My SCT Tuner Experience
#1
My SCT Tuner Experience
I recently bought an SCT3 tuner from AM. My 06 has about 38K miles on it (yes, i know, i telecommuted for years) and never thought it was anything but a fun car to drive. It isn't a GT, but it didn't cost a lot, which means a lot of my $$$ were going into my 66 Fastback. Anyway, I finally got the tuner. I had put an American Thunder muffler on it a while back, it sounds great. I had bought a BBK CAI, but never put it on the car.... it was sold as "not needing a tune" but after doing some research thought I better tune it for a mod like that.
So, I bought the tuner, got the 3 tunes for basically a stock car. I was going to put the CAI on later. I LOVED the throttle response! My car is a 5 speed, but off the line this car wants to jump. I never even tuned to the perf or the racing tune yet. I drove it for about a month and got the itch for more fun, so I put the CAI on. I got the new tunes, and put the street one on. It threw 3 check engine lights before I contacted AM/Bama to get another. I re-tuned it with the modified tunes, and it ran really crappy. Every time I come to a stop sign or stoplight the car would idle down so far it almost would die. Sounded horrible on my engine. I contacted them and after doing some datalogging/gathering from the car. I just got another version of the street tune. I drove it today and the jury is still out. BTW, my gas mileage has taken a serious dive, but that cannot be put onto AM/Bama yet - I haven't really brought that issue up to them yet. For now I'm just looking at a jump in HP, plus I need it to run right. Plus, I may be driving it like a race car too, lol. I love what this has done to the car. I also love the fact that AM/Bama are there to adjust the tune for me every time I have needed it. I hope that this time I have it right and possibly work on the gas mileage next. I went from about 24-26mpg down to about 19, which was a serious change.
My end result is that I would recommend this tuner! If you're looking to boost what apparently is already there, and like to "project" with your cars, do not hesitate.
So, I bought the tuner, got the 3 tunes for basically a stock car. I was going to put the CAI on later. I LOVED the throttle response! My car is a 5 speed, but off the line this car wants to jump. I never even tuned to the perf or the racing tune yet. I drove it for about a month and got the itch for more fun, so I put the CAI on. I got the new tunes, and put the street one on. It threw 3 check engine lights before I contacted AM/Bama to get another. I re-tuned it with the modified tunes, and it ran really crappy. Every time I come to a stop sign or stoplight the car would idle down so far it almost would die. Sounded horrible on my engine. I contacted them and after doing some datalogging/gathering from the car. I just got another version of the street tune. I drove it today and the jury is still out. BTW, my gas mileage has taken a serious dive, but that cannot be put onto AM/Bama yet - I haven't really brought that issue up to them yet. For now I'm just looking at a jump in HP, plus I need it to run right. Plus, I may be driving it like a race car too, lol. I love what this has done to the car. I also love the fact that AM/Bama are there to adjust the tune for me every time I have needed it. I hope that this time I have it right and possibly work on the gas mileage next. I went from about 24-26mpg down to about 19, which was a serious change.
My end result is that I would recommend this tuner! If you're looking to boost what apparently is already there, and like to "project" with your cars, do not hesitate.
#2
A custom tune for these cars can completely change your driving experience. Especially the S197 Mustangs, as there's a lot to gain in the throttle response alone!
I'm sorry to hear you've been having issues after installing the BBK CAI though. I find that strange because this CAI truly doesn't require a tune and the rest of your Mustang is stock. Which leads me to think there's probably an air leak in the CAI.
I'd look over the BBK CAI very thoroughly and make sure everything in hooked up. Also double check each rubber coupler and make sure it's tight. I'd even snug the clamps down a little more just in case. Even the smallest air leak can cause issues like this!
Lastly, send me a PM with your First/Last name and shipping address. I want to get you in touch with our lead Bama tuner to have this looked over. He'll be able to tell if there's a mechanical error here for sure!
Also, I'll bring up the MPG loss. However, I feel this would also be caused by a vacuum leak, if there is one.
Shane
I'm sorry to hear you've been having issues after installing the BBK CAI though. I find that strange because this CAI truly doesn't require a tune and the rest of your Mustang is stock. Which leads me to think there's probably an air leak in the CAI.
I'd look over the BBK CAI very thoroughly and make sure everything in hooked up. Also double check each rubber coupler and make sure it's tight. I'd even snug the clamps down a little more just in case. Even the smallest air leak can cause issues like this!
Lastly, send me a PM with your First/Last name and shipping address. I want to get you in touch with our lead Bama tuner to have this looked over. He'll be able to tell if there's a mechanical error here for sure!
Also, I'll bring up the MPG loss. However, I feel this would also be caused by a vacuum leak, if there is one.
Shane
#3
PM on its way... thank you VERY much. I was trying to be positive because all in all it has been a fun project. I consider it successful, just my car is being a little particular... as females will be (hopefully that does NOT offend anyone, my cars are ALL female, and I like it that way!). I do know that on the tube from the throttle body to the filter there is a smaller tube that goes back into the crankcase, I believe. On the BBK body side, it came with a rubber grommet that didn't seem to seal very good. I actually thought about that a week or so ago now that I think about it. I'll see if I can get a better grommet on that to seal it better.
#4
PM on its way... thank you VERY much. I was trying to be positive because all in all it has been a fun project. I consider it successful, just my car is being a little particular... as females will be (hopefully that does NOT offend anyone, my cars are ALL female, and I like it that way!). I do know that on the tube from the throttle body to the filter there is a smaller tube that goes back into the crankcase, I believe. On the BBK body side, it came with a rubber grommet that didn't seem to seal very good. I actually thought about that a week or so ago now that I think about it. I'll see if I can get a better grommet on that to seal it better.
I also saw you're having issues PM'ing me because you're a new member. I sent you a visitor message with my email address if you want to contact me there!
Shane
#6
As mentioned, check for air leaks. All air getting drawn into the engine must pass though the tub and over the maf sensor; any leak, open hose, etc. will cause a pre-trhottle body vacuum leak, which will wreak havoc on the car's performance.
#9
So, I've heard nothing from AM or Bama... I guess I'll open a ticket the normal way...sigh.
Does anyone know what I could use to seal this vacuum leak with? It is a plastic/pvc pipe going into a rubber grommet. Is there something I can smear on this thing to seal it up?
Does anyone know what I could use to seal this vacuum leak with? It is a plastic/pvc pipe going into a rubber grommet. Is there something I can smear on this thing to seal it up?
#10
After taking the pvc nipple and o-ring to the hardware store to see if i could get a better seal for this BBK CAI return line, which still didn't appear to help, I was talking to a friend who suggested this stuff called black gasket seal. It looks like hell but I smeared this junk all over the o-ring and nipple, let it sit overnight and WOW.... no surging, no rpm drops at a stoplight, it feels very different. I just filled up, my gas mileage dropped from around 24-26mpg before tuner/CAI down to barely 20, I hope this might improve performance and mileage. It has the power again that I got when I first tuned the car, with the stock air cleaner. I might actually try some of the original tunes that AM/Bama gave me when i first put the CAI on, which threw check engine lights and ran poorly.