[NefCanuck]

As the subject line says. Got my hands on an Xcal2 and now looking at getting tunes for my ride.

Seeing as how each tune from FocusSport is 100USD a pop, I want to get the most bang for my buck, esp. since I'll likely buy 'em one at a time as cash flow permits.

What do y'all think? Biggest & baddest tune first or start easy on my road to maybe voiding my warranty if the tune puts a piston through the block? :lol:

NefCanuck

[habmann]

I'm gonna vote 87 tune and aggressive shift. Its all personal preference i suppose, but when gas gets expensive again, its bound to happen, i don't know if i'd want to have to put 91 octane in. That being said i'd look into what the difference in gains is between 87 and 91 tunes.

[kamilk69]

i would say 91, agressive with early fan,

i put 91 in my car, its not that bad, just get a Canadian tire advantage mastercard card and you get gas 10 cents cheaper at the pump, thats what i do.

there is no yearly fee on the card, so as long as you use it for gas only and pay it off right away, i say why not.

[NOS2Go4Me]

With your mods, they'd literally have to screw up the tune to hurt the engine.

91 octane, agressive but still safe, adjusted rev limiter/cutoff to 7200 (default on all tunes methinks), adjusted shift points (i.e. not 6000 for 2-3 upshift :rolleyes: ), adjusted shift firmness.

If you decide to go to the track, have a 2nd tune for the same setup with an alternator delete at WOT.

[Gravter]

I votes "87 with shift and fan".
I'm not sure if you wanted to pay extra for the gas, so I voted for what I would of started with.
I thought tunes were 25$ USD and 100$USD to get it unlocked?!?

You can get the alternator dissabled at WOT??? Neat ;)

[NefCanuck]

NOS2Go4Me,Jun 26 2007, 07:06 AM Wrote:With your mods, they'd literally have to screw up the tune to hurt the engine.

91 octane, agressive but still safe, adjusted rev limiter/cutoff to 7200 (default on all tunes methinks), adjusted shift points (i.e. not 6000 for 2-3 upshift :rolleyes: ), adjusted shift firmness.

If you decide to go to the track, have a 2nd tune for the same setup with an alternator delete at WOT.
[right][snapback]242384[/snapback][/right]

NOS,

I checked the website, alternator disabled at WOT is not an option on the Duratec :blink:

I may get two tunes, but I have to see how much the 60K bend over is gonna cost me at Ford this week before I do that :ph34r:

NefCanuck

[NikiterZTS]

91 tune, aggressive shifting and early fan activation


in ontario gas is not that expensive....we are lucky

[NOS2Go4Me]

NefCanuck,Jun 26 2007, 09:57 AM Wrote:

NOS2Go4Me,Jun 26 2007, 07:06 AM Wrote:With your mods, they'd literally have to screw up the tune to hurt the engine.

91 octane, agressive but still safe, adjusted rev limiter/cutoff to 7200 (default on all tunes methinks), adjusted shift points (i.e. not 6000 for 2-3 upshift :rolleyes: ), adjusted shift firmness.

If you decide to go to the track, have a 2nd tune for the same setup with an alternator delete at WOT.
[right][snapback]242384[/snapback][/right]

NOS,

I checked the website, alternator disabled at WOT is not an option on the Duratec :blink:

I may get two tunes, but I have to see how much the 60K bend over is gonna cost me at Ford this week before I do that :ph34r:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]242397[/snapback][/right]

Did you send Randy an email to confirm? I honestly don't know for sure.

And 91 octane will get you closer if not to the magical 10% more power they say you'll get out of an X-Cal. Tuning for 87 is just pissing into the wind and not worth the time.

Plus, with intake and exhaust, your gains will just be that much better ;)

Besides, how often will you flash the race tune in anyways? In an ideal world it would be great to have, but I doubt any of us would use it that much.

[NefCanuck]

NOS2Go4Me,Jun 26 2007, 01:02 PM Wrote:

NefCanuck,Jun 26 2007, 09:57 AM Wrote:

NOS2Go4Me,Jun 26 2007, 07:06 AM Wrote:With your mods, they'd literally have to screw up the tune to hurt the engine.

