Marauderer
12-01-2003, 10:30 AM
I wanted to tell everyone about the results of my experience with the SCT Pro Racer Software that just came out, my experience with Jerry W. and SCT itself, and the awesome power and flexibility of the Trilogy kit!!!!!!
However, I first wanted to comment on the art of tuning itself. There are of course “different ways” to tune a car and “different circumstances” for which you tune a car, thus the reason for the existence of flip chips and flashers for those that want the ability to tweak their car according to the situation at hand. With that in mind, I have been looking at the tune that came with my Trilogy kit with an OBD-II and Wideband O2 to see how it performed in various circumstances. I have to say, it is an “excellent” all-around tune. It has nice shifts and a quick kick-down without being too aggressive or unwieldy. It also does a pretty good job on the highway as far as gas mileage goes and gives me a wonderful balance between power, drivability, with a great focus on “longevity” so that my motor will last as long as my car. Also, for those of you that own or are considering a Trilogy kit, you have the option of getting with Lidio of Alternative Automotive and making customizations to your chip to better suit your taste at any time.
I however, wanted to play around with the tune myself to not only learn the “art” but to be able to change “little” things as they popped up with a minimal amount of fuss. Thus, I went out and bought the SCT Pro Racer Package (from http://www.superchipscustom.com ) to see what it and I could do.
Well, I received the software and played around with it for just a few days before my S/C kit came in on my stock car. It was really cool to be able to modify things at will, re-burn the chip, and pop it back in within a 5 – 10 minute span. Then I got busy strapping on the S/C kit and decided I would reconvene with the SCT package in a month or so after I had made sure that my stock blower package was working to perfection.
Needless to say, things didn’t go according to the plan :). First, the Trilogy install went so flawlessly and was running so good out of the box that I felt more than safe. Second, I had emailed Jerry about getting a “tune” for my blower setup to play around with later and to my surprise he sent it to me via email immediately! Well, I had a down day before I left for vacation and decided to play around with it to see what I could do as far as an “all out race” tune with really aggressive shifts etc. I ran into a couple of problems with the A/F, mostly because of the funky MAF that we have. Jerry worked with me and sent me 2 or 3 files to try and we ended up getting it really close before I had to call it quits. Now I have to mention here that Jerry could have probably nailed it earlier if it wasn’t for the sparse info I was sending him from my data-logger. The major problem with most of these is their limited frame capture time when trying to pull multiple values simultaneously. Now that is where the upcoming SCT data logger is going to make your head spin, it looks to be a masterpiece!
Jerry then emailed me while I was on the road with something that we were talking about and I responded that I would take a look when I get back as I was on my way to Ohio. He replied and asked “where in Ohio” as he was in Detroit. It ended up that he was only 4 hours away from Cincinnati. Well, the next thing I know he has offered to meet me at a Dyno shop on Saturday (after Thanksgiving no less) for a full dyno tune using my software and to show me a few pointers at the same time! Talk about service! He ended up driving 30 – 45 minutes to meet me on a Saturday, then spent 4 hours getting it perfect (counting BS time as well :))!!! I just can’t say enough about SCT, Jerry, and their commitment to getting the job done! He is a really good guy and was willing to bend over backwards to support his customer and product.
Well…… The end results of my dyno tune were 434 RWHP and 399.1 RWTQ!!!!!!! (SAE no less, Standard was 444 RWHP). And I still feel there was just a tidbit left as this was after 6-8 dyno pulls and what I considered “not enough” cool down time for the final run, as the engine was still fairly warm, but we had spent enough time at that point that I did not feel right holding Jerry up any longer. It is also a tune with our freaky MAF that hits a voltage plateau before it pegs and levels off in a very weird way even though more air continues to flow. Essentially, when this happens you have to ask for a richer and richer mixture versus modifying your MAF Transfer Function table the way you should. That thing is going to come off very soon and get replaced with a lightning MAF, but pronto.
And that is only part of the good news.. You talk about packing a whallop! These damn Eaton blowers produce the flattest curves I have ever seen. At only 2,500 RPM this baby is producing 360 TQ and 180 HP, no wonder this thing launches like a rocket!!! You should have seen the guys at Dave’s Dyno, they were doing double takes! This just goes to show you what this package can do!
I was absolutely amazed! The way I look at it, I have a great “all around” tune that came with the kit. Actually, as good as you can possibly get without actual dyno time and Lidio’s or any other tuner’s personal attention. It will keep me safe, it will provide excellent drivability, and it will still afford me a very high level of “on demand” performance.
I also now have my own tuning software that will let me make changes over time as my mods change. It provides me with my “race” tune; with aggressive shifts that also has the added benefit of dyno time and the brain trust that is SuperChips Custom Tuning!
All I can say is thanks to Jerry Barnes for producing the “ultimate upgrade”, thanks to Lidio for a great tune that worked out of the box, thanks to the guys at Dave’s Dyno for facilitating a last minute Dyno Session, and thanks to SCT and to Jerry W. himself for the personal attention and outstanding customer service he shows for his product! All of these guys are top notch in my book.
