Question about SCT Tuners

No. When you load a custom tune from the SCT, the tuner becomes "married" to that vehicle, and is locked from use with another vehicle. The only way to unlock it is to flash that vehicle back to stock. Also custom tunes are specific to the tuner serial number as well as the calibration code of the car. You can not use a tune built for another tuner or car.

That being said, buying a tuner should be the first thing that you do with these cars. You cannot do ANY worthwhile mods without one. Plus you have the ability to read OBDII diagnostic codes if you ever do have any problems....just buy a tuner. You can sometimes find used ones for a decent price. Just MAKE SURE that if you buy one used, it is UNLOCKED so that you can use it with your car.

IMO SCT is the only way to go for a tuner for S197 Mustangs.....they have the most support from the different places where you can order tunes from, and their technical support people are awesome.

bradleyem said:

No. When you load a custom tune from the SCT, the tuner becomes "married" to that vehicle, and is locked from use with another vehicle. The only way to unlock it is to flash that vehicle back to stock. Also custom tunes are specific to the tuner serial number as well as the calibration code of the car. You can not use a tune built for another tuner or car.

That being said, buying a tuner should be the first thing that you do with these cars. You cannot do ANY worthwhile mods without one. Plus you have the ability to read OBDII diagnostic codes if you ever do have any problems....just buy a tuner. You can sometimes find used ones for a decent price. Just MAKE SURE that if you buy one used, it is UNLOCKED so that you can use it with your car.

IMO SCT is the only way to go for a tuner for S197 Mustangs.....they have the most support from the different places where you can order tunes from, and their technical support people are awesome.

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Exactly what he said. Tuners are like a line of high grade coke for these cars, they just get all kinds of hopped up after a good tune. After that, anything you buy for the car can be tuned to run like the factory, from cams to blowers to a bigger motor. I would invest in a tuner, get your mods on there, and have some fun, because soon enough your mods aren't going to be enough for you, and you're gonna want to buy more stuff that likely requires a tune. I just paid $35 to have my tune revised to include my JLT CAI that is on the way, and honestly, it's a nice piece of mind knowing my car will know EXACTLY how to run with the new parts, unlike the old days of tuning with a distributor. There are several vendors for tunes, Bama, Brenspeed (who I used and can say nothing but A++++ things about), and others I can't think of, along with your local tuner.

On a side note, I am using an older SCT Xcal II on my 2010. You might look into one as they are much cheaper than the X3, and from my standpoint the only downside is a slightly slower upload time when tuning the car, but we are talking a minute or two at most.

stangboy999 said:

Yeah, I'm planning on buying the SCT, I just figured I'd get it from my Tuner to support him. I think I'm just going to drive it over to my Tuner and install the CAI in his parking lot. Shouldn't take long and he can sell me the SCT, flash it and put it on the Dyno immediately after.

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Good plan. Maybe tell your guy you bought it from him just for that reason, to help him with business, and maybe he'll cut you a deal on the dyno time for your custom tune. Both you and he know you could probably get it cheaper on Ebay, so hopefully he'll reward the shop loyalty. My local shop cut me a deal on a tune for my 04 because of my regular presence there.

If you have a tuner with a dyno that you trust and you want to support local buisness, then that's cool.

But, just a few points to consider....

There is no need to get a dyno tune for 90% of the mods that most people do. And Dyno tunes can get very expensive. I would get a dyno tune for a power adder or a fully built motor, or possibly cams, as some people have problems with more radical cams. BUT, for most mods, an e-mail tune from a REPUTIBLE shop is plenty good enough, and much less expensive. Especially considering that several good tuners such as Brenspeed and American Muscle will provide free tune updates. Brenspeed provides free tune updates with any part that you buy from them that requires a tune. And American Muscle has a free tunes for life program, but I am not sure if you have to buy the parts from them or not. Either way, if you buy the tuner or the inital tune from them, they keep your tunes on file, and will update them as needed. And the tunes that they produce are tested and backed by extensive dyno time and experience with Mustangs, so the quality of the tunes is excellent.

I'm not in any way downing local dyno shops. I just think that for most applications, e-mail tunes are the way to go...