Custom Tunes for 100,000 + trucks
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Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Ocean Springs ,Mississippi
Custom Tunes for 100,000 + trucks
Hi all , I am a newbie to trucks ( as I am sure you can tell !!) But I do have a fair bit of experience with carbuerated hot rods . However , this whole programmer/tuner thing is all new to me .I did a forum search and didn't come up with what i specifically want to ask so sorry if I missed the answer already ! but my question/s is :
What tuner is optimum for use on my 1997 f-150 4X4 xl with the 4.6 ?
it has 135,000 miles on it and is a new purchase. I have done a few mods on it like magnaflow exhaust and a k&n filter but not much . It idles so smooth that you could set a wineglass on the oil intake . Which I guess shows that the previous owner took good care of it ( seemed that way to me !)
Would their be a major difference between getting say an xcal2 ( which I believe is optimized for the newer body style models ) versus say the old #1715 ?
I have done lots of reading on here about these things . and I don't want to call and bug MT with petty questions if I can get them answered here !
okay , only one more !
On a cost basis would I see any increased value getting the xcal2 for my older vehicle versus the older tuner ?
I don't want to spend $$$$ I could be using on electric fans ( one of my first upgrades usually on any v8 engine ) on too much tuner ya know !!!!
Well thanx in advance for any help , and I have to say that this site is unbelievably informative and it is good to see a forum that is not full of flame wars and BS ( well not toooooo much anyway )
Senior Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,409
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From: Sunny FL
Custom tuning is the way to go and Mike IMO is the guy to call. With the XCal2 he’ll set you up with 3 custom tunes of your choice done specifically for your truck with all aspects taken into consideration like the mileage, what you want to achieve, towing, racing, etc, etc. Call Mike, you’ll be glad you did 
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi macheesmo3,
the difference between our Troyer Performance custom tuning and what you will get from the 1715 for that truck is at least double, and sometimes as much as triple the power gains - it depends on the individual vehicle and it's exact PCM revision, but in all cases, the power gains are much higher.
The issue is that off-the-shelf tuners like the 1715 (which we also carry, being Superchips Inc's oldest WD in America and having worked on many projects directly with them) only make a few general changes, whereas we are optimizing literally hundreds of different parameters inside that PCM - and that makes all the difference in the world in terms of actual performance gains, as well as overall day in and day out driveability.
You want not only peak HP gains, but in these trucks, getting the most part-throttle torque that is possible while still maintaining durability & reliability is the real key.
The 1997's in particular have some peculiarities that require a good deal of work to properly take care of - and a number of the 1997-2003 4.6 F-150's can't even go open loop from the factory - some can, some others are deliberately set up in the PCM so they cannot - the analogy would be having a 4 bbl carb that can't open up it's secondaries, to give you a rough idea. Those types of issues cannot be fixed with a 1715, that requires custom tuning.
Not only that, but it's also a matter of buying something that is outdated, and cannot ever be reused on more modern or different FoMoCo vehicles, like the XCalibrator 2 can. The newest 1715's can be used on the 1996-2003 F-150's only, whereas the XCalibrator 2 can be tuned for virtually *any* 1996 & newer FoMoCo vehicle, gas or diesel, including the newest CAN vehicles - car or truck. It has all the newest standards built in, as well as having far more capable diagnostics than the 1715 - where the 1715 can read only the generic OBD-II codes, the XCal 2 can also read all of the manufacturer-specific enhanced parameters that are required for thorough diagnostics, as well as being a high-speed datalogger - so you cna datalog all the various parameters so that if need be, we can make any adjustments to your tuning without ever seeing the vehicle and simply email you those changes. Those kinds of things cannot ever be done with something like the 1715. Additionally, you will have a lot more adjustability of your own with the XCal 2, as it allows you to change more things yourself than the 1715 can.
I would say that is this truck is the ONLY FoMoCo vehicle you will ever own, and you do not care about getting anything more than minimal gains from a tuner, then the 1715 can do the job for you - however, the vast majority of our 1996 & newer F-150 owners, as in 98% of them, go with the XCal 2 loaded with our custom tuning so that they can have it all - the very best custom tuning, as well as the ability to use it on future FoMoCo vehicles by simply having us reprogram it, and all the other features it has built in, like it's Internet-updateable firmware, USB connectivity to your PC, full diagnostic & datalogging capabilities, etc.
Also, the XCal 2 isn't that much more than the 1715 with our special discount for F-150 Online members - yes, it does cost somewhat more, but it's by far well worth it, IMHO. I guess that is easy for me to say on this end, but if it were me, being performance oriented, I always want the best I can get as long as it doesn't cost me say, double or triple - the bang for the buck element is very important.
Last - the 1997 F-150's,m and to a much lesser extent the 1998-2000's can have issues with a flashing O/D light when using virtually any tuner that alters shifting characteristics & transmission timers, and that too, requires detailed custom changes in the PCM's logic to eliminate that problem and still have proper transmission calibrations that reduce slippage and extend it's service life - another important point, and if you spend some time here, you will see, here and there, a few posts from customers of ours & other people who have had that issue. This is even more important on those 100K+ mile vehicles.
