Question bout the SCT XC2 on the LS

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

He wouldn't claim a hp improvement, but claimed a recent customer cut his time by .6 seconds. Thats alot, how much hp does it take for a LS to pick up that much time. I'm not a expert but wouldn't that be like a 50hp tune.

 

[machlsowner]

You some tuners are very secretive about what they do. I am into mustangs and it is not unusual for a tuner to not explain what he did. What he “did” is how he makes his living. Yea, they will explain a few things like, I adjusted this, this, and this but, they will not say how much of an adjustment or anything of that nature. Just something to think about. If you want a real open tuner maybe he isn’t the one for you and his solution is perhaps the best. I don’t know him and he may be more open to talking about his tunes.

 

[rocket5979]

You some tuners are very secretive about what they do. I am into mustangs and it is not unusual for a tuner to not explain what he did. What he “did” is how he makes his living. Yea, they will explain a few things like, I adjusted this, this, and this but, they will not say how much of an adjustment or anything of that nature. Just something to think about. If you want a real open tuner maybe he isn’t the one for you and his solution is perhaps the best. I don’t know him and he may be more open to talking about his tunes.

I dont think the guy was asking for how much of anything that Torrie changed, it just seemed that he wanted to know WHAT was changed. Tuners aren't very secretive about that because it is common knowledge with us performance freaks.

 

[Palmguy]

It is very difficult for me to "feel" the difference in overall HP and give
an accurate estimation to others; but the truth is thats really all people
(including myself) care about.

Of course I haven't had it for very long and have nothing to gauge the
differences in performance (in terms of racing others before/after, 0-60
times, dyno etc.) so I don't want to draw any conclusions just yet, that is
why I figure I'd better ask questions before I decide I didn't get my
money's worth.

Like I said, it has made my shifting much harder but other than that I can't
really TELL what changes have been made. I just wish I knew more about what
was going on with the tunes so I can determine exactly what I paid $400 for,
I hope you understand. Could you please enlighten me a bit more? It would
help me be at ease with the purchase to hear that what I am experiencing
(hard shifts, slow
acceleration) is normal and/or adjustable.

Lou Senko says - in his opinion - that the XCal 2 is by-far the best
performance modification for the LS for the $$, bar-none. So far I'd say my
exhaust gave me more power over the max tune along with better gas mileage
and a great sound with zero downsides. But of course their was a price
difference of $300 and the HP estimates are very difficult to really say for
sure w/o a dyno.

I'm not be any means trying to badmouth your product or your tunes; honestly
I just don't know enough and if I was forced to say right now I'd say no, I
didn't get $400 worth of performance

It's interesting to me that you seem to be so interested in a dyno number. If you had gotten your car on the dyno before and after the flash and picked up 25 horsepower or something, would that make you satisfied? Especially given your concerns about the "driveability" of your car. I'm just not sure quantifying the horsepower gain is what you need to be concerned with. There have been a few cars over at TCCoA that didn't pick up any peak horsepower with an SCT tune, but they gained a heck of a lot under the curve and that is probably more important than whatever the peak to peak differential was. Personally, I got an SCT tune after doing a PI engine swap in my Cougar, never had the car on the dyno, and never really cared what horsepower gain I got from the tune. The tune made my car loads more fun to drive, and that's what mattered to me. I did pick up about a second and 6 mph in the quarter, but even that wasn't a big deal as I rarely go to the track, but I drive it every day and enjoying that was important.

I guess I'm rambling a bit here, but I guess I'll just leave it at this: Did Torrie screw up? Sure, that's a possibility. The general concensus here seems to be that the man knows what he is doing, and can work magic on these cars to make them really enjoyable. I'm not saying let it go if he offended you or whatever, but cut him a little slack for having a bad day or something and see if you can get things right. Your car will thank you

 

[StinkinLinkinLS01]

I'm not saying Torrie screwed up with the tune or the product he sent me.

Yes, their were issues present, but as of late the tunes seem to be running fine. The hard shifting has smoothed over and I'm not sure why to be honest. I reflashed my car back to stock a couple times and increased the octane and recleaned all my filters and such. Seems to have done the trick.

In fact I still recommend the XCalibrator 2 to anyone debating whether or not to get one.

I recommend Torrie's tunes as well.

I do not recommend you question Torrie's expertise in any way. If you are not 100% satisfied do not tell him that, rather make something up about how it was damaged during shipping, he'll be glad to give you the same offer either way - a 100% refund.

This may on the face of things seem contradictory but if you're carefull you will see that I did not criticize Torrie's tunes or product, only his poor business practices in responding to my concerns about what I was experiencing. I am currently pursuing my MBA (MASTERS IN BUSINESS) at St. Thomas University and they especially stress ethics. I'm not just some average joe giving his opinions about business practice, this is what I wish every consumer would do in reaction to poor practices.

