Got my Taurus tuned by 5-Star Tuning

Just got my SCT X3 Power Programmer yesterday from Mike Butler at 5-Star Tuning! After talking with him for a few months, I got the ball rolling and sent him the specs on my ECM and within a day, he Emailed me back saying that the ECM code was good and a tune could be made.

He offered me up to three tunes pre-programed on the hand-held unit. I chose the following: 87 octane Economy, 87 octane Performance and 93 octane Performance. Mike personally tuned the programs for me as per our phone call and by the online calibration form I sent him from his website. He offers tuning tweaks through Email if you download software to your PC so that you can update your tunes if you add any additional modifications.

Mike Butler was very easy to talk to and answered all my questions. He was patient with me being a noob with this whole tuning thing. All I can say is the entire transaction went really smooth. I ordered the unit on Saturday and got it by Wednesday.

This is what came in the FedEx box.


Upon opening up the SCT X3 packaging, I had the following items:

USB cable
"SCT" chrome emblem
CD-Rom with instructions/ info
SCT X3 Power Progammer


Mike at 5-Star Tuning included the following in the SCT folder:

5-Star Tuning business card
Color printed FAQs sheet/ instruction sheet
SCT Product Catalog
Beverage chiller sleeve
Receipt/ Return policy sheet
"5-Star Tuning" decal


Impressions of the tune.

I went with the 87 Performance tune to see what kind of improvements I can get. The process is very easy. I just plugged it in, let the programmer learn my ECM, flashed it with the tune and that was it! The entire process of learning to then flashing the ECM took betweem 15-20min. The longest duration of time is for the programmer to save a copy of my stock ECM settings to its memory.

Upon restarting the car, I noticed right away it seemed to run smoother. It was early evening when I went for a ride, but I noticed a definite improvement in throttle response and acceleration. The transmission shifting is a lot firmer and if anything else, more direct. The car seems to run effortlessly from a stop up to speed. I took my wife for a ride to see if she noticed anything and she was quite surprised. I KNOW there is a change in the car when my wife can notice the difference.

I will do another Dynolicious run Friday night and will post the graphs next to my old ones to compare.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the results and this transaction was quite positive. So, give Mike Butler at 5-Star Tuning a call or Email to inquire if he can tune your Taurus!

That's cool! How much does it cost to get the package you got?

YES, I can't wait to fill up with 93 Octane!

Email him with your info and expectations on what you would like and he can quote you a price: mike@5startuning.com

This seems interesting, but I don't like secret pricing.

It looks like three to five-hundred bucks to me.

That's a lot of money for a code reader and a five degree timing advance chip that you have to offset with thirty more cents for a gallon of gas.

Maybe I'm wrong but it doesn't seem like a good bang for the buck to me.

Mike at 5-Star Tuning just asked me to let people know that he is offering personal tunes, but each tune's pricing is different depending on each individual customer's expectations.

They advertise on their website a price of $380 shipped. It doesn't hurt to Email and just ask.

Maybe you could invite Mike over here to explain exactly what he does to program in more HP and MPG and at the same time guarantee it will not effect the emissions or factory warranty.
I'm not knocking their product because I don't know enough about it.

I'm not "Bracket Racing" in this family car I own.

Changing the spark curve, A/F ratio and doing away with the rev limiter could be a big problem if the driver is not careful.

Just my opinion.

RS

You have your opinions, but don't be so negative. There is a lot to offer with this package. it is a lot more than a code reader and five degrees of timing. Visit the website to see more. SCT is huge with the tuning world. This isn't a fly-by-night setup.

You are paying for the programmer unit itself and its accessories, you are paying for shipping of the product to your home and above all else, you are paying for someone's time to actually tune the device according to your vehicles tables. Being an '08 Taurus, it is a custom setup which requires more time to do. If this was a Mustang, there are already pre-loaded base lines to just plug into...a no brainer there.

I do believe in the skepticism with plunking down a fair amount of cash for this unit, but it all depends on what you would like to do with it. This SCT X3 has the ability to data log, check and clear DTCs, relearn new tuning tables, add or remove mods within its tune parameters, it has the ability to have you adjust some of the settings yourself. Plus, if you need to do warranty work, you can flash it back to stock. The software for your PC is free which you can upload data logs and receive the latest firmware and tune updates via Email. All of these manufacturer updates are free by the way.

It just seemed like a decent deal for the potential of the unit. I am sure that most normal people won't dig so deep into the technical aspect of the abilities of the unit, but just enjoy better performance and better gas mileage.

I will PM Mike at 5-Star Tuning and have him answer these questions.

redlawyers,

I have visited the website and have many questions about a super-tune through software.

It's not that I'm negative but working in the field for forty years,(thirty doing driveability repairs), I have my doubts.

I would welcome Mike here to teach me a lesson.

Ron Stabb
Publisher, http://blueovaltechs.com/

Hi Guys
First of all just wanted to say thanks to Michael for posting up. Pricing for the X3 with 3 tunes develped for your car is 379.00 to your door. There is so much more than just timing advance in fact there is very little advance with standard 87 octane fuel. Most of the enhancement comes from the drive by wire system. This DBW system is a torque driven system, it works by taking a certain amount of torque via engine and wheel and applies it to what the drivers foot say it needs; a better way to explain it is its a torque limiter. It only allows so much torque at a given pedal position. Stock tables are conservative and numb at best and that's why one would feel some times a lag or a goofy pedal with DBW systems. In fact more torque at less throttle equals better economy....

As for the cost we are real simple to work with, If your not fully satisfied with the results we would just refund 100% of your money back.. Its that simple...No need to strong arm anyone thats not our business model. As for warranty most dealers are ok with simple mods on gasoline vehicles. But I always suggest returning vehicle back to stock with the X3 before performing any warranty repairs and always finding a mod friendly dealer. Another cool feature of the X3 is it will work on any Ford vehicle down the road... one day if you upgrade to a newer or different Ford vehicle X3 still functions on that vehicle...

Thanks again Michael for posting up real world results. My wife is just the same as yours takes a lot for her to notice a difference when it comes to driving performance.

Mike

Michael didn't post up yet.

I'll stick with a sixty-dollar code reader and push my pedal to the metal more aggressively.

Thanks but no thanks. Maybe you guys should sell your aggressive TBW program to FMC.

Just a thought.

Thanks Mike for posting a quick message on here. Again, there are skeptics, but it is just a cool tool to have to dig deeper into tuning your vehicle.
I don't know what else to post up other than that.

The super fun iTouch app Dynolicious didn't behave this evening when we did a few runs, so I will have to attempt another try later on.

MIKE G.

Good luck in your adventure. I sure would like to debate the programs that you claim increase HP and MPG.

I might even learn something that I never knew before. I'm not an engineer but just a lowly smuck from the old days.