If you like, please feel free to give us a call and we'll be happy to go over with you the exact differences you can expect on your particular vehicle, as we have had a hand in the development of the 1715 over past years when it was a new product, assisting in testing it for these vehicles and requesting certain changes etc., versus what we do in our custom tuning, which goes much further and is realistically what is required for a really proper tune on these vehicles - we'll be happy to go over all of that with you & let you know what your special F-150 Online discounted price is on each, so you can give that some thought and make your decision from a fully informed position.
I hope this info helps, & best of luck whatever you decide!
the difference between our Troyer Performance custom tuning and what you will get from the 1715 for that truck is at least double, and sometimes as much as triple the power gains - it depends on the individual vehicle and it's exact PCM revision, but in all cases, the power gains are much higher.
The issue is that off-the-shelf tuners like the 1715 (which we also carry, being Superchips Inc's oldest WD in America and having worked on many projects directly with them) only make a few general changes, whereas we are optimizing literally hundreds of different parameters inside that PCM - and that makes all the difference in the world in terms of actual performance gains, as well as overall day in and day out driveability.
You want not only peak HP gains, but in these trucks, getting the most part-throttle torque that is possible while still maintaining durability & reliability is the real key.
The 1997's in particular have some peculiarities that require a good deal of work to properly take care of - and a number of the 1997-2003 4.6 F-150's can't even go open loop from the factory - some can, some others are deliberately set up in the PCM so they cannot - the analogy would be having a 4 bbl carb that can't open up it's secondaries, to give you a rough idea. Those types of issues cannot be fixed with a 1715, that requires custom tuning.
Not only that, but it's also a matter of buying something that is outdated, and cannot ever be reused on more modern or different FoMoCo vehicles, like the XCalibrator 2 can. The newest 1715's can be used on the 1996-2003 F-150's only, whereas the XCalibrator 2 can be tuned for virtually *any* 1996 & newer FoMoCo vehicle, gas or diesel, including the newest CAN vehicles - car or truck. It has all the newest standards built in, as well as having far more capable diagnostics than the 1715 - where the 1715 can read only the generic OBD-II codes, the XCal 2 can also read all of the manufacturer-specific enhanced parameters that are required for thorough diagnostics, as well as being a high-speed datalogger - so you cna datalog all the various parameters so that if need be, we can make any adjustments to your tuning without ever seeing the vehicle and simply email you those changes. Those kinds of things cannot ever be done with something like the 1715. Additionally, you will have a lot more adjustability of your own with the XCal 2, as it allows you to change more things yourself than the 1715 can.
I would say that is this truck is the ONLY FoMoCo vehicle you will ever own, and you do not care about getting anything more than minimal gains from a tuner, then the 1715 can do the job for you - however, the vast majority of our 1996 & newer F-150 owners, as in 98% of them, go with the XCal 2 loaded with our custom tuning so that they can have it all - the very best custom tuning, as well as the ability to use it on future FoMoCo vehicles by simply having us reprogram it, and all the other features it has built in, like it's Internet-updateable firmware, USB connectivity to your PC, full diagnostic & datalogging capabilities, etc.
Also, the XCal 2 isn't that much more than the 1715 with our special discount for F-150 Online members - yes, it does cost somewhat more, but it's by far well worth it, IMHO. I guess that is easy for me to say on this end, but if it were me, being performance oriented, I always want the best I can get as long as it doesn't cost me say, double or triple - the bang for the buck element is very important.
Last - the 1997 F-150's,m and to a much lesser extent the 1998-2000's can have issues with a flashing O/D light when using virtually any tuner that alters shifting characteristics & transmission timers, and that too, requires detailed custom changes in the PCM's logic to eliminate that problem and still have proper transmission calibrations that reduce slippage and extend it's service life - another important point, and if you spend some time here, you will see, here and there, a few posts from customers of ours & other people who have had that issue. This is even more important on those 100K+ mile vehicles.
If you like, please feel free to give us a call and we'll be happy to go over with you the exact differences you can expect on your particular vehicle, as we have had a hand in the development of the 1715 over past years when it was a new product, assisting in testing it for these vehicles and requesting certain changes etc., versus what we do in our custom tuning, which goes much further and is realistically what is required for a really proper tune on these vehicles - we'll be happy to go over all of that with you & let you know what your special F-150 Online discounted price is on each, so you can give that some thought and make your decision from a fully informed position.
I hope this info helps, & best of luck whatever you decide!
Thread Starter
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Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 22
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From: Ocean Springs ,Mississippi
Thanks a lot ! I was more concerned that the XCAL2 wasn't really catered to my older , higher mileage vehicle more than I was concerned about the price . Compared to some of the expensive things I have done to carbed hot rods in the past to get power ( and most of those things have limited flexibility ) . So now I just have to wait on all my Katrina insurance and FEMA junk to get done with so i can see how much bread I have left !
Once again thanx !
Once again thanx !