| Who is SCT and what do you offer me? |
| SCT is a company that offers several options for programming factory computers in vehicles for many different purposes such as performance, fuel economy or engine swaps using late model technology in older vehicles. |
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| What is flash programming and why do I need it? |
| The act of programming the computer in a vehicle is called “flashing” the PCM. This is a common, reliable, easy, and safe method of getting tune files into the PCM. |
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| What is the difference between a flash programmer and a chip? |
| A “Chip”, as it is commonly known as, is a different method of getting tune files into the PCM. It installs on the J3 service port of older PCMs. Before OBDII (mandated in 1996, but introduced in some 1994 vehicles) this was the only method to get a tune file into a factory PCM. Chips can be used on some of the newer PCMs up until around 2004 in most cases. Newer PCMs have the ability to be “Flashed”. We offer many different “Flash Programmers” that simply plug into the OBDII port of OBDII compliant vehicles making it extremely simply to load custom tunes into the factory computer. They can also be used to monitor the PCMs inputs and outputs. |
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| Do I need a chip or a flash programmer? |
| If you have a factory fuel injected Ford built before 1996, you need to use a chip (unless you have one of the few 94-95 vehicles with OBDII). Certain vehicles can be flash programmed or chipped. These are Mustangs from 1996 (1994 for the V6) to 2004, F150s from 1996 to 2003, and 7.3 diesels from 1996 to 2003. After that, Ford removed the J3 service port on the PCM making the flash programmer your only option. Give us a call or send an e-mail to support@sctflash.com if you have any questions on your specific application. |
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| What vehicles are supported? |
We have pre-loaded files for the most popular Ford vehicles including Super Duty Diesels, all supported on the same part number units. We also have pre-loaded tuners for GM diesels. You can also get custom tunes for just about any computer controlled Ford vehicle, many GM and Chrysler vehicles. Check out our device info pages for lists of vehicles supported.
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| Can I modify my vehicle and still use your tunes? |
| It depends on the vehicle and the modifications. For Ford, we support most popular cold air kits on most popular vehicles along with some other simple bolt on modifications. Typical exhaust system modifications do not require custom tuning, however long tube headers may require some changes to prevent a check engine light. It is always best to get the recommendations of your tuner to decide what modifications require custom tuning. Once you get to a certain level of modifications, your dealer will tell you that you need to have your car custom tuned. This is common if you have changed heads, cam(s), fuel injectors, mass air meters, superchargers, turbo, or nitrous. Most of our pre-loaded devices support custom tuning as well, so you will not have to buy an additional device. GM and Chrysler applications are currently only supported with custom tuning. |
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| What is custom tuning and when would I need this? |
| When pre-loaded files will not work, or you want every last bit of power from your vehicle you will need to have it custom tuned. Custom tuning by one of our custom tuning dealers can typically extract more power from a vehicle because we cannot compensate for minor variances in vehicles manufacturing tolerances in our preloaded files. Additionally, modifications such as (but not limited to) fuel injectors, mass air meters, superchargers, turbochargers, nitrous, strokers, heads, and cam(s) all should be custom tuned. This will help you get the most from your combination. |
| As a side note: It is not recommended to run a “Matched” set of injectors and mass air meter “Calibrated” for said injectors without a tune to calibrate them properly in the PCM. That old way of calibrating a mass air meter to the injectors may get the air/ fuel ratio close, but your ignition timing is usually greatly increased causing internal engine damage such as blown head gaskets and broken pistons. A simple custom tune by one of our dealers can make these parts work properly together to get the air/fuel ratio right, while giving you the exact timing that your application requires. |
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| How do I find a custom tuning dealer? |
| There are several ways to find a custom tuning dealer. The first is to check out our website. We have a link to a dealer locator here http://sctflash.com/dlocator.php . This will give you a list of the dealers in your area. It is recommended that you give them a call and see which dealer you would prefer to deal with. The dealer locator also gives you a map and contact info for each of our dealers. It will also show you which of our dealers are SCT certified. If you cannot find one locally or are having trouble making up your mind, get online and ask around on several of the message boards that you may be a member of. We have several dealers that can do “mail order tuning” as well, so if there are no dealers in your specific area, you can still get custom tunes. |
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| What modifications can they tune for? |
| They can tune for just about any modification that you have done to your vehicle, however some things will require more time on the dyno, or some items will need to be modified before a proper tune can be had. It is recommended to communicate with the dealer that you intend to tune the vehicle during the build phase so that they can help you select the proper parts and help anticipate any problems before you get to the dyno. The last thing you or your dealer wants is to be trying to tune an untunable combination on the dyno. With the proper parts and modifications it is possible to make 1500+HP utilizing the factory PCM. With the wrong parts, it is possible to have a 300HP application that is simply un-drivable. |
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| Are there any limitations of the factory PCM? |
| The factory PCM is a very capable control system capable of handling many things (with the proper tuning of course). Unfortunately it cannot handle low impedance fuel injectors. Make sure that the injectors you choose are high impedance. They will usually have a rating of 12 ohms. Low impedance injectors have a rating of 3-5 ohms. Using the wrong injectors will cause the PCM to fail. If you must use low impedance fuel injectors, you must use some sort of injector driver. With one of those installed, you can then tune using the factory PCM. |
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| Why should I choose SCT? |
| SCT has the most experience and the best reputation in the industry for tuning factory PCMs. We understand them and tune them the right way. There are several companies out there that believe in cutting corners and taking the easy way out of tuning a vehicle, or that you can completely custom tune a vehicle by simply asking a bunch of questions about your vehicle. These methods will always fall short of being correct for each application. We have years of experience in doing the job the right way, tuning the vehicle as if the vehicle manufacturer released it that way from the factory. That way you have a vehicle that makes all the power that combination is capable of making, without sacrificing drivability, emissions, or fuel economy. |
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| Where do I get one? |
| You can purchase pre-loaded tuners and other accessories through our online store or contact any one of our dealers (custom tuning or warehouse distributors). |
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| How will your devices effect the factory warranty? |
| First off, our devices have an excellent record of working with the factory equipment to actually increase the life of parts on a vehicle. You should not have any parts failures that are a direct result of tuning your vehicle. Because of that, you are protected under the Magnuson Moss act. This means that before they deny warranty coverage, they must prove that the modifications that you performed to the vehicle directly caused the part failure. All too often you will find dealers that will attempt to void your warranty at the first sign of any aftermarket modification. If this is the case, take your business elsewhere. There are many dealers that will still cover vehicles with properly performed modifications. |
| With that being said, there are still several reasons to flash the PCM back to stock before going in to the dealership, the least of which is to simply prevent the warranty dispute to begin with. |
