 11.40
Run Two - 11.11

After loading the 93 Octane tune
Run One - 10.XX don't remember the hundredths
Run Two - 10.08

I was/am very impressed with all the performance mods I've done so far. (Magnaflow Exhaust, AF1 Intake, Xcalibrator). Seperately they all make a small change, sometimes you can't even tell, by the seat-of-the-pants. Together, they kick ya in the bootay!!!

 

Hi #LT,

Excellent questions, & some of the most commonly asked questions as well.

In terms of using 89 octane, sure, we can easily tune your truck for 89 octane, and yes, it will have better performance than stock - even on 87 octane. The Xcalibrator has room for 3 different custom tunes, so we can do anything you want in each of those programs - for example, some people want a tune for each level of octane - 87, 89 & then 91 or 93 (depending on where they live, premium is either 91 or 93 octane).

The deal is, the higher octane we can tune for, the larger the power gain - but even on 89 octane, yes, there will be a difference that is certainly worth while. There will be more power available at any rpm and at any throttle position, as well as other things like a much quicker overall powertrain response time, no top speed limiter, vastly improved shift characteristics, etc.

There have been a number of good responses here already, and they're right on the money - no, you do not have to worry about any specific "break-in" mileage, time, or driving style - you can drive your vehicle however you like from Day 1 - about the only thing we suggest is having a few hundred miles on a brand new vehicle just so you know how it feels in stock trim, is all - but you can do whatever mods you like & drive it however you like from Day 1, no problem. The changes we make in our custom tuning do not alter that aspect of vehicle operations, to answer your question.

With regard to the shifts - no, we do *not* make them "jerky," that isn't appropriate. How we set them up is to that the shifts are still nice & smooth in "normal" driving, and then as you give it more and more throttle, the shifts will get progressively firmer in response to more and more throttle, just like they should. So no, it's not going to jerk your neck back in anything remotely resembling "normal" driving - for example, if someone's wife or girlfriend drives the vehicle, they're usually not going to notice anything unless they nail the throttle. Now if you nail the throttle to the floor and hold it there, the full-throttle upshifts are noticeably firmer and quicker, sure - but everywhere else they are nice & smooth. In other words, we give the shift firmness a completely linear response that depends on how much throttle you give it - so in normal driving you really don't notice anything about the shifts other than that there's less slippage, as it's not until you get into the throttle significantly that the shifts feel noticeably firmer. The last thing we want to do is to spoil the inherently smooth character of these 2004 & up new body style trucks!

I hope that gives you a bit more insight into this, & please don't hesitate to call us at our number listed below if you'd like to go over this in more detail, we're happy to help!