Hi there y'all! Please excuse what's sure to be a newbie question, but I need some help selecting a programmer.

I just bought one of the last remaining 2006 FX4 (5.4L) ExCab in Texas and while I'm really plased with it in some ways, I'm trying to get some more power out of it. So, I'm planning to buy a programmer but I'm a little overwhelmed at the choices. I've managed to narrow my choices down to the Edge Evolution, The XCal2 or the LiveWire. As much as I'd like latest and greatest (which is apparently the LiveWire) I need to see enough advantage in spending the extra money, to justify the expense. Right now I only vaugely understand what each unit does; and I'm hoping y'all can explain the advantages of one unit over the others.

I use my truck as a daily driver with a pretty good amount of ranch work and hunting which means Off-Road, LOTS of rough dirt roads and deep mud, some lighter trailer pulling and heavy hauling on occaision. While I don't race my truck, I do want to have a good amount of power to accelerate both from a stop and on the highway- to be able to get around or pass someone, in short order, whenever I need to.

With that in mind, some of the QUESTIONS I have are:

1. What, exactly, is a "Custom Tune" and is it something the user usually creates; or are they obtained from a dealer and, if so, how do you find the best dealer/tune for your truck and the way that you use that truck? I mean, different people use their trucks in different ways and need different thuings from the truck.

2. What is the difference between the XCal2 and the LiveWire Programmers? Because I don't understand what all the features are, I don't see much difference between the two units. Surely there must be some pretty amazing differences, though, to justify a $650 pricetag for the LiveWire from Tryer Performance.

3. Does it make any difference, or is there an advantage to buying from one dealer over another; or is price the only difference? How does one determine which dealer is best for your particular vehicle/needs?

4. Since we also have a 2005 Ford 500 Limited, I would be interested in a programmer that would also work on it- IS there one?

5. What is the (significant) difference between the Edge Evolution and the Xcal2/Livewire?

Sorry for making such a complicated post, but I don't know how else to find the answers I need and to educate myself.

Thanks, in advance, for any/all help I get from y'all!

Nick
Austin & Sabinal, TX

 

1 A custom tune is one that is specifically desigend for your truck and your needs. Ie: if you want a tow tune, a economy tune and a power tune. Then you can switch between them at will.

2 I have the Xcal2 and I love it. I have used other programmers and not been nearly as impressed as I am with the X-cal. The X cal is a removeable unit, which is a big plus. It has more user tuning capability that any other tuner I have used. ( I have never used the live wire). The Edge looks good mounted in the truck, but if you need to take it to Ford for service you need to remove it from the Cab. With the X-cal just put the truck back to stock and leave the tuner at home. I have not used the Edge because of the problems I have found with it. They had ALOT of problems with transmissions. Even some of the guys on here cant use all their tunes because it causes transmission shudder on certain tunes. The X-cal allows you to set the transmisison pressure if you want it to shift harder. The X-cal can Datalog for you then you can take it into the house to read it on your home computer. No need to have a laptop in the truck.

3 Buying from Tony Whetstone @Jaw's Racing 850-445-2272, will put you in touch with not only a salesman but a programmer for the tuner. There is no on hold or 216546516515651651456+ buttons to push to talk to a live person.

4 Ask Tony, but I think that the X-cal will work on it too. You have to buy 2 programmers no matter what you do to tune both of them at the same time though.

5 -Please see #2

Welcome to the site...

 

well, ^that^ just about covered it, lol

 

^^

Well done!

 

TY I try.

 

If you want the best get a Xcal or Live wire. They from what I understand are no different in tunes. The big difference is that the Live wire give you the ability to see everything on the screen like Edge does.

The X-cal is a little cheaper but you don't get a screen. That would be the reason you wouldn't need to take it out of your truck for service. But with any of them you should alway return it to stock before servicing. I don't remove my Edge from the dash when I get serviced but I do return it to stock and disconnect the cable

I have the Edge and I do have a shudder issue running the level 3 Performance setting. So do some others but I not sure as to how many.

Mike Troyer has a great Reputation. Sometime you get what you pay for so be careful if you are just try to save a buck. I plain to buy the Live Wire from him sometime soon.

 

Thanks for all the great info guys!

I'm definately trying to save a few bucks- if I can. Heck, who isn't? But I won't buy an inferior product just to save a few bucks. I guess I'm going to try and spring for the Livewire. Now- who to buy it from? I know Troyer has a great reputation but I'd like to look into Tony Whetstone- does "Jaw's Racing" have a website I can check out?

Thanks again guys!

Nick

 

www.discountpowerparts.com

he is a sponsor on here, and has a great reputation from what I have heard.

 

First off I will say that I am in no way affiliated with Mike Troyer or Troyer Performance. The views expressed in my replies are simply my opinions.

A custom tune is as NGM already stated, a tune designed specifically for your truck. You tell the custom tuner what modifications you have on your truck such as intake, exhaust, lift, tires, etc... and they build the tune with those specifications. Personally I would not trust my custom tuning to anyone other than Mike and Troyer Performance. There are other custom tuners out there and they are probably pretty good, but for my money I want to go with someone who specializes in these trucks.

The Xcal II holds 3 custom tunes plus the stock tune and has no guages for readouts. Alot of people like the guages and that's a BIG selling point of the Edge. The Livewire holds 3 canned tunes, 3 custom tunes plus the stock tune and gives you the guages. Personally I could care less for canned tunes or the guages so I don't see any reason that I would buy the Livewire over the Xcal II.

Refer to my answer to your first question. The first thing I would do is give the folks at Troyer Performance a call and talk to them about your custom tuning if that's the way you want to go. The folks there will take the time to answer all of your questions. Also he gives discounts to members of another F150 board I'm a member of. So lets see, someone who specializes in custom tuning for our trucks and gives discounts to board members (he's a site sponsor) sounds like a win win for my money.

The Edge can be taken out and moved from one vehicle to another as long as the first vehicle is returned to stock first. Although your second vehicle is a car so I don't think the Edge you buy for your truck will work in your car. The Xcal II and Livewire are customed tuned for one specific vehicle. No tuner/programmer will work on two vehicles at the same time.

The Edge is a canned tune that is made for any Ford F150 on the road. The Xcal II & Livewire are tuned for your specific truck based on inputs provided about your truck. The Edge recently increased their price (although I guess there is one site still selling it for $350) to the same price as an Xcal II with custom tunes so I see absolutely no reason to go with an Edge over the Xcal II & custom tunes unless guages are your thing. That's not to bash the Edge, from everything I have read it is a very good product and will do a very good job. It's just a custom tune is just that, a custom tune built specifically for your truck.

Hopefully I answered all of your questions enough to help you out. Bottom line is the Edge is a good product and IMO is best for vehicles that aren't heavily modified. However, with the recent price increase in the Edge, unless you really like guages, I wouldn't go canned tune over custom tune even in a bone stock truck.

You do have to return your truck to stock for those trips to the dealership no matter which you decide to go with. As NGM said with the Edge you have to remove it from your dash everytime where with the Xcal II just plug it in, return your truck to the stock tune and leave the Xcal II at home.

Another thing about the Xcal II. If you order from Mike you tell him what mods you have (he provides you some data sheets to fill out about your truck) he builds your tunes and either ships them to you pre-loaded in your Xcal II or he ships you the Xcal II blank and then emails you your tunes. Later if you add more mods you simply call him up, tell him what new mods you have and he modifies your tune and can email the new tunes to you. Try getting that from the Edge and canned tunes, simply isn't going to happen.

Hope it helps.

 

^How long did that take lol