Just looking for some facts - any other tunes out there for F53's?

[baloo]

Originally Posted by Waiter21

TeJay,

.... Sadly, perfectly good products will become obsolete for the simple reason you will not be able to purchase a controller board, at any cost .

Example: 50 years from now when my grand children are rebuilding that mint condition 2017 Chevy Corvette, they will not be able to get it running because they will not be able to find an ECM.

I would LOVE to see a law to protect the consumer against software adolescence. i.e. 10 years after a manufacture no longer supports a product, they must release any software and firmware for that product into Public Domain.


...The old Megasquirt FI is child's play compared to what ECMs control today. I'm absolutely amazed at the integration that I see on new vehicles.

Interesting perspective, and more than a bit worrisome.
Planned obsolescence is alive and well, and progressed far beyond imaginable, say, from the 1980s.

In the past, I read that the original Henry Ford figured out that they were building some components of their Model A's/T's such that they never wore out. People would go to junk yards and get their parts rather than buying new ones.
SO, Old Man Ford started making them cheaper so that they would not last forever. NOT THAT THAT WAS A BAD IDEA.


I have a half-hope that the present younger generation, and follow-on ones, will be able to break the ECU codes and reconstruct the controlling programs when the cars become obsolete.
But, personally, not my problem. Won't live that long.

What is bothersome is that today's $600-700 "most advanced" cell phones will sell for $50 on EBay in about 2 years or less.
I think you might see the thread of my thinking as it might apply to this particular F53 case.

[mojoracing]

To get back to the original question. Is there a cheaper and / or more effective option than 5 star? I did a lot of research and my answer is no. As others have stated, the programmer alone is a big cost factor. When you look at what they charge for the actual software after taking out the cost of the controller, I actually find it a great deal. There has to be a ton of work done on their part to write the code and to have a return of maybe 200 bucks per copy? When your talking about rigs that can cost upwards of $150,000.00, the 500 or so is really no big deal. If you can afford the platform I dont see how anyone could complain about 500 bucks to make it so much more enjoyable to drive. To the OP, your first posts in this thread seemed very aggressive, I understand you wanted to cut to the chase on the answers but your post could be perceived as a bit too strong and dissuade some from answering even though they may have had some good info for you. I have not found anyone on this forum that is "too rich" to share pertinent information and if someone truly likes a product and wants to expound on its virtues, why not take a listen? Forgive me if I took your post the wrong way. RIGHT??

[JMynes]

About 10 years ago I bought a programmer for my fuel injected Harley. It was upwards of $350, and that's for only two wheels!
Your motor home has six wheels, so a 5 Star tuner at the group buy price of $429 is a bargain!

[computerguy]

Most of the time you get what you pay for. Periodically there is a group buy on irv2 to get a discount on a 5 Star tune.
You don't want to hear how great it is so I will not tell you how it has made my F53 more pleasurable to drive.
Worth every penny.
Best of luck to you to find a better cheaper solution.