Couple questions on these tuners. One is as I have read but not got conformation on is that these tuners can only be used on one car? The reason I ask is I may have access to one somone else had bought but if it is locked to the vehicles VIN that wont do me much good.

Second is the difference between the X3 and the SF3. As I understand one only has preset tunes that cant be modified and the other is able to have custom tunes. Can anyone else elaborate on this for me? Im kind of confused on why you would buy one that only has preset tunes that you cant change.

And lastly who should I buy from? I am also interested in a CAI and a few sites I have seen have combo kits where you get both the intake and the tuner. Is this a better route to go than buying them seperately and also which combo should I buy and where should I buy from?

Thanks all

 

Hi Tim from Cleveland and welcome to TMS

You are correct that when you use a tuner on a car, it is locked to that car. You cannot use it on another car until you restore the factory settings to the original car, which then unlocks the device so you can resell it.

I have the X3 and it is a great product. I don't know a lot about the SF3 but perhaps a few others will chime in on that one. If you get the X3 there are a lot of vendors that can give you custom tunes based on mods you have, or will do, to your car. I know I would not buy a tuner that is preset where you do not have the option to change the tunes.

There are various suppliers that you can get them from. I have been very happy with bamachips.

On a side note, what year is your car and is it a V6 or a V8?

 

2009 V6 Premium with Automatic transmission

 

Plenty of sellers listed in the "For Sale" area, including V6 combos. Mostly SCT X2 Tuners (older model) which still work great with these cars.