SCT and SNIPER knowledge withholders...

[jasonkdarling]

What are the pro's and con's of these brands?
What model would you recommend?
What other information do you require from me?

[Captain Obvious]

I only have experience with SCT's XCal 2 unit, which was sufficient for swapping the stock tune out for mail-ordered tunes. Originally, the XCal 2 unit was advertized as allowing for end-user adjustments, yet this feature was only partially available after a firmware update was delivered long after the product was released. This pissed me off.

I do not know how the XCal 3 unit measures up, but Sniper's software appears to be extremely user-friendly. And the support for this product is likely more responsive than SCT's is. My Sniper Special Forces package should be arriving next week, so I will be able to provide more input then.

I'm sure G will have a lot to say about the Sniper product. He is the one that peaked my curiosity.

[cobramach1]

Oh no! Here we go again with a thread like this.

My best recommendation is find a tuner you're going to use and then use what they use because from what I can tell they all adjust the same parameters so it comes down to who is going to do the tuning and what they are familiar with or will work with.

[jasonkdarling]

Please remember to tell us all about your experiance with Sniper!!


How do I find a tuner in my hick area?!

[G]

Originally Posted by jasonkdarling

What are the pro's and con's of these brands?
What model would you recommend?
What other information do you require from me?

Sniper Special Forces will do two supported cars with the initial purchase. It has full user adjustability and awesome tech support. The process is very easy for ALMOST anyone to do. The tunes created provide great results and if you really get into tuning, Commando is an affordable upgrade. There is NO limit on the number of tunes you can create or the number of cars you can tune. If you want to tune more than 2 you would need to buy a Bullet for each additional car. The number of tunes created is only limited by storage space on your computer or storage device.

SF is ideal for the person who is phasing in mods, no need to head back to the dyno for every little thing you do. If you prefer getting the car dyno tuned, more shops are using Sniper everyday. If you carry your laptop or bring your software the tuners in this area LOVE using it. The Special Forces software walks you through creating the tune using menu/pull down selections and no tech knowledge is required.

I have used Diablo and SCT prior to switching to Sniper and ALL of them will do a great job of tuning the car. The Sniper is my favorite.

[cobramach1]

Originally Posted by jasonkdarling

Please remember to tell us all about your experiance with Sniper!!


How do I find a tuner in my hick area?!

I just looked up where you were at. That could be a problem. As G said, you can do a lot with Sniper and it sounds user friendly so you may want to go that route. My car is stock so I just have a diablo tune in it because I got it off a guy I used to work with for a reasonable price.

[jasonkdarling]

So far,

0 for SCT
1 for Sniper

I like the two vehicle idea... I could tune the Mach and the Interceptor...


Because of my location, I pretty much have to do everything myself.
Once a summer, there is a big car show in Saginaw - a fella with a portable dyno comes in.
He charges something like $250... I think.

[G]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious

I only have experience with SCT's XCal 2 unit, which was sufficient for swapping the stock tune out for mail-ordered tunes. Originally, the XCal 2 unit was advertized as allowing for end-user adjustments, yet this feature was only partially available after a firmware update was delivered long after the product was released. This pissed me off.

I do not know how the XCal 3 unit measures up, but Sniper's software appears to be extremely user-friendly. And the support for this product is likely more responsive than SCT's is. My Sniper Special Forces package should be arriving next week, so I will be able to provide more input then.

I'm sure G will have a lot to say about the Sniper product. He is the one that peaked my curiosity.

Your gonna love SF when you get started. If you have any questions I would be glad to help you out. Willie can also help and he is well beyond my feeble knowledge level.

[jasonkdarling]

I think the Sniper will go well with what I plan on doing for my stereo's head unit... indash computer system...

0 for SCT
2 for Sniper

[cobramach1]

Originally Posted by jasonkdarling

I think the Sniper will go well with what I plan on doing for my stereo's head unit... indash computer system...

0 for SCT
2 for Sniper

There you go! That would be a tiny computer screen but still cool.

[G]

Originally Posted by Mach1Marauder

Ask your self.........what tuner system has the quickest car.

The Sniper cars do pretty good and are very diverse machines. I don't think there's much doubt thar SCT is probably the most popular. They all work and it comes down to personal preference.

http://www.snipertuning.com/new/view...t=Sponsorships

[wutang61]

Originally Posted by jasonkdarling

Please remember to tell us all about your experiance with Sniper!!