I did express my concerns with the tunes, which is different than criticizing. I was also skeptical, and I still am to some degree. But every consumer should be, this helps prevent one from getting ripped off.

In my opinion for $400 all I care about is HP! Honestly, the curve?! Ha! Maybe I'm wrong, I'm no mechanic, maybe the curve is what I should be looking for!

I clearly stated $400 worth of performance, not HP.

I'm also going to the track and hopefully will be able to see the differences in the tunes then in terms of actual "quickness".

Torrie said a customer went from 15.1 to 14.5 with ZERO other mods than the same tune he sent me.

I know every car is different for a multitude of reasons but after extensive modification - probably the most ever - and about 15 tunes from Torrie I don't even think Quik has topped 14.6 in a 1/4 mile. I would definitely be impressed to gain .6, with my exhaust/intake that would mean I'd run a 14.3 or less?! Not likely.

Anyways I apologize for coming off like an ***hole. I'm really not, just a very opinionated consumer (that is why I belong to Lincoln LS forums). Thanks to those that have backed me up. To those of you who disagree, let us forget about this. I'd like to keep a professional and mutually beneficial relationship with as many members in this forum as possible. This issue was between me and Torrie and no one belonging to this forum. Thanks, have a nice day.

 

[rocket5979]

Anyways I apologize for coming off like an ***hole. I'm really not, just a very opiniated consumer (that is why I belong to Lincoln LS forums). Thanks to those that have backed me up. To those of you who disagree, let us forget about this. I'd like to keep a professional and mutually beneficial relationship with as many members in this forum as possible. This issue was between me and Torrie and no one belonging to this forum. Thanks, have a nice day.

I see no reason for you to apologise here Stinkin. You voiced your feelings as a customer and have every right to do so, whether that opinion is positive or negative.

No one should ever have to defend their opinion like you had to do in this thread. It was your experience and you were justified in feeling that way. What Lou said to you was slightly uncalled for and I believe that, through our PM's to one another regarding this topic, he realized that.

 

[StinkinLinkinLS01]

He wouldn't claim a hp improvement, but claimed a recent customer cut his time by .6 seconds. Thats alot, how much hp does it take for a LS to pick up that much time. I'm not a expert but wouldn't that be like a 50hp tune.

THANK YOU! Don't forget, that LS had ZERO other mods. I doubt it, show me proof.

That is why I stress proof.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

You were perfectly clear the whole time. I don't think you were a a**hole at all. The customer service could have been better, even if it was a misunderstanding. I look forward to your 1/4 mile times. I have Intake and Exhaust, so guess whats next?

 

[rocket5979]

THANK YOU! Don't forget, that LS had ZERO other mods. I doubt it, show me proof.

That is why I stress proof.

You are right.

The only way I could see any LS owner go from a 15.1 to a 14.6 is if they had an 03+ and were a crappy driver for the first run. I could see that improvement happen with a difference in driving and also the tune that nets roughly 20hp on an 03+ but not a 1st gen.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

Picking on those GenIs again, whats up?

Seriously I'm hoping to get .2 from a tune.

 

[rocket5979]

Picking on those GenIs again, whats up?

Seriously I'm hoping to get .2 from a tune.

Big negative on picking on the gen 1's there Ghostrider. I think I worded that last sentence wrong. That is probably what threw ya off.



Your LS will drop .20 from the tune, I can assure you of that.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

14s on 20s here I come!

 

[Palmguy]

I'm not saying Torrie screwed up with the tune or the product he sent me.

By screwed up I meant in terms of customer service. He may have screwed up by not giving the proper level of service.

Yes, their were issues present, but as of late the tunes seem to be running fine. The hard shifting has smoothed over and I'm not sure why to be honest. I reflashed my car back to stock a couple times and increased the octane and recleaned all my filters and such. Seems to have done the trick.

In fact I still recommend the XCalibrator 2 to anyone debating whether or not to get one.

I recommend Torrie's tunes as well.

I do not recommend you question Torrie's expertise in any way. If you are not 100% satisfied do not tell him that, rather make something up about how it was damaged during shipping, he'll be glad to give you the same offer either way - a 100% refund.

This may on the face of things seem contradictory but if you're carefull you will see that I did not criticize Torrie's tunes or product, only his poor business practices in responding to my concerns about what I was experiencing. I am currently pursuing my MBA (MASTERS IN BUSINESS) at St. Thomas University and they especially stress ethics. I'm not just some average joe giving his opinions about business practice, this is what I wish every consumer would do in reaction to poor practices.

Glad to hear it's working out now.

I did express my concerns with the tunes, which is different than criticizing. I was also skeptical, and I still am to some degree. But every consumer should be, this helps prevent one from getting ripped off.

In my opinion for $400 all I care about is HP! Honestly, the curve?! Ha! Maybe I'm wrong, I'm no mechanic, maybe the curve is what I should be looking for!

