SUPERCHIP or TUNER?? which SUPERCHARGER? advice please!

[marauder21]

So I pretty much have to questions hopefully somebody can clarify this and point me in the right direction please:)
Question 1: what is the difference between a superchip or a tuner? Is there a difference? What's the best one to install or what??
and Question 2: I'm kinda starting to look for a supercharger...doesn't mean I'm going to get one I just wanna know how much it'll cost, what brand, and well basically where to start looking for a supercharger I guess You know?
Thanks:)

[guspech750]

Well the cheapest route for a supercharger would be the Eaton swap. Basically using a few items from the 03-04 Cobra, some custom bracket to relocate the alternator, hoses, odds and ends and related parts some fabrication to your coolant crossover tube and a dyno tune. My total was about $4,000+ for everything. I bought mostly new stuff. It can be done cheaper if you are patient enough to look for dirt cheap deals on used parts.


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There is quite a bit of work. But the whole experience of finding/buying parts, building and learning is sooooooo much fun.

If you come out to some of our Chitown meets. You can see my Eaton swap. A few members have the Trilogy supercharger kit that was made specifically for our cars(no longer made now). And Some have the centrifugal superchargers. So come on out and meet the gang!!
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- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap + 4.10's = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[jstevens]

A superchip and tuner are the same basically. Just go to alternativeauto.com. Great site with lots of info.

Whether you go centrifagul or roots, a s/c'r is going to be 4-7K

[SC Cheesehead]

A superchip and tuner are the same basically. Just go to alternativeauto.com. Great site with lots of info.

Whether you go centrifagul or roots, a s/c'r is going to be 4-7K

^^^^^ What they said. ^^^^

It's also important to clarify on your long term goals. Is the car going be run primarily on the street or drag strip?

What are you looking at for HP output?

Do you plan on staying with a stock block or are you going to build a motor to go along with your supercharger?

Then like guspech said, start hanging with some guys, drive a few different types of SC cars and see which suits you best.

[MrBluGruv]

To clarify: There is a company called Superchips Tuning that makes a hand-held engine computer re-programming device called the xCalibrator. You will commonly see this referred to on here as the SCT XCal3.

So, "superchips" and "tuner" are not THE SAME thing, but Superchips MAKES a tuning device. So does diablosport, but not nearly as many MM owners use that tool compared to the XCal3 from what I've seen in the past.

[whitey]

go with an xcal2 or xcal3, both made by sct. not saying other brands are not worth it, but a lot of people have an sct xcal2 or 3 than have a jet chip, etc, and will be more helpful if you need help with the device. also you may want to think about how easy it is to remove the tune when you want....with an sct xcal2 or 3 it takes about 2 minutes to return your car to the stock tune or upload a performance tune. i reccommend posting in the "wanted" section for one....i bought a used one for $150, then uploaded a tune for it --whitey

[marauder21]

well, SC cheesehead to this day i havent at all been interested on putting my car on the strip if anything a little friendly competition wouldnt be bad so in other words i guess my would be more of in the street type thing you know. i mean all id like is to have a little "extra" kick and power and im in no hurry of getting a supercharger.

therefore do you guys think it be best if for now just go with the tuner and chip side? like i would like to know a bit more of how that works, best performing brand, and well, the best place to buy it and get a great deal.

[SC Cheesehead]

well, SC cheesehead to this day i havent at all been interested on putting my car on the strip if anything a little friendly competition wouldnt be bad so in other words i guess my would be more of in the street type thing you know. i mean all id like is to have a little "extra" kick and power and im in no hurry of getting a supercharger.

therefore do you guys think it be best if for now just go with the tuner and chip side? like i would like to know a bit more of how that works, best performing brand, and well, the best place to buy it and get a great deal.

That's a question only you can answer.

If you go the supercharger route, plan on spending between $4,000 and $8,000; but in return, you're looking at 150 - 250 additional HP.

Staying NA and going with a tune will definitely improve performance; depending on what you do you'll pick up between 30 and 50 hp for around $400 to $1,000.

If you're just starting with mods, here's my suggestion:

xCal3 tuner from SCT with a Lidio tune (Alternative Automotive, a vendor here on site)
4.10 gears
U/D pulleys
CAI from JLT or K&N

From there, you can start looking at headers and other exhaust mods, but that'll push your budget up another $1,000 to $1,500.

From there, start saving for a NOS kit or a blower.

[guspech750]

Before I sc my car. I had installed 4.10 gears, underdrive pullies, Zack tune and a JLT intake. And it's a whole different animal for sure. I loved it like that. But I wanted more!!:D

Start off with an Xcal3 handheld from Lidio a vendor here with a couple of his tunes first. That alone will make a BIG difference!! The best $400 you'll spend for your car even if you don't add any more go fast goodies.


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- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap + 4.10's = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[wickedmerc]

Start off with an Xcal3 handheld from Lidio a vendor here with a couple of his tunes first. That alone will make a BIG difference!! The best $400 you'll spend for your car even if you don't add any more go fast goodies.

+1 If you currently have a bone stock MM, there are other, cheaper ways to get that "extra kick" to make street driving way more fun. Supercharging, usually viewed as the ultimate mod and the dream of many on this site, can be very expensive and it really is a whole other story.

Installing a "chip" is very "old school" and pretty 1-dimentional. Tuners, like the SCT units, make it possible to do SO much more like: adding pre-installed, custom tunes for your car from people who know, switch from a performance tune to stock settings in seconds, data logging, checking engine codes if you get a light on your dash, etc.... From personal experience, a tuner is THE way to go. You won't believe you're in the same car! And, the beauty is, if you forget how different driving a stock MM is from a "tuned" MM, you can change it back quickly to remind yourself how much it sucked! ;)
Also, get an intake from K&N or JLT...a few more horses. Switch to 4.10's in the rear. Do the trans J-Mod (do a search for more info).

