X-cal 2 for 97 GT..

N

Na5.0HO

New Member
May 29, 2003
342
0
0
Michigan
#1
Ok guys, I recently finished my PI intake swap with adaptor plates. I had to removed a spark plug because it wasn't sealing and kept blowing off a spark plug wire?? Working on that problem.

Reguardless... the spark plug was Extremely white so I tried a different one... also extremely white!

I was afraid I'd be running lean so I have been looking at tuners.

The SCT X-calibrator 2 seems like the best tuner out there and appears to have all the options for the 97 GT...

Is it true that I can use all the options on my car i.e. adj fuel trim, spark, injectors, gearing???

My current plan is to get the tuner and use 24 # injectors I have from my old 5.0.. because the tuners only say they adjust fuel trim at WOT...

Is this true also??

Also, would I be able to tune for a cam swap in the future??

I have a little bit of background with scan tools and feel confident I can manage...

Thanx for any info
Jason
 
#3
I have one for my 96. It doesn't adjust for gears (not sure about your car but I think it's is the same) but you can adjust everthing else. It comes loaded with a canned tune and you can make small adjustments to each parameter such as timing, fuel, spark...etc. Best thing to do is get a dyno tune loaded and have it set up for 93 (or 91 if you don't have 93) and for 89 for daily driving.
 
#5
'99 and up Mustangs can correct for tire size and gears in the XCal 2.

The fueling changes and timing changes you can make a pretty small - nothing really you can get yourself into trouble with - but they can make a difference. Right now you can make these changes with a computer in a seperate program - XTreme Tune - and download the changes to the XCal2, but some of us dealers have the latest SCT software - we are testing it, so we are able to allow a customer to make those changes via the handheld itself, not using a computer.

The XCal will read and erase diagnostic trouble codes as well as datalog just about any parameter that is available - but you need a laptop to do the logging. Changes in base files can be emailed to you from your dealer - the nice thing is, if you make a cam swap or something like that, you can email the dealer - the dealer will tell you what to datalog, then you send him the data, and he'll do you a new base file taking into account the data you sent. Really slick.

Don
 
#10
just a heads up...i have a 97 and the tuners that say they will work for a 97 (as far as gear calibration) are wrong. the 97 and below have a mechanical gear that goes into the tranny (very easy to install and you can get it from ford racing)...i just got the one with the most teeth as with 4.10's your speedo gets pretty far off. although it is still running fast by about 5mph, not as bad as 20mph.

while i'm at it...a little question here on the topic: with this tuner can a dyno tuner program a tune into the tuner and then flash your ecu with the new tune or do you HAVE to do the datalogging thing and talk to a tech guy over the phone in order to get a custom tune?
 
#11
Every car gets a custom program for their combo, based on thousands of dynotunes done in the past. The datalogging is helpful when someone has issues to be solved or needs something special done. Different processors have different functions available.
 
#12
sorry i'm just extremely skeptical at this point of the handhelp tuners due to recent experiences, but just to confirm

the Xcal2 will give me just as good of a tune as a custom dyno tune to compensate and improve performance for things such as: VT Stage II heads and cams, pi intake, and all of the major bolt ons for N/A and then later...a 100 shot? i just really don't want to waste any more money on tuners that say you have full range of motion with the ecu when really you don't (only a dyno tuner does in my experience). but i'd rather pay $350 for something i can always have right there and change when i feel like it, but i don't want to sacrifice qualitly and performance for convenience.

thanks for your patience and contributing to this thread. it really helps.

-Gus
 
#13
stonegod85 said:
just a heads up...i have a 97 and the tuners that say they will work for a 97 (as far as gear calibration) are wrong. the 97 and below have a mechanical gear that goes into the tranny (very easy to install and you can get it from ford racing)...i just got the one with the most teeth as with 4.10's your speedo gets pretty far off. although it is still running fast by about 5mph, not as bad as 20mph.

while i'm at it...a little question here on the topic: with this tuner can a dyno tuner program a tune into the tuner and then flash your ecu with the new tune or do you HAVE to do the datalogging thing and talk to a tech guy over the phone in order to get a custom tune?
Click to expand...

If your's is a mechanical speed gear then did they mess up on mine then? Cause my 97 GT is an electrical speedometer. My tranny does have a spot for a mechanical hookup on it.
 
#14
There is no way a mail order tune either in a chip or a flasher like an XCal 2 will give you as good a tune as a dynotune. There is nothing magic about a handheld tuner - it's only as good as a the base tune in it. the BEST way to get a base tune in it is with a dynotune. With a mostly stock car - stock MAF and injectors - the base tune via mail order is probably almost as good as a dynotune. Start adding parts like cams, etc, and you really need a dynotune.

The only way to make big changes yourself with a handheld is to buy the Pro Racer package too and get a wideband.
 
#15
stonegod85 said:
sorry i'm just extremely skeptical at this point of the handhelp tuners due to recent experiences, but just to confirm

the Xcal2 will give me just as good of a tune as a custom dyno tune to compensate and improve performance for things such as: VT Stage II heads and cams, pi intake, and all of the major bolt ons for N/A and then later...a 100 shot? i just really don't want to waste any more money on tuners that say you have full range of motion with the ecu when really you don't (only a dyno tuner does in my experience). but i'd rather pay $350 for something i can always have right there and change when i feel like it, but i don't want to sacrifice qualitly and performance for convenience.

thanks for your patience and contributing to this thread. it really helps.

-Gus
Click to expand...
I don't think you could ever get a mail tune as good as a dyno tune. Close but every car has reacts differently to changes so a dyno is the best way to go. You can get the dyno tune loaded into the Xcal2 without a problem and then have the ability to datalog or make minor changes to the file. Also having a code reader built in is a plus.

Na5.0HO said:
Can someone tell me if I just order one or if I have to call the place and have one specifically made for my car???

Want to order one tonight... heres the cheapest I found.. http://www.jmschip.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=341
Click to expand...
That's a good price. Ypu will give them your mod info and they will load a tune for your mods. You can alway go back later and have a dyno tune loaded if you want.
 
#17
Yes, you can get a dynotune or a mail order tune. The mail order tunes are NOT one size fits all - canned tunes, they are actually programmed one at a time for each car and combo.

Ourselves, we will only do basically stock vehicles (meaning stock MAF and injectors) via mail order because of the many differences in combos. The only way we will do a mail order tune on a car with a non-stock MAF is if the customer sends us datalogs and A/F graphs from a wideband so we can make it right. Dynotunes are best for any modified vehicle because of the many things that may need adjusted.
 
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