A friend of the family wants to help her husband get more performance out of his '01 F150 5.4L. He uses it as a daily driver and occasional towing (about 4000 lbs. wet). She knows that I recently bought a Westers PCM for my Sierra Denali and asked my opinion. Westers will custom program a module to plug into the EEC, but I understand it isn't the easiest install to do. Most of the folks here seem to talk about Predator or Superchips, while many 6.0L GM gas owners swear by Westers. Which way should I suggest that she go: Westers, Predator, Superchips, or something else? (She figures this is cheaper than him buying a new V10.)

Yes, I'm a GM guy, (mainly) loyal to the company that my father retired from after 31 years of service. I did have a '97 Expedition that was quite nice, though. However, the Sierra Denali with the 6.0L gasser, Westers tune, AWD, and quadrasteer is an awesome truck.

 

Hi

I have a Superchips programmer on my 2000 F-150 with the 5.4L. I am very happy with the improvements that it made. It has added "pep", transmission shifts alot firmer, and maybe a little better mileage. I do have it programmed to the performance setting (not suppose to tow), but it asks if you will be towing during the setup. If you answer yes, I believe that timing changes are not as drastic. I hope I have given a little insight.

Doug

 

Thanks for the info. Am I right in assuming that if he bought the Superchips and set his truck up for performance, he could re-program it for towing when they're ready to hitch up the travel trailer next summer? Also, where do you plug in the handheld tuners on a Ford truck? On the GM vehicles I've seen, there is an OBD plug exposed under the driver's side of the dashboard.

 

You'll find that a Superchips or Diablosport will offer far more features than a chip. Plus he can change the program settings whenever he wants (such as towing like you mentioned). The OBD plus is in the same general location for Fords (the Feds mandate it).

 

You can have multiple tunes that are easy to go to. I just got my SCT Xcalibrator and have 3 tunes plus factory. Tunes are 87 octane tow, 91 octane tow and 91 octane performance. I can go between each in about 5 minutes download time. A very handy gadget. For those of you who are lucky enough to get 93 octane gas the Xcalibrator can be set up for that instead of 91 octane. Your SCT dealer can do the tunes for your particular situation. The Xcalibrator is called the 9300.

 

I have the DiabloSport Predator. I was looking at the SCT Xcalibrator earlier but decided I didn't really need 3 tunes readily available to load. I didn't see myself switching between the tunes.

The tune that the Predator provides already kicks hard and I can adjust it as many times as I want, all day long. It takes a little over a minute to load the tune. Then, I can monitor hundreds of parameters like Trans Fluid Temp, and I have a way to read and clear OBDII codes. It is much more versatile than the Xcalibrator. It matches my needs better.

 

We handle the Xcalibrator and the SCT Microtuner as well. Personally, I prefer the SCT Microtuner over the SCT Xcalibrator because it has a screen and includes a diagnostic code reader. The Predator rocks as well.

 

Very good Ken. I already had a Scangauge so the Xcalibrator seemed the choice for me as I have a 2004 F-150. I don't think the Microtuner covers the 2004 F-150 does it? Anyway, a tuner for these vehicles are the only way to go as Ford has seen fit to keep the original tunes somewhat mild...

By the way, the Scangauge is an awsome tool.

A very Happy Holiday to all from Larry in California (Hamradio)

 

No Microtuner from SCT for the 2004 yet. Though Superchips has one, and Diablo has the Predator for it (its customization options are the best out there for now).