Just bought a White 2000L

[QDRHRSE]

I want to appologize in advance if this is sounds like a hundred other threads. I tried to do a search and didn't find what I was looking for. Anyway, I just bought my first L. It's bone stock and has 70,000 on the drivetrain. Is that a lot? I know the motor will be ok but how about the supercharger? I have an excellent history on it and I know it was driven by an old guy who used it to commute between St.Louis and Chicago....it has been babied and dealer serviced its whole life.

I have had dozens of Mustangs of all different years so I have a lot of "car" experience. I still have a Supercharged 5.0 but I thought a Lightning could be both fun and usefull.....the Mustang is definitely not useful.

What would you guys I recommend doing to it to get it into the 12's? I have been doing a lot of research and think that I have everything I need but, since I have no experience with vehicles like this, I'm not sure. I ordered a Predator flash tuner, Accufab throttle body, 90mm mass air meter, a 6lb pulley ring, a C&L inlet pipe, a cold air kit, and a PA Performance shift kit ($22 shipped on ebay!!). Will this be enough to go high 12's on radials? Is a 6lb kit too much? What about traction devices? Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

[Moonshine]

My SC was still fine when i sold my '00 at 117K miles.


As for getting into the 12's, it's not too hard. I'd suggest sending all that stuff back and calling Terry.

[Sixpipes]

I know performance numbers vary depending on what part of the country you live in, but all that stuff will get you into the 12's easy around here. :cool:

[TP Derrick D]

My SC was still fine when i sold my '00 at 117K miles.


As for getting into the 12's, it's not too hard. I'd suggest sending all that stuff back and calling Terry.



Palmdale,Cali is a l-o-o-o-n-n-g-g way from Texas. I know there are L shops and info out there. One good thing is you also own a 'Stang .

[QDRHRSE]

I live in the high desert and the local track is @ 3000ft. Stuff runs ok in the winter and spring but fall and summer suck.

Who is Terry? How do I get a hold of him? That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks! Remember, I'm a die hard Mustang guy. I only know Mustang folks.

[Moonshine]

Who is Terry? How do I get a hold of him?

Terry is L8 Apex on this forum, and the owner of Performance Research, which has its' own section on the forum in the TALON Discounters.

[WA 2 FST]

Welcome!

The mods you list will easily get you in the 12s... at normal altitude. However, forced induction vehicles suffer less at altitude than N/A. I think you'll be fine in cooler air and get the #s you want... on radials.

Here are my mods: 4# lower, CAI, SCT9100 tune for 93 octane gas, Magnaflow cat-back (for sound, no performance gain, IMHO), LFP heat exchanger, and Factory Tech valve body.

12.8 @ 109mph at 600' density altitude on my virgin trip to the strip.

[03LightningRocks]

I can tell you from my experience...altitude makes a huge difference with my truck. By huge I am talking 3-4 tenths variation around the different parts of the country.

Also California has some real issues with the eco-friendly fuel they use.

I always point to Terry as a recommendation, but in this case, I would probably talk Swanson. He is out in your area and will know what kind of issues you may have with tuning for that sh!t they call fuel in Cali.

I don't know how o get in touch with Swanson, but a couple fellers here know how. 6pipes and mark can tell you how to find him.

Rocks

[03LightningRocks]

:eek: :eek2: :eek: :eek2: ..........Send that predator back. You will be needing a new motor next. Go with the SCT tuner. They have a flash tuner also.

A six lb pulley is alot for a truck with 70K on the odo. I expect a long list of posts now bragging about how many miles versus how big a pulley, but facts are facts.....14-16 lbs of boost is alot.


Rocks:nana2

[WA 2 FST]

Higher altitude, heat soak, poor air quality (high humidity, low baro. pressure, the latter of which is often a direct result of altitude) certainly affect _all_ internal combustion engines performance.

But it hurts a N/A engine more than a blown/turbo/nitrous-injected motor. NHRA "correction factors" with regards to altitude show this, as does real life experience.

I certainly wasn't trying to imply it won't make a difference. Rocks is right!

