Newbie with some questions

[trukki81]

Hi,
New to the sight. Im possibly interested in purchasing a programmer, and thought I would sign up here and try to learn some more about them.
I know what they do, I just dont know how they work and im not quite sure if I should purchase one.
My truck is an 05 F-150 FX4 5.4 liter with 31,000 miles. It has a K&N CAI, and a Stillen muffler, and it runs great. Im just curious as to what a programmer can do for my trucks performance? From reading some posts, it seems that some people experience problems, or they are not completely satisfied with the performance, and others are tickled pink. I have mixed feelings about making a purchase. I dont want to buy a $400-dollar headache.

I appreciate any and all feedback
Thanks

[Jackpine]

First, welcome!

But, you're going to get a biased opinion here - guaranteed! If anyone has not been happy with their programmer (once they've received it) and the custom tunes (once they've received them) I have yet to hear of it.

Yes, there HAVE been a few hiccups. One member was unhappy because he ordered a programmer, was billed for it, and then it didn't arrive in what he thought was a timely manner. I know of two members who have had problems with the connecting cable from the programmer to the vehicle. There have been others who have had other hardware malfunctions. AND, some people have been waiting for custom tunes far longer than they thought they would.

In all cases, these problems have been resolved - mostly because Bill and Corey will put YOU first and will do everything in their power to make you happy.

So, how do they work?

Well, in the first place, your CAI may well be causing your truck to run too lean for it's overall health. The common wisdom is to get a custom tune if you're going to use a commercial CAI.

In the second place, they change the software in your vehicle's PCM (its brain) to improve almost every facet of your driving experience. Why didn't Ford do this to begin with? Who knows - but, ask anyone how they feel about their trucks before and after tuning with a programmer and I doubt you're going to find many nay-sayers. I've honestly never heard anyone call a programmer a headache!

They are easy to use, and the results are obvious from the start. I would not want to have this truck without the Gryphon programs.

There! Anyone else want to add to this?

Woops! I've just thought of something else! You get all of us for free, just by joining this community. One thing I learned in my years teaching engineering at the University of Arizona, is that a team of people committed to a common goal with complementary abilities will always outperform a lone wolf. In this forum, we are a team, because Bill and Corey have set it up that way. I'm always astonished at how much I've learned just by being able to talk to the other members. And, we all pass on what we have learned freely, without put downs.

OK, now anyone want to add to this?

- Jack

[trukki81]

Thanks for the input. Most of the complaints that I read were off of another website that I belong to, I think Ive seen you there(JackandJanet). One of the other members referred me to this site after I posted some questions regarding programmers. He also mentioned Troyer and VMP. This site seemed to be the easiest to operate. So here I be.
As far as calling it a headache, I guess its because I know so little about them. Im intrested in purcahsing one, i just dont know which one. The Edge programmer stood out to me the most, and Ive learned that the gryphon is basically the same thing only that it can be updated. Ive also heard good things about diablo and sct.
From what I understand these guys at PHP only do Ford applications? Do they only sell and program gryphon's as well?
Most all of the programmers out there run around $400. Are they all created equal? Im not real good with computers, so how hard are these things to update as far as hooking them up to one?

My apologies for all the questions, Im sure you guys see alot of them, and you'll probably see more from me.lol I do appreciate all the info!

[88Racing]

The gauge pod is a nice feature for the gryphon. It comes colored to match the gray dash(sorry if you have tan it it would require some paint).

No rinky dink looking suction cup or screw in mount.

Great heads up display.

A lot of choices to put on display(only 4 can be seen).

We may on wait 5-8 weeks but other customers at other companies are waiting 5-7 months for custom tunes.

Lars

[Jackpine]

Good questions, trukki81! Yes, I'm the same "JackandJanet".

As far as I know, ALL programmers are quite easy to use. I keep telling people a 5-year old could install one on a truck and I honestly believe it. Most of those 5-year olds could also push the buttons that would program the PCM. It really is VERY simple. Most problems occur when people don't quite follow the directions (although there have been some other problems that I talked about earlier).

Updating a Gryphon is quite painless. The Pegasus application is very simple to use.

I think you're much better off getting a Gryphon instead of an Edge. You're going to get fantastic customer support from Bill and Corey and you'll get better tunes - for pretty much the same price!

I've heard very good things about XCals from Justin Starkey at VMP and Mike Troyer at Troyer Performance too, so I doubt you'd go wrong with either of them. Anyone else? I dunno.

Are they created equal? Sort of - as far as being able to program the PCM. But, the Gryphon lets you monitor operating values in your truck as you drive it. That is worth a ton to me!

I know nothing about Diablo or SCT.

As far as I know, Bill specializes iin Ford applications, but this is much more than just Gryphons. Just read through this forum, especially the diesel part, and you'll get a hint of how versatile he is.

In this forum, we don't mind questions, so feel free to ask.

- Jack

[trukki81]

Thankyou!

[Corey Cohron RIP]

Originally Posted by trukki81

Thanks for the input. Most of the complaints that I read were off of another website that I belong to, I think Ive seen you there(JackandJanet). One of the other members referred me to this site after I posted some questions regarding programmers. He also mentioned Troyer and VMP. This site seemed to be the easiest to operate. So here I be.
As far as calling it a headache, I guess its because I know so little about them. Im intrested in purcahsing one, i just dont know which one. The Edge programmer stood out to me the most, and Ive learned that the gryphon is basically the same thing only that it can be updated. Ive also heard good things about diablo and sct.
From what I understand these guys at PHP only do Ford applications? Do they only sell and program gryphon's as well?
Most all of the programmers out there run around $400. Are they all created equal? Im not real good with computers, so how hard are these things to update as far as hooking them up to one?

My apologies for all the questions, Im sure you guys see alot of them, and you'll probably see more from me.lol I do appreciate all the info!

Hi Trukki81. Looks like everyone's answered most of your questions, but I wanted to jump in for a minute. While we've been programming the Gryphon -- a private labeled Edge Evolution -- for over a year (but Bill's been programming for about a dozen years), we have recently begun programming the X3 from SCT, as well. The biggest difference in the programmers is the fact that the Gryphon mounts on your dash and has customizable gauges. The X3 is a programmer, but it's for programming your truck, and then it gets put away. I don't necessarily think that one is better than the other; it's just a matter of what you need.

Feel free to ask all the questions you want! If I were going to drop down a few hundred dollars, you can bet I'd be asking a lot of them!