However, I first wanted to comment on the art of tuning itself. There are of course “different ways” to tune a car and “different circumstances” for which you tune a car, thus the reason for the existence of flip chips and flashers for those that want the ability to tweak their car according to the situation at hand. With that in mind, I have been looking at the tune that came with my Trilogy kit with an OBD-II and Wideband O2 to see how it performed in various circumstances. I have to say, it is an “excellent” all-around tune. It has nice shifts and a quick kick-down without being too aggressive or unwieldy. It also does a pretty good job on the highway as far as gas mileage goes and gives me a wonderful balance between power, drivability, with a great focus on “longevity” so that my motor will last as long as my car. Also, for those of you that own or are considering a Trilogy kit, you have the option of getting with Lidio of Alternative Automotive and making customizations to your chip to better suit your taste at any time.
I however, wanted to play around with the tune myself to not only learn the “art” but to be able to change “little” things as they popped up with a minimal amount of fuss. Thus, I went out and bought the SCT Pro Racer Package (from http://www.superchipscustom.com ) to see what it and I could do.
Well, I received the software and played around with it for just a few days before my S/C kit came in on my stock car. It was really cool to be able to modify things at will, re-burn the chip, and pop it back in within a 5 – 10 minute span. Then I got busy strapping on the S/C kit and decided I would reconvene with the SCT package in a month or so after I had made sure that my stock blower package was working to perfection.
Needless to say, things didn’t go according to the plan :). First, the Trilogy install went so flawlessly and was running so good out of the box that I felt more than safe. Second, I had emailed Jerry about getting a “tune” for my blower setup to play around with later and to my surprise he sent it to me via email immediately! Well, I had a down day before I left for vacation and decided to play around with it to see what I could do as far as an “all out race” tune with really aggressive shifts etc. I ran into a couple of problems with the A/F, mostly because of the funky MAF that we have. Jerry worked with me and sent me 2 or 3 files to try and we ended up getting it really close before I had to call it quits. Now I have to mention here that Jerry could have probably nailed it earlier if it wasn’t for the sparse info I was sending him from my data-logger. The major problem with most of these is their limited frame capture time when trying to pull multiple values simultaneously. Now that is where the upcoming SCT data logger is going to make your head spin, it looks to be a masterpiece!
Jerry then emailed me while I was on the road with something that we were talking about and I responded that I would take a look when I get back as I was on my way to Ohio. He replied and asked “where in Ohio” as he was in Detroit. It ended up that he was only 4 hours away from Cincinnati. Well, the next thing I know he has offered to meet me at a Dyno shop on Saturday (after Thanksgiving no less) for a full dyno tune using my software and to show me a few pointers at the same time! Talk about service! He ended up driving 30 – 45 minutes to meet me on a Saturday, then spent 4 hours getting it perfect (counting BS time as well :))!!! I just can’t say enough about SCT, Jerry, and their commitment to getting the job done! He is a really good guy and was willing to bend over backwards to support his customer and product.
Well…… The end results of my dyno tune were 434 RWHP and 399.1 RWTQ!!!!!!! (SAE no less, Standard was 444 RWHP). And I still feel there was just a tidbit left as this was after 6-8 dyno pulls and what I considered “not enough” cool down time for the final run, as the engine was still fairly warm, but we had spent enough time at that point that I did not feel right holding Jerry up any longer. It is also a tune with our freaky MAF that hits a voltage plateau before it pegs and levels off in a very weird way even though more air continues to flow. Essentially, when this happens you have to ask for a richer and richer mixture versus modifying your MAF Transfer Function table the way you should. That thing is going to come off very soon and get replaced with a lightning MAF, but pronto.
And that is only part of the good news.. You talk about packing a whallop! These damn Eaton blowers produce the flattest curves I have ever seen. At only 2,500 RPM this baby is producing 360 TQ and 180 HP, no wonder this thing launches like a rocket!!! You should have seen the guys at Dave’s Dyno, they were doing double takes! This just goes to show you what this package can do!
I was absolutely amazed! The way I look at it, I have a great “all around” tune that came with the kit. Actually, as good as you can possibly get without actual dyno time and Lidio’s or any other tuner’s personal attention. It will keep me safe, it will provide excellent drivability, and it will still afford me a very high level of “on demand” performance.
I also now have my own tuning software that will let me make changes over time as my mods change. It provides me with my “race” tune; with aggressive shifts that also has the added benefit of dyno time and the brain trust that is SuperChips Custom Tuning!
All I can say is thanks to Jerry Barnes for producing the “ultimate upgrade”, thanks to Lidio for a great tune that worked out of the box, thanks to the guys at Dave’s Dyno for facilitating a last minute Dyno Session, and thanks to SCT and to Jerry W. himself for the personal attention and outstanding customer service he shows for his product! All of these guys are top notch in my book.