By SCT X4 and LiveWire Data Monitor for the Ford F-150
In this article, we are going to take a quick look at the SCT X4 and the new SCT LiveWire Vision Performance Data Monitor and how we’re going to be applying that to tuning our f-150 twin-turbo EcoBoost that just got the twin-turbo upgrade now of course you can buy these products in over a million top name brand products at Motoroso.com or call us toll-free at 1.833.MOTOROSO. Let’s dig in.
VIDEO: TESTING THE SCT X4 AND LIVEWIRE MONITOR ON THE FORD F-150
If you’ve been following along with our F-150 EcoBoost build, you’ve seen that we just did a twin-turbo upgrade from CRP Engineering which is capable of up to 500 wheel horsepower with the proper tuning. We’re only going to be pushing for about 450 wheel horsepower since we’re not trying to break any records, but we want that power. We want it to be reliable and clean, and of course, tuning is going to be key in that respect. That’s where SCT comes in.
The Perfect Combo
The SCT X4 is a tuner that allows you to install pre-loaded tunes as well as custom tunes. It does some data logging and allows you to read and clear DTC codes—it’s a very versatile tool, but the new LiveWire is a performance data monitor; it pulls all the data it can from that OBD2 port and it’ll put it up in virtual gauges allowing you to see everything it can measure. It’ll also do high-speed data logging pulling in more data than the SCT X4 just by itself, and combined, that’s going to allow your tuner to get all the data that they need to build the best possible tune for you.
Budget-Friendly
In addition to that, this also does performance tests; it’ll actually measure your 0 to 60 speed and your quarter-mile times. The thing that I really like about this LiveWire is, first of all, that it comes in a price point of about $400 which is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than a lot of your other data monitors.
Compact
It’s also only a four-inch screen, and some of those other data monitors out there that are like six inches–it’s pretty imposing on your dash and it takes up a lot of room. This also comes with a suction cup mount, it’s just a four-inch touch screen, and it has a very small bezel, so it’s not in your face. It also has a light sensor that can auto dim. I’ve had a monitor before that didn’t do that and you’re constantly changing those settings when you’re driving around at night.
The Tune from Brew City Boost
So we got our baseline tune installed with our SCT X4 and then we used the data logging feature to grab all the data off of the truck. We did a couple of full-throttle runs, gathered all that data, sent it off to Casey over at Brew City Boost and he sent us back our full power tune which targets somewhere around 440-450 wheel horsepower.
The Baseline Tune
We don’t have a really good baseline to compare against the stock with the original stock tune, and even if we had this LiveWire to have done these tests, we had that exhaust manifold leak so the car wasn’t making as much power as it should have. So we don’t really have a benchmark, but what we do know is that in a stock 2015 3.5L EcoBoost was good for a 0-60 time of roughly 6.5 to 7 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 14.5 seconds. The baseline tune should be around 375-ish horsepower–just 50 more than stock–so maybe that’s enough to make up for the bigger wheels and tires. If I could go 0-60 in under 6 seconds with the full tune and this twin-turbo upgrade, I would be really stoked. So we got our first test out of the way with our baseline tune then we flashed the ECU with our full tune from Casey.
Performance Testing
Now to set up for your performance test, with your monitor turned on, go into the performance test section. It’s going to give you the option to select the different tests that you’re doing. You can do more than one test in the same run which is really great, but we just did the 0-60 and the quarter-mile test. Then you’re just going to click continue. After configuring the test, you need to go forward to the place where you want to do your run, come to a complete stop, press start, and then when you go it’s going to immediately start measuring.
Test Results
So we ran a total of six quarter mile and 0-60 tests using our LiveWire Vision, and we started with two runs using the baseline map to see if it was in the OEM 0-60 time. We put down a 15.1 and a 15.2 quarter-mile time and a 6.5 and 6.4 0-60 time which is a little bit better than the OEM 0-60 time even with the truck weighing a little over 5,000lbs and having big 35-inch off-road tires. After we went ahead and used our SCT X4 to flash the new tune from Casey at Brew City Boost onto the truck, I was doing 14.7 and 14.8-second quarter miles and we were getting 6.2 and 6.1 seconds 0-60 times which is a pretty dramatic improvement. On one run, we were even able to get a 0-60 time of under 6 seconds.
If you’re shopping for mods, and if you’re interested in doing these turbo upgrades or the exhaust manifold, check out our other articles and videos. You can also check out Motoroso.com where you can reach us on live chat or call us toll-free at 833-668-6767 which is 833.MOTOROSO; we’re here to help you with all of your mods across all your vehicles. Thanks for reading.
