bscottie
Member
anybody used SCT's Pro Racer Software package that can share any experiences?
Tuning
- Thread starter bscottie
- Start date
Yes, been using for a while - is there something specific you are looking for?
Like any tuning package, it is a "tool". You have to know what you are doing to use it...
There are some tuning tools out there that try to bridge the gap between pre-whacked (canned) tunes and custom tunes (like Sniper), but that isn't really for me as I tend to get outside their box. If you do lego mods, they work fine, but once you start doing things off the beaten path, they stop working...
The SCT stuff is relatively straight forward. It does assume you know what you are doing though...
So, what are you looking to do with it? Optimize MAF, cam, fuel and spark timing based on wideband O2 and dyno/track runs or just make basic changes to your setup?
bscottie
Member
just curious what capabilities it would have, from what I can read on their website you should be able to do a complete tune on a car which is something I need, I don't think it would be easy but I am ambitious and for the money it is a lot cheaper than some of the shitty dyno tuning I have gotten, plus I like learning and challenges and doing as much of my own work on my cars as possible. I think this would be a good way to get a good tune eventually and also to be able to completly get my car dialed in the way I like it, if I had this, the trial and error time to get dialed in would be unlitmited for me, I have the tools to monitor afr and the patience to deal with some aggravation, I do have a few resources that could give me a little help along the way when I stumble, with all the work I see being done here on this forum I am surprised to not read or hear more about it. finding a good tuner isnt the easiest thing, especially in Nor Cal. thanks for the reply, still debating if I want to go this route or not, it is definitly tempting, were there any software issues? what os are you running it with?
I have 2 different maf sizes I use, 3 different pulleys to play with, water/meth injection, waiting on an intercooler design, and would like to see the difference from 91 to 100 octane, by my best estimate that is a hell of a lot of dyno time and seat time, at an average of 125 an hour I am willing to educate myself the hard way.
I have 2 different maf sizes I use, 3 different pulleys to play with, water/meth injection, waiting on an intercooler design, and would like to see the difference from 91 to 100 octane, by my best estimate that is a hell of a lot of dyno time and seat time, at an average of 125 an hour I am willing to educate myself the hard way.
Last edited:
bscottie
Member
bscottie
Member
havent heard from Doug lately, still hoping though. have heard a few good things about RET, add a few more hundred to the cost of a tune though, damn software from SCT lookin better LOL
Boy, I thought I responded to this already, but it doesn't seem to be here...
Oh well, here goes again...
The MAF curve is relatively straight forward if you have a wideband O2 sensor. Doing pulls on the street is not a great idea, though.... The dyno or the track is a better place to tune the full MAF curve, your data logs on the street end up being erratic and incomplete as its pretty tough to getom from 1500-6500 RPMs on the street without doing something stupid or geting a big ticket... Your mileage may vary... (literally).
Turning things on and off like CMCVs, O2s and fans is pretty straight forward, that's what I do more often than not - adjust for changes to the car that don't require a "tune", just binary yes/no stuff.
There are quite a few aspects of the Ford tune that are not really intended for human consumption (since its a computer), so they are not always intuitive and there are scaling/conversions you have to be aware of... And things like yes/no flags that aren't always "0" or "1".
Injectors and timing are obviously harder - that's where the expertise comes in (that and jumping to a different, larger, MAF housing). You need to "just know" some things that you won't easily figure out just looking at the software or even if you understand how the car works - you still have to figure out how the PCM accomplishes that...
It's a very useful tool, but if you aren't already familiar with tuning, I'm not sure if it would be worth it unless you have someone to teach you. I had an engine I was replacing very soon to practice and some help which was nice. You can really hurt the car if you screw up...
There is a forum for help that is pretty good, but it is by permission only as there are propretary non-disclosure requirements to buying the tool which is why you don't see a lot of discussion on it.
new/different MAFs can also be tricky unless you know where to start. Get it wrong enough and the car just won't start and you get no data at all....
You can get there and you will learn a lot, but for $50-100 you can have someone set you up with a base tune via email for such things. They make a box you can work within (i.e. don't mess with their timing tables).
Learning the "hard way" with FI is an expensive way. Get it wrong and you pop the engine...
Be careful...
I wish Ford just sold you the car with that stuff, but understand the reality that most people would blow up the car in the first week and there is no way the EPA would let them - heck, I am surprised the EPA hasn't made it impossible to tune them in the first place...
Owning this software is not a replacement for an experienced tuner - it will take you a long time and likely a damaged car with FI to get there by yourself... That said, these cars are now well enough understood that you can work with some of the mail-order tune vendors to get base tunes that are completely open that you can manipulate in SCT ProRacer... That's the route I have gone.
Oh well, here goes again...
You most certainly can - the issue is that you need to know what you are doing with it. I started from understanding how the engine works having built them and tuned carb'd engines before. That and having written embedded software. So, all I had to do was work from that to how it is presented in the software and the tune itself...
The MAF curve is relatively straight forward if you have a wideband O2 sensor. Doing pulls on the street is not a great idea, though.... The dyno or the track is a better place to tune the full MAF curve, your data logs on the street end up being erratic and incomplete as its pretty tough to getom from 1500-6500 RPMs on the street without doing something stupid or geting a big ticket... Your mileage may vary... (literally).
Turning things on and off like CMCVs, O2s and fans is pretty straight forward, that's what I do more often than not - adjust for changes to the car that don't require a "tune", just binary yes/no stuff.
There are quite a few aspects of the Ford tune that are not really intended for human consumption (since its a computer), so they are not always intuitive and there are scaling/conversions you have to be aware of... And things like yes/no flags that aren't always "0" or "1".
Injectors and timing are obviously harder - that's where the expertise comes in (that and jumping to a different, larger, MAF housing). You need to "just know" some things that you won't easily figure out just looking at the software or even if you understand how the car works - you still have to figure out how the PCM accomplishes that...
It's a very useful tool, but if you aren't already familiar with tuning, I'm not sure if it would be worth it unless you have someone to teach you. I had an engine I was replacing very soon to practice and some help which was nice. You can really hurt the car if you screw up...
There is a forum for help that is pretty good, but it is by permission only as there are propretary non-disclosure requirements to buying the tool which is why you don't see a lot of discussion on it.
XP - no issues, there were some vista issues early on, but as I understand those are ironed out for most...
That's where things get a little hairy... Knowing what you can get away with in octane land and timing is tricky. Even having the SCT software I defer to "experts" on such things... That just comes from the school of "hard knocks" (pun intended).
new/different MAFs can also be tricky unless you know where to start. Get it wrong enough and the car just won't start and you get no data at all....
You can get there and you will learn a lot, but for $50-100 you can have someone set you up with a base tune via email for such things. They make a box you can work within (i.e. don't mess with their timing tables).
Learning the "hard way" with FI is an expensive way. Get it wrong and you pop the engine...
Be careful...
I wish Ford just sold you the car with that stuff, but understand the reality that most people would blow up the car in the first week and there is no way the EPA would let them - heck, I am surprised the EPA hasn't made it impossible to tune them in the first place...
Owning this software is not a replacement for an experienced tuner - it will take you a long time and likely a damaged car with FI to get there by yourself... That said, these cars are now well enough understood that you can work with some of the mail-order tune vendors to get base tunes that are completely open that you can manipulate in SCT ProRacer... That's the route I have gone.
bscottie
Member
cekim thanks, all good info I am looking for, the possibility of getting one of my tunes as an "open" tune may just be a possible route, thanks again
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