98 LSC Chip or Not?

S

SolipcisticSmile

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I am the proud owner of a very recently purchased 42K 98' LSC. I plan on performing all the usual upgrades as time and budget permits (twin 63mm TB, 90mm Lightning Mass air, pullies etc.). However, as a recently reformed 5.0mustang guy, I have little to no knowledge other than the basics on the whole computer chip reflash scene. This car is going to be a bolt - on car, I dont see anything major in it's future. I'm relatively sure I can get mid to low 13's without doing anything crazy. The question that I have is whether a chip or tuner is even made for this car, and if so, will any gains I see be worth the cost of entry?
 
I would recomend an SCT handheld programmer with custom tuning from an SCT dealer...

The Xcal3 is SCT's proramer that you load custom tunes on and then flash them to the cars computer. A tune is very very worth it with these cars. Lincoln programed these cars with an older demographic in mind and did a lot of things to smooth the ride out as much as possible. The 98's are the most detuned of all the years...

To give some examples the 98's have programed to pull in the range of 20 degrees of timing on tip in throttle... this gives you a whole lot of bogging when you roll on the throttle to accelerate.... eliminating the pulled timing on tip in is one of the biggest ways to improve throttle response and give your car more get up and go!
 
Short answer is yes! I had a chip tuned by Lonnie for my 98 base when I had no "real" mods but exhaust. Then I was lucky enough to win the SCT Tuner thing with a tune from Lonnie in an LOD Raffle and by then I had 3.73 gears also. Both tunes were incredible and made the car perform much more to my liking. In addition, the SCT thing serves as a code reader for all our cars (the 2 marks and the Mustang).
 
I have a 98 lsc and use both the SCT Xcal2 and a chip.
I use the Xcal for datalogging and testing of my tunes, then I burn the tunes to one of the various slots on the chip..
this scenario gives you the best of both worlds.
Datalogging AND switching tunes on the fly via the chip.

Right now the chip is not installed as I am working on nailing down my tune for my 98 LSC.

I'd suggest for starters, the SCT PRP software and an Xcal 2
Then down the road you can always pick up a chip.. to burn additional tunes to if you so desire.

Feel free to shoot me a pm, as I have already been down this path, and might be able to save you from stumbling in the normal stumbling spots.
 
I have an xcal and love it. I'd recommend getting one from Lonnie at Blue Oval Chips. If you're a paid member on lod he'll give you a discount too.

But I'd recommend a tuner over a chip. With the tuner, you can datalog as well as pull codes for any obdII Ford.

If you'd like more than one tune and the ability to switch on the fly a switch could be better, but multiple programs can be loaded onto the xcal and it only takes a few minutes to upload the tune to your car's ecm.
 
I understand that everyone feels strongly about the X-Cal, but the whole having to create your own tune thing is a daunting task indeed. 1 mess up and you could blow up your whole drivetrain. I need something that will take care of turning up the retarded factory timing so I actually will get a benefit from the premium fuel I buy, optimizing the A/F, and firm up the shift points and the corresponding rpms. Sure, I would love to be able to correct for new gear ratios and / or tire diameter in the future, but not necessarily enough to experiment with my car and tuning it myself which could (read: probably will) lead to a catastrophic meltdown when I should be able to just buy a chip (for half the price) that will safely give me what I want without the stress.
 
Cool Cobra / Lincoln Emblems

Cool Cobra / Lincoln Emblems

Hey J Bird,
]
Are those cool emblems offered for sale anywhere, or are they proprietary?
 
SolipcisticSmile said:
Are those cool emblems offered for sale anywhere, or are they proprietary?
Click to expand...

Lincolnmotorsport.com had them. Geno was selling them on e-thingy user name onebadmk8.
Looks like he turned them into key chains. Maybe contact him and see if he has a set. I have an extra set somewhere. I was thinking about buying another Mark, so I bought 2 sets. I'll see if I can find it.
 
Personally, I loved my 4 Bank SCT chip. Pre-programmed to the mods I had already on my car and a switch to switch it to the one of four separate tunes. Just switch it on the fly while driving down the road. Only $279 on sale right now.......
 
SolipcisticSmile said:
I understand that everyone feels strongly about the X-Cal, but the whole having to create your own tune thing is a daunting task indeed. 1 mess up and you could blow up your whole drivetrain. I need something that will take care of turning up the retarded factory timing so I actually will get a benefit from the premium fuel I buy, optimizing the A/F, and firm up the shift points and the corresponding rpms. Sure, I would love to be able to correct for new gear ratios and / or tire diameter in the future, but not necessarily enough to experiment with my car and tuning it myself which could (read: probably will) lead to a catastrophic meltdown when I should be able to just buy a chip (for half the price) that will safely give me what I want without the stress.
Click to expand...

