I am currently waiting for my XCal2 from TP for my F150. I am picking up a 2006 GT Mustang for the wife on Thursday. Here are my questions:

1. Does Mike do custom tunes for Mustangs as well as the F150? If not, who would you guys recommend for the same quality tune for a Mustang?

2. How many miles should I put on it before adding the tune?

I know this is not a Mustang forum, but I feel this is where I find the most knowledge of any forum that I have visited. In other words, I trust you guys (and I certainly trust Mike) to not lead me astray.

Thanks for the help,

Greenhaw

 

Hi Greenhaw,

Wow, congratulations on your wife's new 2006 Mustang GT - I hope my wife doesn't see this post, or she may end up wanting one, too!

All kidding aside, yes, we have custom tuned many Mustangs, including a lot of the new 2005 & 2006 4.6 3-valve Mustangs, so we can easily take care of this for you - in fact, if you want us to tune both vehicles, we can do a larger discount for both, so we get the best possible pricing, as that would only be fair, I think.

Now, to get your your questions.....

We feel that any brand new vehicle should have a few hundred miles put on it before making modifications, just speaking in general - and i say that only so that you know there are no immediate serious problems with the vehicle. With our own vehicles, we rarely get them off the dealer's lot before we start modifying them, and we have a good number of F-150 customers who will literally buy a brand new F-150, order a supercharger from us,m and have us ship it to their dealer to install - then they pick it up a couple days later, supercharged right from Mile #1 - people are funny sometimes!

So that is my only concern for people who are not like us, meaning who are not in the performance business, is just getting a coupla-few hundred miles on it so that you know there are no immediate problems. By th time yo have 200-300 miles on it, feel free to do any mods you like!

Now one thing to be careful of, and that is intake kits - they are very popular, and add nice power gains, but on the 2005 & up 4.6 3V Mustang, just like in the 2004 & up 5.4 3V F-150, intake kits tend to lean out the engine, so if you intend to add an intake kit, I suggest getting with us on that, so we cna steer you as to which one to use, and that we make the appropriate tuning changes for that kit right away, OK? That way you'll know you're running safe and the motor isn't lean, etc.

I hope that info helps, feel free to give us a call on this new Mustang and best of luck with your new hot-rod!

 

Thanks Mike, I was hoping that you would do the tune. I knew if you did it, it would be done right. Listen to me... I don't even have my first XCal yet, but from what I have read you are the best. As soon as we get the Mustang, I will call and talk to the girls about the intake and the tuner. By the way, Cudos for Crystal... She was a lot of help and there none any nicer! (Except for maybe Anita.) Personally I think you should let Anita read this post because I think she deserves a new Mustang!!!

Greenhaw

 

Uh-oh, I'm in *real* trouble now! I'll be out a new Mustang for sure if she sees this post.

Wait a minute - I just bought her a flesh & blood horse - maybe that will get me of the hook?!?

All kidding aside, thanks for your kudos, & I'll be sure to pass along your comments to Crystal, she'll be delighted to hear she was able to take care of you - thank you!

 

green1340 mike sent me my program for my 06 automatic when it had about 200 miles on it.i had the c&l air cleaner setup (highly recommended for these cars)underdrive pullies,and the steeda motion control delete plates.like he said they are very finiky cars to tune so do as he says.anyway at his last dyno day i took my car to have it dynoyed just to make sure the tune was okay.it was dead on the money! the car runs 110 percent better,got rid of the drive by wire problems,transmission shifts a lot better.i had him set my transmission with his middle tune and its great.but,just because my tune was right on the money doesnt mean yours will be.by all means do as he says,datalog it or dyno it,that way you know your car will be properly tuned.call him and do as he says and you will have a big grin on your face everytime you get in the car.

 

Hi Gil,

Nice to see you drop by again!

I enjoyed working with you on your new 2006 Mustang GT, and you make a good pint - you cannot always count on the initial baseline custom tune's A/F's being dead-on with an aftermarket intake kit installed on those Mustangs like yours was when you came in for that Dyno Day - it will be close of course, but it's not unusual to require some adjustment. In your case, it was just fine as it was, so it was done quickly - we'll always take a little luck working our way!

Thanks for your post,

 

I picked it up on Wednesday, after driving it all I can say is... Gil thanks for the input, I got the standard transmission but I feel sure TP can still make some noticeable increases in the performance.

By the way, anyone in the Dallas area, I found that "Dallas Mustang" has a Dynojet machine and will give you three pulls for a very reasonable price. (I didn't know if I could list the price without breaking the rules.) I will be going there as soon as the Xcal2 comes in for the F150.

Mike, I will be calling your office next week to get the details on the CAI that you recommend and get some questions answered about the tuner for the Mustang next week.

I really do appreciate you guys taking the time to provide your input.

Greenhaw

 

You're very welcome Greenhaw, & congrats on picking up the new Mustang, that was pretty quick!

And yes, you're right, the manual-transmission cars gain just as much power at the motor, and carry even more of those gains tot eh rear wheels compared to the automatics due to the manual tranny absorbing less power to turn. the manuals also have some specific issues with regard to being able to speed-shift, etc. that you can't do on the stock factory tune without it shutting power down for a couple of seconds during a really quick shift - we take care of those issues as well as others in the manuals, of course.

We look forward to working with you on your new Mustang as well, & you'll love the results.

Have fun!