I went the cheapo route, as funding is umm...limited, at the moment. Got a great deal on a used JLT II from a forum member, and a used X-Cal Strategy Flash from Ebay. All said and done, shipping and all I spent about $280 for both pieces, so I'm happy with that.

Impressions of the results:
JLT= The fit was good, and super easy install. I can feel a decent power increase, especially in the upper rpm's. The exhaust note is noticably deeper all the time, and noticably louder at WOT. It screams like an open header racecar over 5K rpms!!
SCT SF= It makes the JLT work, and that's about all I can say for the canned tune supplied with the tuner. I do like the way it keeps the RPM's down at startup, no more flashing up to 2K or 2.2K for 2-3 seconds like the stock tune. That always bothered me. Throttle lag is still there, though a *little* better. RPM hang is better though, they actually drop when I let off the gas.

It does have some good options for basic mods, like several popular CAI's, CMCV Delete, gears, O2 sensors, trac. control off, injectors, and different octane ratings. It also has the usual spark controls, fuel mix at WOT, idle rpms, and rev limiters.

One problem has cropped up though, when I push in the clutch coming up to a stop sign, the rpm's drop to like 500, then bounce back up to 1K, then drop down again a few times before settling on 750-780. It seems worse with the A/C on. Hope I don't end up needing a new throttle body. Stupid warranty delete option.

I figure down the line I will eventually get a better tune from Brent or Doug or CR. I'm confident there is more power there with the right tune. In time my friends....in time...

 

Hey great Steve, congrats!!!

Sounds like having the tune tweaked at some point will remedy any little bugs that you're having now. Just have fun with it and enjoy yourself!

 

Yeah, overall I'm happy with it, and this way it leaves me with more to look forward to. I'm a fan of doing things one step at a time, and enjoying each step forward.

 

That idle problem could be a dirty throttle body like Doug posted about. My car's a year old so I went and bought some throttle body cleaner. 4 bolts and it's off. Then you can clean front, back and plates. It was dirty and after cleaning idle is smooth again. You might try that.