Well, I just ordered a SCT X3 with custom tunes from Mike at 5 Star Tuning and let me tell ya, he seems like a really genuine, down to earth type of guy! Their customer service was exemplary and Mike and Rebecca didn't mind answering ANY question I had (no matter how dumb or noobish, LOL). Oh, BTW, labor day sale right now. Got my X3 with custom tunes for $379 instead of $429. Go to their website for details.

If I'm HALF as pleased with the tunes as I am with their customer service, it'll be a great day when I load the them into the truck. I'm glad no one was around when I got off the phone with them as I proceeded to hoot, holler, and do a goofy a** shuffle around the house for about 30 seconds. LMAO! I guess it's been too long since I've done any mods to the truck or the mustang for that matter...

I do plan on going to a local dyno next weekend just for poops and giggles. Get a stock tune baseline and then try out as many of the tunes as I feel like paying for at that moment, LOL.

I also want to take a minute to thank all of the ppl that have posted on here about their specific situations, the gobs of info, and all the shoutouts that led me to Mike at 5 Star. I feel like I did more research and digging on this subject than anything else before making my decision.

One more thing, bc I know there's a lot of ppl out there worried about possibly voiding warranties. The guys and gals at 5 Star said I have absolutely NO WORRIES about the tunes being detected as long as I load the stock tune up before going to the stealership. Straight from the "horse's mouth".

 

Keep us posted on how the tunes turn out. Congrats, it's a lot of fun.

 

Thanks Jim! Hell, you're one of the guys that indirectly "pushed" me to go ahead and get a tuner. There's a thread that you and a few other guys were involved in recently that made me realize I might be running a little TOO lean. I went by one of my buddy's house the other night that had a OBDII plug in and a phone app (I know it probably wasn't the most accurate thing in the world) but it said at idle I was right around 15.0-15.2 A/F @ idle and about 13.5-13.8 @ WOT. Not good... LOL

But I'll definitely keep ya'll posted! Thanks again for the little "push".

 

Nice $50 savings! I got an X3 form 5Star as well and have been pretty happy with the tunes

 

Heck yeah man! Come to think of it I haven't run into a single person that has been unhappy with 5 Star and everybody I've talked to with a 6.2 has been REALLY happy with them.

 

I have no comparison though, so I can't really say otherwise! But I messaged back and forth with another member who has tunes from multiple different companies and he said that 5Star was hands down the best! Running the 93 Octane performance tune is what makes the most difference.

I'm not one to fall for the "placebo effect," if you will. I don't feel like the tunes (even with my long tube headers which I installed at the exact same time) completely transformed my truck like a lot of people on here say. BUT I can definitely tell a difference and the biggest change is the tranny's shift points. It holds gears MUCH longer than it did before. I consider the 87 tunes quite mild and to me, not all that noticeable. But the 93 tune is where it's at

 

Same goes for me on the placebo effect. As far as the custom tunes go, I opted for the 87 economy, 87 performance, 87 towing, 93 economy, and 93 performance. Can't wait!

 

Well, this is from a Ford MSE Tech, certified in this particular area.....
http://www.flatratetech.com/communit...ne#entry220469
Posted 07 June 2012 - 12:30 AM
Fullsizeblazin “They most definitely can! Once they pull the Mode 9 file on the IDS all your dirty little secrets will be revealed and your warranty will be promptly voided.”

 

I just love how one can research the hell out of a topic and never hear a concrete answer from an actual tech like this until AFTER you purchase the mod... What to do, what to do....

 

I essentially got the same, but I have perf/tow (2 in one?) tunes that I've been meaning to call Mike about and separate. How did you order them in the separate format? But I have left it it on the 87 eco. The only thing I ever really towed was our 5,000 lb boat, which we just sold, so it's not high on my list of priorities haha.

 

I couldn't get the link that bitchboy posted to display anything. No matter, though. Considering he's against everything (tunes, long tube headers, etc), I have a fair assumption what the gist would be.

Having said that, I feel pretty certain that if Ford wanted to dig deeply enough into a potentially serious, spendy warranty claim that they could find where the PCM had been flashed. I've spoken with Mike several times about different issues (none of them about this particular issue), and I find him to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. However, he is in the business of selling programmers, after all. *wink, wink* He may just not be aware of all the resources Ford has at their disposal to detect PCM flashes. I've asked my service manager at the dealer where I bought my truck about this issue, and he claims that they can indeed tell if the PCM has been flashed by any means, Ford authorized or otherwise.

I could be wrong about it, though. Hell, it wouldn't be the first time. I will say that the possibility of losing nearly 40K miles of my powertrain warranty is the ONLY reason I haven't tuned yet.

 

Can't wait to see the before and after dyno results.

 

Well what else could you expect from a KraZyFornIan? Cats save baby seals and the gov't is the sole reason for our country's successes.

 

LOL! I love you guys' sense of humor...

 

Any updates?