Power Commander vs Race Tuner

[sgtcowboyusmc]

I had the cam shoes and cams replaced in my 04 FXDI Super Glide. One Cam had a serious wear on it. I assume it is due to the heat as I ride it year round in AZ and I have not installed an oil cooler yet. 1st question is would that be the case and second question is while I was there I talked to the Service Manager about installing a Power Commander I had already purchased. The Service Manager said they would install it but that they had problems with Power Commanders and that the "Harley Race Tuner" was a much better product. Having read American Iron for 4 years and a couple other Harley Bike Mags I had NEVER heard anything bad about the Power Commander. So is this Harley Dealer blowing smoke to sell HD Race Tuners or is there tuning problems with the Power Commander?

Thanks in advance you all have been a great help in the past and I know I will recieve good advise this time!

I forgot to add I have 50,000 mile on the bike right now.
Bill

[unfknblvbl]

I can't tell you if one is better than the other, but as you stated, I have never heard anything bad about the PC. A buddy of mine is a service writer for a dealership and he is always trying to push the Race Tuner. IMO I think it is something they are required to do. Of course SE and the MoCo wants us to buy their products.

I talked with an indepent shop out in SoCal and their tuner was all about the PCIII. I originally bought the SERT, but after reading about it and what a pain in the butt it was to tune by yourself without a dyno I took it back. For a quick fix I slapped on the fuelpak, unhappy with it, I started more in depth research....all roads led me back to wanting the PCIII.

If it were me I would find a good tuner and go with the PC.

[BluesFan]

A power Commander and a PC means you can be independent.

A SERT means HD dealer to get it right, at 125 a pop.

Now, about that wear.

What oil?
How many miles between changes?
What filter?

[sgtcowboyusmc]

Bluesfan:
What oil? HD SYN after first 1000 mi change.
How many miles between changes? 5,000
What filter? All but last 2 were Harley. Last 2 were K&N


My Thoughts is I should probably run a cooler. My Temps in the Summer run aroung 250 degrees.

The cam had an 1/8 inch wide grove starting at about 1/8 from the end of the cam. It would be in the area covered in the berrings.

Hope that helps and Thanks for your help.

[Plunk]

I ran a PCIII on my 2002 Deuce and loved it. Very tunable. My next bike was a 2005 Ultra which I bumped to a 95" and put in the SERT..buying the line the dealership gave me they were surerior to a PC. I should have stuck with the PC. One of the faults of a SERT is that only the dealership that installed the SERT has the download information...even if they give you back the CD...they have the information. If you next take it to dealer B to retune after another upgrade, they have to start all over again. A SERT locks you in to that dealer. A PC can go anywhere and be tuned by any one. Last summer I installed a PCIII on my wives Road Glide, met Dr. Dyno at the New York HOG rally and he tuned it in to perfection. Dr. Dyno recommeds PCs and will not mess with a SERT...and he is one of the best. Good enough for me.

[BluesFan]

Originally Posted by sgtcowboyusmc

Bluesfan:
What oil? HD SYN after first 1000 mi change.
How many miles between changes? 5,000
What filter? All but last 2 were Harley. Last 2 were K&N


My Thoughts is I should probably run a cooler. My Temps in the Summer run aroung 250 degrees.

The cam had an 1/8 inch wide grove starting at about 1/8 from the end of the cam. It would be in the area covered in the berrings.

Hope that helps and Thanks for your help.

any signs of debris?

Got pictures?

[sgtcowboyusmc]

Originally Posted by BluesFan

any signs of debris?

Got pictures?

No Pictures. No unusual amount of junk/gunk in the oil. None of my oil changes have had much if ant junk on the magnet or in the oil.

[BluesFan]

and yet you have a groove in a steel shaft.

That right there sounds like foreign material. Wouldn't take but a shaving at assembly. Then it eventuially gets ground up and flushed to the filter as little pieces, or even just pushed into the babbit.

I see similar things here. Analysis shows babbit in the oil, then after a little while it is OK again, something rubbed, and no long term bad effects.

[sgtcowboyusmc]

one quick question, whats a Babbit?

[VRYQUIK]

Originally Posted by sgtcowboyusmc

I had the cam shoes and cams replaced in my 04 FXDI Super Glide. One Cam had a serious wear on it. I assume it is due to the heat as I ride it year round in AZ and I have not installed an oil cooler yet. 1st question is would that be the case and second question is while I was there I talked to the Service Manager about installing a Power Commander I had already purchased. The Service Manager said they would install it but that they had problems with Power Commanders and that the "Harley Race Tuner" was a much better product. Having read American Iron for 4 years and a couple other Harley Bike Mags I had NEVER heard anything bad about the Power Commander. So is this Harley Dealer blowing smoke to sell HD Race Tuners or is there tuning problems with the Power Commander?

Thanks in advance you all have been a great help in the past and I know I will recieve good advise this time!

I forgot to add I have 50,000 mile on the bike right now.
Bill

I am a professional tuner. I have had failure problems with both the PC and SERT. I prefer the SERT because it offers more options that can be tuned vs the PC. This comes in handy when you are tuning an engine with a lot of major modifications. I normally don't need these options on a simple build.


This picture shows what is tunable on a SERT. Look at the drop down list.




The SERT also has a Data Logger that's useful if your are into playing with your own mapping.

One is not going to make more power than the other. I would suggest that you pick the one that your local tuners are more comfortable with.