[03LightningRocks]

Yep....all of that affects it Wes. I was just pointing out to him that apples to apples...his truck will run slower out there than it does here.

Rocks:beer:

[PoorSvtman]

A six lb pulley is alot for a truck with 70K on the odo. I expect a long list of posts now bragging about how many miles versus how big a pulley, but facts are facts.....14-16 lbs of boost is alot.


Rocks:nana2


ill be the first to brag about miles... 110k miles with a 6lber and still running like a champ :tu: Jeff where you at on miles. I know we are neck and neck last time we talked

[QDRHRSE]

My friends tell me Swanson is an a$$hole. He's done a lot of chip burning for the local Mustang crowd. If he can't treat my friends right- I can't do business with him.

I only run good gas at the track so fuel isn't really an issue.

My Mustang runs .4-.5 slower at my local track vs Bakersfield which is 110 miles away. This time of year blower heat soak is a huge issue and lately the only decent runs I've been able to make are my first ones.

Why would I want to get something other than a Predator? I don't doubt anybody but there's got to be a reason or reason(s).

I have plenty of time on the parts because some of the stuff was backordered and I told them to let me know when it is all ready. Also, the truck probably won't be here until the week after next. It's coming from the midwest....don't ask- it's a long boring story.

You guys are very helpful. I really appreciate it. Since there is some minor disagreement among you about my parts selection- what would you recommend I do first? Please don't tell me to run the truck stock. I'm going to do that anyway but I'm still going to order a bunch of stuff. No matter what I do it will not be fast enough. You guys should know that!

[BC Lightning]

This time of year blower heat soak is a huge issue and lately the only decent runs I've been able to make are my first ones.

Why would I want to get something other than a Predator? I don't doubt anybody but there's got to be a reason or reason(s).



For bracket racing, a Fluidyne Heat Exchanger is the best IMO, I am running a LFP Heat Exchanger, but after seeing the difference between me and another L owner on this board (True Blue Aggie), he always hits his dial ins, he has a fluidyne I have the LFP. We also have almost the same mods. I'll hit my dial in, then it gets slower and slower, his seems to cool down alot faster.

As far a the Predator, most don't like it because the mail order tunes that come with it tend to be more aggressive with more degrees of timing and easier to blow your motor. I know True Blue Aggie has a predator and he seems to be good at tuning his truck.

I however, have the SCT 9100 Tuner and dyno tuned originally by Jim at JDM, and recieve updates from Terry. Its plug and play and easy to use with cold-towing/warm/ and race tunes. As much as I like the 9100 I plan on upgrading to the XCAL 2 tuner. It has data logging, LCD Screen, and is more user friendly without a lap top for quick tunes. But you still have to tune it with a lap top to get the most accurate tune.

[03LightningRocks]

As far a the Predator, most don't like it because the mail order tunes that come with it tend to be more aggressive with more degrees of timing and easier to blow your motor. I know True Blue Aggie has a predator and he seems to be good at tuning his truck.

I however, have the SCT 9100 Tuner and dyno tuned originally by Jim at JDM, and recieve updates from Terry. Its plug and play and easy to use with cold-towing/warm/ and race tunes. As much as I like the 9100 I plan on upgrading to the XCAL 2 tuner. It has data logging, LCD Screen, and is more user friendly without a lap top for quick tunes. But you still have to tune it with a lap top to get the most accurate tune.


:tu: :tu: :tu:

[03LightningRocks]

I really don't know much about Swanson, other than from a couple fellows around here. Sorry to hear he is an A-hole....but unfortunately...being an A-Hole seems to be one of the requirements for tuners...LOL.

Seriously though....predator has claimed alot of motors. I dunno, maybe part of it is operator error....what I mean is...the guys that frag their blocks are usually doing something stupid in combo with alot of mods....like WOT down the highway for prolonged periods.

By the way...last I heard...Mike(TrueBlueAggie) had talked about moving over from the dark side..I was thinking he was wanting to switch to SCT.


