Preditor or Chip that is the question

[Forced_Fed]

Could you use the Pred on a Stock 2003 L?? I have a power tube on my intake and Bassani exhaust. I haven't done anything else because it is my daily driver and I have the extended warranty. My SVT dealer is NOT MOD FRIENDLY! What are the differences in HP gains between a chip and the Predator??? I am very interested in this. Also, can dealers check to see if you have used the Predator on the diagnostic port??? Any responses are welcome. Thanks!!:bout: :tu:

 

[danoid5631]

Ill jump in here.(I am not an expert). Just hooking up to the OBDII port is not a reason to void your warranty. Running diagnostics is not a Warranty prob. When you get a chip you have to scrape the gel coat off of the terminals to get the chip to make contact with the PCM. It has hard physical evidence that the pcm has been tampered with. As far as evidence about the reflash James would have to chime in here. There has been a debate about that. I have no warranty so I never really researched that aspect of the Preditor. I do however think it is a joke that car manufactures will void a warr for a little timing fine tuning. But I am a cust so I am biased.

 

[Forced_Fed]

I agree totally, you would think that SVT would get in and not care that we are making more performance on the vehicles especially with safer means nowadays!!! I just dont want to mess anything up, or break something. I keep on hearing about people breaking things after their pullies and chips, and I just dont think it is worth it on my daily driver. ;m

 

[RWTD]

Hi James. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I have not had very good luck getting a cable for my predator. I really want to use it with my laptop but am having a real hard time finding a usb to serial cable that will work.

Walter, it was good talking to you on the phone earlier today, sir. Johan is looking for the USB to Serial info. on his that he bought online somewhere. Hopefully he'll have that for me soon, as his works properly, and it's a good one. If you do find a good one that works properly, please let me know, as well.

Could you use the Pred on a Stock 2003 L?? I have a power tube on my intake and Bassani exhaust. I haven't done anything else because it is my daily driver and I have the extended warranty. My SVT dealer is NOT MOD FRIENDLY! What are the differences in HP gains between a chip and the Predator??? I am very interested in this. Also, can dealers check to see if you have used the Predator on the diagnostic port??? Any responses are welcome. Thanks!!:bout: :tu:

Hello sir, and thanks for your post. As Dano stated earlier in his post to you, he's right, there shouldn't be any reason a manufacturer could void your warranty for a lil more timing, however, they sometimes will do whatever it takes to do just such, and even for stuff that has nothing to do with tuning. Not many dealers are mod friendly, as some fear Ford crunching down on them, and others just take a "holier than thou" attitude.

I'm not going to say that using the Predator, or any other mod, will not void your warranty. I have been selling and making custom tunes for Predator owners (both GM and Ford) for over a year now, and never NOT once have I had even one customer tell me that they have had issues with using it when it comes to detection or warranty concerns (and that's over a thousand vehicles now). That's the honest truth! I'd like to see that a dealer can show me proof that the Predator was used on a vehicle, whether or not the vehicle has Predator tuning (custom or defaulted) on it, or the stock calibration on it (after using the Predator to restore it). It is not illegal for anyone to possess a Ford NGS/WDS, or a GM Tech 2 tool, nor is it illegal for anyone to run diagnostics or reflash their pcm either. Your warranty can't be legally voided for that. Many backyard shops or small town repair shops possess such tools, as do individuals.

I hope I answered all of your questions/concerns. Please let me know if you need further information, as I'm here to help!

Very Sincerely...

 

[bluv69k]

what gains could be made with a stock truck? Thinking of buying one while stock and slowly build an arsenal or parts to install all at once.

 

[soon2befast]

bluv69k


I think you will fill the gains alone with the predator.You can not go wrong with the predator.If you get any pulleys you can go back and change your tune on the dime awsome tool.

 

[jmlay]

Did you go to the manufature's web site, for the usb to serial adapter, and look for updated drivers? Most likely they have them. Another option is to go to http://www.driverguide.com/indexddc.htm and do a search. They want you to register to get you name for who knows what. To save you that hassle I will give you the user and password:

User: drivers
Password: all

Good luck!

