Ace Red

I'm considering a tuner for my 13 GT/CS. I'm also considering a Dyno tune at some point in time. Called the Dyno guys and he said I need to buy a tuner. Since car is essentially stock, he pretty much recommended a canned tune for now and Dyno later if I do more mods.


Looking at AM, I see the Bama X4/SF4 Power Flash Tuner w/ 3 Free Custom Tunes and I see the SCT SF4 Power Flash Tuner. The look like the same thing except the Bama comes with 3 tunes and tunes for life. Not sure the SCT version does. The Dyno shop uses the SCT tuners and he talked about a canned tune that is on that tuner. He didn't mention if it was any good.


Are they the same? If I chose the Bama version of the tuner and the tunes, can a Dyno shop use that to tune later on or is it AM exclusive?


Would the Diablosport InTune be better? They say they leave no tracks..... Not sure I believe this for warranty purposes.



And... I know there is going to be a great debate on who to tune. Let's stay on topic for a few posts about the tuners themselves first and then debate the qualities of the better tunes if possible. Not sold on Bama....and not sold on anyone else yet either.

Open to suggestions here.


2013 GT/CS, Manual, convertible, daily driver

rmurer

Those two are one in the same, just rebranded. You get free mail order tunes for life through bama. I have a bama tune i think it works great, but i know other people have had better luck with better tuners out there. LUND AED etc. The tuners aren't exclusive to any one company.

I wouldn't really recommend a dyno tune yet since I don't see any sort of mods listed. A canned tune will atleast wake the car up a bit. SCT tuners are more widely used then diabloesport tuners i think but i could be wrong.

As far as warranty purposes, any tuning voids the warranty.

stupidgenius36

Check the for-sale section. Someone just posted an X3 for $150. Jump on it...

2011 Kona Blue

Then you have to pay another 150 for the tunes. So then your at $300. For $ 380 you can buy a band new one. I would just buy a new one. A used tuner is not worth paying $150 for. I would not buy a used tuner unless it was maybe 50 bucks. Its not worth the $150.

stupidgenius36

That's bad logic. $80-off for an item that has probably been used 2 or 3 times is a good deal.

Ace Red

Not many mods yet. Only GT500 Axle backs.


Mods considering:
MGW shifter
Tune
suspension
Better tires


Possible
Speaker upgrades
Backup cam
Lighted windscreen for Vert
White LeMans stripes


Less possible (but not out of picture)
Boss intake
Supercharger
Headers


Of course the list is endless. lol


Good suggestions so far. I'm more inclined to go with new on electronics.

AMWill

Both the Bama SF4/X4 tuner and the SCT SF4 tuner's are exactly the same. One has a custom Bama faceplate on it, but its functions are identical. However, if you purchase the Bama version, you'll be enrolled into Bama Free Tunes for Life program at no extra cost. Bama will write you 3 custom tunes for your exact mods (although yours is stock) and load the tuner with them before it's shipped. From there, if you ever need tune updates, you simply just need to contact the Bama Team and fill out a tuning info form. Bama will email you the new tunes directly, to be uploaded onto your tuner.

Lastly, the Bama SF4/X4 tuner is still identical to the regular SCT SF4. Which means if you choose to have the car dyno tuned in the future, your dyno tuner can use this tuner to hold their dyno tunes. This is assuming they use SCT software, which most Speed Shops seems to do.

Diablosport makes a solid hand held tuner too. Which are available with the same options as the SCT on our AM site. Although, I would make sure your dyno tuner can use Diablosport tuners first, before purchasing. Since you're thinking of going with a dyno tune down the road.

Hope this info helps you out buddy! Hit me up if you have any other questions.

Shane

2011 Kona Blue

Well perhaps you are correct good sir but personally I would spend the 80 more and get a brand new tuner. 80 dollar savings is not worth it to me for a pre owned electronic item. Buy it for 75 dollars I would but not for 150 and then another 150 for the tunes. I would just buy a new one for that price but that's just me.

