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Mad4Macs
04-14-2004, 05:13 PM
Just got chipped!
One thing that I did not expect, is that the "driveability" of my car has improved. Light throttle, part throttle, full throttle, whatever. The tach sweeps up, the car shifts, then the tach starts another sweep.
Sounds obvious, huh?
Well, that is NOT what my car has done since day one. Not under light or part throttle, at least. The transmission programming has been GREATLY improved and the car accelerates more smoothly because of it.
The trans shifts where and when I think that it should, and I no longer wish that my car was a stick shift.
I do wish that I was more of a "car guy" though, because I don't feel as if I'm doing Lidio justice here with what I've just wrote.
Does the car pull stronger? I never really hammer the car, so I can't say by how much, but yes, it does.
Do I care? Not really. I'll do more to it later if I want to go faster. My car has become a better car today, though, that much I am sure of.
If you are sitting on the fence, take your car to Lidio. You'll thank him for his work.
Thanks! All you guys at Alternative Auto are doing a great job!
PS...
Gears are likely in the near future ;)

MikesMerc
04-14-2004, 06:46 PM
I knew you'd love it :up:

bugsys03
04-14-2004, 06:58 PM
Does the car pull stronger? I never really hammer the car, so I can't say by how much, but yes, it does.
Do I care? Not really. I'll do more to it later if I want to go faster.

Go ahead, hammer it. I dare ya. you'll love it. you wont know if you want to go faster until you try out your new mods!! :up:

Mad4Macs
04-14-2004, 07:33 PM
Does the car pull stronger? I never really hammer the car, so I can't say by how much, but yes, it does.
Do I care? Not really. I'll do more to it later if I want to go faster.

Go ahead, hammer it. I dare ya. you'll love it. you wont know if you want to go faster until you try out your new mods!! :up:

You guys are too much :)
Nah... that's not what I'm looking for. I've had mine for just over a year and I've passed the 30k mile mark. I drive a lot ;)
I didn't know what a Marauder was when I bought mine. I just wanted a full sized car that had some guts to it. I liked the styling, and much to the dismay (I'm sure of it) of Car&Driver, I LIKED the seats. As a matter of fact, that is my 1st recollection of the car. I sat down in it and considered how much that I'd be sitting in it over the next year, then I signed the papers.
Over the last year, I've picked up an appreciation for what the car is. And I should add, after today, for what it should have been. Ford had quiet a concept in the Marauder, but they could have batted a home run. I mean, the most obvious reason to chip a car is for more horsepower, but what I came away with is a car, that to me, is simply more driveable. Hell, it wouldn't have taken too much, either. 50 lbs feet+50 more HP would have been nice :banana: , but I'd have been much happier with my car if my transmission hadn't been programmed by the EPA. Or if it hadn't disintegrated at 27000 miles, but that was a different thread ;)
By the way, I'm glad that I took my car to a pro for this work. Could I have slapped a chip in my car? Sure. Lidio, though, took it out again and again, and made several tweaks while I was there. He came back and explained, each time, what he was doing. I don't want to leave guys like Dennis out, either. He puts the time in that it takes to "do it right". These guys love what they're doing and it shows. I do recommend having any stock Marauder reprogrammed, but by people that will fine tune their work. I'm glad that I brought mine in, can you tell?
:)

MI2QWK4U
04-14-2004, 07:43 PM
You made a good choice. I am happy you love the change. The car is different things to different people, and thats just fine! The chip alone is a real eye opening thing to do. And you are right about Lidio, going on 15 years I have known him. I had to have him look me in the eye and tell me that supercharging the car would be safe and that he would take care of me. Thats all I needed, and I havent looked back since. Now I have one of the fastest 1/4 mile Marauders in the forum accross the country. Its exciting that the two fastest Marauders (11.8 sec and 12.2 sec in the 1/4 mile) that im aware of came from the same shop! Enjoy your newly discovered Marauder!

bigslim
04-14-2004, 08:41 PM
Mad4Macs, I had my car done a couple of weeks ago by Lidio and have been very happy. I had the 410 put in it too. To answer to question, "does it pull"? yes it does. It pulls a lot better now. As Dr Frankinstien said, "It's Alive"!

junehhan
04-15-2004, 11:04 PM
Out of curiosity, how is torque converter lockup affected with Lidio's program? Does it lock-up more abruptly?

mlamplugh
04-15-2004, 11:11 PM
IS IT WORTH THE MONEY AND WHAT WAS THE PRICE

bigslim
04-15-2004, 11:32 PM
IS IT WORTH THE MONEY AND WHAT WAS THE PRICE
It is worth every cent. I will let you contact Lidio for pricing. I don't want to misquote him and his pricing. Just to let you know, I took a friend of mine in my car before and after and he could not believe it was the same car. Call him, you will not reget it.

mlamplugh
04-15-2004, 11:37 PM
It is worth every cent. I will let you contact Lidio for pricing. I don't want to misquote him and his pricing. Just to let you know, I took a friend of mine in my car before and after and he could not believe it was the same car. Call him, you will not reget it.


thank you very much

Mad4Macs
04-16-2004, 04:15 AM
Out of curiosity, how is torque converter lockup affected with Lidio's program? Does it lock-up more abruptly?

