I found this old post and it made me start to think. I remember this guy complaining about the WOT performance of the Predator vs the HPP. He said the Predator made the truck feel better around town with the tranmission settings and shifts but it didn't feel as quick at WOT as the HPP. He went to the track and ran both, here's what he got. I only copied the meat of his post, there were some responses to it but I just wanted to show his times so you all could see what he got. He tried the stock Predator tune and two custom tunes but the truck was still quicker with the HPP! Go figure?
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Predator vs hypertech track times
Hey, just some of my discoveries for some I haven't talked to, to digest.
Well, threw my Hypertech tune back in and went back to the track.
My truck weighed a few pounds heavier at 4310(more fuel and left 20's on front) from Last week w/predator-4240.
Same Temp and less rubber on the track, street night.

all runs pretty consistent
hypertech -left from idle.
60-2.040
330-5.882
1/8-9.119 75.17mph
1000-11.975
1/4 14.402 @ 92.71

Last week with predator "2nd custom tune"
60-2.058
330-6.033
1/8-9.403 72.78
1000-12.3
1/4 14.922 @ 88.21"""
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I'm still deciding whether on not to get a Nelson or other custom tune. I did feel the same way when I switched from the HPP I was using to the Predator. The shifts at part throttle were firmer and quicker with the Predator but at WOT my times weren't as quick on my 0-60 runs and 40-60 passing runs as with the HPP. I may pick up a used HPP and see for myself!?
Jim

 

one word,

"Nelson Performance Tuning"
..i meant three words, cmon!

 

Don't go with Predator. If you can't afford a custom tune, just go with a used Hypertech for now.

 

I went from a Predator to a Westers. No comparison. A custom tune will smoke any handheld out there.

 

Used hpp or Nelsonif you can afford it.

 

Thats weird! I went from HPPIII to the Predator and the Predator was like night and day compared to the HPPIII. The track felt better too, 2 tenths better!

But if I could do it again I would have keeped the HPPIII and then got EDIT. I still want EDIT, but don't know what I am going to do with the Predator. Wonder if I could sell my computer with the Predator?

 

i went from nothing to pred. made the truck feel better. however, if nelson performance tune was around then i would have gone that route., pred to me is good, but edit is always better...

 

It can't possibly be that bad with the predator.

Though I will agree that the Predator licks ***, for one reason. The POS marries to your truck. That alone makes it a worthless POS and I wouldn't recommend a Predator to ANYONE.

As far as performance, I would imagine they are about the same or maybe better than the other handhelds. I mean just bump up the timing to get more performance, or add or reduce fuel to make it closer to the ideal fuel ratio.
If it didn't marry to your truck, then I think it would be a great stepping stone for those who are waiting to buy a laptop, auto tap, and LS1edit.

 

I also went from an HPP to a Predator and felt the Predator was much better, the trans shifts is where I could tell the biggest difference. The truck felt much quicker and more responsive around town, gave me the impression it would also be faster at the track. My last trip to the track with the HPP, I ran a 15.02 under horrible conditions. The temp was 105* and the DA was like 3500 ft., it converted to a 14.5XX. About three weeks after that when I had my Predator, the truck only ran in the 15.2's and the conditions were much better. Temp as in the high 70's and the DA was like 1200 ft. It only converted to a 14.9XX, both times I used the IHRA DA conversion calculator. After seeing this old post, it got me thinking is all. I agree that a custom tune is probably the best way to go in the long run.
Jim