B's 5.0

AMWill

I'm with these guys haha^^^

smike308

Isn't the X4 an upgraded version of the X3 also?

Ace Red

Yes it is.


The used one is a good idea but reality is the extra money for warranty, support, and knowing there are no issues is worth it to me.

Now I just have to decide if the MGW shifter, Tuner or suspension/tires ranks first. And... the glowing Pony wind deflector that keeps moving up the list.

stupidgenius36

Newer version, Yes. Aside from not being the latest (barely), a used X3 is a perfectly good device. It's not a cell phone that someone's dropped, scratched, and beaten the hell out of. It's a device that gets plugged in for five minutes, then put in a closet for five years.

cdynaco

What about the LiveWire? Are the gauge choices accurate?
.
.

2011 Kona Blue

I would agree with most of your post but the use once put away for 5 years part. Its not uncommon to change between tunes monthly, even several times during a month. This depends on various things of course but not uncommon to use it frequent. I'm not against a pre owned tuner and for the right price, I say heck yeah. But a 70 to 80 dollar savings over a brand new one is not worth it in my opinion. No matter how you look at it, its a used item and for the buyer its not $150 and done. Its $150 plus another $150 for the tunes. If the whole package with the free tunes for life was $150, now that's a winner.

Why would someone not want the newest and latest tuning model device for 70 to 80 dollars more?

Jay@Hypermotive

Ace Red, let us know if we can help you out. Our tuning team has over 10k tunes under their belt and that's just for the S197!


We offer a true custom tune for you, we've become very popular with our tunes in a hurry as well. We also do our tunes a little differently as well as I'm a firm believer in teaching our customer's the basics of how the handhelds work. If you'd like, shoot me a pm and I can go over all the details with you on our process!


Jay

Ace Red

And of course the next question to contemplate is who should I use for a tuning company. Bama, Hypermotive, Streeda??

I know... I know... Ford/Chevy/Dodge debate. No winners, no losers. It probably doesn't matter and I'm sure they will all do a good job. That will be difficult picking one.

Now if someone can guarantee me 70+ HP, and no engine issues.... I'll give you the CC number right now, lol.

Ok...how about 67 HP.....can you say....64HP... Anyone?

2011 Kona Blue

Ha ha ha. Not on a 3.7 you won't but good thing you have a 5.0. Ha ha

2014GHIGGT

That isn't entirely accurate. if you purchase the procal tune from Ford Racing and have it installed at a Ford dealer your powertrain coverage is good for 3/36 from the in service date.

2011 Kona Blue

Ace Red,
I would strongly recommend going with AM and bama for your first time tuning company. I personally have been using bama tunes for over 3 years and never had any issues with there tunes. Now don't get me wrong granted I did some data logging with bama after my first tune for them to dial it in. But never did I have any issues with the tunes itself.

The customer service at AM is top notch and I'm here to tell you, nobody works harder than Dan and Shane on these various forums to keep enthusiasts happy. I'm not taking away anything from RJ @ Steeda or Jay from Hypermotive because they are active on the forums as well and are great. Heck, I run a Steeda tune and Gus is great too work with as well.

With Bama you are going to get a safe, quality, reliable tune that is going to bring big power increases to your 5.0. Is a Bama tune going to net you the largest HP or Torque gains compared to another tuning company? Truthfully, probably not but they will be close behind and Bama isn't trying to max out ones engine to its limit for possible potential failure down the road.

Bama's goal is to provide a SAFE, RELIABLE , performance tune that will keep your engine from imploding and busting your ride up. Bama and AM didnt get to be the largest mustang tunning company in the world by setting speed records. They got it by making safe, reliable, proven powerful tunes for the average bolt on mustang enthusiast. The key focus is safe power for Bama. Bama will bring your 5.0 up to its max safe limit power by their standards and tuning experts.

Personally, I will sacrifice a few HP and torque numbers or run slower if it saves the potential for engine failure down the road with over aggressive tuning.

Hope this helps.