91 octane, agressive but still safe, adjusted rev limiter/cutoff to 7200 (default on all tunes methinks), adjusted shift points (i.e. not 6000 for 2-3 upshift :rolleyes: ), adjusted shift firmness.

If you decide to go to the track, have a 2nd tune for the same setup with an alternator delete at WOT.
[right][snapback]242384[/snapback][/right]

NOS,

I checked the website, alternator disabled at WOT is not an option on the Duratec :blink:

I may get two tunes, but I have to see how much the 60K bend over is gonna cost me at Ford this week before I do that :ph34r:

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]242397[/snapback][/right]

Did you send Randy an email to confirm? I honestly don't know for sure.

And 91 octane will get you closer if not to the magical 10% more power they say you'll get out of an X-Cal. Tuning for 87 is just pissing into the wind and not worth the time.

Plus, with intake and exhaust, your gains will just be that much better ;)

Besides, how often will you flash the race tune in anyways? In an ideal world it would be great to have, but I doubt any of us would use it that much.
[right][snapback]242414[/snapback][/right]

Well, 10% (hell, even 5%) would get me over 120WHP, which is I think, the practical limit before I would be messing with things that would definately void my engine/powertrain warranty.

87 tune is more to clean up the A/F mixture than anything else because stock the Ford ECU sends the A/F mixture into la la land as the speed increases (You can see that in the A/F dyno results I got from DaSilva in the Dyno Day thread)

I'm not even 100% sure I would want to run the 91 "balls to the wall" tune on anything other than a dragstrip, I'm a little leery of running aggressive shifting @ Dunnville at the end of July, though I think the brakes are more important ;)

I will email Randy though about the alt detlete on the Duratec though.

NefCanuck

[torradan]

Grab the 91 + aggressive shifting + early fan activation. If possible, get an 87 + aggressive + early fan.

91 isn't much more than 87 .. its like $4 a tank difference. Plus if you need to, you can always remove the tune and run 87 again. I used to only run the tune if I was at the track, and I've since given up on that, and run it all the time.

If you're going to be up in Scarlem this weekend at all, let me know. Take your car for a spin, and then jump into mine and I can show you how the 93 + aggressive shifting tune works out. IF we can find a place to do that, since I won't on a normal street. Since we have identical cars except for the intake and mine is a PZEV, it should be a good comparison.

Speaking of, is 93 sold up there anywhere? I can only ever find 91.

[dBlast]

torradan,Jun 26 2007, 03:29 PM Wrote:Speaking of, is 93 sold up there anywhere?  I can only ever find 91.
[right][snapback]242425[/snapback][/right]

Sunoco sells 94 octane. It's all I've been using for a while now. ;)

[torradan]

dBlast,Jun 26 2007, 05:22 PM Wrote:

torradan,Jun 26 2007, 03:29 PM Wrote:Speaking of, is 93 sold up there anywhere?  I can only ever find 91.
[right][snapback]242425[/snapback][/right]

Sunoco sells 94 octane. It's all I've been using for a while now. ;)
[right][snapback]242426[/snapback][/right]

Figures! Thats the ONLY place I haven't gone to yet!

[NefCanuck]

torradan,Jun 26 2007, 03:29 PM Wrote:Grab the 91 + aggressive shifting + early fan activation.  If possible, get an 87 + aggressive + early fan.

91 isn't much more than 87 .. its like $4 a tank difference.  Plus if you need to, you can always remove the tune and run 87 again.  I used to only run the tune if I was at the track, and I've since given up on that, and run it all the time.

If you're going to be up in Scarlem this weekend at all, let me know.  Take your car for a spin, and then jump into mine and I can show you how the 93 + aggressive shifting tune works out.  IF we can find a place to do that, since I won't on a normal street.  Since we have identical cars except for the intake and mine is a PZEV, it should be a good comparison.

