SCT Sucks (Split from another thread)

[DodgeZ]

SCT is a pile crap, at least for the SRT4 stuff.

[SebringLX]

SCT is a pile crap, at least for the SRT4 stuff.

Not true at all. It lacks datalogging capabilities, which it really should have, but I don't think that makes it a pile of crap. I've had excellent results with SRT4s on it, and I know a lot of other tuners who have as well. At these prices it's a great deal. With the old pricing, not so much.

[glhs727]

SCT is a pile crap, at least for the SRT4 stuff.


Yea, I gotta disagree there. we have tuned a lot of cars with the sct and gotten very good results. Now if you bought the pro racer package and don't have a dyno or a good tuning background, then you might not have gotten good results and therefore you think the sct sucks....

[JamesL]

SCT is a pile crap, at least for the SRT4 stuff.

Well I wouldn't call it a pile of crap but it could use a feature update. I wouldn't expect much there because they have no DCX expertise anymore. We've been an SCT dealer now for sometime. I've tuned at least one SRT 4 to over 530 WHP and several to 400WHP including my own. We are also a Diablo Sport dealer and I must say that I prefer that platform for its flexibility and features.

[glhs727]

sct doesn't work for the PT cruiser with the can bus set-up.

[SebringLX]

+1 to Cindy and James. What vehicle support packages do you guys have? I have the 96-02 truck package and the SRT-4 package.

I've been a dealer since August 07 when the Dodge support first came out, but I mainly got into it to open up a tuning option for my own vehicle. My car would not run at all without it. I have stock drivability on my '04 Sebring Sedan running 750cc injectors and a 20G turbo off the stock PCM with my tune flashed to it. It's been a solid 13 second car at moderate boost levels, daily driven. Hoping I can get the boost turned up and head to the track with the Chicago SDAC guys on Saturday and maybe click off some 12's. Been selling tunes at low cost here and there just to try and recover the investment I made in this, and support my hobby.

If you pick up just the handheld at this cheap price, FWD Performance is definately a place I'd recommend ordering a tune for it from.

[SebringLX]

sct doesn't work for the PT cruiser with the can bus set-up.

Yeah that's what it was... which is 06+ right?

[glhs727]

yes, 06 and up.

[SebringLX]

I wouldn't expect much there because they have no DCX expertise anymore.
Yeah I miss Dave. Used to be able to get him to fix things or add things right away. I was pissed when I found out he was no longer working there. I needed the ability to shut off the TIP related CELs on a PT Cruiser code that was missing it. I tried to get ahold of Dave only to find out he was no longer working there. The guy they hired to replace him had no idea what I was talking about, took weeks to get it added in.

[DodgeZ]

I guess when I plugged it up and it flat out wouldn't work, was the first problem. Next they couldn't figure out how to get it to work even after I sent them my computer and they mess around with it. When I asked them what tables needed to be adjusted for fuel and change to a 3bar map they flat out couldn't tell me. Again I wouldn't tell anyone to use an SCT product for an SRT4. They told me I had to using a different computer if I wanted to use it. I just got my 850 bucks back. Sorry but I'll stick with saying it is a piece of trash. I ended up spring another 500 bucks for the AEM stand alone. Maybe SCT fixed the product but it too late for me

[DodgeZ]

Well I wouldn't call it a pile of crap but it could use a feature update. I wouldn't expect much there because they have no DCX expertise anymore. We've been an SCT dealer now for sometime. I've tuned at least one SRT 4 to over 530 WHP and several to 400WHP including my own. We are also a Diablo Sport dealer and I must say that I prefer that platform for its flexibility and features.

That is funny didnt' I see you over on the AEM forums asking questions about tuning your SRT? :thumb:

[DodgeZ]

Yea, I gotta disagree there. we have tuned a lot of cars with the sct and gotten very good results. Now if you bought the pro racer package and don't have a dyno or a good tuning background, then you might not have gotten good results and therefore you think the sct sucks....

No it just didn't work. Like it was a big pile of crap that wouldn't work and cost a 1000 bucks.


