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who has some tune comparison insight?
- Thread starter smokey
- Start date
That post should open a can of worms! Honestly, there is no one who has done a comprehensive comparison between all the tuners. However, some common sense:
Stay away from any tuner who promises you better mileage, or even implies it- "Customers claim...".
Do they inflate their HP numbers by claiming fixed percentages for "drivetrain loss"? Avoid.
Look for someone who specializes in the ST- tuning is both a science and an art and experience is the best teacher.
If you're looking for performance, ask which tuner has tuned the highest performance STs on the planet.
Take a look at dyno charts- avoid tuners who do not address boost spikes (torque spikes) at low RPM and avoid them.
Is the "tuning" hardware proprietary? Will you be able to use it on another vehicle or resell it?
Has the tuner ever had to deal with a hybrid situation? Such as different turbos- especially turbos that are using non-vacuum operated wastegates?
Does the tuner also incorporate transmission tuning?
I am in no way associated with any tuner. But, if my list makes sense, there is no choice. ZFG Racing.
Stay away from any tuner who promises you better mileage, or even implies it- "Customers claim...".
Do they inflate their HP numbers by claiming fixed percentages for "drivetrain loss"? Avoid.
Look for someone who specializes in the ST- tuning is both a science and an art and experience is the best teacher.
If you're looking for performance, ask which tuner has tuned the highest performance STs on the planet.
Take a look at dyno charts- avoid tuners who do not address boost spikes (torque spikes) at low RPM and avoid them.
Is the "tuning" hardware proprietary? Will you be able to use it on another vehicle or resell it?
Has the tuner ever had to deal with a hybrid situation? Such as different turbos- especially turbos that are using non-vacuum operated wastegates?
Does the tuner also incorporate transmission tuning?
I am in no way associated with any tuner. But, if my list makes sense, there is no choice. ZFG Racing.
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So having a hand held tuner device is nice - I like having the HP tuner device more over the SCT that I had with my 5th Gen explorer and here is why - with the SCT I found that when I needed to bring my explorer back to stock, the SCT needed to be updated. The update wouldnt go through until I returned my vehicle back to stock, but it wouldnt return my vehicle back to stock.........because it needed to be updated. so it pretty much locked me out and required me to pay to have it unlocked via the manufacture. Since buying my SCT I had moved to CA, and ended up SOL as the manufacture would not fix any lockouts if it came from CA - period 
the HP tuner device is just the tool. The magic is in the software on the cloud that allows you to take the tune information from the cloud and, through your phone, through the HP tuner and tune or de-tune your vehicle. You lose your phone (like i did) download the software to your phone and you're up and running again. Lose the HP Tuning device? buy another and you're back in business a few days later. If i dont have to, Ill never go back to a proprietary tuning device that requires me to use the very first device I was required to buy.
the HP tuner device is just the tool. The magic is in the software on the cloud that allows you to take the tune information from the cloud and, through your phone, through the HP tuner and tune or de-tune your vehicle. You lose your phone (like i did) download the software to your phone and you're up and running again. Lose the HP Tuning device? buy another and you're back in business a few days later. If i dont have to, Ill never go back to a proprietary tuning device that requires me to use the very first device I was required to buy.
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I've used Gearhead and ZFG. Started out completely stock with just the auto octane tune from Gearhead, best run with it on dragy was 12.5 if I remember correctly (may have been 12.4). Added intercooler and intake and switched to Gearhead E30 tune, best run at the track with it was 11.997.
Gave ZFG a try because I didn't believe all the times I saw people posting with their ZFG tunes, very first run once the E50 tune was complete was an 11.82 on dragy with a 3.72 0-60 mph. I could never get under 4 seconds 0-60 with the Gearhead E30 tune.
Best full weight run at the track with the ZFG E50 tune was 11.69, so a few tenths quicker than Gearhead.
Not going to pay to try any other tuners because the dragy and time slip numbers speak for themselves.
All three of my tunes drive excellent. You would never know it's tuned until you press the throttle all the way to the floor. Some tuners try to trick you into thinking it's more powerful by changing the pedal response. It fools a lot of people into thinking they have a good tune.
Gave ZFG a try because I didn't believe all the times I saw people posting with their ZFG tunes, very first run once the E50 tune was complete was an 11.82 on dragy with a 3.72 0-60 mph. I could never get under 4 seconds 0-60 with the Gearhead E30 tune.
Best full weight run at the track with the ZFG E50 tune was 11.69, so a few tenths quicker than Gearhead.
Not going to pay to try any other tuners because the dragy and time slip numbers speak for themselves.
All three of my tunes drive excellent. You would never know it's tuned until you press the throttle all the way to the floor. Some tuners try to trick you into thinking it's more powerful by changing the pedal response. It fools a lot of people into thinking they have a good tune.
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Im assuming you are referring to Torrie at Unleashed tuning. He tuned my Ecoboost F150 (Started with 5Star and moved to Unleashed), my SHO (started with Livernois and moved to Unleashed), and my Mustang GT (started with Steeda and moved to Unleashed). He was fantastic. I havnt gone down the tuning path with my ST yet but he would be on my short list.
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