GEN 2 Looking for general tunes for SCT X4 Platform

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

OP
OP
Drgonzo3000

Drgonzo3000

Active Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Posts
89
Reaction score
88
Location
North Carolina
I’m replying in here because you asked. I typically stay out of these comparisons.

I have never tuned a raptor with SCT because I don’t like their software/support. Can I? Absolutely, but I won’t.

Customer support makes a big difference. Like a month or 2 ago when SCT users went to the dealership and did the cam phaser update, just to find that reinstalling the SCT wouldn’t work because the ECU ID had changed. SCT didn’t have a fix for weeks (is it fixed yet?) leaving users stuck. COBB had a fix in 2-3 days. You can’t put a price on customer service. Most typically only understand that when they need it.

The SCT device is old, really old. Blocky, fat, slow, etc...

As far as the tuning side COBB gives their pro tuner network a TON of reference and development data/source material from their findings as well as OEM. Having reach back to that when needed provides the customer with a better tune. A better understanding of the ECU and control makes a massive difference.

A gimmick is the use of trickery, which cobb isn’t doing. Fuel pump control is one of those things that when you need to get fuel out of the tank (like I do when on the dyno switching fuels) you’ll wish you had it. Press a button, fuel dumps (quickly mind you) and you can fill up with the alternate fuel. Saving dyno time, and money. 9/10 people use the auto stop/start disable feature. And I’m sure you’ve seen how popular the pedal commander is, COBB has that covered too. All of those things are extremely useful.

At the end of the day if the Accessport seems too expensive, I’d get what you can. The Accessport is a premium device, backed by premium customer service (from COBB and myself), with premium results.

Thanks for chiming in and the info. I had a feeling it personal preference as far as their software went. I agree 1000% on their shit support and service.

I bought the unit and received it a couple days before mine went in for the oil pan reseal and trans firmware update. Once I got the truck back the SCT unit said unsupported. I spend a week back and forth with SCT support getting them the info they needed and then nothing. No updates, info, release timeframe nothing. I finally got a response that they pushed the fix, but I later found it was only for custom tunes. Which I didn't have at the time, I just wanted to see how good/bad the canned tunes were. I finally decided to just get the custom tunes and went in circles trying to get one, Truck is my DD so I was just looking for a little more out of it. Not a full on custom built tune.

I come from a standalone ECU tuning platform on Haltech, AEM, Megasquirt along with direct EPROM tuning. So I'm completely aware of how a platforms end user software and their support and make or break their product. If I was going full race/off road spec then I could see the appeal of Cobb. For me and probably many others, I'll flash the tune, monitor it for a week and then the tuner will go in the glovebox probably never to be seen again. It served it purpose.

We do sell the 5 Star Tunes. However our ORA550 tunes we partner with Gearhead.

And our ORA550 tunes will be available on the Cobb Accessport in June.

From what I saw on your site it looks as though you only deal in tunes sold preloaded with the device themselves. I only found that single product and no independent email tunes. Honestly with the issues I had with 5star and their communication I won't be dealing with them in the future.


I did speak with a friend that has a high hp Ecoboost Flex that he drags/shows and found Gearhead was the ones doing all his tunes. So I conversated with them this morning on Facebook. At lunch time I placed an order and had the tunes with everything I needed before my work day was even complete. So the guys at Gearhead get massive props for their communication and turnaround time. Flashed the performance tune to the truck and went for a drive. Unfortunately since I'm in North Carolina and we have this idiotic gas crisis cause people are morons, I have a tank of 87 in the truck right now as it's all I could get. Even so the truck was so much more responsive, shifts were nice and smooth, I could feel the power coming on so much sooner now. Really looking forward to getting some 93 in the tank to see what she will do then.
Guess I could use that fuel drain gimmick thing now to dump this 87 out! :troll3:
 

aandrews109

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Posts
103
Reaction score
95
Location
Florida Panhandle
I've been running a JDM Tune for about 4 months and 5000 miles. So far it's flawless. When I first got the tune, shifts were holding out a little longer than I liked. Gave them a call and the next day I had an updated Tune that worked exactly like I wanted. No shift skipping on the TCM portion, no more bump shifts. Shifts are fairly tame under light acceleration and get firmer as you mash the go pedal. Absolutely satisfied with the tune. I have an SCT X-4, tunes load in about 10 minutes and haven't had any problems.
 