How do I find a tuner in my hick area?!

make the trip to Alternative Auto and have Lidio work your mach over. hes about an hour drive from my place and about a 2 1/2 hour drive from yours.

hes the only person that will ever tune my mach.

[cobramach1]

Originally Posted by wutang61

make the trip to Alternative Auto and have Lidio work your mach over. hes about an hour drive from my place and about a 2 1/2 hour drive from yours.

hes the only person that will ever tune my mach.

What does Lidio use at his shop for tuning?

[GRB60]

Originally Posted by cobramach1

What does Lidio use at his shop for tuning?

SCT

[65fastback2+2]

i liked my diablo

[jasonkdarling]

So now we have:

1 for SCT
2 for Sniper

So, how good is this guy that is 2.5 hours away???

[jasonkdarling]

I am sooo sorry for boring you, M1M.
I actually like being on the cutting edge of technology, instead of using the same OLD thing that works. Who knows, maybe with a different tuner your car would still be running?? or am I wrong... where is your beloved car?

I want to know just about everything there is to know about a product before I purchase it. I do not have the money to toss around and burn on something I thought I wanted, but come to find out -its nothing that I thought it was. I know that I am far from the first to get a tune. Duh. Ever see feeding time at a stock yard? Slaughtering time is much the same. They follow the one in front of them... next thing is dinner for you and me. So what is wrong with going off the beaten path? Trying something different? I am not scared to do so... I just want to know what I am getting myself into. Why else would this site exist?

[ftctoolftc]

asking people to read, Colonel... what's next?!

[jeff33702]

I bought a Livewire the middle of last year and it STILL doesn't do what was advertised. Not to mention, I handed it to SCT at the NMRA race a few weeks ago and was SUPPOSED to have it back within a few days. I haven't heard from them, even after I left messages - no return call.

From a customer support standpoint - IMO SCT "SUCKS".

[Roy]

Go see Lidio.

[wutang61]

Originally Posted by jasonkdarling

So now we have:

1 for SCT
2 for Sniper

So, how good is this guy that is 2.5 hours away???

one of the best.

its worth the trip.

[2k4mach]

Originally Posted by jeff33702

I bought a Livewire the middle of last year and it STILL doesn't do what was advertised. Not to mention, I handed it to SCT at the NMRA race a few weeks ago and was SUPPOSED to have it back within a few days. I haven't heard from them, even after I left messages - no return call.

From a customer support standpoint - IMO SCT "SUCKS".

lol i told you the livewire sucked.

i have 2 of them here at the house

[jeff33702]

It's beyond the product sucking. The product actually is starting to do what it's supposed to but the company that stands behind it....well....DOESN'T STAND BEHIND IT. SCT as a company has let me down. I will not waste my time using them for my next project.

[jeff33702]

The livewire is working great except for the LCD is failing. It has awesome logging abilities and I am using both analog inputs. There are a few advertised (originally) features that still dont work but overall, the product is doing the job for me.

The reason that I wouldn't buy SCT again is the COMPANY, not the product. Hell, I think they even took down their message forums because of the threads going on for MONTHS complaining about the same problems still not being resolved.

While the XC2-3 might have been better out of the box, the fact remains that SCT has dropped the ball in helping me.

[2k4mach]

Originally Posted by Mach1Marauder

I told all of you guys BEFORE it came out that it would suck...................DIDN'T I?

shad up

Originally Posted by jeff33702

The livewire is working great except for the LCD is failing. It has awesome logging abilities and I am using both analog inputs. There are a few advertised (originally) features that still dont work but overall, the product is doing the job for me.

The reason that I wouldn't buy SCT again is the COMPANY, not the product. Hell, I think they even took down their message forums because of the threads going on for MONTHS complaining about the same problems still not being resolved.

While the XC2-3 might have been better out of the box, the fact remains that SCT has dropped the ball in helping me.

well you call them and get an rma# and they will replace the screen its not that hard its a known fact that some 1st run livewires have bad screens mine was just replaced about a month ago no questions asked.

called them up and let them know i had the contrast all the way up and that the screen was still just barely readable.

i have recieved nothing but top notch service from them over the past 3-4 years. matter of fact im bout to call right now about a problem with my PRP.