Why would a remote tuner need my 13 GT ECU shipped to him to "flash it directly"?

Mapster429

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I have a problem with my 02 Sensors not getting ready with my stock 14 GT w/ GT500 mufflers. I found a remote tuner who seems legit and he says he can fix the problem. He insists I need to run his tune to do some logs, but then send him my ECU so he can "flash it directly".

Does this make any sense? I thought any flashing could be done with a file installed with a common tuner. Confused.
 

ToddW702

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I would contact Shaun at AED and see what he can do for you. I wouldn’t send my ECU to anyone. Shaun can send a tune in an email file for you.


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kcobra

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I have a problem with my 02 Sensors not getting ready with my stock 14 GT w/ GT500 mufflers. I found a remote tuner who seems legit and he says he can fix the problem. He insists I need to run his tune to do some logs, but then send him my ECU so he can "flash it directly".

Does this make any sense? I thought any flashing could be done with a file installed with a common tuner. Confused.

AED or LUND. Don't mess with this send me computer crap. These cars tune well with a tuner. Sounds like a Hellcat tuner. lol
 

GNBRETT

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Gets even worse around here. Some so-called "Tuner" here wanted me to Join his forum, pay a donation to his forum, post my logs on his iforum THEN he would tune my car so everyone can see the tune lmao..... I thought maybe the guy was drunk or something.

Stick with LUND or AED and forget these clown working out of their moms basement.
 

68gtscode

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+1 for AED. I think Shaun is the only remote tuner I would use. I lived in Nor Cal a while back, and Shaun tuned a couple of my cars in person- he is very knowledgeable, detailed, and has great customer service. I did use one of the other tuners referenced in this thread, and was not happy. I guess the guy you're working with now wants the ECU so you don't have to buy a handheld unit (SCT, n gauge, etc.), but that's just a guess.
 
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CobraBob

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I would agree with that being the likely reason, but no WAY would I ship an ECU to a tuner. Imagine trying to sort out a tune having to freaking ship the ECU back and forth, potentially multiple times.
 

Mapster429

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This tuner I found is with a reputable shop down South. I don't want to name him but he's written A LOT about Coyote tuning - very technical stuff - and he specializes with Fords. But I'm no expert with tuning so it's hard for me to evaluate his writings - but he really seems to know his stuff.

He actually wanted me to get an SCT to put his tune on the car and collect logs, but then he also wanted me to ship him the ECU. I offered to buy a spare off ebay and send him that but he said I'd have to swap keys to match serial #'s so it's a whole thing.

Bottom line - I think he's legit but like others said - I'm just not comfortable shipping out my ECU and don't see why it's necessary in 2021. Plus the car's a daily and it would be down the whole time - maybe weeks. And God forbid the ECU got lost or damaged...

As for LUND, LOL - I have a LUND tune, and nGague - brand new never installed. Spent about $700 with them. This problem arose just as I got the Lund stuff. I wanted to get it fixed before I put their tune on. Some local mustang techs couldn't diagnose it so I put the drivetrain back to 100% stock (except GT500 mufflers) and took it to a Ford Dealer. They flashed it but couldn't find any problem either and suggested to try replacing the cats then try the ECU. I'm not gunna spend thousands on guesses. So I contacted Lund for help.

LUND wanted nothing to do with helping me diagnose this problem. Won't review a log - won't have a technical dialogue - won't give me any advice whatsoever. Even if their tune is on the car!

I get it's "my car - my problem" but I'm also a customer who just spent $$$ with them and I got a problem I cant fix in their area of expertise. Ya can't take a minute to look at some logs or offer any advice? IDK, very surprising and disappointing.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
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Riddick

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Did you ask the tuner why he wanted your ECU before posting this thread? I would of done that first before making a thread about it. Here you are getting a bunch of guesses when the tuner can tell you exactly why he needs it.

Did Lund help you at all? If you have a mechanical problem unrelated to the tune its not their job to troubleshoot it for you. However, they should be able to offer you some assistance on things to look for. It sounds like they blew you off, if so I am sorry to hear that.

I personally use AED and have so for the past 5 years. The car has always been spot on. There have been instances when I was having o2 sensor issues, I called Shaun and he helped me out on what to look for, and a few tips in troubleshooting. If you are considering AED you should call him up and pick his brain, I assure you will not be disappointed.
 

68gtscode

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I have had three cars with Lund tunes. The first was a Whippled GT500. It ran okay but Shaun AED retuned it locally and was able to improve drivability and get more out of it. The second car I bought from a very well known shop in Florida. It was tuned by Lund on e85 only, so I paid the shop more $ to have a 93 pump gas tune added before I had the car shipped to me in Texas. I can say with confidence that a shop with quality on par with AED never would have let that car get loaded on the trailer. I have since bought another car with a Lund tune, but I haven’t driven it yet. I’m going to take it to a local tuner to have it redone before I drive it, just because of the sour taste remaining from my last experience with a Lund tune. They lost my confidence.

