Long post sorry
Wow, I'm an end user of Special Forces and Commando and this is kind of a strange thread. I don't know how many posts I have on here but the number is low. There was not much real info above about results so let me give you some input.
I spend most of my time on Mach1, hot rod, and turbocharger related sites because my current project is a 35 Chevy Coupe former east coast Modified oval track car. It will be powered by a DOHC Ford with a C4 and have 8 individual TB's to simulate injection of that era but will be computer controlled.
The Sniper products are used on my two Mustangs. First I have a 2004 Mach1 with a herd of bolt-ons that I first tuned with a Predator (did not like the datalogging reliability), switched to the Xcal2 which had datalogging I liked but limited end user adjustability, now I use the Sniper Special Forces on both of my Mustangs.
I plan to datalog both using Recon when it's available but currently us a locked Xcal2 I bought cheap and make use of the Innovate WB/DL32 to get a full picture of how each is performing.
Obviously the Special Forces does everything the bolt-on guy would need but my other Mustang goes a bit further. It's a Twin Turbo 2002 GT that has a nearly stock motor at the moment. I have a built motor almost ready for install. It is all forged with 8.5 cr, cams intended for turbos, and will displace 5.2L. The car is ready for the motor with a TKO600, built IRS with a 3.27 gear, and Cobra tank with dual cobra pumps. The induction system includes a P&P Bullitt intake and uses 42# injectors at the moment.
If I was not upgrading the motor, the SF tune would be fine. Because we play with new parts continuously on the GT, I decided to upgrade to Commando. I have used several of the standalones in hot rods and Cobra replicas (Electromotive, Redline, and SDS) so I'm accustomed to their associated software. I have some experience with the PRP (which I like) by hanging out with some shop owners. Commando does everything the PRP does and I'm not the least bit disappointed. I'm early in the process and frankly have not used a Commando tweaked tune in the GT yet but I'm refining what I want in the initial tune with the built motor.
Results = Mach1 with the initial SF tune runs great with the AF flat at 12.1 thru the rpm range. It has the EGR removed, o/r exhaust, gear, TC turned off, and different size tires in addition to the ton of bolt-ons. I did 1 tune that took less than 1 hour from when I opened the Sniper box. I never had a code, it runs great, and didn't even need the first mod. The car has not been back on the dyno, I care more about how it does on the fly. It runs 12.88@109 previous best was 12.93@108.
Results = The TT GT runs much better than before on the chip from a dyno tune. Strange thing is it gave me a code the second run cycle after the tune. I reinstalled the chip and it went away but went back to running crappy. As it turned out we had an IAT issue that was somehow not showing up with the chip. The car had several issues with the chip that were gone with the SF tune. It had a rough idle, bucking on decel, erratic A/F, and never was smooth enough for cruise control. All of those issues disappeared and the A/F was nearly level at 11.8 - 12.3, I did one mod which included a global spark and fuel adjustment and all is well. It now produces 480rwhp 512rwtq on 6psi. Keep in mind the motor had the CR raised to 10.5 and the cams installed are not meant for any power adder, the built motor will get 9 psi from the beginning.
I know this is a long post but I've been seeing threads on numerous sites that have folks making comments on the various tuners but with no experience using them. I have used them and have included the results. I don't work for any shop, vendor, or manufacturer and have tons of posts on several other sites. I'm not here that often so if you have questions email would be best.
Geoff
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So please, stop trying!
lay off the sniper guys damn...