Here it is... Sorry I got it for 850 because i bought in before it was released....


http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f87/my-sct-pro-racer-experience-please-read-396760/

[SebringLX]

3 BAR and fuel were about the easiest things to figure out. I had both working on my car, which isn't officially supported and never will be, from the 1st time I ever used it (August 2007 when it first came out). I even had to dremel part of the 3BAR sensor's connector to get it to plug into my wiring harness. I've had my PCM fried twice, both times because my kids broke my XCal2 and I tried to flash with it thinking it was fine. Connection was loose during the flash = fried PCM. SCT replaced the XCal2 both times, and fixed my PCM both times, for FREE. They have always taken very good care of me and my customers.

I won't deny there were a lot of bugs when it first came out, I know 'cause I personally worked with SCT to fix many of them. That was 2 years ago, it's come a very long way since then. I'm sorry you had a bad experience 2 years ago. I really don't think you have to come crap all over my thread now because of it. Name 1 tuning product that hasn't had problems when it was 1st released? I can't think of one for any platform that hasn't.

It's a good product. The pricing was finaly dropped to fair levels and matched the GM and Ford products a little over 6 months ago... and now with this limited time special, the pricing is very very low and one heck of a deal.

[JamesL]

That is funny didnt' I see you over on the AEM forums asking questions about tuning your SRT? :thumb:

Actually I had a customer car in the shop that insisted on having an AEM installed on his stage 3 car. It was one of the first AEM units I ever touched. At first I tuned his car with a DTEC to about 380hp. But he wanted his nitrous controlled by the AEM. So I installed the AEM, went though all kinds of hell figuring out what switches I could and could not use (their documentation sucked at the time) got it working to the tune of 390ish without the NOS. He had an empty bottle LOL. I had issues with the idle jumping all over the place after you turned the AC on and off. It seemed like a simple problem but I fought it for a week or so. I charged the guy nothing for the tune work because I couldn't fix the idle issue without having his car even longer. He took it to another shop in town that had "certified" AEM tuners. They charged him 900 dollars for the tune that made the same power I made and he still had the idle issue. He ended up bringing it back to me where I took all the AEM crap off. :thumb:

[DodgeZ]

Actually I had a customer car in the shop that insisted on having an AEM installed on his stage 3 car. It was one of the first AEM units I ever touched. At first I tuned his car with a DTEC to about 380hp. But he wanted his nitrous controlled by the AEM. So I installed the AEM, went though all kinds of hell figuring out what switches I could and could not use (their documentation sucked at the time) got it working to the tune of 390ish without the NOS. He had an empty bottle LOL. I had issues with the idle jumping all over the place after you turned the AC on and off. It seemed like a simple problem but I fought it for a week or so. I charged the guy nothing for the tune work because I couldn't fix the idle issue without having his car even longer. He took it to another shop in town that had "certified" AEM tuners. They charged him 900 dollars for the tune that made the same power I made and he still had the idle issue. He ended up bringing it back to me where I took all the AEM crap off. :thumb:



Yea, I gotta disagree there. we have tuned a lot of cars with the AEM and gotten very good results. Now if you bought the AEM package and don't have a dyno or a good tuning background, then you might not have gotten good results and therefore you think the AEM sucks...




:D

[JamesL]

Yea, I gotta disagree there. we have tuned a lot of cars with the AEM and gotten very good results. Now if you bought the AEM package and don't have a dyno or a good tuning background, then you might not have gotten good results and therefore you think the AEM sucks...
:D

Actually I was very successful at getting a good tune with the AEM and few others since then; it was all the other BS I didn't like. I have a great tuning dyno and extensive tuning background so that was not my issue. The early AEM units for the SRT4 had some issues and I worked with AEM to get some things fixed mainly mistakes in documentation. It is defintiely very cool the number of ways to control NOS, have staging limiters and the list goes on. I love the tuning interfaces it provides allowing you to follow in the cells in real-time. They make it so once your up and running any idiot can tune with it. :D

The SCT makes tuning the driveability issues almost a non-issue and at the current price levels its going to be a better approach for most people.

[glhs727]

yes, cost difference is huge. AEM about $2200, SCT about $350 (well even cheaper now that they are on sale!)

[DodgeZ]

I have a great tuning dyno and extensive tuning background

You missed the point of the post. Your wife said that to me. I just changed the SCT to AEM.....


yes, cost difference is huge. AEM about $2200, SCT about $350 (well even cheaper now that they are on sale!)

I got my AEM for a hair over 1500 and it worked the first time I plugged it up :thumb: that was when the pro version was a 1000 bucks. I can see why the price dropped so much on the SCT, no one is buying it because it is junk. At least that is my opinion. :thumb:

Glad to hear you have had such good luck. Can I expect the same quality I have seen from your old school stage5 tunes with your SCT tunes?