Lilla Kharn

Namaste
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2020
Posts
115
Reaction score
124
Location
SoCal
Thanks for chiming in and the info. I had a feeling it personal preference as far as their software went. I agree 1000% on their shit support and service.

I bought the unit and received it a couple days before mine went in for the oil pan reseal and trans firmware update. Once I got the truck back the SCT unit said unsupported. I spend a week back and forth with SCT support getting them the info they needed and then nothing. No updates, info, release timeframe nothing. I finally got a response that they pushed the fix, but I later found it was only for custom tunes. Which I didn't have at the time, I just wanted to see how good/bad the canned tunes were. I finally decided to just get the custom tunes and went in circles trying to get one, Truck is my DD so I was just looking for a little more out of it. Not a full on custom built tune.

I come from a standalone ECU tuning platform on Haltech, AEM, Megasquirt along with direct EPROM tuning. So I'm completely aware of how a platforms end user software and their support and make or break their product. If I was going full race/off road spec then I could see the appeal of Cobb. For me and probably many others, I'll flash the tune, monitor it for a week and then the tuner will go in the glovebox probably never to be seen again. It served it purpose.



From what I saw on your site it looks as though you only deal in tunes sold preloaded with the device themselves. I only found that single product and no independent email tunes. Honestly with the issues I had with 5star and their communication I won't be dealing with them in the future.


I did speak with a friend that has a high hp Ecoboost Flex that he drags/shows and found Gearhead was the ones doing all his tunes. So I conversated with them this morning on Facebook. At lunch time I placed an order and had the tunes with everything I needed before my work day was even complete. So the guys at Gearhead get massive props for their communication and turnaround time. Flashed the performance tune to the truck and went for a drive. Unfortunately since I'm in North Carolina and we have this idiotic gas crisis cause people are morons, I have a tank of 87 in the truck right now as it's all I could get. Even so the truck was so much more responsive, shifts were nice and smooth, I could feel the power coming on so much sooner now. Really looking forward to getting some 93 in the tank to see what she will do then.
Guess I could use that fuel drain gimmick thing now to dump this 87 out! :troll3:

I heard putting it in a plastic bag is a method that lots of people are using. If you include a spark in the bed, you can claim that you were trying not to burn the truck down when you’re driving fast enough to put the fire out.
 
OP
OP
Drgonzo3000

Drgonzo3000

Active Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Posts
89
Reaction score
88
Location
North Carolina
I heard putting it in a plastic bag is a method that lots of people are using. If you include a spark in the bed, you can claim that you were trying not to burn the truck down when you’re driving fast enough to put the fire out.

Natural Selection just doesn't work fast enough some times...

I saw someone pull up in old s10 with 4 x 50 gallon steel drums in the bed. Fill them all the way up, then can't leave cause the weight was too much for the truck axles/springs.
 

OffroadAlliance.com

Supporting Vendor
Supporting Vendor
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2015
Posts
1,785
Reaction score
947
Location
Boston, MA
Thanks for chiming in and the info. I had a feeling it personal preference as far as their software went. I agree 1000% on their shit support and service.

I bought the unit and received it a couple days before mine went in for the oil pan reseal and trans firmware update. Once I got the truck back the SCT unit said unsupported. I spend a week back and forth with SCT support getting them the info they needed and then nothing. No updates, info, release timeframe nothing. I finally got a response that they pushed the fix, but I later found it was only for custom tunes. Which I didn't have at the time, I just wanted to see how good/bad the canned tunes were. I finally decided to just get the custom tunes and went in circles trying to get one, Truck is my DD so I was just looking for a little more out of it. Not a full on custom built tune.

I come from a standalone ECU tuning platform on Haltech, AEM, Megasquirt along with direct EPROM tuning. So I'm completely aware of how a platforms end user software and their support and make or break their product. If I was going full race/off road spec then I could see the appeal of Cobb. For me and probably many others, I'll flash the tune, monitor it for a week and then the tuner will go in the glovebox probably never to be seen again. It served it purpose.



From what I saw on your site it looks as though you only deal in tunes sold preloaded with the device themselves. I only found that single product and no independent email tunes. Honestly with the issues I had with 5star and their communication I won't be dealing with them in the future.


