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View Full Version : New Xcalibrator on the way.



jjaguda
02-21-2005, 08:52 PM
I just wanted to post my experience with Lidio and Alternative Auto.

Like a prior post I called to get some info on an Xcalibrator. Actually I already ordered it last week, but I also wanted some more info. The gentleman I spoke with answered some of my questions and then put me on the phone with Lidio to answer my final questions. I ended up talking to Lidio for about 15-20 minutes about my Marauder tunes and the possibility that my MACH1 had a tune installed before it was traded to the dealer I bought it from.

My point: Lidio took time to discuss my car with me in a professional and informative manner. Additionally, he spent the time talking with me knowing that he had already made the sale last week. This IS customer service. When I set up the MACH, I will go back to Alternative Auto.

FiveO
02-21-2005, 10:40 PM
Heading out to Lidio this late Thursday evening for a Friday appointment.

Trailering my Marauder the whole way, 11-12 hours.

Noone else will touch this tuning on my car.

Good choice!

bigslim
02-21-2005, 10:53 PM
Lidio has always been professional with me. He runs his shop with class. I will always do business with his shop. :D

Nathan
02-22-2005, 02:38 PM
Yeah.. Lidio rocks! :)

jjaguda
02-25-2005, 07:44 PM
Received the Xcalibrator at work today. Walked to the garage, plugged it in, done. Took about 3 minuted to download the factory tune and upload Lidio's tune. The car seemed much more responsive on the way home in traffic. Since I was in stop and go traffic, I did not get to go WOT too much. The one chance I got, the shift was much firmer. Can't wait for tomorrow.

jjaguda
02-26-2005, 04:26 PM
Got to drive a little bit today with the Lidio Xcalibrator tune. Big change in drivability. Car rides just as described on Alternative's web site. I was not, at first, comfortable with the change in shift points under normal throttle, or the un-locked converter. But having had the chance to DRIVE the car today, I can say that Lidio did a great job re-setting the trans. There is also a noticible increase in grunt at full throttle. :) Shift firmness. forgetaboutit! Night and day to the stock tune!

Anyone looking for a little more punch without getting into bolt-ons, this is the way to go.

Mard
02-26-2005, 10:30 PM
Thanks for the follow-up jjaguda. It's good to hear you are happy with this simple mod. This is the next item I'd like to purchase, but will order underdrive pulleys at the same time.

1 BAD 03 MM
03-02-2005, 06:44 PM
I got my Xcalibrator from Lidio last week too. The difference is night and day. I have three tunes on mine. 3.55', 4.30's, and 4.56's (which is the route I'm going.) I have already downloaded the Xtreme software now I just need to get the cable.

I waited for a long time, and glad I did. :banana2:

jjaguda
03-02-2005, 09:28 PM
O.K. Guess I'm not yet clear on this.:help: With the cable, we can download the software to a laptop and tweak the tune? Is anything else needed?

DTR04
03-02-2005, 09:47 PM
O.K. Guess I'm not yet clear on this.:help: With the cable, we can download the software to a laptop and tweak the tune? Is anything else needed?The cable allows you to program the Xcalibrator. Once the program is in the Xcalibrator you cannot make any adjustments to it. You need Lidio or Dennis to Email the tunes to you. Once you have them on your computer you use the Extreme software to open the tune, make adjustments, save the file with a different name (to preserve the original tune) and upload them to the Xcalibrator. It will overwrite the tune in the Xcalibrator. As someone else said, the Extreme program is not real user friendly. There is no help file. Hopefully, SCT will work on that.

Lidio
03-03-2005, 07:01 AM
Hey guys


The SCT extreme software gives you the ability to make some small adjustments to an existing file or program if the person who developed the tune/file is willing to e-mail the file to you for personal editing.
Alternative Auto and Myself do no support this service at this time if you purchase an Xcalibrator from us for your Ford or Mercury product.

Theirs a couple of reason for this….

The first and primary reason is quite simple, and I’ve not been to out spoken about it. It’s simply for security and protection of what I’ve worked hard for and invested in.

If I e-mail an SCT file to some one for Extreme software use. Any one with that matching computer/vehicle can take that file and then install it into an Xcalibrator that he may have purchased from a competitor or simply some one else.
Our tunes, especially on Automatic trans equipped Fords are very well thought out and work very well.
Our customers seem to be very happy with my methods and philosophy’s of tuning, and what I feel are a good blend of noticeable performance with very little to no compromise to the cars ability to be driving daily and normally. I know like any one else with computer knowledge that sooner or later people will figure out a way to take and pass around one of my files, but in the mean time I’m not gona mail them out and make easy on them.

