IMO Predator is probably going to laugh at him because in their instruction manual in print sooo small, it probably says something about the tunes being generalized and having to goto a tuner to have the program set specifically for each truck.
BAD result from 4lb lower and Preditor
- Thread starter SliverSnailSVT
- Start date
it says something like they are not responsible for the results or something
What local dealer are you going to? I have a suggestion on a dealership in Midlothian that you could try. They have done some work for me with great results. They are Non-SVT Ford, so this may not be an option with motor replacement. The plugs should have definitly been changed to Tr-6's or Denso's. I have had some detonation on mine, but only when having to run 92 octane Iowa gas versus the 93 in the city. Seems like a small variance, but at WOT I would here light detonation. Which performance shop added the parts?
FYI: check of www.chicagoSVT.com as we are meeting next week in Mokena!
John:rockon:
SVTJES,
If you're stuck with lower octane fuel, dump an octane treatment in, or two. I'd have to read the label to see effect of one bottle per gallon of gas, but basically if you had 10 gallons of 100 octane and 10 gallons of 90 octane, combine them and you end up with 20 gallons of 95 octane. Octane is just an additive. Throw an octane booster in when you fill up and it should solve that detonation problem. They love selling those things at the gas station.
If you're stuck with lower octane fuel, dump an octane treatment in, or two. I'd have to read the label to see effect of one bottle per gallon of gas, but basically if you had 10 gallons of 100 octane and 10 gallons of 90 octane, combine them and you end up with 20 gallons of 95 octane. Octane is just an additive. Throw an octane booster in when you fill up and it should solve that detonation problem. They love selling those things at the gas station.
I agree that Octane is addictive, and it came to the point when I was living in Iowa just recently that I would buy 10 gallons of Sunoco 100 to mix with their 92 Octane BP ultimate. The problems was I had to drive 45 min each way to get the gas, which made going to the track on Fridays a PIA. Now I am in an area with 93 octane and the truck runs normal again, whereas before I had WOT detonation above 80 mph. I do not believe for a second that the gas I was buying in Iowa was true 92 Octane, in fact who knows what those guys were selling! Anyway, thanks for the suggestions!
SVTJES:rockon:
What do you mean by illegal??? You're not going to jail...but is sure as hell voids your warranty! Ford most definitely can tell when the ECM has been flashed if they look for it...and the SVT reps are making them look on all major repairs. Anyone who tells you they can't read reflashes is flat out wrong and in for a major surprise someday. I didn't just take Ford's word for it...even Diablo admitted to me that if they look, they can see you switched programming back and forth from their Predator. And of course, if you chipped, that's a dead give away by just looking at the back of the ECM. If you get lucky and find a dealer who won't report, good for you. But you and I both know Ford shouldn't pay for this. You play you pay.
i could see if a plug was launched then to have ford do it regardless of mods or not but to ventalate a motor and expect ford to drop in a new one isnt right
ford is a big bad company who can afford one engine. all you guys telling this poor schmuck that he shouldn't try and get a new motor cuz its his fault are flat out wrong. it doesn't matter whose fault it is, if its between me paying upwards of $15k for a new motor, or ford covering it and doing it for free......guess which one i'm going for?
yes Ford can afford it.
The matter isn't if they could afford it or not, it comes down to FAULT.
Is it Ford's fault he added #4 lower and a predator with a bad tune and a retarded performance shop giving advice? No.
The matter isn't if they could afford it or not, it comes down to FAULT.
Is it Ford's fault he added #4 lower and a predator with a bad tune and a retarded performance shop giving advice? No.
there's an old saying, "**** you, pay me". basically, fault, no fault, the subject here is money and if he can save thousands by lying to ford to get it paid, then he should do it.
The biggest downside to poking Ford for the the repair is that it makes legitimate warranty work that much more of a pain in the balls to have done.
Worsedog: esp with our kinds of cars/trucks.
:-\
-Mike
:-\
-Mike
Well im glad everyone is getting along. Tell you the truth i did 4 months of research before i did anything with my L. If you should be pointing the finger at anyone its my local performace shop. They are the idiots who did all the work and assured me everything was good. They performace shop even called metco the builder of the pulley and said the stock plugs were fine but i guess not. I guess it was bad in my part for pushing the motor to the limit. I feel bad for making ford to pay for my mistake, but i have no choice to b/c im a 17 year old kid who is just messing with his truck to go out and beat the LS1 boys with there Camaros and Trans Ams.
This has been an on-going debate on these boards, so don't think we're picking on just you. In case anyone thinks it's easy to "preach" and it'd be different if I were in your shoes, they're wrong. I AM IN YOUR SHOES. I blew up my motor this past weekend on my 03. Modded heavily, and it never crossed my mind to try and warranty it through Ford. I am an adult and knew what I was doing when I bought the truck. I did not buy an extended warranty for this exact reason. I've sent a deposit to Dante at Modular Performance and am arranging to get the truck 500 miles over to him to build me an engine that can handle the mods I throw at it.
At any rate, please let us know how it turns out by posting back what happens. It's my understanding that they can tell when it was flashed/re-flashed. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but unless you have paperwork showing the truck was in a dealership on that date then they will likely know that you or someone outside Ford changed the tune. From what I've heard they look VERY closely at these engine warranties, as they know the Lightnings are very popular to modify.
I'd appreciate it if you let us know how it goes, then we'll know for sure if the rumors are true.
Jody
At any rate, please let us know how it turns out by posting back what happens. It's my understanding that they can tell when it was flashed/re-flashed. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but unless you have paperwork showing the truck was in a dealership on that date then they will likely know that you or someone outside Ford changed the tune. From what I've heard they look VERY closely at these engine warranties, as they know the Lightnings are very popular to modify.
I'd appreciate it if you let us know how it goes, then we'll know for sure if the rumors are true.
Jody
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Ya, Well i was at the dealer yesterday and they looked the truck over, im not sure if they checked the computer or not but they told me they were going to get me a new motor. They said the motor was going to be sent to SVT so they could look at it more closely and see what happened but regardless they said i was getting a new motor. All the dealer asked me was if i had any reciepts of me changing the oil to make sure the engine wasnt starved of oil. I had no other choice but to lie to them because i dont have thousands of dollars to pay for a new motor myself. If it would of happened a few years down the road i would do what you are doing and send the truck somewhere to have the motor rebuilt right to handle the mods.
how do you have that truck if you cant afford it anyways? the car payment alone must be hard to make, let alone the insurance....
Don't some of the guys from Ford read/post on this board?? They actually read this stuff too. For a reason.
Hell, The tech's at the local Ford dealership check my truck over with a fine tooth comb every time I take it in for an oil change. My L is totally stock, even the air filter. I guess what I'm saying is, "good luck getting your new motor". I'm not touching mine until the warranty is up.
Hell, The tech's at the local Ford dealership check my truck over with a fine tooth comb every time I take it in for an oil change. My L is totally stock, even the air filter. I guess what I'm saying is, "good luck getting your new motor". I'm not touching mine until the warranty is up.
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