I did speak with a friend that has a high hp Ecoboost Flex that he drags/shows and found Gearhead was the ones doing all his tunes. So I conversated with them this morning on Facebook. At lunch time I placed an order and had the tunes with everything I needed before my work day was even complete. So the guys at Gearhead get massive props for their communication and turnaround time. Flashed the performance tune to the truck and went for a drive. Unfortunately since I'm in North Carolina and we have this idiotic gas crisis cause people are morons, I have a tank of 87 in the truck right now as it's all I could get. Even so the truck was so much more responsive, shifts were nice and smooth, I could feel the power coming on so much sooner now. Really looking forward to getting some 93 in the tank to see what she will do then.
Guess I could use that fuel drain gimmick thing now to dump this 87 out! :troll3:

The Cobb Accessport straight from Cobb comes with preloaded tunes. The SCT device itself comes with preloaded tunes. None of the tunes we sell from Gearhead, 5 Star or our ORA550 tunes are 'preloaded', just wanted to clarify that. As for Gearhead, they're a great bunch of guys that know tunes and these trucks. Glad they got you taken care of promptly!
 

Badgertits

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 24, 2019
Posts
2,809
Reaction score
2,446
Location
Ma
Thanks for chiming in and the info. I had a feeling it personal preference as far as their software went. I agree 1000% on their shit support and service.

I bought the unit and received it a couple days before mine went in for the oil pan reseal and trans firmware update. Once I got the truck back the SCT unit said unsupported. I spend a week back and forth with SCT support getting them the info they needed and then nothing. No updates, info, release timeframe nothing. I finally got a response that they pushed the fix, but I later found it was only for custom tunes. Which I didn't have at the time, I just wanted to see how good/bad the canned tunes were. I finally decided to just get the custom tunes and went in circles trying to get one, Truck is my DD so I was just looking for a little more out of it. Not a full on custom built tune.

I come from a standalone ECU tuning platform on Haltech, AEM, Megasquirt along with direct EPROM tuning. So I'm completely aware of how a platforms end user software and their support and make or break their product. If I was going full race/off road spec then I could see the appeal of Cobb. For me and probably many others, I'll flash the tune, monitor it for a week and then the tuner will go in the glovebox probably never to be seen again. It served it purpose.



From what I saw on your site it looks as though you only deal in tunes sold preloaded with the device themselves. I only found that single product and no independent email tunes. Honestly with the issues I had with 5star and their communication I won't be dealing with them in the future.


I did speak with a friend that has a high hp Ecoboost Flex that he drags/shows and found Gearhead was the ones doing all his tunes. So I conversated with them this morning on Facebook. At lunch time I placed an order and had the tunes with everything I needed before my work day was even complete. So the guys at Gearhead get massive props for their communication and turnaround time. Flashed the performance tune to the truck and went for a drive. Unfortunately since I'm in North Carolina and we have this idiotic gas crisis cause people are morons, I have a tank of 87 in the truck right now as it's all I could get. Even so the truck was so much more responsive, shifts were nice and smooth, I could feel the power coming on so much sooner now. Really looking forward to getting some 93 in the tank to see what she will do then.
Guess I could use that fuel drain gimmick thing now to dump this 87 out! :troll3:
I have a GH tune on my 2020 & had one on my 2018 for 25k miles (before getting totaled) w/ no issue & high marks for customer service, gave me huge discount on another tune for my 2020 since I bought the device/tunes from them on my 2018

In all
Honesty I think their tune will HELP longevity w/ the tranny/TC very very smooth
 

mad man

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2014
Posts
249
Reaction score
127
If I was to start from scratch had no tuner I would probably give goose a try just because of the all the hype! but since 2011 with my first generation it was SCT and I’ve had great luck with SCT they’ve fixed any and all of the bugs that I’ve ever had, plus they have a updater app that goes onto your computer and you can update your device as much as you want . So now with my gen 2 I’m using a JDM tune, I have zero issues, works great and I’ve got 10,000 miles into it , I drive it like I stole it!
 
OP
OP
Drgonzo3000

Drgonzo3000

Active Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Posts
89
Reaction score
88
Location
North Carolina
The excitement of low price disappears - while the disappointment of poor quality remains !

There was no excitement over low price, just the knowledge not to overpay for someone's brand.

I got exactly what I was looking for. A competent SCT based tuner with great support and responsiveness.

Nothing but praise for the guys over at Gearhead. Messages responded to in a couple hours, tunes delivered within a day. Had some rough shifts with the trans tune due to a new strategy I'm running and it was sorted in within a couple days. Now I don't even feel the trans shift unless I switch to sport mode which it's then nice and crisp.

I'm running their Adaptive Fuel Performance and Tow tunes, both are amazing on the truck.

So thanks to those people that stayed on topic and provided options for other SCT tuners.
 
Top