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MAD,
Excuse my ignorance if I'm wrong but I think the "flash" tuners are more the term used to explain the technology the tuners use to reprogram your PCM. Rather than literally inserting/installing a fuel box in the PCM linkage under the hood, the flash tuners are plugged into the OBDII (or whatever they call it now) port and programs are downloaded into the truck and then the tuner is removed.
The SCT Excal 2 (and now 3) is SCT's newest flash tuner other than the Livewire which incorporates monitoring and tuning into one unit.
Most here will advise you to use a good SCT custom tuner like Matt @ Spartan, Eric @ Innovative or other reputable vendors here as the SCT allows maximum performance w/ the safest parameters for your 6.0 and torqushift.
I got my X3 last week from Spartan. Just installed the ASE tune and I'm very happy. Too easy. I know some people have had problems with the X3, but for me, it was really easy. Just have to install the Livewire Updater and once you get the tunes, just load them up! I've bugged Matt a bit, (and honestly hardly know him), but I can tell he runs a great business...he's the only place I'll go in the future.
97TexasAggie: If you don't mind how did you get the computer to recognise the tuner? I tried to download the USB drivers but no luck running them: I know I'm doing something wrong. but then I am still waiting for my tunes from Matt so no rush.
If your X3 has the latest firmware (version 1.1.109) you should be good with just downloading the LiveWire updater. Once you download, XP should recognize the tuner quickly.
Once you get your tunes from Matt, unzip to your desktop (or wherever you like). Connect your X3 to the computer, open LiveWire and click "live load tunes" Then just browse to where you have the files and give them a name you can remember.
If you continue to have problems, here's a post from the SCT Forums on their website. You should be able to start the program without the X3 connected to your computer...
"In order to connect the device to the computer you will use a standard USB type A to mini connector. You can get these cables at virtually any store that sells electronics. But normally this same cable is used with digital cameras, external storage devices, or tons of other USB peripherals.
If you are having issues with the X3 giving you error messages, try giving tech support a call, 407-774-2447. We can verify the status of the errors and issue an RA# if the unit needs to come in for repair.
I'm sure this is not common but I never could get my laptop to recognize the tuner, even after I downloaded all the drivers. I'm not sure what was going on. I finally got mad and decided I was an idiot and called tech support. They walked me through it, and I still had nothing. I got on another comp and had no trouble at all opening it all up. Just a glitch in my computer I suppose.
Like I said I'm sure this isn't common but it is a possibility.
oK Lets see if I have this straight, first you buy the tuner, then you get in touch with Matt at Spartan Diesel for the custom tuning. Is this the correct?