Xcal question

[97stscaddy]

I know there are tons of threads on the Xcal blah blah search blah.

(Most) Everyone says they get fairly substantial power gains from the Xcal2 flash. But where is the power most noticeable?

Of the more powerful cars Ive driven they've all had some serious torque on the bottom end. My old car, the STS, Northstar engine = torque like woah. The Chevy Corsica I had before that with the 2.8 V6 had plenty on the bottom end (would burn rubber off the line all day). So the LS just seems to be lacking in the Low RPM power department. I figured I would get used to it, but after 9 months I'm still jonesin' for some put me in the seat off the line punch.

Would there be a way to fix that with the Xcal?

 

[thethirdeye88]

corsica had more go than the LS?...really...im not going to drive a corsica unless i have to, but i'll take your word on it...i'm waiting to get an Xcal...i want one...

 

[MMAFIGHTER121]

ok... lets not kid ourselves. i had an 88 camaro with the 2.8 v6 mpfi. and if you were getting more pull out of the 2.8 corsica then you are in your ls... i would recommend going by the shop and seeing what is wrong with your LS. the version that was in the corsica puts out 125hp stock. the 88 camaros was 135 stock and was frequently a source of embarassment for me come green light.
and before the lightness of the corsica comes into play math it up:
corsica: 2706 lbs/125 hp = 21.648 lbs/hp
LS: v6: 3593lbs/210 hp = 17.109 lb/hp
v8: 3593lbs/252 hp = 14.257 lbs/hp

 

[97stscaddy]

thanks for nothing

 

[thethirdeye88]

welcome...the Xcal is an excellent tool...im gonna get one eventually...i just have other stuff in the way first...i'm thinking about bottle too...i dont know why....

 

[Quik LS]

I don't have the before and after dyno sheets anymore... I can't find them.

I believe the pickup was at across the entire run but most noticable at 3700 - 5200 rpm.

 

[thethirdeye88]

i want one of those...there is so much i need for the damn car...

 

[NYC LS8]

Yes. Aggressive timing tune from Torrie should make it feel better down low.

 

[ILLS]

Yes. Aggressive timing tune from Torrie should make it feel better down low.

The bad thing is that the "aggressive" tune that Torrie sends to his customers usually causes their engines to ping. I have been told this by multiple sources. Some ping a little some ping allot. Not a good thing.

What some people need to understand is that there is a balance between power and safety with these engines; and transmissions for that matter. Tuner's that just think of maximum power while throwing timing to the engine are not keeping the customer's best interests in mind. The same goes for throwing the shift pressure to these 5R55 transmissions. While it may be "cool" to make the tires bark second and third gear it is not exactly the best way to do it with these transmissions on stock form. After all, an engine will not make much power if it has damage done to it from detonation. A car won't make it down the strip if its transmission is screwed up. Just something to think about when those of you pick a custom tuner next time.

 

[gcwimmer]

The bad thing is that the "aggressive" tune that Torrie sends to his customers usually causes their engines to ping. I have been told this by multiple sources. Some ping a little some ping allot. Not a good thing.

What some people need to understand is that there is a balance between power and safety with these engines; and transmissions for that matter. Tuner's that just think of maximum power while throwing timing to the engine are not keeping the customer's best interests in mind. The same goes for throwing the shift pressure to these 5R55 transmissions. While it may be "cool" to make the tires bark second and third gear it is not exactly the best way to do it with these transmissions on stock form. After all, an engine will not make much power if it has damage done to it from detonation. A car won't make it down the strip if its transmission is screwed up. Just something to think about when those of you pick a custom tuner next time.

Good point, full race tuning is not always the best; this is why after the sale customer service is important as with yourself and Torrie.

The owner needs to convey their needs. I don’t like full performance for my daily driving, too harsh, I did have Torrie dial back some parameters. I have a lot of in city stop and go. I live in an area that has two variables that are important; hard to find 93 octane fuel and high altitude. I do like improved performance, more responsive throttle and shift points. Knowing one’s own preference and variables helps in the tuning.

