Xcal from a local dealer…

[Lucky_Ls]

I recently upgraded my suspension to the Eibach pro-kit and had my local performance shop install them. I notice that they deal with SCT programmers. I began to ask the shop owner if they could get there hands on some programs/files for my LS V8. He said if it’s out there they can get them.
My question is would all the programs/files Torrie makes be the same as the ones these guys could find? I mean I could just buy an Xcal from Torrie @ fastpastnetwork.com but I would like to support my local shop. They did give me a sweet deal on my lowering and alignment for my ride and they quoted me at the same price and the fastpastnetwork website.

Please, you guys thoughts on who have maybe dealt with this…

 

[ILLS]

I recently upgraded my suspension to the Eibach pro-kit and had my local performance shop install them. I notice that they deal with SCT programmers. I began to ask the shop owner if they could get there hands on some programs/files for my LS V8. He said if it’s out there they can get them.
My question is would all the programs/files Torrie makes be the same as the ones these guys could find? I mean I could just buy an Xcal from Torrie @ fastpastnetwork.com but I would like to support my local shop. They did give me a sweet deal on my lowering and alignment for my ride and they quoted me at the same price and the fastpastnetwork website.

Please, you guys thoughts on who have maybe dealt with this…

No. That is one thing us SCT tuners do not usually share is our programming. Your shop would have to pay Torrie top dollar to get a .mtf (modifiable filecopy) file of one of his tunes. I know I do not sell any of my tunes in that workable format. When making a tune there are a few things we do. First is we try to use a base value file to get the basic stuff started and then modify the heck out of it from there in some cases. Either way it is a custom job. There is no central database that SCT tuners can go to for tunes as it is all done either from scratch, or using value files to get started (saves time) and then modify from there. I hope I didn't confuse you by going too far into detail here.

Most tuners that are worth anything will be able to make you up a custom tune that will net you a pretty good gain in power and better transmission shifting characteristics. The tuner you are talking to sounds like they are new to tuning with SCT so it might be better for you if you went through a tuner with more experience with the SCT stuff. Good luck in your power endeavors.

 

[pagan_blood]

guys this is a little off topic but i was wondering this for a while and dont think its worth starting a thread over, but is SCT the only company that make a flash device for the LS? or is it the best? i don't think i've heard about other brands.

 

[scjmc]

I had torrie make my custom tune. I told him what I wanted, and he sent me some tunes. I tried them out and through several revisions he worked a tune out for me that is totally custom to my car, habits, and climate. There are only a few tuners out there that know how to tune the LS properly. So to answer your question NO it would not be the same if you get a "tune" from a local shop unless the shop has an experianced ECM tuner.

 

[ILLS]

I had torrie make my custom tune. I told him what I wanted, and he sent me some tunes. I tried them out and through several revisions he worked a tune out for me that is totally custom to my car, habits, and climate. There are only a few tuners out there that know how to tune the LS properly. So to answer your question NO it would not be the same if you get a "tune" from a local shop unless the shop has an experianced ECM tuner.

Well, yes and no... Torrie may have done a decent amount of LS's but the tuning principle's as well as electronic systems (aka TBW and so on) are still the same from vehicle to vehicle. The way I tune my customers A/F's in their Explorer's is the same exact way that I do it for my customers LS's. It sometimes is more beneficial to have a tuner that is more familiar with a particular platform, but nowhere near as necessary as most people think. Not many tuners specialize in LS's and I am confident that allot could whip up a tune that would give the LS a very good boost in power.

What I meant in my previous post is that all of us tuners keep our tuning methods a little on the hush because we do not prefer to have all others out there knowing exactly how we tune and stealing ideas. Trust me, with the basic tunes Torrie is making for these relatively stock LS's there is not much to the them I can assure you that. A value file here, a tweak to the borderline spark table, mess with the shift firmer table a little bit as well as target slip times and so on, then fiddle with the rpm based shifts table, play with torque reduction and TBW a bit, maybe eliminate the speed limiter at the customers request and that is more or less it. It is not something that an average Joe off the street can do, but it is something that any SCT tuner worth his salt will be able to do with ease.

Bottom line is that for those of you seeking a local person to tune your LS, Torrie is not the only tuner out there. I am not the only tuner out there either. I suggest going with a tuner local to you, assuming they are a decent one, so that if you somehow do run into complications or customer service problems then all you have to do is drive to their shop and get things taken care of. Talk to some of their previous customers to see how happy they were with the tunes. That will usually be a good gauge on how savvy a local SCT tuner is.