The Official Superchips Forum

I have just joined this site and am looking for some info on the Cortex. I ordered and got one last week but am having problems hooking it up to my Mustang. I do have a trouble ticket in and SC is looking into this:

!. Will not load program to ecm
2. Sets 3 DTCs, P0600, P060a and V(?)0300.

The last DTC is interesting because it read, "internal CTRL mod software incompatibility".

I have since followed the instructions given to me by Rich and still no go.
I am assuming SC is writing a program and will get back to me when they're done.

In the mean time, what kind of HP and Torque gains can I expect from the different settings that are available? Both my vehicles are manual trannys. It's a 2011 Mustang 5.0, Brembo package and 3.73s. My truck is a '07 Ranger 4x4, 4.0L.

I plan to try this on my Mustang and see how it goes. If all is positive, I plan to get the program to use on my '07 Ranger 4x4.

Neither of my vehicles have any additional mods installed except the Ranger has a K&N CAI.

Anyway, glad to be here and looking forward to trying out the Cortex on my rides!!

2011 Mustang 5.0L

93 perf= 35.2hp and 40.4ftlbs
91 perf=14hp and 14.7ftlbs
87 octane =12.9hp and 14.9ftlbs at the wheels

2007 Ranger 4.0L
87= 9.3hp and 13.9ftlbs


If you post up your tuners serial number I will take a look at the progress of the update.

Ron

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Hello Ron,

As of right now, I haven't heard anything more about my issue. That being said, my tuners serial number is 1551929. Thanks for checking, Ron...

Well, I got an update to my situation via my personal email. Supposidly a clalibration program is being written but no time line has been set. From reading this board, these things take 5 or 6 days to do. Calculating the time from yesterday, that means I should have a program to remedy the issue by next Friday (the 24th).

I have to count on this program being written to work the first time when I get it. My 30 day, money back guarantee will be up around the 5th. This means, to me anyway, that should the program not work, I will be returning the Cortex and getting my money back.

I don't like being negative about a service that I've used in the past but, it just seems from reading alot of the problems other people have with this and other SC products that "seat of the pants" engineering is going on here. In other words, the advertised compatiblity of a product doen't necessarily mean it will work on your vehicle "out of the box". More than likely, you will have to contact SC and have it programmed to your particular vehicle be for you can use it. This means it will be atleast a two week period of straightening the issue out. Maybe SC should write a disclaimer to this effect. I doubt it would enhance SC's business in any positive way but, atleast it would be honest.

So, there it is. My deadline for returning this product is the 25th of this month. I can not wait for another "calibration" to occur if the first one doesn't work. Even if it does and I get good results afterwards, if I am in the market again for this type of product again in the future, I will not be as confident in relying on SC for such a product. Paying $380 for something that's supposed to work the first time and doesn't is not a confidence builder whether it can be fixed or not.

Your 30 day money back will start the day you install the tuning to the vehicle.

We are not trying to limit the time you have to work with the tool.


Everyday that the vehicles are built they are coming out with new calibrations for the computers. We can test and come out with 30 or 40 calibrations when we release a program, and within the first month the manufacture can add another 10-20 more cals.
It is frustrating for the end user, that is not aware, but we will always stand behind the customer if we can not make them happy.


Ron

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Mike, I will keep an eye on the issue for you.

Ron

SRN32009

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Thanks for your feed back, Ron. I apprecriate yours and SCs commitment to their customers and you looking out for me.

I'm a little fuzzy on the fact that the manufacturer is changing the calibrations to the computers on a daily basis. I can see this happening on indvidual cars but, only for ID purposes. I can also see it happneing if a way has been found to make the ECM more efficient. If it has anything to do with changing stock tuning cals, I don't.

I would think that when the info is gathered on my vehicle that it's pariticular cal for stock setting is all that matters. Its' cal hasn't been changed at least since I bought it 6 months ago.

I would like to understand what parameters are being changed "on a daily basis" that are in play that could affect our established ECMs. That would be interesting and would explain the process further I think.

Also, I was not aware that the 30 money back guarantee didn't start until I upload a tune from the Cortex. I haven't found any FAQ in regards to this. All I have is a receipt with a date on it and is all I have to go on.

Anyway, thanks again for your attention to this matter....

Superchips and I are backing this 30 day statement. I do this in special cases like this.

Calibrations are different throughout the United States, and the world for different uses and conditions. They have back up calibrations to fix current issues with initial releases of the vehicle programs.

A vehicle can have 10 cal revisions prior to the vehicle hitting someone’s hands from the dealer.

We can test and tune 20 trucks here at our facility and when a tune is released, have another 20-30 the first week of release from customer’s updates.

Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Nissan leave this window open to update the software on the vehicles, to keep them within tolerances with the EPA, CARB, and customer feedback

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Hello Ron, thanks for your explainaiton to my questions.

Is there anything to update regarding my issue? What is the time line for resolving this. I appriciate the fact that my 30 guarantee will not start until I load a tune to my car.

I will be taking my car in tomorrow for a baseline dyno pull and soon after, a pull with some mods, including the SC mod, after that. Would be nice to have this problem resolved soon. Thanks

Hello Ron, how are things going in regards to my issue? Is there anything more on when this may be resolved?

They are still working on this one.

I will let you know when it is ready.

Ron

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Thanks Ron

For your informaiton, Ron,

I have read on another forum (Engine CARNAGE...#8... 5L KryPoNITE - SVTPerformance) that a problem exist is "some" 5.0 engines in regards to #8 cylinder and performance tunes. It seems some of the tunes may be causing the knock sensor, after altering it's sensitivity parameters, to not see #8 cylinder and causing detonation in that cylinder and taking the piston out.

I also read in that forum on the same thread alegedly, that Ford had a bad batch of pistons in the very early production of this engine which halted production for almost 2 months. Some of these pistons may have found their way to the customer. Don't know how true this is. No link.

I'm wondering if SuperChips is aware of this issue? If not, take a look. May be info you can use...

As I am interested in making sure I keep myself updated on what Ford is addressing in the way of problems that seemingly crop up with the 5.0 engine, I am keeping an eye out for TSBs.

Recently there have been two that have been issued on Mustang 5.0, TSB 11-7-3 5.0L, dealing with cylinder misfire issues and TSB 11-7-4 5.0L, dealing with a cold start piston rattle. Both issued 1 July '11.

As my car fits in the category of the build date, I am wondering if SC has a way of knowing if my PCM has the recent calibration, IDS release 73.04 or higher.

I have not had any of these issues as of yet. But, I think these were issued to address certain problems such as the one in my previous post.

If memory serves, SC works in conjunction with Ford on these kind of updates for the latest calibrations which may be the reason it has taken so long to get a program for my Cortex. So, my request for the info in this thread may be self evident. What say you, SC. Thanks!