X-Calibrators work for '96-'97 SHO's

[DavidT]

the WOT 1-2 shift:

 

[RedLineSHO]

my car gave the tires a little squeek on the 1-2 shift this morning. after the roads got a little moist it would just bust loose at the start of 2nd. cant wait to feel it on dry pavment

 

[Silver95]

so this product can make a bone stock gen 3 faster? For how long will the product be available for?

 

[RoadSHO]

I received the performance chip "Excalibrator" from Doug Lewis at Ford Performance Products (FPS). Seems to work okay.

Hightlights noticed; increase rpm at shift points at wide open thottle. 1-2 upshift @ 7000 rpm, 2-3 @ 6800 rpm. Haven't found enough room to test the 3-4 upshift yet. Rev limiter extended to 7500 rpm. Programed for varies octane fuels 87,89,93. Firmer shifts at aggresive thottle. Torque converter doesn't engage every 30 seconds when driving in cruise control. Otherwise runs about the same.

Concerns; Engine misses on lower octane programs when it is cold. Black carbon deposits on tailpipes, could be running rich. Switched to the 93 octane program now.

I will let everyone know about MPG when I run a tank of fuel throught it.

 

[spragers]

Got my tuner in the mail today, it will get programmed after work tonight... I'll report on the results ASAP.

Now, just because I'm lazy and don't have my user manual with me, where is the fuel pump relay?

Thanks!

 

[DavidT]

Got my tuner in the mail today, it will get programmed after work tonight... I'll report on the results ASAP.

Now, just because I'm lazy and don't have my user manual with me, where is the fuel pump relay?

Thanks!

Forget it... the manual doesn't list the fuel pump relay... at least I couldn't find it. I just disconnected the harness to the fuel shut off reset switch in the trunk.

Roadsho,
I had the miss happen to me about a year ago after a week of using the SCT chip. I ended up returning the chip. Interesting to know that the higher octane programming fixes that. Did you have to upgrade to 93 octane fuel as well?

 

[spragers]

Actually, I just found it - it's in the power distribution box under the hood. Relay #10 is for the fuel pump, relay #9 is for the cooling fans. Since Don said the fan runs while the tuner is running, I may as well disconnect that one as well.

 

[Vroom]

I flipped the fuel shut off switch in the trunk. Turned out fine.

 

[RoadSHO]

Figured out the miss problem. I didn't see the email about the fuel pump needing to be inactivated before programing. Pulled the fuel pump fuse, my Chilton book said it was relay #11, the 20 amp fuse just left of the 20 amp SARC fuse. Reflashed the program and everything runs perfect. No miss, idles great, and more power! This looks like a great program. Thanks Doug.

 

[Snow]

To shut off the fuel pump relay just give the inertia switch in the trunk a quick slap with your hand, it will trip. Just push the button to reset it. I think this is a lot easier to do than opening the hood and hunting around for the fuse. Plus I tend to loose things, like fuses.

 

[SHOGrabber]

Wow! Where was I on this one? Not in the right place on here for sure. Man, I have been wanting one of these for a couple months now, but it will be close to another month before I can get one. This is the first time I have seen this thread. I did see another with some people asking Doug questions about them. Higher price for me I guess.
Oh yea, I still want to hear some feedback from you guys(and Gals) who got one. Lets hear it.

 

[RedLineSHO]

yes it definatly will shift near 7100 +(not really sure if i like that alot, kinda scarry thinking about my transmission trying to keep up with that) Now the car lunges forward when shifting even at 4000, very firm. and i think that is the most noticable difference so far. no missing or weird problems.

 

[Mr. SHO]

Wow! Where was I on this one? Not in the right place on here for sure. Man, I have been wanting one of these for a couple months now, but it will be close to another month before I can get one. This is the first time I have seen this thread. I did see another with some people asking Doug questions about them. Higher price for me I guess.
Oh yea, I still want to hear some feedback from you guys(and Gals) who got one. Lets hear it.

I missed out too. Maybe in a few months we can try for another group buy. It shouldn't be too hard with all these happy customers talking it up.

 

[CT97White]

I just installed mine last night and have only put about 20 miles on the car so far. At very light throttle, there is not too much difference, but the shifts are still a bit faster and they seem to come sooner than before.

At half to full throttle, the 1-2 upshift is much harder and faster. At WOT it's best to have both hands on the wheel when it hits second. I need to drive it more, but it seems to pull better from 100-130 mph. I haven't gone any faster than that yet.

I will post more after I've put more miles on it.

 

[Ian Macoomb]

Did you guys get a receipt or an invoice of some kind? I need to go across the border to pick mine up. If I don't have a receipt I will have to smuggle it back into Canada and I wouldn't *never* do a thing like that. LOL

 

[DavidT]

Doug sends an invoice and a receipt with the tuner.
The car is sooooooo much more enjoyable at WOT. The extra pull to redline makes it the next best thing to a manual tranny
Also received a cool SCT badge

 

[spragers]

Installed the tuner last night, everything went fine (except the part where I backed into another car in the driveway... don't ask, but it's a good thing we got a discount on the tuners, because it'll be another $100 to fix the scratches lol...)

As for the results... WOT response is amazing! Although, I don't see a big difference when the secondaries open up like I did before... First gear pulls hard all the way to 7000 , second gets almost that far, and that's as far as I went with it. Shifting at anywhere from 1/3-full throttle is very quick and HARD and yes, it does seem to shift sooner at part throttle than before.

The only thing I noticed other than that was that, in town "cruising" at around 25-30mph, the car just didn't seem to want to keep a steady speed - almost felt like it was stumbling a bit. I suppose it could be a coil, they're all original yet.

The SCT badge looks good enough to actually put on my car LOL.

I give it 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Did you guys get a receipt or an invoice of some kind? I need to go across the border to pick mine up. If I don't have a receipt I will have to smuggle it back into Canada and I wouldn't *never* do a thing like that. LOL

Just hide it in one of the cases of Berryman's... They'll never notice... :wave:

 

[Silver95]

you guys keep saying the tranny shifts HARD....is this a good thing, or does it just beat up the tranny even more?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

you guys keep saying the tranny shifts HARD....is this a good thing, or does it just beat up the tranny even more?

Really it's just firm, and no. Some people are so used to the nice soft and squishy shifts that Ford programs from the factory that anything else seems a lot "harder", but it's not a problem at all. If anything the faster firmer shifts will prolong the life of the friction materials.