i know nothing about the hypertech, but i just got one from my local shop and they "tuned" my truck for me.... i could tell it was better the first few days now i cant tell at all Can hypertech store custom tunes? that way i could send it to troyer(if you use hypertech that is) if not looks like i wasted $350 and will have to save up for an xcal2.

 

Hi Supercab V8,

Well, Hypertech doesn't get our results of course, but they do get some improvement, and you did seem to feel it at first - so it could just be that you have just gotten used to it. That does happen with some people, where they do a mild modification that adds a little bit of power and they seem to feel it for the first few days, and then it seems to "wear off."

When that happens with an off-the-shelf tuning product like your Hypertech unit, usually that is just a combination of getting used to it, along with the PCM's (Powertrain Control Module, your vehicle's "computer") adaptive strategy going to work on a typical daily driver that gets driven conservatively much of the time (you know, just typical back and forth to work cruising where you're not giving it a lot of heavy throttle use). If you drive it "normally" much of the time, the PCM will dial power down a little bit and use a bit more torque mgmt and soften up shifts, etc., as it doesn't see the driver demanding a lot of power very often - now this is not a *huge* difference, it's really just a few percentage points - but that combined with getting used to it might be all there is to what you are experiencing.

One thing you can try is to disconnect the battery for about 5 minutes, and then reconnect it, and see if that makes a difference in how it feels (make sure your keys are NOT in the ignition when you do that!!). If that does seem to make a difference, then it's just adaptive strategy at work doing it's thing on vehicles that tend to be driven "normally" much of the time - meaning not really hot-rodding it a lot when you're behind the wheel.

Another thing to remember is that you're dealing with a off-the-shelf type of unit, so it's just not going to do what our custom tuning can do - typically Hypertech gains about 12-15 HP on a 1999-2003 5.4 F-150 on their premium gas tuning, for example. But since you seemed to feel it at first, chances are it's probably doing what it's supposed to, and it's just a combination of you getting used to it and adaptive strategy at work on a "daily driver" that does not get hot-rodded much.

The only way to get our custom tuning is in the products we use - for the 1996-2003 F-150's, you have 3 options - the 9100 (custom Micro Tuner), which would be the least expensive, then there's the 9300 (custom XCalibrator), and then last, the 9400, which is what most people here are now currently using, the XCalibrator 2 you've probably read about with all the neat features. (For the 2004 & newer F-150's, you would need to use either the 9300 or 9400 as they are "CAN" vehicles.)

Because you are a registered member here, you do get a special discount from us on all of our tuning products that is NOT reflected in the pricing you see on our web site for those products - so if you'd like to go over your pricing to see what it would actually cost to get into our custom tuning, please feel free to give us a call.

However, the first thing to do is to see if you can be happy with your present unit - I don't know how long you have had it, but if it's only a few days, then I'd suggest spending some time with it first before making your decision as to whether you want to keep it or not.

I hope that brief info helps, hang in there & good luck!