[marauder21]

Thanks guys..yeah I've been thinking about it and I think my next purchase would be the tuner or the 4.10 gears I went on the website alternativeauto.com but found all these great mods but no price. So how much did you guys spent for the 4.10 gears? And as for the tuner so xcal would be the perfect choice now where it be a right place to buy it? Here at a link in mm.net or eBay perhaps? Thanks this everyone this really helps a lot..and BTW I've already order the JLT intake so it should be here any day now:D

[marauder21]

Oh and another thing, when and if I get the tuner and its ready for use, like you said how you can switch the settings back to stock, is that as easy as a touch of a button? Or does it take awhile to switch back or What? I'm not that all great in technology involving automobiles especially tuners haha


+1 If you currently have a bone stock MM, there are other, cheaper ways to get that "extra kick" to make street driving way more fun. Supercharging, usually viewed as the ultimate mod and the dream of many on this site, can be very expensive and it really is a whole other story.

Installing a "chip" is very "old school" and pretty 1-dimentional. Tuners, like the SCT units, make it possible to do SO much more like: adding pre-installed, custom tunes for your car from people who know, switch from a performance tune to stock settings in seconds, data logging, checking engine codes if you get a light on your dash, etc.... From personal experience, a tuner is THE way to go. You won't believe you're in the same car! And, the beauty is, if you forget how different driving a stock MM is from a "tuned" MM, you can change it back quickly to remind yourself how much it sucked! ;)
Also, get an intake from K&N or JLT...a few more horses. Switch to 4.10's in the rear. Do the trans J-Mod (do a search for more info).

[whitey]

with an sct xcal2 or 3 it takes about 2 minutes to return your car to the stock tune or upload a performance tune.
what he said^^^^;)--whitey

[guspech750]

I think 4.10's run about $150. And I spent $300 for the install at a very well known shop in St Charles. The shop is called Deans Performance. Hans is the man. One man show at his shop. Quality of work is top notch. Always packed withe Stangs and Vettes. Very very well known in the Mustang community and has installed lots of gears. Some Of our MM's too.

Plus you'll need to buy an instal kit for the gears ($40-$100) depending on which kit you get. Fluid for the rear differential.

Plus you'll need that hand held SCT Tuner for a new tune for the gears. $400


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- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap + 4.10's = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[guspech750]

Oh and another thing, when and if I get the tuner and its ready for use, like you said how you can switch the settings back to stock, is that as easy as a touch of a button? Or does it take awhile to switch back or What? I'm not that all great in technology involving automobiles especially tuners haha

http://img.tapatalk.com/638e1c52-9c2d-996f.jpg



---
- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap + 4.10's = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[SC Cheesehead]

Thanks guys..yeah I've been thinking about it and I think my next purchase would be the tuner or the 4.10 gears I went on the website alternativeauto.com but found all these great mods but no price. So how much did you guys spent for the 4.10 gears? And as for the tuner so xcal would be the perfect choice now where it be a right place to buy it? Here at a link in mm.net or eBay perhaps? Thanks this everyone this really helps a lot..and BTW I've already order the JLT intake so it should be here any day now:D

You can purchase the tuner from Lidio, and he'll ship it to you with two performance tunes on it; one for 3.55 gears, and one for 4.10s so you'll be good to go whenever you decide to upgrade to the taller gears.

[wickedmerc]

Oh and another thing, when and if I get the tuner and its ready for use, like you said how you can switch the settings back to stock, is that as easy as a touch of a button? Or does it take awhile to switch back or What? I'm not that all great in technology involving automobiles especially tuners haha

The SCT tuner I have is very user-friendly. Just follow the directions and on-screen instructions. The tune switches instantly but when I needed to switch back to stock tune for inspection, I needed to log some miles (my mechanic said at least 50-100 miles) so that the car's computer cycles through each sensor reading and they show up on the test.

[marauder21]

Lmao Alright yeah those be my next two mods the tuner then 4.10 gears..you know a good place to get the tuner here around Chicago?..and imma wait till it gets a bit warmer for the 4.10 gears you know lol nobody likes working in the cold even if its indoor haha just saying


http://img.tapatalk.com/638e1c52-9c2d-996f.jpg



---
- Sent from my iPhone
Eaton Swap + 4.10's = Wreeeeeeeeeedom!!

[SC Cheesehead]

Lmao Alright yeah those be my next two mods the tuner then 4.10 gears..you know a good place to get the tuner here around Chicago?..and imma wait till it gets a bit warmer for the 4.10 gears you know lol nobody likes working in the cold even if its indoor haha just saying

Just order the tuner right from Lidio. He'll sell you one with the tunes right on it, mail it to you; plug 'n play.

[marauder21]

Sounds simple enough but one question.lol umm whose Lidio? Is he a member here or how to I contact him? Idk why but I kinda feel stupid asking this haha.


Just order the tuner right from Lidio. He'll sell you one with the tunes right on it, mail it to you; plug 'n play.

[SC Cheesehead]

Sounds simple enough but one question.lol umm whose Lidio? Is he a member here or how to I contact him? Idk why but I kinda feel stupid asking this haha.

Lidio owns Alternative Auto Performance, he's one of the MM.net supporting vendors.

Here's the link to his website.

http://www.alternativeauto.com/Home.html

[marauder21]

Alright thanks guys once again you helped me AGAIN! haha Really appreciate..now imma look into these mods:) thank once again!

[88LTDCV351]

I tried the Superchips brand one way back when. The one that was long discontinued. Didn't care for it.