The second reason is simply that (As cocky as this may sound) is that as long as our tune is installed in a vehicle that has only minor bolt ons and possibly a gear change in the axle…. It works very good.
I fix most of the trans shifting and lock-up complaints that most people complain about and I nail things that some people don’t even know about or understand but the car simply feels better to them once one of our tunes is installed.

To be honest theirs very little I feel that a customer needs to manipulate once I get done with one of our tunes on a mild, naturally aspirated Ford product. Yes we all have our opinings but I’ve done a lot of home work with my tunes and I do drive the cars that I establish tunes on extensively. Most of the time the only thing I need to adjust after the sale is possibly for octane. Except for supercharged applications, my tunes have very little WOT performance left to be found. I get as aggressive as I can on premium fuels, if that’s the case and giving the end user the ability to play with a couple of degrees of ignition timing only leads to negligible gains, or spark knock most of the time.

If a customer wants a tweak on his tune that we sold him… we’re very easy to work with and we do minor changes for free on our tune sales except for shipping costs. Plus if asked we don install more then one tune on our Xcals for things like future gear changes or good and bad fuels.



Thanks

jjaguda
03-03-2005, 08:51 AM
Point well taken, Lidio. I'll leave well enough alone. The tune you provided really kicks a$$ over factory. I just like to tinker.

Again, while I have just entered the world of computer tuning (the last tune I did was on a '66 Ford Fairlane, 289, 3 on the tree), and I have not experienced other vendor's tunes, I can say, again, that Lidio's tune makes the old MM feel like a different car.

Lidio:
As I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago, I also have an '04 Mach 1 that I will be setting up. I beleive you mentioned that you have a tune for my car with the simple mods - listed below.

My concern (since I started the thread, I 'll go ahead and hijack it and hopefully you will see it), is that the car seems to already have a tune installed. My reason for beleiveing this is that the trans shifts at about 6200 to 6300 RPMs at WOT. Shifts are VERY firm. WOT - 1st to 2nd gear - with the T/C off - factory Goodyear 245/45-17s - 60 degrees ambient temp - will break the rear free enough so that the rear wheels will pass the front wheels if I'm not paying full atention. Scared the poop out of me the first time it happened as I had just stepped up from an '02 Mustang.

While I'm not sure how timing, modulation, etc., is set up, I would like to keep whatever tune that is in there. I also would like to get ahold of a factory tune for safe keeping. I may be wrong about the added tune, but according to the Mach1Registry, I should not be shifting so high with a factory tune.

Lidio
03-03-2005, 07:52 PM
Point well taken, Lidio. I'll leave well enough alone. The tune you provided really kicks a$$ over factory. I just like to tinker.

Again, while I have just entered the world of computer tuning (the last tune I did was on a '66 Ford Fairlane, 289, 3 on the tree), and I have not experienced other vendor's tunes, I can say, again, that Lidio's tune makes the old MM feel like a different car.

Lidio:
As I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago, I also have an '04 Mach 1 that I will be setting up. I beleive you mentioned that you have a tune for my car with the simple mods - listed below.

My concern (since I started the thread, I 'll go ahead and hijack it and hopefully you will see it), is that the car seems to already have a tune installed. My reason for beleiveing this is that the trans shifts at about 6200 to 6300 RPMs at WOT. Shifts are VERY firm. WOT - 1st to 2nd gear - with the T/C off - factory Goodyear 245/45-17s - 60 degrees ambient temp - will break the rear free enough so that the rear wheels will pass the front wheels if I'm not paying full atention. Scared the poop out of me the first time it happened as I had just stepped up from an '02 Mustang.

While I'm not sure how timing, modulation, etc., is set up, I would like to keep whatever tune that is in there. I also would like to get ahold of a factory tune for safe keeping. I may be wrong about the added tune, but according to the Mach1Registry, I should not be shifting so high with a factory tune.If the Mach-1 already has some sort of “tune/flash” already installed as you suspect… There may not be much I can do to make it any better, other then what I like to do with lock-up and a couple of other things other tuners aren’t into. All I can do is supply an XCal with my version of a Mach-1 Automatic tune and also fill one XCal’s slot with a totally sock tune as you requested.

One thing you need to watch out for is that it didn’t get a chip rather then a flash. If there’s a chip installed and you go to flash it with an XCal, you will cause some problems that could damage the computer.


Thanks