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First timer which tuner/tuning?

3K views 29 replies 8 participants last post by  portcity_gt 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys just decided to get a tuner and some tuning done on my truck. Its an 05 with 68k miles and my only mods are a MBRP turbo-back dual exhaust with a cat delete pipe. i have the stock headbolts and still have my EGR in place. My truck was just flashed this past week when it was in the shop getting dummy plugs and a stc fitting. Knowing very little on the subject i think i am going to go with a SCT tuner and have tunes done by Eric at Innovative, Vivian's Looney or Matt at Gearhead. I dont want to run a tune that is going to blow my headgaskets or risk my engine. Any preference on a particular SCT unit and tunes/tuner? thanks in advance
 
#11 ·
you can order the SCT Livewire TS 5015, and get a monitor/tuner in one. currently $599 at XDP. got mine for $533 with 10% off. should be here monday/tuesday.
 
#16 ·
What made you change your mind about the new vs. used unit? I am kind of in the same boat as you are in that I am unstudded and am thinking about tuning. I have been leaning more towards the atlas 40 though rather than an SCT. Did you consider the FICM tune at all or did you only look in the direction you went?
 
#18 · (Edited)
I was honestly not planning on tuning because i didn't want to risk my heads either, but I just got my truck back yesterday from the ford dealer after having some work done and they did the famous re-flash which greatly dropped my MPGS and power. My truck is so unbelievably weak now that overnight i did a decent amount of research and chose Vivian's looney tunes from Quicktrick's Automotive. I also found out that even Vivian's studded tune is still safe but since some people drive their trucks harder than others she only will sell them to studded owners. Used units were going for around 250-275 and i would have had to buy at least one tune which would have brought my total up to $325. For an extra $100 i get a brand new unmarried unit and don't have to worry about buying a pre-owned unit that may only have 2 open spots left for tunes or even worse receive a locked unit and have to send it to SCT for a $150 unlock. for $425 i got a brand new unit with UNLIMITED custom tunes. Additional tunes after the initial $50 custom were $40 so i figured just buying the whole package was a better deal. Before i even committed to buying the unit she was so helpful, she even mailed me an Oasis report and guided me through the whole process and answered the many questions i had in regards to tuning, MPGS, HP gains and how their tunes were different from other popular tuners. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking to tune.

In regards to FICM tuning, ive talked to a few people and even Vivian herself said that there's not a huge difference in power.
 
#20 ·
What kind of mpg gains did she say to expect? That is the biggest reason why I have been thinking about tuning. Stock with 35's I'm getting about 14 which is okay but I'd like to be closer to 18 or 19. I had read that with the atlas 40 people were jumping 3 or 4. I'm interested in knowing what your getting now as opposed to what you will be at with the tunes when they arrive.
 
#22 ·
I had the Edge Juice with Attitude and I ditched it for the SCT and then I bought Looney from Vivian. It was a world of differnce. I greatly recommend the looney. Plus her customer service is second to none. In fact, I have an email in to her right now LOL
 
#23 ·
grab a livewire... you can atleast use some of the guages its capable of displaying... also if your doing dummy plugs stand pipes STC fitting just bite the dang bullet and do head studs.... you already got it half way uncovered...
 
#24 ·
i had ran my truck unstudded on a 180 HP tune for 25k miles and i ended up doing studs when i replaced my oil cooler.... i did studs stc fitting stand pipes dummy plugs all new injector o rings oil rail o rings and banjo bolts also did my EGR delete... i dont like to wrench the same bolt twice.
 
#28 ·
If I would have seen this sooner I would have recamended Vivian, glad you went with her. You're going to be blown away after you load up that tune. I've been running her tunes since 07, IMO she's the best there is! All the custom tuners make pretty much the same power, but she's very good with the trans tunes and her customer service will not be beat.

The only thing you should have done different is get the livewire 5015 instead of the x3, so you could monitor it as well.
 
#30 ·
I'm not really a mpg kinda guy, my truck has always been bad on fuel, it gets 12-15 on the tunes, it hasn't really been on the stock tune since 07 so I don't have a comparison for you.
 
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