[JamesL]

You missed the point of the post. Your wife said that to me. I just changed the SCT to AEM.....

No I got that...thought it was funny...so I poked back. :fencing:
No need to get your panties in a wad.



I got my AEM for a hair over 1500 and it worked the first time I plugged it up :thumb: that was when the pro version was a 1000 bucks. I can see why the price dropped so much on the SCT, no one is buying it because it is junk. At least that is my opinion. :thumb:

Yes and a very informed opinion that is I'm sure. :D



Glad to hear you have had such good luck. Can I expect the same quality I have seen from your old school stage5 tunes with your SCT tunes?

Hate if you must but there are plenty of very satisfied customers running all over the world. :thumb:

[JamesL]

To sum it up, the SCT does not suck and I have had several positive tuning experiences with it. You can pick one up from our store and we'll be happy to get you rolling with a good tune. At todays pricing, its a great option for many of you on a budget. Yes, they lack some features and on the tuning side some of the tables/functions/scales are whacked. Most of that has been sorted out though is more of an issue for the people doing the tunes.

[SebringLX]

To sum it up, the SCT does not suck and I have had several positive tuning experiences with it. You can pick one up from our store and we'll be happy to get you rolling with a good tune. At todays pricing, its a great option for many of you on a budget. Yes, they lack some features and on the tuning side some of the tables/functions/scales are whacked. Most of that has been sorted out though is more of an issue for the people doing the tunes.

+1 :thumb: The special pricing right now is a great deal.

[JamesL]

I forgot to mention that I ran 12.22/115mph in the qtr. mile on my S3 SCT tune at SDAC. I need to put some timing back in though. I left a lot of power on the table to keep it safe. Still, the driveability of the tune makes it a great daily driver and pretty fast too. We've posted a number of our results including dyno plots on the SRT forums. You might want to check out the traction control system as well.

[DodgeZ]

Hate if you must but there are plenty of very satisfied customers running all over the world. :thumb:

Since this thread came back up... I have a couple of FWD stage 5 computers now that people have given me. One that I have bought. Can I get a refund? You can send them to some new very satisfied customers all over the world. ;)

[DodgeZ]

I forgot to mention that I ran 12.22/115mph in the qtr. mile on my S3 SCT tune at SDAC. I need to put some timing back in though. I left a lot of power on the table to keep it safe. Still, the driveability of the tune makes it a great daily driver and pretty fast too. We've posted a number of our results including dyno plots on the SRT forums. You might want to check out the traction control system as well.

What was your 1/8th mile times/traps?

[SebringLX]

13.5 @ 102 in my 3425lb Sebring Sedan (41TE automatic!) with my SCT tune. That's with a transmission problem, and the tune not fully adjusted for the E85 I was running.

This guy in Germany that I did a custom tune for his stock turbo PT Cruiser with 3 BAR sensors is supposed to be sending me a dyno sheet some time within the next week. Did his entire tune via e-mail and through a language barrier! Luckily his English is a lot better than my German, lol.

One of the very 1st vehicles I tuned was a 5060lb '02 Ram 4.7L Quad Cab 2WD. He was using a SuperChips before switching to my custom SCT tune. Tune change was the only thing done, he went from a 9.91 @ 69mph on the SuperChips to a 9.5 @ 74mph with my SCT tune in the 1/8 mile. That's a .4 and 5mph difference changing only the tune! It was October 2007 when I tuned that truck and he ran those times.

[glhs727]

What was your 1/8th mile times/traps?

7.87 and 92.70 mph

[DodgeZ]

7.87 and 92.70 mph


My buddy's untune Stage 3, not on high output for the launch.

" Stage 3 Goes.....
8.321 @ 91.95MPH

2.05 60'

On Street Tires

Backed it up Twice as well as an 8.4
Not bad for the first time at the track in about 4 years"


That was back in 2005. I am sure with slicks launching in HOM would have netted better MPHs and of course ETs.

[JamesL]

13.5 @ 102 in my 3425lb Sebring Sedan (41TE automatic!) with my SCT tune. That's with a transmission problem, and the tune not fully adjusted for the E85 I was running.