IMHO

 

[NYC LS8]

The bad thing is that the "aggressive" tune that Torrie sends to his customers usually causes their engines to ping. I have been told this by multiple sources. Some ping a little some ping allot. Not a good thing.

What some people need to understand is that there is a balance between power and safety with these engines; and transmissions for that matter. Tuner's that just think of maximum power while throwing timing to the engine are not keeping the customer's best interests in mind. The same goes for throwing the shift pressure to these 5R55 transmissions. While it may be "cool" to make the tires bark second and third gear it is not exactly the best way to do it with these transmissions on stock form. After all, an engine will not make much power if it has damage done to it from detonation. A car won't make it down the strip if its transmission is screwed up. Just something to think about when those of you pick a custom tuner next time.

True. And when it pings, you get out of the throttle and call up/email your tuner if it's Torrie and tell him to modify the files. Pretty simple.

 

[97stscaddy]

Well what I'm wondering more is if anyone has used the Xcal to get more power primarily from the bottom end. Above 3000 rpm these engines have plenty of go, but I'm looking for improvement below 3000.

 

[02LSE96LSC91SE84TC]

Well what I'm wondering more is if anyone has used the Xcal to get more power primarily from the bottom end. Above 3000 rpm these engines have plenty of go, but I'm looking for improvement below 3000.

Some power is likely given down there, just hard to tell as the power improvement gain is higher in the higher rpms. My latest tune caved my seat bolster in on slamming the gas, never did that before....had to pump it up more. Don't really count that as a real specific way to gauge hp gain but it was cool none the less.

 

[97stscaddy]

My latest tune caved my seat bolster in on slamming the gas, never did that before..

Sounds like bragging rights to me.

 

[ILLS]

True. And when it pings, you get out of the throttle and call up/email your tuner if it's Torrie and tell him to modify the files. Pretty simple.

A cookie cutter tune should be fully tested more before being sent to the masses to ensure both maximum power while still retaining safety. It should not be up to the customers to have to deal with and explore this with a tune of that nature. Now if it were a full custom tune for a unique project then I could see some special circumstances happening, but not for this.

 

[ILLS]

Well what I'm wondering more is if anyone has used the Xcal to get more power primarily from the bottom end. Above 3000 rpm these engines have plenty of go, but I'm looking for improvement below 3000.

There is no tune for the LS that will give it great torque down low. These engines just aren't designed to be able to do that while N/A. These engines like to rev, but are gutless from the launch. About the only thing that is going to make a marked improvement for your off the line acceleration will be swapping to different rear gears.

 

[camthman]

cant wait for my tune ILLS!!! Its gonna be a LONG wait till tuesday....

 

[Quik LS]

A cookie cutter tune should be fully tested more before being sent to the masses to ensure both maximum power while still retaining safety. It should not be up to the customers to have to deal with and explore this with a tune of that nature. Now if it were a full custom tune for a unique project then I could see some special circumstances happening, but not for this.

Robert - you seems to be trying to make a point about Torrie here - no?

What I know, Torrie has done 100s of LSes, had them on his dyno, and created many tunes for us. And I think you have seen the many posts where he offers great, fast customer service - if something - for whatever reason - isn't right - he fixes it. Lessening the tune so no-one ever pings - and everyone gets less performance - doesn't seem to make sense. He gives you his best educated tune, and then adjusts it until you are happy - unless you can get into his shop and tune it on the dyno.

I have seen posts where you have also worked with customers after purchasing the XCal form you, and they all seem happy as well.

Not sure why you feel it necessary to claim the tune should work perfectly for all customer via e-mail all the time.... ? We all have different mods, different engine health, running different gas, different climates, different PCM codes, ... (but you know all this).

 

[ILLS]

Robert - you seems to be trying to make a point about Torrie here - no?

What I know, Torrie has done 100s of LSes, had them on his dyno, and created many tunes for us. And I think you have seen the many posts where he offers great, fast customer service - if something - for whatever reason - isn't right - he fixes it. Lessening the tune so no-one ever pings - and everyone gets less performance - doesn't seem to make sense. He gives you his best educated tune, and then adjusts it until you are happy - unless you can get into his shop and tune it on the dyno.

