Bama Tuners?

CandyYote

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So I purchased The Bama Rev-X tuner for my s197 Coyote. Hadn’t uploaded any tunes yet but everyone I’ve talked to says I’ve made a huge mistake. I read reviews and felt comfortable about it before I made the purchase. Can I have some of you guys opinions please. Hope I didn’t just waste my money..


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Juice

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You have 2 options:
Load the tune and see if you like it.
OR
Trade it back in on an X4.

Reasoning: AM/Bama tunes tend to suck for most. And from the looks of the device you got, the only folks to give you tune updates is Bama. If you got the Bama X4, that is a rebranded SCT X4 which is probably the MOST SUPPORTED tuner for Fords in general.
Having zero info on your car doesn't help either, what is your goal with tuning?

I ran a Bama tune once, while it drove OK, it did not impress and I lost a few MPGs. So I ditched it and went back to a canned tune.
 

dark steed

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I had the old Doug from Bama time on my 4.6 and it was decent. Lito’s was better, more power and the stupid cold idle 1st gear bucking went away.
My understand is that AM/Bama tunes had their fair share of cylinder 8 catastrophes in the early Coyote days.
I have no direct knowledge of their tunes now, but personally wouldn’t run one.
As stated above, run it and see if you like it. It should be an improvement over stock, depending on your mods.


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Anti

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I ran bama for about 6 months. I have jlt V3 Cai, long tube headers, o/r h pipe, and other stuff not worth mentioning. I ran the 93 race tune and definitely was way quicker and throttle response was insane. However, I had continual check engine lights cause they refuse to disable the rear O2 sensors. So, I went LITO! Never looked back. The bama tune throttle response was just all fake tuning. I always wondered why if I ever got near 50% throttle it was like I was flooring it. It was due to them making the throttle actually go full throttle. Fake junk. Lito smoothed all that out, I feel like I gained a bit more up top, and the over all drivability is awesome and his prices are super reasonable. Plus he discounts future tuning if you go back
For example, once I install my cams, 50-100 more bucks and he will tune those also. He will require you to data log just like bama would which is easy peazy.
 

crjackson

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If
The bama tune throttle response was just all fake tuning. I always wondered why if I ever got near 50% throttle it was like I was flooring it. It was due to them making the throttle actually go full throttle. Fake junk.

So true, and the same can be said for a few other email tuners as well. One telltale sign is jerking/jumping that’s hard to control when in 1st gear after a cold start. It comes from commanding excessive throttle that’s non-linear to pedal input. Pressing the throttle at only 1% for instance would yield 10%-15% throttle command. PURE CRAP! But it fools a lot of new-customers.

This practice is also dangerous for your engine if you are running forced induction.

Lito (Manuel) is a very talented calibrator, but he doesn’t do Coyote tunes.

I recommend a reputable Mustang Dyno-Tuner. If none is available, then John Lund, or Shaun Perry at AED. I can’t recommend VMP for tunes. I won’t throw shade on them, they are really great at modifying TVS compressors and associated hardware (I’m a customer myself), but if you want a GREAT TUNE, as opposed to an adequate tune.... Dyno, Lund, AED... All will give you a great tune.
 
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stkjock

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^^^ Lito doesn’t tune coyote motors
 

J.Kidd

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I'll offer my two cents since you asked:
I purchased an InTune tuner with Bama "Tunes for Life" after I purchased my car in 2011. Honestly, it wasn't a terrible decision. I did not plan on doing major mods so I figured I was good with the tunes for life, as opposed to someone else's tune that might squeeze out a bit more horsepower. With the Bama tune loaded, I felt a nice difference in acceleration and response with my Steeda 101mm CAI. The car drove without issue.

Fast forward to 2020 and I had been researching swapping a 2018+ intake manifold onto my car. The "free tunes for life" aspect hits a wall if they don't write tunes for that particular mod. So, I looked elsewhere to see who could write a tune for my InTune tuner and the new intake. Basically, Bama is the only one still writing tunes for InTune...but they don't write a tune for a 2018+ intake swap. Simply out of luck if that was the route I wanted to go. So, I was a bit frustrated.

Upon a bunch of research, I decided to swap tuning devices and tuners since I was pretty disappointed in the "free tunes for life" part falling down. I chose an nGuage tuner with a Lund tune. I couldn't be happier!!! I ordered it through Beefcake Racing and their service (along with Lund's response) has been phenomenal. And, to top it off, the tune is well beyond what I had before. So much so that I currently do not feel the desire to swap intakes! For a "stock" car (with CAI and mufflers), she feels like I have truly allowed that engine to come awake and I LOVE IT! Lund will write me a tune if/when I decide to swap intakes. I will have to pay for that new tune but now I have a highly respected (Coyote) tuning company backing up any revisions I make with the car and a much more reliable and functional tuning device.

Again, I never really had any issues with Bama but the attraction of the "free tunes for life" comes with a heavy asterisk after it. And then to feel the difference between how the Bama tune felt and now how the Lund tune feels is like night and day.
 

13v6

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CandyYote,
There's nothing inherently wrong with Bama tunes. No, they're not the fastest. They don't try to squeeze out every HP from your engine. They play it a bit safer with your car. You'll need to decide if you want the fastest thing out there or just want a peppier car than stock. You can always buy a different tune later.

As for Rev-X vs. X4, I have no idea. I have an X3 myself. Its only use to me is to put a tune on the car.
 

JEWC_Motorsports

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Stay away from Bama if you like your car running. They have a high turn over for tuners and stuff is always changing. When they wanted to go fast they had another popular tuner tune their car.
 

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