Livernois Tune Madness on "Winter Blend"

[14SHOCAR]

For Everyone's viewing pleasure... my exchange with Livernois....


WHY I have to PROVE to them that I have been having this problem from the beginning is ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

[SHOdded]

I'm not going to get in the debate about PIDs being a good way to tune the car but they do at least provide some data about what is going on.

Absolutely.  If you think of the internals of the PCM as a black box, the PIDs can be construed to be outputs from that black box.  So obviously there IS merit to Livernois' assertions.  The question is whether SCT is tuning purely based on PIDs or are they taking the PID inputs from the tuner and making the changes INSIDE the black box.  Is changing PID behavior adequate, or do we need to change the internals of the black box for safe & reliable tuning?

Does that mean the tune is the problem? Nope. Does it mean he drew the rail pressure short stick? Quite possibly.

Very true.  The ends of the fuel rails are also known to get gunked up from time to time, so another possibility, esp if adding ethanol has a mild cleaning action.

[14SHOCAR]

I would just get my money back and move on but I suspect you will find yourself in the same situation with another tuner - or you will be tuning around the issue.

If Livernois is willing to give me my money back, I'd be happy to move on my merry way.

[SHOdded]

Per Livernois:

"Brenton,

We are sorry that you are unhappy with your most recent tuning endeavor. Honestly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the tunes nor the tuner. All of the issues that you have been bringing up are a direct result of running alternative fueling and various other mods that you were unhappy with. Your opinion is that the tune ultimately is to blame for all of that now, and you are entitled to having that opinion. However, we have literally hundreds upon hundreds of tuned SHO owners out there that can adhere to out regimen, and do not have the same issue(s). We attempt to help where we can and never shy away from credible critiques. You have had our tuning for over a year, that is a while without issue. If it was within a couple months we may consider this as an option. We wish you well going forward, and hopefully we will earn your business again.

Respectfully,
Livernois Motorsports"

[SHOdded]

Brenton:
I firmly believe that you need to take the car in to a good mechanic (yes, they are hard to find).  Usually a shop that has experienced personnel that don't just rely on computers to tell them what to do.  ElvenSHO can testify to that   Go to a Lincoln shop, usually they have more experience with EB engines.

A loose spark plug can cause "balloon pop" type sounds also:
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/cj-yj-tj-jk/35652-engine-noise-after-replacing-spark-plugs.html

Spark plugs are torqued to a precise spec so that a) they don't move, and b) the position in the cylinder is known and static.  It is possible that incorrect positioning within the cylinder is causing improper flame fronts that are more evident when enough fuel is added.

But it could be a leaky fuel injector as well.  In short, get the mechanicals checked out thoroughly.  You just might save your car.