brkro86

Hi everyone, I am considering buying a tuner to get extra power out of my mustang. Currently I have an intake, catted x and a catback. Would this tuner be worth the money? It costs around $379 which is pretty expensive for me.

Does anyone have experience with using one? Would you recommend it? They claim a 20hp gain (lol) but would I actually get somewhere around there because of the mods I have?

Thanks guys

mrtstang

The main performance benefit comes from the ability to run premium fuel. You'll gain more like 10 hp, but throttle response will be better. If you have an auto you will get even more benefit as it will help to firm up the shift points.

I started out with a SCT hand held tuner, but switched to a custom dyno tune when i went with the nitrous.

zinsavage123

yes gotmine from americanmuscle(bama tuning team) it helps wake the car up with your mods. and allows you to adjust damn near anything. and kinda a must when you change gears to recalibrate the speedo too with one.

brkro86

Good info you guys.. thanks a lot. I think that I'll skip on it for now. That makes sense how it will only allow the car to benefit from premium fuel. I'll stick with my stock 87 tune and save the 400 dollars

mrtstang

No problem man. One thing to consider is that you can also run a performance 87 tune. Basically it would be somewhere between your stock tune and a 91/93 tune. The tuner will allow you to switch between tunes as well.

MCxQubed

ill tell you i felt my 87 performance tune on my butt dyno, imo worth every penny

JRad405

I have an auto and it definitely makes a difference with the shift points. It is definitely worth it. Plus if you have a CEL then you can check the stuff and clear it as well.

brkro86

Interesting.. I do have a CEL on all the time after installing my catted x pipe.. would that clear it permanently? Or will I need to keep clearing it if I want it off?

Also, would you all recommend buying a used tuner? I've seen them on craigslist for under $200. Or is this something that shouldn't be bought used?

Franchi

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Yes and no. If the tuner is UNLOCKED and under $200, that's one helluva steal. Most of the time though they are locked. The way most tuners work is once its used to upload a custom tune to car, it becomes VIN locked to that car and cannot be used on another car until 1 of either 2 options happens. The tuner is used to upload the cars stock tune back to the car ( SCT units auto save the stock tune when you upload a custom one ) or if the car that it was used to tune isnt available, you have to send the tuner to SCT to have them unlock it for a $150 fee.

You can check locked status on SCT X3's easily by powering it on, and going to Device info, scolling to bottom and should say Device Locked/Married or Device Unlocked/Unmarried. Both terms mean the same thing.

But also bear in mind, a SCT X3 or other tuner is merely the METHOD of uploading a custom tune to your car. How good the car runs is dependant on whom tunes it. If you are looking to be continually modding your car, the Bama X3 is a good deal as you get free tunes for life with the cost of the new unit. But if you are only really planning on getting a tune and calling it a day, getting a used unlocked unit for $$250ish and spending $50 or so bucks on a single tune from place like BlowByRacing, Brenspeed, VMP or others will save ya $100 ish.

Hope that helps.

brkro86

Oh, and would the used tuner automatically overwrite any saved stock tunes which the guy may have on it (when it saves mine)? I'm looking at a Diablosport Predator.

Edit:
Franchi, thank you that helps a lot. I'll make sure that it's unlocked before I look at it.
Thanks!