My two cents to the OP, perhaps free for a reason… Lund is a high-volume remote tuner. A lot of people swear by them so they must do some good work. My experience was not consistent. Any sort of unrelated mechanical issue keeps them from what they do- tune cars. If you believe your issue lies with a root cause other than the tune, I’d recommend you take it to a good local shop. If you don’t have one, Shaun at AED could likely help. He is a coyote whiz and has good service. But at some point, you’ll need to pay him for something.

One bit of light here is that your n gauge is likely worth more than your $700 investment, if it’s new as described. I don’t follow values but believe they’re in high demand now. If you want to sell it, you could offset the cost of getting your car sorted.
 

Mapster429

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Did you ask the tuner why he wanted your ECU before posting this thread? I would of done that first before making a thread about it. Here you are getting a bunch of guesses when the tuner can tell you exactly why he needs it.

Yes, of course. The tuner got vague and wouldn’t expand beyond that he “needs to flash it directly.” I didn’t want to press him further on an emissions fix issue as I know many tuners are paranoid about being approached by EPA feds. I cant build a rapport with him over the phone bc he, like many tuners, doesn’t take calls. So I posted here bc I’m no expert and I thought there could be some “deeper” mods to the ECU that tuners don’t advertise.
 

Mapster429

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Did Lund help you at all? If you have a mechanical problem unrelated to the tune its not their job to troubleshoot it for you. However, they should be able to offer you some assistance on things to look for. It sounds like they blew you off, if so I am sorry to hear that.

LUND was of ZERO help. I get they can’t be free first-call tech to every customer who has a mechanical question. I tried every avenue before contacting them. I explained I went to two separate local mustang tuners to no avail. Then I went back to 100% stock. Then put on 1k miles and more drive cycles than I can count. Then to a Ford dealer -which consulted with Ford Corp. Tech. Point is I did all I could before asking LUND. I kept my questions short and to the point. They wouldn’t look at a log. They wouldn’t even discuss it let alone offer any suggestions. Wouldn't even recommend a local tech or tuner. ZERO.

I have expertise and clients. I get calls for free advice. I won’t talk all day - but I listen, I offer what I can, I make referrals. That’s how you treat customers with respect.
 

Mapster429

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I personally use AED and have so for the past 5 years. The car has always been spot on. There have been instances when I was having o2 sensor issues, I called Shaun and he helped me out on what to look for, and a few tips in troubleshooting. If you are considering AED you should call him up and pick his brain, I assure you will not be disappointed.

Yea thanks for the referral - he's obviously well respected. I just hate the idea of using a tuners time after I spend $$$ with a competitor tuner who blows me off. Maybe I can paypal him for a consult.
 

crjackson

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I’m going to wager a guess that the mystery tuner is @decipha

I’ve heard he can do things at the binary/machine programming level, His abilities apparently go way beyond a regular tune, but it does require having the physical PCM for some things.

I have personal knowledge of someone needing to send him the PCM/ECM to correct issues at the binary level. The PCM came back with perfectly corrected code.

Is this the tuner to which you refer?
 
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68gtscode

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^ This is interesting… I’ve heard of Decipha and seen his posts here on the forum. Unfortunately I don’t know enough about tuning and your post is too vague to draw any conclusion. If there is some additional benefit to a tuner having the pcm, I would like to know and I’ll also stand corrected (in reference to my earlier posts in this thread).

Can anyone bring any clarity? Maybe Decipha himself?
 

Mapster429

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I’m going to wager a guess that the mystery tuner is @decipha

He can do things at the binary/machine programming level, His abilities go way beyond a regular tune, but does require having the physical PCM for some things.

I have personal knowledge of needing to send him PCM/ECM to correct issues at the binary level. This required sending him the PCM and getting back the hardware with perfectly corrected code.

Is this the tuner to which you refer?
That's very interesting thanks for commenting.

Could you expand on your experience with him?

How does tuning on a "binary level" have advantages over making changes on a tune level?

Sounds like @decipha is a reputable tuner and doing the same level tuning as the tuner I found.

I don't want to identify the tuner I spoke with because he was friendly and helpful and it would be wrong for my amature uninformed questioning of his professional skills to reflect poorly on him in any way. If he reads this and outs himself I will confirm.
 

crjackson

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I can tell you that based on information I have read, he can apparently activate/deactivate and/or completely change the behavior of modules that aren’t available through common tuning softwares like SCT/HP Tuners. This is based on his claims, and followup reports from other customers I’ve talked to.

AFAIK, he can write a module from scratch that never previously existed, and load it to a PCM for an unusual need, or custom functions not available otherwise. He’s apparently able to manipulate binary level programming. There’s more, but you would need to contact him directly for that information.

I’ve sent people to him, who have absolutely affirmed this info, but he’s done no work for me personally.

He was able to easily fix an issue for one member, where 2 other tuners (big name guys) told him it wasn’t possible. The user had to ship the PCM to him, and wait a couple of weeks, but it came back with the desired results accomplished.

I’ve never heard of anyone else (other than Roush/Whipple) needing to physically have the PCM, in order to program it. That’s why I guessed it was him.

You can send him a PM from here. He is a member here, but I don’t know how often he checks in.

That’s all I've got.
 
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