Has anyone had experience with both tunes/tuners?

I'll likely be picking up a new truck this weekend, I really liked the Gryphon I had in my 2007 and am looking for options for the 2010. The truck will be basically stock 5.4l with 35's and a leveling kit.

 

Gryphon CS/CTS are not available for the 09-10s yet.

The only tuner capable of custom tunes that's available right now is the SCT XCAL3. PHP, VMP, Troyer, and 5 Star Tuning all offer the XCAL3.

 

thanks, I knew that about the Gryphon

I was more wondering if the XCal3 with a custom tune would give me the same results as I got with the Gryphon on my 2007, which I was quite happy with. I don't really care about the on dash display that I'd be losing with the Xcal3. I just wonder about the results. I do like the fact that with the Xcal it doesn't matter if the dealer reflashes your pcm. That was a pretty major concern with the Gryphon custom tune.

I was also wondering about the differences between a custom tune from VMP vs PHP, although people are pretty loyal around here so I doubt I'd get an unbiased opinion.

 

The tunes are going to be so close you won't tell a difference. The main difference is the gauges(hardware). Are you sure the Xcal3 is not subject to the same problems with a dealer reflash? Never heard that before. Looks as if they would still have to unlock it, and make sure the new HEX is in the files, and clear the previous stock tune.

 

I recommend you grab a 6-pack (12-pack if it's light beer) and read through the 100s of posts in this section. There are LOTS of owner reviews on the various tuners, tunes, and hardware platforms.

 

I may be mistaken, but I think you misunderstood me too

Assuming the truck goes into the dealer with the pcm returned to stock, and the dealer reflashes the pcm:

it sounds like the XCT custom tune will still work if you reinstall it, where as the Gryphon custom tune is useless because it is written around the hex code. This is where I may be mistaken (well, let's just call it "wrong!")

I've been through these threads so many times I can remember what is what any more.

 

any time you have a custom tune for one HEX code and it changes, then you'll need a new custom tune

 

Dave, to be safe, don't get tunes till you see how many warranty reflashes you have to deal with.

 

it will be a brand new truck, how could I possibly know this?

 

It is all up to the individual. I put 30,000 on my truck before I got a tuner and had 2 reflashes during that time. I have put 73,000 trouble free miles on it with Bill's (PHP) tunes, since then.

 

I'll be swapping my 35's off my 2007 over to the new truck so I'll need something right away to correct the speedo. I liked the canned tune on the Gryphon with my 2007. If I can get the same results with the XCAL on my 2010 I'll be happy.

 

Ok, just to clarify. If you get any tuner and stay with canned tunes and when you go to the dealer, you return to the stock tune, if they reflash it, the canned tunes will still work fine as long as the new HEX is listed in your tuner. If not, you contact the manufacturer and they give you an upgrade to recognize the new HEX. However, if you have custom tunes, written for your truck, it is HEX code specific. If there is a reflash at the dealer, those custom tunes will need to be rewritten. This is the case with all of them except possibly the Diablo tuner, and it's a totally different animal, apparently.

 

I get it, I actually knew that but for some reason it wasn't sinking in. Maybe more caffeine is required this morning!

 

I know all the nutswingers will be in here throwing their 2 cents in on this issue but here goes.

At the end of the day if you were to give your truck to several different tuners (I'm assuming they know what they're doing), the final numbers will all be very close. I'm not talking hp/tq numbers, I'm talking the numbers on the tuning tables.

What you want is a tuner who has tuned many vehicles, in this case F150's , especially the 09 and up trucks with the new 6 speed tranny's that have a separate TCM.

Now with that said, if you were to do a little research you will quickly learn who the good tuners are in this business. It's a very small world when it comes to tuning. I don't care if you're tuning a Ford truck or a Mustang.

I can give you a handful of names that are considered to be the best in the business. I personally bought an Xcal3 from VMP tuning for $400 bucks and I am very pleased with the results.

I would NOT recommend canned tunes though, those are pretty generic.

 

what gears are you swapping to???