just wondering if anyone has had a problem with this

I bought a flash x3 from capa with a tune and the car ran like a dog it was pinging and blowing smoke whenever I gave it a bit but back to standard its fine can anyone help..

the problem is ; custom tune ;

what do you mean custom tune it needs one?

yup. sounds like you need a custom tune taylored to suit your car

yep, dont run the generic tune or you could do damage, you need a custom tune

Homework first but yes custon tune!

This may be an old topic but I just want to say for anyone who has a quick look at this page, it is not always a case of "Custom tune custom tune...if you dont the world will end!" plenty of people run the flash tuner, I ran mine without a custom tune for a long while, but this has got to stop.

pinging noise - check your plugs. mine when I checked them(motorcraft ford factory plugs) were anywhere from 1.0mm to 1.6mm the factory or mechanics barely go into the depth of checking plug gaps because no one is supposed to be boosting these over factory levels etc etc while under warranty and you are not supposed to gap the iridium plugs. so if mechanics consistantly checked the plugs they would have bins full of the motorcraft plugs as afor mentioned my plugs had a variation of .6mm difference. now if you speak with a multitude of tuners you will find that some change the tune in a way that allows you to use a basic ngk plug that will save you dollars but if used untuned may cause issues,dont know personally,others have a wrx plug that is suited - again as far as I know - for the sti's that are running 17psi or similar, around about the bug eye they ran a high boost, a friends one is on 17psi stock.whatever the case, check your plugs, I still havent changed mine yet, mick at pitlane will be organising it for me with my final custom later this year.

currently I am running the problem motorcraft ones I have previously mentioned gapped(and before the big hullabaloo yes as previously stated also I know DONT GAP THE PLUGS)but for a little bit of budget advise,mine were gapped 25000kms ago and am not seeing any troubles and quite a few drag cars from where I live are running upwards of 20psi and are still working fine on acurately gapped plugs.

so step one if you are only running a flash and have a budget,gap your plugs,see how you go.im doing alright.

as for the custom tune bit I ask of you to consider the japanese imports out there. pretty much none of them that are only marginally modified are running anything more than a generic tuner, and you dont see them complaining. the generic tuners are basically an offer of slight performance upgrade but safe in terms of fuel.I ask you to refer to my fuel readings that were takin from a wide band air fuel meter by innovate,my fueel was quite rich.which in my oppinion has to be better than the lein option,and they still run.

if you have a flash tuner...go on and use it,the world wont come to an end.just check your plugs,extra boost will blow out the spark.

fix the plugs however you want,I personally dont care because im not in "the click" of this site,but I just want you guys to know that there are cheaper options out there other than spending every cent you earn on your cars,budget performance can be achieved,just ask a variety of people.

just a huge fan of these cars personally and I only recently spoke with someone who is selling a range of parts for his because he thinks he cant do it up on a budget.IT CAN BE DONE. My car runs low 9s on the 1/8th mile and I have spent little on the performance side.I am willing to speak to people about how mods have been done on my car and the gains I have,but dont reply to this with pages of slurring,I know the majority wont like it so save your effort.

pm me if you like,but I am not intersted in arguing.so keep the negatives to yourselves.

enjoy your cars,these are great vehcles across the range.

that's fine but it does go the other way too. There have been instances where they have destroyed engines, and telling people new to the scene that there fine and the way to go isn't very responsible for someone that should know better.

The only explanation I can think of for them being half decent on a car is that that particular car was very similar to the original car the tune was made for. Now days custom tunes aren't really that much more expensive then a generic tune and for better power, fuel economy and piece of mind why wouldn't you?

Hmmm... Money? People cant always afford a custom tune since most the time you need to buy a Flash2 or 3, and since they are around $700 and a custom tune is around $700 also, some people will find that sort of coin hard to come by.

also you can direct questions to capa on 0885823499 and they are always willing to help since they realise so many people sh*t on their product prior to conversing with them.

Edited September 12, 201016 yr by TUR-BO6