You don't have to create your own tune. There is a package, the Pro Racer Package (PRP) that allows you to make your own tune. This is sold seperate of the xcal to be used in conjunction with it. The PRP is a computer program that allows you to create your own tune. I do not have this, I simply purchased the Xcal 2 from Lonnie. He wrote the tune, just as he would with a chip. All I had to do when I got it was simply plug the xcal into my data link connector (under steering wheel) and follow the device's on screen instructions. Within a couple minutes the tune had been uploaded to my car's computer, and the stock tune was stored on the device. If you ever want to switch back you just upload the stock tune from the device.

The beautiful thing about the Xcal is it can be used as a code reader. I can pull any Diagnostic Trouble Codes that may be stored as well as read a code when a Malfunction Indicator Light is lit.

Also the Xcal can be used to datalog. You plug it in, select the sensors you want to monitor and can record the data. So say for example I was at the dragstrip. I could for a run, record the injector pulse widths, throttle position sensor, speed sensor, etc. There is a large amount of sensors that you can monitor on the fly and then go back and review what they were doing. Its really incredible the amount of things you can do with this one little device.

Oh and the emblems are sold by Geno from LincolnMotorsports.
 
I did not know that J. Maybe I will consider a preprogrammed x - cal from Lonnie ( if he ever writes me back, its been like a week now...). in the meantime I've been looking at a Superchips "MicroMax" tuner. its only $349 and I believe it can do all of the things you mentioned above except (of course) come with a tune from Lonnie. I would of course rather buy from someone associated with this cite, but if I can't get in touch with him, what choice do I have? Have you heard anything on that Superchips thing?
 
Hmmm, Lonnie can get pretty busy, but he's always provided me with excellent customer service. Hubby has a generic chip in his LSC, versus my programmed chip from Lonnie, and I gotta say, IMO Lonnie's tune is WAY better than his generic one. His shifts are still all sloppy, and maybe his car performs better than stock, but it's nothing like mine, even before gears. (He's got a 98 LSC, I've got a 98 base with dual 2 1/2" exhaust and now gears). It's a shame you don't have a base model, or I'd send you my original chip to try out.
 
Maybe try giving Lonnie a call. I had a few questions about the order form on his site and he walked me through the entire process on the phone. He really is a very helpful and knowledgeable guy. Like others have said he is busy so it does take time. I don't have any experience with superchips, but I'd say be patient and go with Lonnie, it will be worth it in the end.
 
LOL, it's not just cause he's a sponsor though, he really knows his stuff. I'd suggest calling him if you're really anxious, I believe he gets a ton of e-mails and such. And sometimes, yeah, he has a lot of things going on.
 
I just went on the BOC site and left another message. If I don't hear from anyone by Monday then I will call. It seems the x - cal "loaded" with the tune I need is about $425. That's $75 more than the other one I mentioned. I hope it's worth all that money. Im just skeptical about spending $350, let alone $425,:eek: on an electronic gizmo.
 
SolipcisticSmile said:
in the meantime I've been looking at a Superchips "MicroMax" tuner. its only $349
Click to expand...

I was given a Superchips Max Micotuner for Christmas a couple of years ago. I worked OK on the stock car. When tuning with it Alot of the options are not available. When I added the 3.73's the tuner could not adjust the shift points. I thought about selling it, but it is also a code reader.

I now have a chip from Blue Oval and love it. Lonnie responded to me very quickly, I guess I just got him at a slow time. I don't know anything about other chips or tuners, but I would go with Lonnie again if needed.
 
Hey SolipcisticSmile,

I don't recall getting any emails but then I don't know what your name is or email address. I took the Thanksgiving week off and went out of town if that's when you’re tried contacting me. This weekend has been spent answering emails and I do recall 4 different ones referring to Mark VIIIs. It's usually best to call me and if you don't get me leave a message. When I got back I had 37 messages. Out of all those only 2 left a message the rest were the sound of someone hanging up. I can't call you back if you don't leave a message.

Now as far as the Superchips programming.....RUN AWAY FROM IT They still can't tune these vehicles even after SCT helped them out a few years back. And if you want to lose your transmission they can help you there too. They apply increased line pressure all the time to try and firm up the shifts and get them to apply faster, totally the wrong way to do things.

The XCal 2 or the X3 run $400 plus shipping with a single custom program. You must have looked at the XCal 2 with the pre-loaded programs. That device doesn't cover the Mark VIIIs. The only way you can get a program for these vehicles from any SCT dealer is have them build you a custom program. SCT doesn't feel there's enough demand for these vehicles to setup a pre-loaded device and there's not too many tuners that can tune these vehicles or an automatic trans.

These devices will hold up to 3 custom programs though. And it's already been mentioned on what they can also perform. Where as the chip will hold up to 4 and can be switched on the fly. Each additional program is an additional cost from me though.

You mentioned changing gears. The thing with your 98 is that you don't have a speedo gear in the trans or the output shaft reluctor wheel that inputs to the EEC to calculate your speed. Your vehicle uses the abs sensor for speed input. That means you can change your gearing without needing a new program. Now if you go over 2 steps from your factory gearing I recommend you get an updated program since your vehicle speed vs eng/trans speed will be off enough to cause some shift inconsistencies. Let me know what questions you have.
 
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