SVTP Tackles Tuning With The SCT Pro-Racer Packagehttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...vtp-tackles-tuning-sct-pro-racer-package.htmlhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...vtp-tackles-tuning-sct-pro-racer-package.htmlhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...vtp-tackles-tuning-sct-pro-racer-package.htmlhttp://www.svtperformance.com/forum...vtp-tackles-tuning-sct-pro-racer-package.html
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Have you ever been interested in tuning your own vehicle? It can be quite intimidating, and that’s why most people shy away from it. Let’s face it, there’s a lot going on inside the ECU of a Modular engine, especially the new Coyotes. Tuning is one area where you can do some serious damage to your car, so it needs to be done carefully and correctly. However, good personalized tuning can be the difference between a satisfactory driving experience and driving perfection. This is where the SCT Pro-Racer Package (“PRP”) comes in.
The SCT Peformance PRP offers a level of custom electronic drivetrain control that far surpasses any end-user adjustments available from typical hand-held devices. The software gives you access to alter basically any parameter controlled by your ECU. It’s the same level of control that your trusted tuner would use to set your air/fuel ratio or spark advance. With the right datalogs and a little knowledge you tune basically any setup you can think of that can be handles with the stock ECU.
This is what you can expect to receive if you order the PRP.
Picking up this book will help you get started if you are new to tuning.
Picking up this book will help you get started if you are new to tuning.
When you order the PRP you basically get three things; a copy of the SVT Advantage tuning software, a dongle that contains your ECU processor code and licensing info, and a tuning device (an SCT X-Cal 3 in our case). If you’re really serious about giving custom tuning a real shot SCT has a basics-of-tuning book, which I highly recommend. The software itself is well thought-out, logically organized, and fairly simple to use once you are familiar with it. But all of the benefits, features, and positive attributes aside; how do you know that having the ability to build your own tune is for you?
As the note at the bottom of the screen indicates, the MAF transfer function is the "most crucial item that must be correct in order to make the car run correctly."
The SCT PRP gives you the option to view data as either a grid or a chart.
For some components, such as this Boarderline Knock Table, you have the option to view the data as a 3D graph.
If you look in the options menu to the left you'll see many factors you can optimize for spark retard. This is important if you not really fan of cleaning your engine internals off the floor with a sponge.
Changes made to your base tune are color coded. Red for higher and blue for lower.
You can also go back and look at all of the changes you've made to your base file.
If you're like some people I know, and you change your rear axle ratios more often than you change your underwear, you'll probably want to familiarize yourself with this option.
The knock sensors on the Coyote are very sensitive and very accurate. This field allows you t add more timing as long as detonation is not detected.
For those of you with power adders, you've probably had to trade your fuel injectors out for higher flowing units. This screen is where you set the injector slope. If this isn't set correctly you're going to have major fueling problems.
For many PRP owners this screen represents one of the biggest advantages of owning the software, the ability to adjust the little things. Here you can change whether the traction control system defaults on or off with every engine restart.
The SCT PRP gives you the option to view data as either a grid or a chart.
For some components, such as this Boarderline Knock Table, you have the option to view the data as a 3D graph.
If you look in the options menu to the left you'll see many factors you can optimize for spark retard. This is important if you not really fan of cleaning your engine internals off the floor with a sponge.
Changes made to your base tune are color coded. Red for higher and blue for lower.
You can also go back and look at all of the changes you've made to your base file.
If you're like some people I know, and you change your rear axle ratios more often than you change your underwear, you'll probably want to familiarize yourself with this option.
The knock sensors on the Coyote are very sensitive and very accurate. This field allows you t add more timing as long as detonation is not detected.
For those of you with power adders, you've probably had to trade your fuel injectors out for higher flowing units. This screen is where you set the injector slope. If this isn't set correctly you're going to have major fueling problems.
For many PRP owners this screen represents one of the biggest advantages of owning the software, the ability to adjust the little things. Here you can change whether the traction control system defaults on or off with every engine restart.