Rocks:nana2

[QDRHRSE]

Are all talking about the same flash tuners? Missouri is my kind of place because its the "Show Me" state. I went online and checked out the xcal-2 and the latest predator and they are exactly the same except for a couple of things. The new predator has all the same functions plus more. The xcal-2 has one advantage- it uses regular old USB instead of a hybrid computer cable set up. Is the issue here really about the programs that come with the predator? It seems as though it has better funtionality and twice the screen size. I'm not arguing but I haven't heard anything really compelling either way. I want to get something that I'll be happy with. So somebody "Show Me"!

How do you guys like that avitar? It might be a bit much.....

[True Blue Aggie]

Well here is my two cents......


I am currently tuning with a Predator setup, with tunes provided from Runnin with the Devil (James). He is out of Mobile, Alabama. I heard all of the same things about Predator tunes blowing up motors, because of the stock A/F ratios that come written into the tunes. I had James at RWTD write three different tunes for the truck. A street tune with 16 deg of timing, a race tune with 17 deg of timing, and a race fuel tune with 20 deg of timing. I am currently running the 17 deg of timing tune, because the summer heat does not allow these trucks to run at peak performance at all. Might as well save some money on not buying race fuel until at least October.

With the Predator tuner, you just have to make sure that you select a reputable tuner, and be clear with him that you want to start with a rich A?F first. Your motor wont go boom, if the A/F is set at 10-10.5. Get the basic tune set up and then go dyno. At the dyno, I was able to make a first pass 12.0 A/F run. I went to the Predator and pulled 5% out of the A/F (to the rich side), and my A/F on the next three pulls was perfect (11.5). Now I should (emphasis on "should") not have issues with the motor because the A/F is mixed right.

Now for the bad side of the Predator.....
James at Runnin with the Devil is EXTREMELY hard to work with. He is a hell of a nice guy, but with the amount of business he is currently working through, he has a hard time keeping up with tuning requests.

That is why I was working on switching to a SCT tuner from Terry. If I want to change a tune, I can either call/e-mail, or drive to his shop. For someone who lives in Cali....you might want to confirm your dyno options available to you. Terry is great about being able to work with you and your tune from afar....but he (like all the rest of the tuners) can really wake your truck up if they have a base dyno run to work with.

Hope this helps....:tu:

And if you need for me to fly out to California, to "help" you with your tuning needs (if you select the Predator), just send me the plane ticket.......:D

[True Blue Aggie]

What would you guys I recommend doing to it to get it into the 12's? I have been doing a lot of research and think that I have everything I need but, since I have no experience with vehicles like this, I'm not sure. I ordered a Predator flash tuner, Accufab throttle body, 90mm mass air meter, a 6lb pulley ring, a C&L inlet pipe, a cold air kit, and a PA Performance shift kit ($22 shipped on ebay!!). Will this be enough to go high 12's on radials? Is a 6lb kit too much? What about traction devices? Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, yeah......about traction. Maybe someone out there can get these trucks to run 12's on Radials, but I can't. When I put the 6# ring on the truck, that is when I lost all ability to launch the truck. Does not matter how I leave, the tires spin. I had to get full race slicks and traction bars before the truck would leave the line without spinning. If someone out there can do it, speak up, but I know I have tried and not succeeded.

[03LightningRocks]

Oh, yeah......about traction. Maybe someone out there can get these trucks to run 12's on Radials, but I can't. When I put the 6# ring on the truck, that is when I lost all ability to launch the truck. Does not matter how I leave, the tires spin. I had to get full race slicks and traction bars before the truck would leave the line without spinning. If someone out there can do it, speak up, but I know I have tried and not succeeded.

Yep same here.....I tried it when my truck was new....never again. It frustrated the sh!t out of me.

About a year ago, I drove all the way out to Hallsville and found out my lug nuts for my slicks where still in Dallas. My 11 second truck was running 14's...LOL.


Rocks:bs

[Moonshine]

Oh, yeah......about traction. Maybe someone out there can get these trucks to run 12's on Radials, but I can't. If someone out there can do it, speak up, but I know I have tried and not succeeded.

I never made a pass on anything but radial street tires, but then again, I was never running anything other than the OEM blower pulleys.