Help!!

Alright i got a predator for xmas for a 2004 gt mustang. when i installed the Performance tune and started the engine the rpms bounced a lot and the idle got real rough for about 30 seconds. On some cold mornings the idle with bounce from 1000 to 500 very fast and the engine will almost die i was wondering how i could fix this problem or if it was normal so if anyone could help me out that would be great.

Did you put premium fuel in or are you still running crap 87?

yea im running 93 in it. I think other people have had this problem but i dunno if it can be fixed or what. it clears up and idles smooth after about 30 seconds im wondering if when i installed the diablo tune it took away my choke cause it only does it on a cold start.

It sounds like you may have to put it on a dyno and tune it. The Pred. for your car covers too many cars so the tune will not be perfect out of the box. I have to same Pred. you have and my AFR is richer than what you would find on a Lightning. I contacted Diablo and was told if I remeber right to remove 10% fuel.

Hoestly Pred is damn good chip, but I trust SCT more, I know a lot of people that have installed off the bat with no troubles on SCT's end only the installers.

yea SCT is the best. but pred is the next best thing

yea SCT is the best. but pred is the next best thing
The best is and has always been a real tune from someone who knows what they are doing. The SCT and Pred. have there place but you still can't beat a profesional tune. Hell I know a tuner that is willing to make it out to the track on his own dime to make sure your car is running like it should and if its not he tunes it on the spot. I have yet to hear of anything like that happening with an SCT or Pred.

The best is and has always been a real tune from someone who knows what they are doing. The SCT and Pred. have there place but you still can't beat a profesional tune. Hell I know a tuner that is willing to make it out to the track on his own dime to make sure your car is running like it should and if its not he tunes it on the spot. I have yet to hear of anything like that happening with an SCT or Pred. im talking about a chip not a dynotune

im talking about a chip not a dynotune
Not to be an ass but you were actually talking about a hand held tuner. A chip is part of the process of dyno tuning a car (unless the ECU is reflashed). Still the best way to get the most out of your car is with a professional tune on a dyno not a hand held tuner.

Even if you are using a Pred. its best to tune it on a dyno. This way you can look at results of the AFR and other things as you are messing with the program. Tuning on the street with a hand held tuner is not safe since you don't have actual numbers to look at.

As far as dynos go I would not recommend not having it done on a single drum Dynojet but rather on a two drum Mustang Dyno. The guy that I would trust to do the tune on my car uses a Mustang Dyno and has it programmed to add in the resistance for the weight and aerodynamics of my car.

Ya i plan to get it dyno tuned but cause im really close to getting my cams im gonna wait cause its pointless to get it tuned then i would need to get it retuned so im gonna wait till this summer and i havent been messing the with A/F cause i dont have a guage i just left it stock from the tune that came with the predator.

It could be as simple as the pred. causing you the trouble. After all you are running a 85mm maf intake system, 75mm acufab throttle body and the AFR from the stock Pred. tune like I said the Pred. is far from being dead on to start with.

Not to be an ass but you were actually talking about a hand held tuner. A chip is part of the process of dyno tuning a car (unless the ECU is reflashed). Still the best way to get the most out of your car is with a professional tune on a dyno not a hand held tuner.

Even if you are using a Pred. its best to tune it on a dyno. This way you can look at results of the AFR and other things as you are messing with the program. Tuning on the street with a hand held tuner is not safe since you don't have actual numbers to look at.

As far as dynos go I would not recommend not having it done on a single drum Dynojet but rather on a two drum Mustang Dyno. The guy that I would trust to do the tune on my car uses a Mustang Dyno and has it programmed to add in the resistance for the weight and aerodynamics of my car. if you want to get technical there called flashers. and i have to disagree on a stock car a flasher is better. on stock car's(3.8's) they have dyno'ed at 16-18 rwhp.

and i have to disagree on a stock car a flasher is better. on stock car's(3.8's) they have dyno'ed at 16-18 rwhp.
A pro tuner can get more power out of a car than a generic tune end of story. The stock Pred. tune is utterly useless unless you want to loose power. Here just have a look at how bad it screwed my AFR. I will need to find my dyno sheet showing the run without the Pred. but if I remember right the Pred. cost me around 5hp or more.
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/11542/dyno_100604.jpg

A pro tuner can get more power out of a car than a generic tune end of story. The stock Pred. tune is utterly useless unless you want to loose power. Here just have a look at how bad it screwed my AFR. I will need to find my dyno sheet showing the run without the Pred. but if I remember right the Pred. cost me around 5hp or more.
http://www.mustangmods.com/data/11542/dyno_100604.jpg are you saying SCT is a genaric brand?

are you saying SCT is a genaric brand?

... hes saying a flash tune in general is a generic tune, compaired to a dyno tune done by a professional.