Let me share a personal tuning story that the SCT PRP helped me solve. What seems like 750 years ago I was working with Rick Erdman from Amazon Tuning Solutions to dial in the tune on my 2004 SVT Lightning. At the time, I was in college and unable to travel to Amazon’s shop for a dyno tune. After talking to Rick we came up with the next best solution. We setup a “remote tuning session.” This essentially entailed Rick working comfortably from his shop to tune my truck on a local dyno 500 miles away. I would make a run and send Rick the datalogs, he’d then send me a new tune and we’d repeat the process. We did this maybe four times in the span of about two hours. After the final tune was loaded and the last dyno run was made the truck felt perfect, nearly.
After all of Rick’s work there was still one small quibble I had with the tune. Make no mistake, the truck was safe and felt like a beast, but under an extremely narrow set of circumstances the transmission would not down shift when I wanted it to. The issue would pop up when going up an incline in overdrive with the torque converter locked. What drove me nuts was that the tranny didn’t downshift from OD to third (this is a 4R100 four speed auto) until you hit 43MPH or apply what I considered an unacceptable amount of throttle (about 20% throttle). If the tranny doesn’t downshift the engine will start running up the boost, which is not something you want to do for an extended period of time in a Lightning with a stock bottom end. This was something that would only manifest itself on certain mountain roads, and there was no way for us to have noticed it while on the dyno. This issue wasn’t something I’d really call a problem (considering the narrow circumstances under which it occurs), but it is one of those little things that drive you crazy. I could make it downshift by press the throttle a little more, but just wanted it to do it on its own.
It just so happened that I had the exact tool that I needed to fix my little problem, the SCT PRP. I just pulled the transmission tuning tables and made a few tweeks, under Rick’s expert supervision, and that was it. Problem solved, problem staying solved. It took me a few tries to get the tuning the exact way I wanted it, but that’s the beauty of the PRP. It allows you to make the tune exactly what you want it to be, without compromises. With the PRP and the assistance of someone as familiar with the ins-and-out of tuning as Rick you can really make tailor your driving experience to whatever tastes you may have.
You know this truck loves a good tuning session.
But that’s not the end of the story. A few months ago we picked up the SCT PRP software for our project 2012 SVTP GT. Since the GT has a manual gear box we didn’t have to worry about tuning out any left over slushbox shenanigans this time around. Instead we were greeted by about 7 million new tables to control the extremely sophisticated “twin independent variable camshaft timing” blessed upon the Coyote V8 by the engineers at Ford. When you look at the fact that the file size of a 5.0 tune is basically two megabytes where the earlier modular engines were round about 450 kilobytes, you get a real sense of the complexity of tuning Ford’s latest engines.
Undaunted by the complexity of the tune contained within the copperhead ECU, we pressed on. Granted, we were playing with the tuning on a basically sock car, but it was nice to crisp up the throttle response and lower the temperature at which the electric cooling fan engages to better take advantage of a cooler thermostat. When it came time to dig a little deeper and start playing with spark, fueling, cam timing we reached out to SVTP Vendor Chris Jones at Blow-By Racing. He was kind enough to walk us through some of the changes and advances in the software that have developed since we played with tuning the Lightning.
With Chris’s help (more like him doing the work while we watched) we soon had a pretty solid base tune to start working off of, and that’s really what you’re after if you have the PRP. Once you have a solid foundation to work from making minor adjustments for new mods isn’t all that difficult. The logical layout of the SCT software makes things much less confusing than one might think. We were able to use the PRP to help us with some recent CAI experiments that you’ll be seeing here soon on SVTP. The PRP is a great tool for those who want more control than is afforded by the end-user adjustments on a hand-held device, and are confident enough in their understanding of basic tuning theory to carry out the necessary parameter changes. It’s a powerful piece of software that when used correctly can make the performance vehicle owning experience much more enjoyable for those who like to DIY.
The SVTP GT visited BBR's chassis dyno for a little tuning session.
With each run and tuning adjustment we saw an improvement in power.
BBR Should really think about strapping that banner down a little better.
You're always bound to see a few nice cars when you visit BBR.
BBR has a really nice show room replete with many go-fast goodies. The SVTP F-350 in window adds a touch of class as well.
For more information on the SCT Pro-Racer Package check out this LINK.
Special Thanks To:
SCT Peformance
Blow-By Racing
Amazon Tuning Solutions
-SID297 :beer:
