I am thinking of getting one of the sct tuners from 5 star. I have a 99 F250 SD 5.4L. I have some questions though since I have never used a tuner before. I would like to get a bit more power out of my truck.

-Is the tuner legal and going to pass smog in California? Or do I need to set the truck back to stock before getting it smogged in CA? I read somewhere that you can only set it back 5 or 6 times before it locks up and I plan on keeping this truck for a long time.
-I know Mike needs to know if the truck is a 2v or 3v. How do you tell?
-Also I was thinking of doing something with the exhaust. I don't really want to do any headers only because I have had them leak on me and it's a pain to get to the passenger side. I was thinking of putting a magnaflow muffler on. Don't know if that alone would help at all or just give me a different sound. It looks like I can't do anything with the catalytic converter since everything I see online says not for use in California. This state blows. Any suggestions on the exhaust side would be appriciated. Especially if you have something set up and are in CA.
-I did replace the plugs and put a K&N filter in it. I also replaced the fuel filter. I don't think it had ever been changed. It looked like the Mississippi river when it's flooded; and that was on the "CLEAN" side. I did notice a little bit of a power difference and it got rid of my pinging that I had, but I'm sure a dirty filter like the one I had can do that. It runs much better but now I would like some more power.
Sorry this post is a little on the long side. The more I drink the less I write and this is a little long...;-)

I'm sure I will have more questions later on. Thank you for any reply.

 

I have an SCT Tuner that I use on my E99 F350 PSD. It works fine. Easy to operate. YOu can down load information and instructions from their web site before you buy.

As I understand it you can change the program as many times as you want. The five time limitation applies to the being locked to the VIN and not the dealer down load.

Check out the web site for more accurate information.

 

You can set it back to stock in a matter of minutes, the programmer saves the stock file on the device. and you can switch tunes as many times as you want.

Your truck is a 2v, as are all 99-04s. I would recommend an MBRP muffler.. i just put one on my truck to replace the quiet gibsons and it sounds GOOD. tons of compliments

F250 5.4L MBRP muffler - YouTube

 

-Is the tuner legal and going to pass smog in California? Or do I need to set the truck back to stock before getting it smogged in CA? I read somewhere that you can only set it back 5 or 6 times before it locks up and I plan on keeping this truck for a long time.
Technally no because you are modifying the fuel program but you just reoad the OEm before going to the sniffer. The limit does not have to do with how many times you switch it on your truck. When you load a program it locks to the VIn of that truck. The lock number is how many different VIN you can link to it I believe.

-I know Mike needs to know if the truck is a 2v or 3v. How do you tell?
Actually he needs the program revision number. It's on a label on the computer or if you already have the tuner you can read it, This will tell him exactly what you have and whatprogram to send you.


-Also I was thinking of doing something with the exhaust. I don't really want to do any headers only because I have had them leak on me and it's a pain to get to the passenger side. I was thinking of putting a magnaflow muffler on. Don't know if that alone would help at all or just give me a different sound. It looks like I can't do anything with the catalytic converter since everything I see online says not for use in California. This state blows. Any suggestions on the exhaust side would be appriciated. Especially if you have something set up and are in CA.
The leaking problem seems to be more with the bolts/studs holding them on from what I've read. Changing the y pipe helps a lot. It's kind of a choke point the way it's made. You can do headers as long as they have the EGR port fitting.

-I did replace the plugs and put a K&N filter in it. I also replaced the fuel filter. I don't think it had ever been changed. It looked like the Mississippi river when it's flooded; and that was on the "CLEAN" side. I did notice a little bit of a power difference and it got rid of my pinging that I had, but I'm sure a dirty filter like the one I had can do that. It runs much better but now I would like some more power.
Pinging can be caused by a dirty aif flow sensor too. But the easiest power improvment is the 5-star tune. Then exhaust modifications. Mike can adjust and update the program for you as you do any other mod.

 

I did clean the mass air flow sensor with the MAS cleaner. That could have been it too. I just tried all different things that I know can cause the pinging and were cheap/easy to do and needed to be done anyhow. I almost bought the egr and oxygen sensors and other stuff but decided to do what I new needed to be done to see if it stopped the pinging before I dumped a ton of money into uneeded parts. I'm glad it stopped and didn't buy more than I needed.

Does the Y pipe bolt right up to the stock manifold and current exhaust or does it require some welding and custom fitting?

ACF6 I will check out the video as I cannot now since I am on lunch break at work and they block videos. Do you have headers and any other mods to the exhaust or just the muffler? Cat stock?

 

Stock manifolds, stock cat, SPD y pipe. I'd change the y pipe asap, made more of a difference than my tuner

 

ACF6 and the y pipe mounted right up?

 

Yea...but you have to cut out the old one and weld in the new one. It just replaces the y section

 

heres a few pics from the install...

stock:


cut out:


after making the new y pipe-cat gasket:


and the finished product, with some high temp paint on the welds to protect from rust:

 

Thank you alot for the pictures of the install. How does your exhaust run to the back because I saw a pipe on both sides of the truck.

 

yea i have a single pipe from the cat to the muffler then dual out