I'm not a real "gear head", but this is what was explained to me.
Lidio, feel free to correct this or make additions :)

My trans was reprogrammed to not lock up the T/C until 63 MPH. My understanding of this is , is that it's a big reason my car accelerates more "smoothly" under light or part throttle loads. The trans definitely feels more behaved. It doesn't do whatever "hunting" that it used to do under a light load, it simply feels a lot better now.
I've put about 175 miles on it since Wednesday, driving my normal routine. I'm going to hammer on it this weekend to test out how the other calibrations feel. It's a matter of "scientific curiosity", you all understand,
right?
:D

Lidio
04-17-2004, 03:55 AM
Hey guys a few notes for ya…


The price of the chips from us for the MM’s was 325.00 but because we now use a different chip and tuning software, manufacture (SCT) the price of the chip has gone up to 350.00 plus install… if we do the install we get another $50.00 for the additional labor. We are going to announce soon that we’ve fully embraced and that I’m now a full on SCT tuner and tuning facitily. So this means that very shortly we will offer a hand held micro tuner for the MM’s and many other Ford’s. But for now I prefer chips for cars that still have chip ports. Although the hand held will be an option from me in a couple of weeks.

The lock-up feature and what we do with it has been very popular and every one seems to appreciate it and how much it improves the MM’s drivability. The converter lock up rate is not at all changed. The rate or firmness that it locks at is left alone and stock like. Only the speed and gear that it locks at have been changed.


Thanks

junehhan
04-17-2004, 07:16 PM
Hey guys a few notes for ya…


The price of the chips from us for the MM’s was 325.00 but because we now use a different chip and tuning software, manufacture (SCT) the price of the chip has gone up to 350.00 plus install… if we do the install we get another $50.00 for the additional labor. We are going to announce soon that we’ve fully embraced and that I’m now a full on SCT tuner and tuning facitily. So this means that very shortly we will offer a hand held micro tuner for the MM’s and many other Ford’s. But for now I prefer chips for cars that still have chip ports. Although the hand held will be an option from me in a couple of weeks.

The lock-up feature and what we do with it has been very popular and every one seems to appreciate it and how much it improves the MM’s drivability. The converter lock up rate is not at all changed. The rate or firmness that it locks at is left alone and stock like. Only the speed and gear that it locks at have been changed.


Thanks

Lidio, that's a wonderful announcement! Keep us posted when you start selling them because i'll definately want one of those! Regardless of whether my 04 has a chip port or not, what I like is that you can hold multiple programs, along with a copy of the stock program in case you need to take it in for work at the dealership. It's a perfect compliment for whatever mod route i'll be taking this summer, which is when I hope to see your facility!

REpson
04-29-2004, 12:40 PM
Mlamplug:

**** Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's an excellent investment if you're on a budget. What you need to do is drive some one car and see for yourself.


:banana2: :coolman:




IS IT WORTH THE MONEY AND WHAT WAS THE PRICE

Mad4Macs
04-29-2004, 01:25 PM
... and 1,000 miles later ;)
Yes, the reprogramming was worth it.
The car "moves out" much better and it shifts more appropriately.
On the highway? When you're doing 80 and mash the pedal down, you wonder if you're ever going to stop accelerating! :baaa:

Mad4Macs
04-29-2004, 01:32 PM
DAMN YOU LIDIO!!!
I had just bought a 1990 Mazda Protege and retired the Marauder from field services.
The friggin' Marauder is much more fun to drive now, so I was forced to put it back on the road!
:up:

junehhan
04-29-2004, 09:20 PM
... and 1,000 miles later ;)
Yes, the reprogramming was worth it.
The car "moves out" much better and it shifts more appropriately.
On the highway? When you're doing 80 and mash the pedal down, you wonder if you're ever going to stop accelerating! :baaa:

When you mash the gas pedal at 80mph with the chip, does it downshift into 2nd or 3rd gear?