SCT Xcalibrator 2, it is worth it for me?

85 Coupe 5.0

Founding Member
Dec 18, 2001
817
2
16
Kansas
Thinking about buying an SCT Xcalibrator 2 to tune my setup. I have done the PI swap with additional mods on my car, but am still running the stock '96 programming. Car runs great, no check engine light, no problems at all. Can i expect a decent gain from an SCT tune?? Anyone been here before?
 
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Just a question---What's with your times man? I'm not sure on the elevation though what kind of weather were they ran in? Trapping at 85 even for a NPI isn't normal.
 
Even if you dont need it right now if you ever plan on going FI you will need one. You can usually expect a slight gain with a tuner but dont expect a huge difference. Id get an SCT XCal 2 if your going to buy one. Alot more tuners use SCT than Diablo.
 
It's pretty much where I live that affects my times so much. I have raced one 2001 GT with a 5 speed and beat him by around 3 carlengths, and raced a '97 GT auto with only an x-pipe and mufflers and left him, his best time was 15.80@86MPH at our local dragstrip. He ran a little faster than me stock to stock, but his had the optional wheels and gear package, I also ran those times on an incrediblely humid day, so I really don't have an accurate time for my baseline.

There have also been numerous PI cars at the track out here, be them auto or 5-spd, all run around 15.00 to 15.30, our altitude sucks and race days never seem to be good atmosphere wise.

I already have a speedo re-cal gear on my car, it's accurate.

so What do you think i can expect to get from the SCT tuner? is .2 too optimistic? I'm basically only getting it because I plan on installing cams later this summer and will pretty much need it then.


here's a pic of the ride.


car1.jpg
 
Very sweet car! Love the white rims. I would say youll pick up any where between 10-15 rwhp and a tenth or two at the track.

Thanks! for the record that's not me, that's one of my friends that did the paintwork.

I can deal with that, 10-15 RWHP is impressive for sitting on my bum and pushing buttons for 4 mins.

I beleive i need the tune, all my plugs are really white, although i've never set a lean code once, you would think if it was that lean and couldn't correct it would set a code, but hasn't.

anyhow, i plan on buying cam's and NOS this summer, goal is 13's with the auto or seriously, i'm buying an LS1, sorry. just ready to go fast.
 
If you already have a tuner, I know where you can find an Xcal2 for cheap :D

I think you'll enjoy the gain you get from a tune. The torque throughout the midrange makes the car a bit more fun to drive daily.
 
If you already have a tuner, I know where you can find an Xcal2 for cheap :D

I think you'll enjoy the gain you get from a tune. The torque throughout the midrange makes the car a bit more fun to drive daily.

Please, educate me. by saying if I already have a tuner you mean, do I already have somone in mind that is an SCT dealer that I can send the Xcal2 to that way it can be set to a tune for my car? No, i don't.

See, i'm not sure how this part of it works. If I were to buy someone else's Xcal2 can i just send it to any SCT dealer with my mod's a get it re-programmed and unlocked to fit my car?

if this is true, I might be interested in that cheap Xcal 2 you offer.........

hit me back.....
 
If he flashes whatever car he used it on, you do not need to mail it anywhere. All you do is use LiveLoad a free download from SCT to unlock it. Then buy some tunes from an SCT dealer (like me) for your combo. If he did NOT flash it back to stock, then a dealer would have to ship it back to SCT to get unlocked and they charge $150 for that. Then you'd need to buy tunes for it.
Don
 
don't get your hopes up on 10-15 rwhp. i got a total of 3 rwhp with my SCTxcal2...he said that it should get better when the weather gets warmer. oh well it's still a badass tool to have.
 
That's what I keep hearing, plus I plan on putting a set of cams in this summer, so i'm going to need it anyway. I was thinking around 3-5 RWHP myself, I always thought their claim of 15 was a little high, but I guess we'll find out.