I clearly stated $400 worth of performance, not HP.

I'm also going to the track and hopefully will be able to see the differences in the tunes then in terms of actual "quickness".

The "curve" is horsepower. Peak horsepower is only one little detail of the true usable power output of an engine.

Anyways I apologize for coming off like an ***hole. I'm really not, just a very opinionated consumer (that is why I belong to Lincoln LS forums). Thanks to those that have backed me up. To those of you who disagree, let us forget about this. I'd like to keep a professional and mutually beneficial relationship with as many members in this forum as possible. This issue was between me and Torrie and no one belonging to this forum. Thanks, have a nice day.

Fair enough, I'll leave it alone and not say anymore. I think you opened it up for discussion by posting in this thread, but I can respect that.

 

[Smokey]

To answer the comment about not using my PRP, I have in fact played with my PRP and am currently running one of my "home brewed" tunes. Does it give me the all out performance of Torrie's tune? NO. Is it a compromise between all out performance and daily driving, YES. I have not had much time to really play with it as I do not have money to spend on a lot of dyno time. It is obvious from my personal experience that Torrie can wring the utmost performance from my '03 LS. I cannot vouch for anyone else's LS. Bottom line, when I want to play around and enjoy the performance or when I get a chance to head to the track, you can bet it will be Torrie's tune it will be running on. Back on the PRP thing, I did not mind the idea of messing with the '04 Vic, but somehow taking a chance with an 03 LS still under warranty is not that appealing. If I could get it to shift like Torrie's when in SST and like mine when in D5/D4 and still get the overall performance of Torrie's, I would have the best of both worlds.

 

[rocket5979]

To answer the comment about not using my PRP, I have in fact played with my PRP and am currently running one of my "home brewed" tunes. Does it give me the all out performance of Torrie's tune? NO. Is it a compromise between all out performance and daily driving, YES. I have not had much time to really play with it as I do not have money to spend on a lot of dyno time. It is obvious from my personal experience that Torrie can wring the utmost performance from my '03 LS. I cannot vouch for anyone else's LS. Bottom line, when I want to play around and enjoy the performance or when I get a chance to head to the track, you can bet it will be Torrie's tune it will be running on. Back on the PRP thing, I did not mind the idea of messing with the '04 Vic, but somehow taking a chance with an 03 LS still under warranty is not that appealing. If I could get it to shift like Torrie's when in SST and like mine when in D5/D4 and still get the overall performance of Torrie's, I would have the best of both worlds.

Yeah, I bet Torrie wouldn't be nice enough to just give you the .zcf file version for your tune huh? hehehhehehhe. All you should have to really mess with if you want firm/fast shifts while in SST is the line pressure. There is no shift maps because it is manually shifted in that mode anyways. You said you want it to shift in D4/5 mode like yours does, which should mean that you already developed that part of your tune to do so, right?

 

[Smokey]

Actually, Torrie did try to send me his tune for my PRP. Unfortunately, he has the Advantage 3 Dealer package and it saves in an .mtf format and our PRP uses Advantage 2.9 and will not read an .mtf file, only a .zcf. I also must mention that I did not purchase my Xcal2 nor the PRP from Torrie. He still sent me several tunes for a very modest fee.

 

[rocket5979]

Actually, Torrie did try to send me his tune for my PRP. Unfortunately, he has the Advantage 3 Dealer package and it saves in an .mtf format and our PRP uses Advantage 2.9 and will not read an .mtf file, only a .zcf. I also must mention that I did not purchase my Xcal2 nor the PRP from Torrie. He still sent me several tunes for a very modest fee.

If you havent already, you can have your .mtf file converted over to a .zcf file so it works with your version of Advantage. Pretty easy process actually.

 

[Motodrew]

Hey fellas. Not to jump this thread around, but I am seeing there are two programmers available for the LS: The Xcal2 & PRP. PRP stands for?? And are both capable of the same tuning options?? Thanks guys..

 

[Palmguy]

Hey fellas. Not to jump this thread around, but I am seeing there are two programmers available for the LS: The Xcal2 & PRP. PRP stands for?? And are both capable of the same tuning options?? Thanks guys..

PRP = Pro Racer Package. With the PRP you can write your whole tune file, with the XCal 2 a dealer writes the file for you and you can make small adjustments.

http://www.sctflash.com/product_racer.php

 

[Motodrew]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THANKS! :headbang:

 

[rocket5979]

Hey fellas. Not to jump this thread around, but I am seeing there are two programmers available for the LS: The Xcal2 & PRP. PRP stands for?? And are both capable of the same tuning options?? Thanks guys..

The Xcal2 is the electronic programming device itself.

The PRP (Pro Racer Package) is the software (SCT Advantage 2.9) and single computer code database that allows a person to create a tune that would then be loaded into your car through the Xcal2.