WHAT HANDHELD TUNING DEVICE FOR AUSSIE MUSTANG COBRA

Steve Gifford

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Hi all, I have a 2002 Mustang Cobra (Yes 2002 Australian) with 4.6 DOHC engine as you would all know.
My question is, What tuning device could I get from the states that will give me better tune and power?
I see Diablo, SCT and others.
Problem is the fuel here we us is 95 or 98 Octane fuel.
Only mods I have done is 2 1/2 inch exhaust, high flow cats/Magnaflow sport mufflers. 3.73 gears, 18" Rovos wheels, JLT Cold Air intake.
Which tuning device would I be able to use from the USA? Support is important.
What kind of gains will I be able to get if I can? How many tunes do you get and is it worth it?
Thanks all
Steve, Sydney AUSTRALIA
 

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01yellercobra

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SCT is probably the most popular for these cars. Do you have a local tuner? Granted nowadays you can get a remote tune pretty easily. That might be your best bet.

Is the octane down there rated the same way as it is in the states?
 

Steve Gifford

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There are tuners,
SCT is probably the most popular for these cars. Do you have a local tuner? Granted nowadays you can get a remote tune pretty easily. That might be your best bet.

Is the octane down there rated the same way as it is in the states?
Octane rating I am not sure. I thought it was a world wide rating?. When you say "remote tune" what does it mean?
There are tuners but not sure what they use. Should I find out what hand held tuners they use? Or do they flash a tune in and that's that?. Problem is our 2002 Mustang Cobras are not really known here. I have heard the 4.6 DOHC Cobra engines have to be tuned properly. Timing etc. Is there specs for a tune rather than standard which I have?
Sorry Im new to all this. I am 58 years young and still learning.
 

Steve Gifford

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I found this about our fuel in Australia.
Australia: "regular" unleaded fuel is 91 RON, "premium" unleaded with 95 RON is widely available, and 98 RON fuel is also reasonably common. Shell used to sell 100 RON fuel (5% ethanol content) from a small number of service stations, most of which are located in major cities (stopped in August 2008). United Petroleum used to sell 100 RON unleaded fuel (10% ethanol content) at a small number of its service stations (originally only two, but then expanded to 67 outlets nationwide) (stopped in September 2014).[29][30] All fuel in Australia is unleaded except for some aviation fuels. E85 unleaded fuel is also available at several United service stations across the country.[31] Recently E10 fuel has become quite common[32], and is available at almost every major fuel station. The Australian government makes stations advertise E10 as 94 RON.[33]
 

01yellercobra

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There are tuners,

Octane rating I am not sure. I thought it was a world wide rating?. When you say "remote tune" what does it mean?
There are tuners but not sure what they use. Should I find out what hand held tuners they use? Or do they flash a tune in and that's that?. Problem is our 2002 Mustang Cobras are not really known here. I have heard the 4.6 DOHC Cobra engines have to be tuned properly. Timing etc. Is there specs for a tune rather than standard which I have?
Sorry Im new to all this. I am 58 years young and still learning.
I remember hearing the ratings were different for the same octane depending on where you live. That was why I asked.

The general process is you figure out who you want to tune your car then find out which software they use. No point in buying a Diablosport handheld when the tuner uses SCT.

A remote tune is what it sounds like. The tuner tunes your car remotely through a series of datalogs. Usually you communicate through email. It does require you to know how to datalog. But that's good knowledge to have IMO. There are a couple remote tuners on here that might be worth talking to.
 

IH8TOADS

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Hey mate, HP tuners now support the 02 Cobra so you don’t necessarily need a SCT xcal now. Having said that the SCT tuners in Australia are probably the best as we have access to all the value files (Calibrations for certain mods).

Alternatively you could approach one of the US tuners to send you a box and tune. If you need a strategy ID for our 02’ Cobra’s let me know as they will need this to write the tune.

Also keep in mind our 98ron fuel is not the same octane as even the US 93ron fuel so the ignition advance can’t be as aggressive as a US tune (as a general rule). In addition we have no ethanol in the fuel so the stoich ratio of 14.64 needs to be retained in the calibration. Pass this info on if you do go down the remote/US tuning route. The big names like LUND should be aware of this with the S550 tuning they’re doing on Aussie cars.
 

Steve Gifford

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Thanks for the info. I am new to this and trying to get my head around it. Do you mind if I PM your with my email address? Can talk that way and get some info. Im a Perth boy living in Sydney unfortunately :(
 

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