Mike

Hi James. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I have not had very good luck getting a cable for my predator. I really want to use it with my laptop but am having a real hard time finding a usb to serial cable that will work. So far I have tried one from Radio Shack, Best Buy and one from a local computer store. The one from Radio Shack didn't have software for XP, + it came with a floppy disk! My laptop does not have a floppy drive. So I decided to get creative and burn the Radio Shack software on to cd from my desktop. No luck. The software is for everything but xp. When I just plugged the cable to my laptop, I followed the installation wizard, and Microsoft does not have a driver for that cable. I tried to transfer a file from the Predator to my laptop anyway, and again no luck. So I thought I would just pick up a regular serial cable at the store. Guess what? nobody carries those either! While Predator is the coolest thing since the invention of sliced bread, I wish it had modern computer connectivity.

HELP!

Thanks.

Walter

 

[99L]

Did you go to the manufature's web site, for the usb to serial adapter, and look for updated drivers? Most likely they have them. Another option is to go to http://www.driverguide.com/indexddc.htm and do a search. They want you to register to get you name for who knows what. To save you that hassle I will give you the user and password:

User: drivers
Password: all

Good luck!

Mike

Hey thanks. I bought a usb to serial adapter and adjusted the baud rate, but when I transfer a file from the predator, the file makes it to my laptop and is empty (0kb). I will try the site you are talking about.

 

[RWTD]

Hey thanks. I bought a usb to serial adapter and adjusted the baud rate, but when I transfer a file from the predator, the file makes it to my laptop and is empty (0kb). I will try the site you are talking about.

Make sure that it didn't download it to another spot on your computer, as you can change that. I would suggest making sure that you have deleted out any of the old files first, whether they are 0kb or not, and then starting over, if that happens again.

Sincerely...

 

[RWTD]

what gains could be made with a stock truck? Thinking of buying one while stock and slowly build an arsenal or parts to install all at once.

bluv69k, here's a previous post I made in the other thread in this forum on page 5 near the bottom:

http://www.nloc.net/vbforum/showthread.php?s=&postid=462925#post462925

It also has a dynograph attached of a 2002 stock truck, down to the paper air filter, with before/after tuning. Here's the link to that dynograph as well:

As soon2befast said, the Predator IS an awesome tool!

I hope this helps!

Sincerely...

 

[99L]

Make sure that it didn't download it to another spot on your computer, as you can change that. I would suggest making sure that you have deleted out any of the old files first, whether they are 0kb or not, and then starting over, if that happens again.

Sincerely...

James, I tried that with no luck. I emailed Diablosport to see if they could help. I will let you know when I hear from them.

p.s. Will you be able to get to my tune today?

Thanks

Walter

 

[RWTD]

James, I tried that with no luck. I emailed Diablosport to see if they could help. I will let you know when I hear from them.

p.s. Will you be able to get to my tune today?

Walter, as promised your tune was emailed over to you this morning, sir. I look forward to your results!

Sincerely...

 

[greg]

1-- what would the next step up from predator be .

and 2-- what can be gained by hooking lap top up to it.
3--don't they have software for lap top and then all you would need is cable to hook up like scanner.

 

[RWTD]

1-- what would the next step up from predator be .

Greg, hello sir, thanks for the post, and I hope that your current Holidays have been awesome (and safe)!

Actually, the Predator is the step up from the basic chip. A custom tuned Predator is the ultimate tool, and is what I give/offer to all of my customers when they purchase a Predator from me.

and 2-- what can be gained by hooking lap top up to it.

You do not necessarily need a laptop, as you can use a desktop as well. With either type of computer, you will be able to transfer custom tuned files in/out of your Predator, plus you will be able to use the upcoming DAT (ChipMaster Revolution Datalogger) software to do full featured data monitoring (live or logged). Currently you can do data monitoring and logging on your Predator, but the DAT software will allow you many more functions and options through your computer.

3--don't they have software for lap top and then all you would need is cable to hook up like scanner.

Yes, all you would need is the following:

1: ChipMaster Revolution Datalogger Software (the software is free, and will be released to end-users soon)

2: Serial Cable:
Standard straight-through DB9 (9-pin to 9-pin) RS232C serial cable (6 foot cable is more than enough). Check your computer to see if you have a male or a female port on the back, as some are different. You will need a male end to go into your Predator.

3: Power Adapter:
CLASS 2 TRANSFORMER
OUTPUT : 12VDC 1000mA (1 Amp)
Center is positive and outside is negative

Radio Shack normally carries both of these items. Most Wal-Marts have the Power Adapter (multi output version).

Note: If you have a laptop, you can use the vehicle's power to power up the Predator, instead of using a Power Adapter, and use your laptop and Predator inside of your vehicle.

I hope this helps with your questions. Please feel free to reply back at your convenience.

Enjoy the upcoming New Year!

Very Sincerely...