Hand held tuner 2003 CVPI

[1996Chreokee]

Has anyone had any experience with a computer reflash (hand held tuner) for crown victoria police interceptor? Is it worth it? Does it make a noticable difference in performance?

[Blue)(Fusion]

Never had a problem with my (equivalet) Grand Marquis. Well worth it if you get the right tune. I ordered my SCT X3 and custom tune from Blue Oval Chips. Lonnie has ton of experience with the modular engines and Panther platform vehicles. The shift schedule he uses alone makes the car really wake up and makes it feel 500 pounds lighter. With a higher octane tune, it's even better.

[1996Chreokee]

Blue,

Thank you for the response. I have talked to Lonnie and he sounds like a great guy. I am just looking for feedback from someone that has a retired car instead of someone that has one thats been built with all the other mods. My car is cherry and always had excellent care. Instead of buying another toy, i figured I would play with my Panther a little if i could improve the performance for a reasonable price. Thanks for your help

[Blue)(Fusion]

For what it's worth, the computer tune made the biggest difference over all of my other modifications. There are many Panther owners, including those with beat up CVPIs with no other modifications that use tunes from Lonnie. I don't know of any person that did not love the difference it made over the factory tune.

The cheapest and easiest performance gain you will get is by getting a Marauder airbox and 80mm MAF, 2004 CVPI zip tube, and a tune from Lonnie. This mod is commonly referred to as the MZT among other Panther owners. The airbox/MAF and zip tube cost about $300 before the cost of a tuner and tune but the stock 70mm MAF maxes out before the new, higher rev limiter is reached. These additions really help the engine breathe better.

I thought I'd also mention that I don't know if the higher octane tune is worth it. I have the 93 octane tune because I was talked into it by someone else but I doubt I would notice a difference if I downgraded to 87 octane. At a cost of 20 cents extra a gallon, it can get costly for little gain.