I am going to order a 9100 from Mike soon and I was wondering if you guys have seperate tunes for summer and winter. I have a 02 Lightning and I was told that I might need a summer and winter tune to avoid a lean condition in the winter. Is this true?

I know you can get up to 3 custom tunes and I am trying to decide which tunes to get. I don't care about fuel economy because that will come with a good tune and I rarely/never tow. I need some suggestions on which tunes to request. I'm thinking of this:

tune 1. A mild tune for winter/towing. (such as the 1715 tune)
tune 2. A performance tune for everyday driving
tune 3. A performance tune with a 4lb pulley (when I add one later)

 

Hi Rio,

This whole "issue" of "summer tunes" & "winter tunes" in the modified (or stock) Lightnings is not needed with *proper* tuning, or with multiple-program chips or flashers.

There was a lot of talk about this some time back, due to some tuners running super-aggressive programs during racing season, when it's hot, in an attempt to make maximum power in the hottest conditions - that was what eventually was called "summer tunes." The problem came in when people ran those super-aggressive Lightning programs all year round (in many cases using only a single program chip, which we do not ever approve of for any supercharged application), and got to a track in spring or fall when it's say, 50 degrees outside (or did a high-speed blast out on the road somewhere), and BANG! There goes the motor from too much spark advance - because the IAT spark modifier, under those much colder conditions, instead of retarding the timing as it does with IAT's above about 100 degrees, was adding in additional timing as it does when the IAT's are *under* about 100 degrees (F). The combination of the increased amount of spark advance (the "warm weather tune") that was OK to run in hot weather because the IAT spark modifier then retarded the timing from the way-above 100 degree IAT's, combined with colder temps causing the IAT spark modifier to not retard, but actually *ADD* more timing, caused a number of engines to grenade - it was simply using inappropriate tuning under the wrong conditions.

Now the kicker in all of this was the fact that many Lightning owners at that time were running single program chips (trying to save a few bucks - not a good idea on any forced induction motor), so they had ZERO flexibility, and could not protect their engines by having multiple programs available so they could protect the engine in colder weather by switching to a more appropriate program.

With proper tuning, all of that is easily avoidable.

Now with regard to what kinds of programs you need to run, that is best determined in consultation with your tuner. You'll need to call us to go over this properly of course, but very briefly..............

First - there is no such thing as a "fuel economy tune" on a Lightning, as far as we are concerned - at least, we won't do it as it's not appropriate for a supercharged engine. So you're on the right track there already.

Next - if you are going to tow with your Lightning, we advise you do NOT tow with a raised boost pulley installed - at least, not more than a 2 PSI pulley. Yeah, some people say they tow (unfortunately) with 4 & 6 PSI pulleys on their Lightnings and say they aren't having any problems - so far. And yes, certainly we can do tuning that would allow some towing with a mild increase in boost. But in general, we prefer not to see any significant towing (any "real" weight, over any "real" distance or terrain) done on the Lightning with raised boost pulleys more than say, a 2 PSI pulley. You can easily get a pulley setup with a couple different sized "rings" that you can quickly switch out for towing versus performance, in about 5 minutes. Use a 2 PSI ring for towing, and a 4 or 6 PSI ring for performance, is one way to approach it.

You also need more than just 1 program for a raised boost pulley, unless that program is going to be ultra-conservative. You should have a performance tune and a fall-back tune to protect the engine against a tank of bad gas, at a bare minimum - in addition to a towing tune if needed.

So instead of just using one program for the FUTURE installation of a pulley, just have all 3 programs set up for it's current configuration, and then when you install the pulley in the future, have us do a new set of 3 tunes, which we can simply email to you. That's the best thing to do to protect that motor (well, aside from maybe just going ahead and installing the pulley now & tuning for it in all 3 programs up front).

This is just some quick FYI info/feedback for you - whenever you're ready to have us do the tuning, give us a call & we'll go over all of this in proper detail with you.

Good luck with your Lightning!

 

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply Mike. I learned the hard way about summer and winter tunes on my last 1200 Waverunner. I tuned it for max performance in the summer, and when cooler weather came, I seized the motor on a high speed run. I'll never make that mistake again so I was curious about the L.

Thanks for the tips on adjusting the TPS. Mine was at 1.20 volts from the factory. I am going to tackle the fuel filter next. It has 11,000 miles on it and I am the second owner.

I may or may not do the pulley change along with some exhaust and intake mods. One more thing, do I need to do the exhaust and intake mods before the 9100, or can the computer adjust for them if I install them later? Thanks for the great advice.

Randall

 

Hi Randall,

You're very welcome, & sorry you had to learn the hard way about aggressive tuning using inappropriately - hopefully Waverunner motors are cheaper than Lightning motors, but that's still ouch!

Mods you need tuning changes for on the Lighting are generally things like changing the MAF meter or injector sizing, a raised boost pulley, ported heads & cams, gear ratio & tire size changes & sometimes long-tube headers - those kinds of things.

Simple things like an intake kit, a cat-back exhaust system, shorty headers, electric fans & larger throttle body do not require tuning changes, as a loose general "rules." The fuel trims will change a little bit with an intake kit, but not enough (with a top-shelf kit like the Air Force One) to cause any problems, so these types of mods are generally fine to add later on and not require tuning changes in the 9100.

As always, call us for details.

 

Waverunner motors are much cheaper than L motors. I just bored the 1200 to 1320, rejetted the carbs and it was good to go. The new personal watercraft that are coming out are fuel injected 4 strokes and several are supercharged. There is a big market for programmers and tuners that's ready for the taking. If Superchips ever came out with a PWC programmer, you'd make a fortune Mike!

One more thing on the custom tune. What's your opinion on taking off the torque reduction on L's? It seems to me that the torque reduction probably isn't to good for the motor. My T.R. seems very aggressive because on the 1-2 shift if feels like I tapped the brake.

Again, thanks for the great advice.

 

Hi Randall,

Good to hear the motor repair wasn't bad - and you wouldn't believe how many areas we're being asked to get into - motorcycles, 18-wheelers, etc. In all our spare time..........

The Lightnings & factory-supercharged Harleys are different in this regard than the other models of F-150 - the factory-supercharged Lightnings & Harleys are vehicles that Ford actually implemented such an aggressive soft-shift strategy for purposes of durability - as opposed to the normal reason, just to deliver a "soft-shift" mushiness to attract more female buyers with increased "smoothness."

I am a big fan of either reducing or removing the TQR in the Lightnings - **BUT** - it is important to note that removing the TQR altogether should be done in conjunction with a modification to the transmission to make it physically capable of flowing more fluid volume in less time. That can be accomplished most economically by using our custom line modulation valve, for example - another popular & excellent method is by installing the Factory Tech Valve Body. The 4R100 in the Lightning is a very tough transmission - it's just configured from the factory in a manner that prevents it from filling the oncoming clutches quick enough to avoid burning the clutches a bit during a full-power upshift - especially on the 1-2, due to the huge drop in gear ratio on that gearchange. Soooo........ they reduce power by about 70% during the WOT 1-2, for example, much of that accomplished by shutting down cylinders, so that the clutches don't burn during full power shifts. That is easily rectified.

With either our custom larger diameter line modulation valve for the front accumulator (we have them custom-made in several sizes) OR the Factory Tech Valve Body installed, *then* the tranny can fill the oncoming clutch quick enough so that you can pull the TQR and enjoy full power shifting at heavy throttle without killing the clutches - then you can enjoy nice tire-chirping 1-2's @ WOT like you should be able to.