Lethaldosage423

Okay so heres my situation. I have an 05 Pref. White 4.0 A/T stang... i love it, what can i say.
My only problem with it is the lag i have.. occasionaly i cant pull away witout getting an uncomfterble jerk or when im driving up a steep hill i have to either turn off over drive or gas it pretty hard.

Ive been reading about people tuning their cars.. at first i didnt think it would make much difference but everyone speaks so highly of them and i would never question the intelligence of my fellow Mustang Forum-ers
So what would be the way to go?
Ive been reading about the Predator by Diablosport Tuner But a lot of people on the forum have been using an X-Cal 3 i think it is.

Which would be the best one to have?
Diablosport:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/diablo...or-2005gt.html
X-Cal
http://www.americanmuscle.com/sct-x3...FRIuagodBCfQjw

Appreciate any help
Thanks
-Chris

shb5007

X-Cal 2 from BamaChips.

Lethaldosage423

Is there a difference between the 2 and the 3?

hunter306

Seems to me that really, it just depends on the hardware you want to work with. If you order from Bama, you can get the same tunes on his Predator or the SCT X-Cal3.

I went X-Cal3 personally. I don't care for the predator's aesthetics, otherwise, I think functionally, you're getting a very similar product. I know the X-Cal3 has the ability to do Datalogging, but I'm not 100% certain that the predator does.

I'm sure others will have additional insight.

Lethaldosage423

Will i have to use Premium Fuel Octane for the X cal?

hunter306

Actually, the Tuner hardware you use does not determine what Octane fuel you run.

The TUNE FILE that you choose to load onto your car's PCM is what is going to dictate whether you run 87octane (reg) or 91-93octane (Premium).

If you are looking for a Tuner, you should also be shopping for the actual TUNES to go along with it... A tuner alone is nice to have, but the TUNES are what improve your performance!

shb5007

I don't think there is a difference between the X-Cal 2 or 3.

You will not only want the tuner, but you want a custom tune.

That is why you need to order it from a tuner like BamaChips, VMP, or Brenspeed.

I recommend BamaChips...and you can tell him (Doug) what octane you want.

musicheadt

The type of tuner isn't important. It is the "tunes" or programs loaded on it that make all the difference. I bought the X-Cal tuner because I got my tunes from BAMA....and it was a package deal at the time (and Doug has a good reputation here). Other vendors usually offer the types of tuners they are most familiar with loading tunes onto.

I endorse Bamachips, because I know all of the tunes I have tried so far work well.

X-cal III
C&L Cold Air intake
87 performance tune (road trip tune)
91 performance tune (for weekends/holidays when gas prices go up drastically)
93 performance tune (daily driver tune for me)

A lot of people seem to start with this:
an 87 economy tune (for mileage)...then find that it is still too whimpy for fun road trips.(low level)
some variation of an 89/91 tune in torque/performance....which is usually decent for a bit more power.(mid level/premium)
Their "true performance tune" is a 93 performance/torque/race tune.(Premium)

Edit: A tuner with custom tunes isn't going to do much for your car unless you change your intake to a "high-air-flow" one. I assumed you were looking at Cold-air-intake (CAI) packages.

Lethaldosage423

yeah i was browsing between K&N, Ford Racing but i was pretty interested in the Shaker hood idk if that will make much difference.

shb5007

You would be much better off getting a VMP, JLT, or C&L Intake.

Also, the Shaker hood is 98.9% for looks.