I have seen posts where you have also worked with customers after purchasing the XCal form you, and they all seem happy as well.

Not sure why you feel it necessary to claim the tune should work perfectly for all customer via e-mail all the time.... ? We all have different mods, different engine health, running different gas, different climates, different PCM codes, ... (but you know all this).

No Quik I am not trying to make a point about Torrie at all. This is in specific regard to the tune most of you refer to as the "aggressive" tune. My point deals with quality control when offering a tune for the masses. I understand that there are many people that are happy with Torrie's tunes and that is fine. I am sure he is a good or even great tuner. Still the fact remains that the "aggressive" tune that he sends out to people seems to make most cars ping like crazy which is just not a good thing. Also lets face it, being that there are not many mods for the LS the tuning is relatively similar from one to the next which means that standardizing a powerful and safe tune and then applying self tested/made value files for specific mods after that is not a real big problem. Yes you will have variables due to environment, fuel octane available but that is why you customize the tune before it goes out, not after a person calls back in with problems. When offering tuning via the internet there needs to be a little more safety built into the tunes because the vehicle is not tuned in person and likely never seen by the tuner. When a vehicle is tuned in person then you can get more aggressive because if it does ping then it will be taken care of after only one time and not repeated use. There are some pretty appreciable differences between the approach used when sending tunes out to the masses via the internet and actually tuning a vehicle in person.

Quik, I believe you took my post a little more negatively than I meant it. My intent was in bringing to light that we custom tuners need to practice the utmost in quality control, especially when sending tunes out to the masses. If we see allot of cars having issues on a tune we are sending out then that is probably a sign that something needs to be modified before sending it out. Now if it is the occasional issue then that is a different story altogether because it doesn't really develop a pattern at that point. I understand that you and some of the other members in here will get defensive about this because it is his tuning in your cars. You have a certain level of loyalty to Torrie and what he offers and that is fine. I am not here to stomp on that. I just wanted to touch on a QC issue that had been brought to my attention on more than one occasion.

 

[camthman]

.... what he said .... :shifty:

No Quik I am not trying to make a point about Torrie at all. This is in specific regard to the tune most of you refer to as the "aggressive" tune. My point deals with quality control when offering a tune for the masses. I understand that there are many people that are happy with Torrie's tunes and that is fine. I am sure he is a good or even great tuner. Still the fact remains that the "aggressive" tune that he sends out to people seems to make most cars ping like crazy which is just not a good thing. Also lets face it, being that there are not many mods for the LS the tuning is relatively similar from one to the next which means that standardizing a powerful and safe tune and then applying self tested/made value files for specific mods after that is not a real big problem. Yes you will have variables due to environment, fuel octane available but that is why you customize the tune before it goes out, not after a person calls back in with problems. When offering tuning via the internet there needs to be a little more safety built into the tunes because the vehicle is not tuned in person and likely never seen by the tuner. When a vehicle is tuned in person then you can get more aggressive because if it does ping then it will be taken care of after only one time and not repeated use. There are some pretty appreciable differences between the approach used when sending tunes out to the masses via the internet and actually tuning a vehicle in person.

Quik, I believe you took my post a little more negatively than I meant it. My intent was in bringing to light that we custom tuners need to practice the utmost in quality control, especially when sending tunes out to the masses. If we see allot of cars having issues on a tune we are sending out then that is probably a sign that something needs to be modified before sending it out. Now if it is the occasional issue then that is a different story altogether because it doesn't really develop a pattern at that point. I understand that you and some of the other members in here will get defensive about this because it is his tuning in your cars. You have a certain level of loyalty to Torrie and what he offers and that is fine. I am not here to stomp on that. I just wanted to touch on a QC issue that had been brought to my attention on more than one occasion.

 

[Quik LS]

Robert - I always enjoy your long explainations..... your statement about 'a lot of cars' is only meaningful if you understand how many tunes, how many LSes and how many issues....

I'll leave it at - It's easy to comment on some other vendor when they are not here....