... hes saying a flash tune in general is a generic tune, compaired to a dyno tune done by a professional. flashers are tuned by professionals

flashers are tuned by professionals

without a dyno...

are you saying SCT is a genaric brand?
I‘m saying that any tune that comes direct from the manufacturer preinstalled (even from Ford) is a generic tune. Some of them have to cover way too many cars varying from the V6 to the 4.6 DOHC. This is the cause for the tune not to be dead nuts for any level of car let alone one particular car. Even those made for one particular line of cars like the 03/04 Cobras are not accurate. Have you ever heard of factory freaks? They exist and my old 02 GT was one with around 262tq to the wheels with just a catback and K&N drop in. These cars are also taken in account for when all of the data is compiled for the generic tune. There are just too many variables ranging from the initial build to local weather for them to accurately produce a tune that is perfect for every car.

Even doing these ones where you send them a list of mods and what ever else isn’t what I would call a professional tune. Humidity, elevation, and air temps are huge factors when it comes to tuning a car. This is what has caused problems including blown engines due to companies like runningwiththedevil.com (which is now out of business or at lest their site is gone) producing tunes that do not accurately take those variables into consideration.

Even doing these ones where you send them a list of mods and what ever else isn’t what I would call a professional tune. Humidity, elevation, and air temps are huge factors when it comes to tuning a car. This is what has caused problems including blown engines due to companies like runningwiththedevil.com (which is now out of business or at lest their site is gone) producing tunes that do not accurately take those variables into consideration. i consiter that a professional tune when a professional tunes your car based on what mods you have. they also tune your shift points in auto's and make your car shift harder/faster.

i consiter that a professional tune when a professional tunes your car based on what mods you have. they also tune your shift points in auto's and make your car shift harder/faster.
It’s not a professional tune since they don’t have your car strapped to a dyno to see its unique characteristics. Like I said every car starts out different and since they start out different the way in which they react to the mods are different. Also getting a tune like that from say a company in the NE while living in the SW doesn’t make it accurately designed to your car since the elevation and temp changes are vastly different and aren’t accurately accounted for as they should be.

It’s not a professional tune since they don’t have your car strapped to a dyno to see its unique characteristics. Like I said every car starts out different and since they start out different the way in which they react to the mods are different. Also getting a tune like that from say a company in the NE while living in the SW doesn’t make it accurately designed to your car since the elevation and temp changes are vastly different and aren’t accurately accounted for as they should be. but a car without major engine work will still benefit more from a flasher then a dynotune

but a car without major engine work will still benefit more from a flasher then a dynotune

A stock vehical may benefit more from a flasher than no flasher but a dyno tune would still be prefered.

A stock vehical may benefit more from a flasher than no flasher but a dyno tune would still be prefered.
Exactly!!!

Someone who has years of experience tuning cars on a dyno in your area will always be able to find more Hp even in a stock car than someone in an office who knows how far away.

but all a dyno tune is is a really good tune. a flasher is a alright tune but they can do things like make your car run richer, make your car take in more air, remove your governers, make your car send more fuel to your injectors, and a lot more things. all a dyno tune is is a tune based on what your powercurves are(witch is a lot better then a tune with a flasher) but flashers have a lot more options then dyno tunes do

A dyno tune can do all of those things as well even over righting the TCS just like a flasher can. There are only 2 real differences between them.

1. With a dyno tune you have someone there who knows exactly what your cars unique characteristics are and not someone in an office someplace basing the tune off of compiled data from several cars.

2. The flasher you can take with you and adjust it when needed however the adjustments are far from being accurate with out the aid of a dyno and running the AFR.


Just to show how inaccurate a flasher is have you ever taken a look at the increments in the gear ratio adjustment of the Pred.? Lets put it this way I know several people who have to deal with a speedo that’s off because the Pred. isn’t setup for that gear ratio.

Do you guys think that this idling will damage the motor like i said it only does it for mayb 30 seconds then clears up and its fine. i also dont hear any pinging either when i drive it. everything else about the tune is good except for the cold start idle.

A dyno tune can do all of those things as well even over righting the TCS just like a flasher can. There are only 2 real differences between them.

1. With a dyno tune you have someone there who knows exactly what your cars unique characteristics are and not someone in an office someplace basing the tune off of compiled data from several cars.

2. The flasher you can take with you and adjust it when needed however the adjustments are far from being accurate with out the aid of a dyno and running the AFR.


Just to show how inaccurate a flasher is have you ever taken a look at the increments in the gear ratio adjustment of the Pred.? Lets put it this way I know several people who have to deal with a speedo that’s off because the Pred. isn’t setup for that gear ratio. the pred and the xcal2 are different. SCT has a lot more options. SCT accuratly recalobrates you speedo when you get new gears