Hey guys... I figured I'd ask all of you for your suggestions on what you think would be best for me...

I have a 2004 F150 FX4 with the 5.4 in it. It won't see larger tires, or a lift, or anything that will alter the stance at all.

Sometime in the next few days I will have a S&B intake installed. Within the next couple of weeks I will be ordereing the Roush Offroad Exhaust system for my truck.

To round out my performance, I want to do some sort of tune or program. I do not expect to do any further performance mods after the intake, exhaust, and tune/programmer.

Here is where I need your help..... While it is nice to have 3 tunes written for my truck, I am about 95% sure I will load the highest performance tune available, and leave it at that for the rest of my truck's life. I never tow, so there's no need for a towing tune. I'm fine with buying gas often, even if it raises to $20 a gallon (god i hope that day never comes, lol).

So my question is... is there a less expensive solution for me? Is there an option to possibly buy the Xcal and only get one tune? Buying three would be a waste for me. I'd either return the truck to stock, or keep it at the full performance tune... nothing in between.

What are your guys thoughts??? Is there a better option that I don't know about? All I seem to read about is the Xcal or the Edge. I'm new to programmers and tunes, so if there is something else besides either one of those that would work better for my situation, please let me know!


Thanks in advance for any help!

 

i would give justin a call at vmptuning.although you think that you willnever need any other tunes besides the stock or full out i believe thatat some point you will. plus i believe that a custom tuned xcal from him is under the four hundred mark. the other option would be to buy just a regular old handheld tuner such as hypertech or just buy a regular xcal with no tunes and play with it yourself.

 

I have only used 1 tune and most likely will never use the others , you may want the 91octane performance tune now but if gas makes 4&5 $gallon you may want a lower octane tune.
If I was you I would do
91 performance
87 performance
and a tow tune just incase , I dont think you will find enought of a discount to make only 1 worth while , a custom tune will deffiently change the way your vehicle runs WOW is all can say, go with www.vmptuning.com you won't be sorry and a quick turn around time too.

 

If I were you I would buy my superchips 1815 tuner from me.

 

The 1815 will not work with mods it will run the engine lean, it does not have the abbility to be custom tuned

 

thanks for the input so far guys.. ill have to check out vmptuning some time soon..

that's what i was wondering... would it be worth it or not... probably not.

thanks again for all the comments so far guys

 

If you already had a Edge you can get your "drivability" issues resolved 1 tune at a time. I'm sure any of the 3 tuners will work with you on what you want done to your truck.

 

I'm in the same boat as you, intake, exhaust and tunes and I'm done as far as performance mods... at least for a couple of years..

I got the Xcal 2 from Troyer with his tunes (87 perf, 87 tow, 93 perf) and couldn't be happier.

I don't know about other tuners but as far as I can tell Troyer basically writes the three tunes for you for free. The price I paid for the Xcal 2 device, including the three custom tunes, was the same price - within like a couple of bucks - that I could have bought an Edge Evo or other flashers that only have canned tunes.

Yes, there is a waiting period with Troyer's tunes. But after filling out a three page worksheet and consulting with them over the phone you're gonna feel pretty good about the quality of the product.

I do know that Troyer will charge for additional tunes, beyond the first three, no idea how much. But since the first three are as much as done for free I don't see how you can go wrong there.

And I'm like you too in that I've set it on 93 perf. and will only switch if I'm towing, which is pretty seldom.

The tunes make it an entirely different truck, no kidding.

 

I'll add to the crew that supports Justin at VMP Tuning. Just give him a buzz and tell him you want a Xcal2 and a 93 octane tune. I'm not positive but I believe he'll include one tune with the purchase of a Xcal2. Just ask him how much it'll cost you. I can't say enough good things about Justin and his tunes.

 

Yet, another happy customer from the VMP Tuning side. Give Justin a call, he can help!

I love my tunes! Esp. the 93 Performance!!


www.VMPTuning.com



Tom