Speaking of, is 93 sold up there anywhere?  I can only ever find 91.
[right][snapback]242425[/snapback][/right]

Hrm, dunno if I'll be making Scarlem except as an unpaid chauffeur :rolleyes: but I'll see what happens closer to the weekend. Only place I could even suggest would be out east in Pickering. Altona Road off Kingston Road has a set of train tracks and then an 80km/h speed limit in the middle of nowhere, great for letting rip from a slow roll over the tracks :D

As someone else suggested Sunco sells 94 but Pioneer also sells 93, though those stations are much sparser...

NefCanuck

[NOS2Go4Me]

They're much more common up this way (Pioneer stations), but I've never talked to anyone in recent memory that's running their 93. I'm not sure how the quality is.

I believe the aggressive shifting is only at WOT, but I'll let Torradan or Randy correct me on that one.

The tune isn't totally "aggressive" - it's a responsive improvement over stock that makes it more efficient and in doing so it makes more power, too. 91 just amplifies the gains you get over 87's gains.

[torradan]

You got it right -- the hard/aggressive shifting is only at WOT. For normal driving, it shifts at normal shift points. You can also change shift pressures (I don't think this is built into the tune because you select the tune you want, and then you're given a whole bunch of parameters to set.), and I have them all set for 25% (the maximum) and that makes it snappier when its shifting while cruising.

[naz]

get the one that makes the most power.. that's the point of getting a chip right?

out of curiosity.. what is 'aggressive shifting'? it turns the fuel economy shift light into an actual rpm activated shift light?

[NefCanuck]

That's what I've ended up doing, one 91 octane "balls to the wall" tune, since their "mild" tune isn't tested with ethanol and ethanol is in everything below 91 octane now in Ontario <_<

Aggressive shifting in an autobox raises the shift points at WOT to ensure that the car is still in the power band when shifting to the next highest gear (Stock, even at WOT, the autobox shifts as soon as it can in the name of fuel economy)

NefCanuck

[naz]

NefCanuck,Jun 29 2007, 10:12 PM Wrote:Aggressive shifting in an autobox raises the shift points at WOT to ensure that the car is still in the power band when shifting to the next highest gear (Stock, even at WOT, the autobox shifts as soon as it can in the name of fuel economy)

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]242717[/snapback][/right]

what would be REALLY useful for an automatic is if it didn't change to a higher gear under part throttle or lift throttle so you could exit the corner under power (rather than ease off the throttle to keep the car where you want it (cuz how many corners are there that a fwd open differential cars can go WOT through a corner from entry to exit)

when i autoX a rental focus i just moved the lever to 1 and went for it.. it would hold the gear all the way through to timing cutoff... so i don't see how those shift points are really a big deal.. can't you just move the lever from 1 to 2 and back?

[NefCanuck]

naz,Jun 29 2007, 06:45 PM Wrote:

NefCanuck,Jun 29 2007, 10:12 PM Wrote:Aggressive shifting in an autobox raises the shift points at WOT to ensure that the car is still in the power band when shifting to the next highest gear (Stock, even at WOT, the autobox shifts as soon as it can in the name of fuel economy)

NefCanuck
[right][snapback]242717[/snapback][/right]

what would be REALLY useful for an automatic is if it didn't change to a higher gear under part throttle or lift throttle so you could exit the corner under power (rather than ease off the throttle to keep the car where you want it (cuz how many corners are there that a fwd open differential cars can go WOT through a corner from entry to exit)

when i autoX a rental focus i just moved the lever to 1 and went for it.. it would hold the gear all the way through to timing cutoff... so i don't see how those shift points are really a big deal.. can't you just move the lever from 1 to 2 and back?
[right][snapback]242719[/snapback][/right]

I suppose you could (Not sure how healthy that is long term for the automatic transmission though) in my case however that isn't even an option for me (I can just manage to get my right hand to smack the gear lever between N & D when I want to while driving, NVM trying to depress the safety switch to drop from D to 2 or 1 while underway)

NefCanuck

[NOS2Go4Me]

Considering how great the grade logic is in the new ECUs/ATXs, I can't imagine it's much more than a programming issue. However, programming of that nature might not be possible at all with SCT's tuner software. It can't hurt to ask Randy, though.

I hate banging downshifts in the ATX... it's just not meant to do that - smoothly anyways. Holding a gear manually and then upshifting when you want to is another thing entirely.