Looking at getting an X-cal 2 for my truck (2004 F-150)

I have been looking at Troyer performance, Bama Chips, and My local SCT dealer/Tuner.

I am compairing pricing and types of tuning but am now lost-

If I do a mail order X-cal 2 from Troyer or Bama I am getting custom programs designed for a generic F-150. From what I understand though they dyno and test trucks and try and find the best combo that works and then sells it to all the truck owners......

or I can get a X-cal 2 local and have 3 totally generic SCT tunes on it (which is the cheapest way to go) or I can hae my truck custom dyno tuned so all three programs are NOT generic and made just for my truck....(most expensive but not by much and its for my truck) however my local guys does mostly mustangs- not trucks... so I am thinking that maybe a Troyer or Bama tune may be better since they have done multi trucks and know needed shift points and what not....

I am just lost as to what route to go!!!!!!!!!! My local tuner said that the generic SCT tunes should be good enough but how good are they really??? If I am spending the money I want the best I can get.... oh what to do???????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????

My mods are/will be ( Magnaflow cat back, deleted cats or 1 set of hi-flow cats, Air Force one, and X-cal 2 )

 

Look, I don't have a standard F-150, but I have a Lightning. I got it dyno tuned locally and got decent numbers. But the on track performance is not up to when compared with others. So I have decided to ditch my current tune and get a tune from Mike. I will not know how it goes until I recieve my X-cal 2, hopefully soon. But I have only heard praise when it comes to Mike, so good luck with your decision.

Rich

 

If you take the time to research this forum carefully, clearly you’ll come to the correct conclusion.
Mike has 14 years experience specializing in tuning the F150 platform, that should tell you something.

 

The tunes aren't dyno tunes, but they are custom built to YOUR truck and computer code specifically. When you order the Xcal2, T.P. sends you a 4 page DETAILED worksheet that asks all kinds of questions about your truck, mods, and maintenance history. The tunes are still custom. If that's still not good enough for ya, you can use the Xcal2 to do some datalogging (14 page manual included with 4-page worksheet) which you can email to Mike for a true custom tune. This is the best of both worlds.

 

From my perspective, it's not just eaking the last ounce of performance out of a vehicle. It's more about making sure that the tune performs up to expectations.

The one venuture so far that I've made into custom tunes was a Diablo Delta Chip on my last truck with two performance tunes. From the outset there were issues with the tunes. My gut reaction is that the performance tunes didn't work well with my custom intake system. The programs performance deteriorated over time and I finally got to the point where I wouldn't even turn it on.

From what I'm reading around here, Mike works directly with any customers who has problems until they are satisfied. That is what prompted me to pay more than bargin basement prices for an Xcal2.

Enjoy.

 

White01,
you will love the tunes Mike does for your L. He tuned my 03 and it feels like a totally different monster. Mike is a genius with tuning these trucks. Ill be upgrading to the xcal2 from my current xcal soon as the trade up program starts up.

 

Hello purpony,

If you want the *best* tuning for your F-150, that is done by us - nobody else has tuned anywhere near as many of these trucks or has been doing it nearly as long - we've specialized in F-150 performance tuning for well over a decade (we're in our 14th year of specializing in the F-150).

I do not care to mention names, as that always degrades into a negative thing - let's just say that we're the only ones who have the kind of experience on this platform that we do.

And no, our tune is NOT any type of "generic" tune - not by a long shot, that's a load of crappola, my friend. NOBODY has put more code-specific tuning R&D into these trucks than us - nobody. End of story.

It's up to you what you choose, but there's simply no comparison to the performance & overall driveability of our F-150 tuning - that's what we do, and have been doing, for longer than anyone else - F-150 performance. We're the ones who put the years of work into these trucks, and also do a lot of R&D, testing, etc. for other manufacturers for performance parts for this platform because of our expertise on this specific platform.

Last - shopping for tuning based on price is a very bad mistake - the worst you can make. Nobody who is a world-class tuner gives it away - if you spent the time to read any posts here, and read on our custom tuning package in the XCalibrator 2 section on our web site, and stop worrying about trying to do it on the cheap, you'd know the difference - the results are posted right here every single day, from the very people who spend their hard-earned money. there are many posts here form those who have gone elsewhere and ended up coming back to us - and raving about the difference. I'd suggest putting more time into worrying about getting the *best* tuning for your vehicle instead of the cheapest.

You need to decide if you want "cheap" or you want the best tuning from the most experienced F-150 tuners in the business.

Best of luck whatever you decide,