This guy in Germany that I did a custom tune for his stock turbo PT Cruiser with 3 BAR sensors is supposed to be sending me a dyno sheet some time within the next week. Did his entire tune via e-mail and through a language barrier! Luckily his English is a lot better than my German, lol.

One of the very 1st vehicles I tuned was a 5060lb '02 Ram 4.7L Quad Cab 2WD. He was using a SuperChips before switching to my custom SCT tune. Tune change was the only thing done, he went from a 9.91 @ 69mph on the SuperChips to a 9.5 @ 74mph with my SCT tune in the 1/8 mile. That's a .4 and 5mph difference changing only the tune! It was October 2007 when I tuned that truck and he ran those times.

Impressive :thumb: I really hope they get their sh!t together over there at SCT and start some more improvement.

[JamesL]

Since this thread came back up... I have a couple of FWD stage 5 computers now that people have given me. One that I have bought. Can I get a refund? You can send them to some new very satisfied customers all over the world. ;)

:clap: here is an idea, why dont you bend over and stick them up your ........;) LOL

[JamesL]

My buddy's untune Stage 3, not on high output for the launch.

" Stage 3 Goes.....
8.321 @ 91.95MPH

2.05 60'

On Street Tires

Backed it up Twice as well as an 8.4
Not bad for the first time at the track in about 4 years"


That was back in 2005. I am sure with slicks launching in HOM would have netted better MPHs and of course ETs.

Not bad but not on topic either.

[DodgeZ]

:clap: here is an idea, why dont you bend over and stick them up your ........;) LOL

I knew you were, how do you say, "happy" in another words? :thumb:

[JamesL]

I knew you were, how do you say, "happy" in another words? :thumb:

LOL..:fencing: ah yes to be gay again. :eyebrows:
Seriously though may be we could stay on the SCT topic? You had a bad experience and I can see why. I had some support issues at first but it got better quickly and the tunes are working really well in a lot of different platforms. I just hope SCT gets some more DCX people to help protect the investment I have as a dealer.

[DodgeZ]

Not bad but not on topic either.
It is on topic, you bragged about your stage3 times and they aren't any better then a untuned stage3 tune. Are you saying you took a stage0 computer and tuned it to stage 3 specs or you took a stage 3 tune and "tweaked" it?

[DodgeZ]

LOL..:fencing: ah yes to be gay again. :eyebrows:
Seriously though may be we could stay on the SCT topic? You had a bad experience and I can see why. I had some support issues at first but it got better quickly and the tunes are working really well in a lot of different platforms. I just hope SCT gets some more DCX people to help protect the investment I have as a dealer.

You do know that this thread was "split" off, right? So now it is my thread to beeotch about SCT..... mahahahhaa... Not that I did it but that is how it ended up.

It sounds like it maybe better now but they kind of treated me like trash when I was first bought it and yes I spent a boat load of money for what is just a new version of DCAL (for the most part). I guess after all the time sending computers back and forth with SCT. I asked them for some kind of hook up for all of my troubles and basically being a beta tester for them. They acted like I was crazy. IIRC they wanted to keep my computer so they could fix their problems... I told them just give me money back and thanks for wasting my time.

So, sorry but I am going to tell my story.

[JamesL]

It is on topic, you bragged about your stage3 times and they aren't any better then a untuned stage3 tune. Are you saying you took a stage0 computer and tuned it to stage 3 specs or you took a stage 3 tune and "tweaked" it?

I bragged about my SCT tune on a S3 turbo car. The original tune file was a s1 that I worked to accept 750cc injectors, 3bar map, return fuel system, bottleneck fix, and a pump rewire along with some other common mods. I think it performed well above what a stock S3 car can do. I've run that down the qtr mile also. I'm sure if I had cranked up the boost a bit more and put the timing back in that I took out at the last minute the results would have been better. That change cost me about 35hp and 40ftlbs on my dyno but I had a low rpm knock I was chasing. Damn JE Pistons! Sadly, my laptop died at the track and I couldn't upload my other tune file to the Xcal2. I just hot lapped the car about a half a dozen times within about ten minutes keeping each time within about .03 range. Then I raced in the quick 8 qualifying and got eliminated in the final qualifying round but finished first in the heads up class. We also had a blast on the road rally. Basically I beat the crap out of the car. Had I planned it better I would have had a couple of other tunes in the Xcal2 so I could have reverted. Oh well, maybe next time.