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- Oct 17, 2021
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- 2022 - BB Sasquatch - Mid - 2.7L
- Your Bronco Model
- Big Bend
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- #1
I’ve had some time wity the Pulsar XT piggyback tuner from Superchips, so I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with everyone on the forums. I did make a video that shows the unboxing, step by step installation, mobile app usage and 0-60 Dragy times if anyone is interested. It’s a long video, but I listed time stamps at the beginning of the video so you can skip ahead to the section you want to see.
I’ll start things off and say that I’ve used a fair amount of tuners for the Bronco. I’ve owned or own the JB4, RaceChip S, and Ford ProCal tune. I haven’t yet used the Panda Motorworks tuning device or VR Tuned box, but from what I can tell they are derivatives of the Racechip so the experience should be similar.
I’ll go ahead and tell you that right off the bat, the Pulsar XT is my favorite piggyback tuner. Reason being, that it adds a ton of power, has a built-in throttle controller, lets you change the tire size, disable Start stop and double honk, etc… All of this for under $600. No other device offers all these options in a single product. No brainer…
The installation of the device is straight forward and easy. I didn’t run into any issues as the instructions are easy to follow and you don’t need to be a mechanic to install it. My video above has a step-by-step instruction on how to do it, so watch it if you’re the visual learner type. The mobile app is pretty slick and feels modern, but if you don’t want to use it to change the power output then you don’t have too. The included BT controller does the job and allows you to change the power output and throttle sensitively on the fly. My only real gripe with the app that it doesn’t allow the ability to monitor PIDs or vehicle stats. I would also like to see an option to log these stats. Heck, maybe the ability to use Apple Car play to view gauges in real-time on your screen would be cool too, but that’s probably asking for a bit much.
Superchips released a solid video that goes over the app in detail as well:
[ How does it stack up to the Ford Procal? ]
While this is my favorite piggyback tuner, I also like the Ford ProCal. Not so much for the added power, but the better torque management and better shifting strategies. That said, if you want the Ford warranty you must pay for an ASE tech to install it and still need to buy a separate throttle controller if you want a more responsive gas pedal. That could make the cost almost double that of the Pulsar XT, but it really depends on your overall goal.
My Bronco is slightly modified. It has an Injen cold air intake, CV Fab Intercooler, Turbosmart BOV, and colder plugs. With that said, I have tested both devices back-to-back, and the best 0-60 time I could achieve with the ProCal was 5.7 seconds. With the Pulsar XT, I was able to achieve 5.4 seconds, so it makes more power vs. the ProCal.
Beyond just power, the Pulsar XT feels smoother during daily driving since it doesn’t make any changes to the torque management system of transmission shifting. Basically, a faster stock feeling for lack of better words. That doesn’t mean the ProCal is rough or jerky, it feels great, and I really like the improved transmission shifting, just not as smooth as stock.
To wrap things up, I did what any sane person would do and decided to combine the two devices
I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do this long term or as daily driver as I was experiencing a higher positive KnKAdder value on my ProCal 4 then I would like to see. Basically, I was seeing too much preignition under daily driving for me to feel comfortable with. Mixing fuels to make E30 helped, but it’s hardly convenient. Anyway, with the two devices stacked using 93 octane 0-60 times came down to 5 seconds flat. With an E30 mix of fuel in 30-degree weather, It dropped to 4.79 seconds and did the ¼ mile in 13.36 @ 98 MPH. This was all testing with the Dragy device and app.
My next adventure leads me to custom tuning (Stay tuned), but if anyone has any questions about the Pulsar XT then let me know. Thanks!
I’ll start things off and say that I’ve used a fair amount of tuners for the Bronco. I’ve owned or own the JB4, RaceChip S, and Ford ProCal tune. I haven’t yet used the Panda Motorworks tuning device or VR Tuned box, but from what I can tell they are derivatives of the Racechip so the experience should be similar.
I’ll go ahead and tell you that right off the bat, the Pulsar XT is my favorite piggyback tuner. Reason being, that it adds a ton of power, has a built-in throttle controller, lets you change the tire size, disable Start stop and double honk, etc… All of this for under $600. No other device offers all these options in a single product. No brainer…
The installation of the device is straight forward and easy. I didn’t run into any issues as the instructions are easy to follow and you don’t need to be a mechanic to install it. My video above has a step-by-step instruction on how to do it, so watch it if you’re the visual learner type. The mobile app is pretty slick and feels modern, but if you don’t want to use it to change the power output then you don’t have too. The included BT controller does the job and allows you to change the power output and throttle sensitively on the fly. My only real gripe with the app that it doesn’t allow the ability to monitor PIDs or vehicle stats. I would also like to see an option to log these stats. Heck, maybe the ability to use Apple Car play to view gauges in real-time on your screen would be cool too, but that’s probably asking for a bit much.
Superchips released a solid video that goes over the app in detail as well:
[ How does it stack up to the Ford Procal? ]
While this is my favorite piggyback tuner, I also like the Ford ProCal. Not so much for the added power, but the better torque management and better shifting strategies. That said, if you want the Ford warranty you must pay for an ASE tech to install it and still need to buy a separate throttle controller if you want a more responsive gas pedal. That could make the cost almost double that of the Pulsar XT, but it really depends on your overall goal.
My Bronco is slightly modified. It has an Injen cold air intake, CV Fab Intercooler, Turbosmart BOV, and colder plugs. With that said, I have tested both devices back-to-back, and the best 0-60 time I could achieve with the ProCal was 5.7 seconds. With the Pulsar XT, I was able to achieve 5.4 seconds, so it makes more power vs. the ProCal.
Beyond just power, the Pulsar XT feels smoother during daily driving since it doesn’t make any changes to the torque management system of transmission shifting. Basically, a faster stock feeling for lack of better words. That doesn’t mean the ProCal is rough or jerky, it feels great, and I really like the improved transmission shifting, just not as smooth as stock.
To wrap things up, I did what any sane person would do and decided to combine the two devices
I wouldn’t recommend anyone to do this long term or as daily driver as I was experiencing a higher positive KnKAdder value on my ProCal 4 then I would like to see. Basically, I was seeing too much preignition under daily driving for me to feel comfortable with. Mixing fuels to make E30 helped, but it’s hardly convenient. Anyway, with the two devices stacked using 93 octane 0-60 times came down to 5 seconds flat. With an E30 mix of fuel in 30-degree weather, It dropped to 4.79 seconds and did the ¼ mile in 13.36 @ 98 MPH. This was all testing with the Dragy device and app.
My next adventure leads me to custom tuning (Stay tuned), but if anyone has any questions about the Pulsar XT then let me know. Thanks!
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